Business is Served — Page 2

DIVA AT THE MET
Surprisingly, the most sought-after seat in this elegantly tiered dining room is the one right next to the kitchen. Tucked behind a large pillar, the coveted Chef’s Table faces the open Waldorf kitchen—and it’s the only spot millionaire Futura Corp CEO Amar Doman will sit. Friday afternoons frequently find Canaccord Executive Vice President Paul Chalmers and various associates munching truffle popcorn (made exclusively for him) while waiting for a bottle of Mommessin Grand Cru Burgundy ($320). When Face the World president Jacqui Cohen was entertaining novelist Jackie Collins in May, they sat front and centre at a see-and-be-seen table in the lounge, while powerful diamond magnate Catherine McLeod-Seltzer preferred a quiet spot in the secluded upper tier for a celebratory lunch over imported caviar. On her wedding day, rocker Bif Naked took Chef Dino Renaerts’ fare to the Metropolitan’s private penthouse suite for post-nuptial canoodling with new husband Ian Walker. On October 25, Diva catered a $20,000 per plate Endowment Dinner for the Vancouver Ballet, netting a cool $3-million. That ought to keep them on their toes for a while.

CIOPPINO'S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL
On any given night you’ll find Canuck Trevor Linden dining on rotisserie chicken (his wife Cristina’s boutique is just a few doors down). Mining and movie mogul Frank Giustra met Bill Clinton (who enjoyed the Dover sole Meuniére) here for a business engagement, and recently a group of real estate big wigs, including Bob Rennie, Arthur Erickson, and Simon Lim, discussed development deals over a six-litre bottle of 1976 Château Margaux (price tag: $13,000). Offering seclusion from the prying eyes and ears of the main dining room is the Dépositaire O’Enoteque Dom Pérignon. With available vintages dating back as far as 1959, the Dom Room is where Seattle billionaire John McCaw frequently entertained Francesco Aquilini during the Vancouver Canucks sale back in October 2004—Pino Posteraro’s wild sockeye salmon with soy ponzu tomato vinaigrette was a McCaw favourite. Al Pacino has spent many a working dinner here as well, using the room to run lines with co-stars when filming in Vancouver. Entrance to this prestigious hideaway will cost you a bottle of Dom Pérignon (starting at $450)—it also helps to be a close personal friend of chef/owner Posteraro.

IMPERIAL CHINESE RESTAURANT
When it comes to the ultimate power lunch, it’s all about dim sum— there’s something about the camaraderie of sharing that takes a fledgling business relationship to the next level. And when it’s time to sign on the dotted line, the suits head to Imperial, in the historic Marine Building, where well-spaced tables offer comfortable anonymity to talk shop over authentic Chinese dishes served fast and furious. Billionaire land developers like Li Ka-shing, the Kwok brothers Walter, Thomas, and Raymond (estimated worth: $6.6 billion), and Henderson Land’s Lee Shau Kee have spent many an afternoon expanding their vast empires over shark’s fin soup and braised abalone, while Expo 86 mastermind Stanley Kwok (President of Husky Energy, formerly of Concord Pacific) can be found with wife Eva entertaining associates over fresh geoduck and Alaskan King crab with black bean sauce. Nearby Canada Place supplies a slew of Hong Kong businessmen with ample appetites (and ample wallets), plus visiting dignitaries like Madeleine Albright (secretary of state in the Clinton administration), Tian Chunyan (China’s consul general in Vancouver) and Chinese democracy advocates Anson Chan (former head of Hong Kong’s civil service) and Sir Donald Tsang (Hong Kong’s chief executive). The spacious, almost cavernous, room provides a safe haven for visiting celebrities like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and John Woo to discuss future projects.

LA TERRAZZA
Wealthy shipping mogul Kyle Washington is a big fan of this room—he once held a series of 12 dinners here, each a step toward a $600 million deal. The private Enoteca (wine library) housed Concord Pacific CEO Terry Hui while he negotiated the CBC building deal—it also provided the setting for Premier Gordon Campbell during his contentious sale of BC Rail. Federal Liberal leadership contender Bob Rae booked the secluded Terrazza room for a $5,000 a plate fundraiser for exclusive VIPs. Why all the action? Not only is the food excellent (Washington favours the beef carpaccio and the strozzapretti Bolognese with a bottle of vintage Masseto), but owner Iqbal Grewal is extremely well connected, particularly in the Indo-Canadian community. On any given night you’ll find heavyweights like millionaire realtor Gurdev Sandhu or Colliers Executive Vice President Avtar Bains (responsible for $7.2 billion in commercial land sales) pressing the flesh at the corner table by the fireplace (Table 6) or politicos Herb Dhaliwal, Ujjal Dosanjh, or Attorney General Wally Oppal hosting fundraisers in one of the private rooms. It was here that multi-millionaire Peter Dhillon celebrated his 40th birthday (the cranberry king has a white cran-tini named after him, the Petertini), flying in comedian Russell Peters for a private show (approximate cost: $100,000 for the evening).

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