Vancouver is about to lose an institution. According to a message posted on the B.C. Chowhound forum today, The Brave Bull’s House of Steak is closing for good on September 2nd:
Never been, but for those interested, the couple that run Brave Bull are retiring and closing the restaurant down soon. Last day is Sept 2, after which they are selling off their equipment and wares on Sept 3.
One guy responded on Chowhound, saying that he had been to Brave Bull’s a few times, “mostly for the David Lynch vibe than the food.” And that pretty much sums it up.
But that begs me to ask the question: who else has been to Brave Bull’s?
I haven’t. And despite this, I can’t help but feel a tad nostaglic at the thought that it’ll no longer be around. The fact that it looked like a derelict drug front was besides the point; it was a legitimate business that advertised its questionable $8.95 steak on its weathered yellow awnings as long as I’ve been alive. It’s just been a part of the East Van landscape.
Trying to find out more info, I discovered an insightful story on the now-defunct blog called Viaduct, and they wrote a rather honest if not endearing account of Brave Bull. “Braving the Brave Bull” is more than just a restaurant review; they go into the details of the restaurant’s role in the East Van identity, talking to owners Linda and Frank, bringing to light how Vancouver’s evolving urbanity had changed the nature of Brave Bull’s from a community hub of truckers and dockworkers to its current state; a shadow of its former self.
And yet Brave Bull has persisted, against the odds, and I secretly admired them for that. This of course ends on Sunday night. I, despite having no intentions of eating there, will be sad to see it go.
