by GARY BARCLAY

“We figured it might be funny to take a run at ourselves for being three guys from Alberta opening an Italian restaurant in Vancouver,” laughs Tom Doughty, who, along with Robert Belcham and Tim Pittman of Fuel, has launched Campagnolo Restaurant at 1025 Main St. Inspired by the Piedmont and Emiglia-Romagna regional cuisine of Italy, Executive Chef Belcham and Chef de Cuisine Alvin Pillay have stocked the menu with simple plates of house-made salumi, pizza, pasta, risotto, and seasonal main courses. Designed by Marc Bricault, the dim 90-seat room, with a clean, modern, unfinished look, is highlighted by original old-growth fir beams and original concrete blocks. Made mostly from sustainable sources, the floors are cork and the tables of recycled wood. Open nightly, 5 p.m. until late. ... New downtown, in the space formerly occupied by The Sugar Refinery at 1115 Granville, The Refinery is a charcuterie-based, market-fresh-style eatery and wine bar. Concentrating on artisan-cured meats, pates, terrines, cheeses, seafood dishes and sharing platters, Chef Michael Carter prepares antipasto and tapas plates, as well. Designed by M-Studio, the 75-seat second-floor room is built from reclaimed wood, non-toxic building supplies, and incoming water is filtered into the kitchen. ... Jennifer Boyer of Stella’s Tap & Tapas Bar on the Drive tells myvancouver that her husband Todd will be the cook at their new Cambie location, formerly occupied by Dadeo New Orleans Diner & Bar and Tomato Fresh Food Café. “We’ll be serving more of a dinner menu of sustainable local produce, meat and fish, a modified tapas menu, and the same attention to beer.” With the aim to open March 15, a stone fireplace and take-away service are planned. ... Thai House Restaurant Group introduces their newest location, Charm Modern Thai and Bar, in Yaletown at 1269 Hamilton, promising authentic Thai dishes daily from 5:30 p.m. to late. ... The redesign, renovation and rebranding of the former site of the Jolly Alderman Pub, next door to FigMint, will emerge as a gastropub/sports bar with TV screens. ... Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Market at the Shangri-La was fully booked when we fell by the classy and costly hotel on opening night, January 24 - although a few seats were empty in the casual bistro with fireplace on the other side of the bar. A peek at the dinner menu revealed an emphasis on local seafood with the first item listed as Sea Urchin Toast with Yuzu and Jalapeño.

Dining deals

For the ravenous, all-you-can-eat linguine - with marinara sauce for $10.95 or meat sauce for $15.95 - every Wednesday night at Hennessey Dining Lounge. ... Andrew Wong and Chef Todd Bright at Wild Rice are serving a special three-course Year of the Ox Dinner through February 8 for $25. Steamed oxtail half-moon dumplings accompanied by B.C. side stripe shrimp ceviche and a drizzle of beef jus, braised Pemberton beef shank, osso buco with Five Treasure Rice, and a sweet dumpling filled with a mixture of white chocolate and red bean paste dressed with caramel and accompanied by vanilla tofu ice cream. Rather than traditional Scotch or cognac, Wong prefers “to pair wines that complement the complexity of each dish’s flavours” and a matched flight of wines is available for an additional $20.