photos by Mike Rathjen

She sat alone draped in the seductive and warm ambience of the room. Outside the coziness of the café contrasted with slick wet streets and the bluish air of cold winter rain. Casting her eye back she nestled into her chair preparing herself for what was about to unfold. This wasn’t new, it wasn’t unfamiliar territory, but in so many ways it was.  With her five senses alert she knew it was time to begin. Admiring first what was placed before her, she then gracefully raised it to her lips. Immediately her mouth opened and she engulfed the heavenly delicacy with the oohs and ahhs of delight.

I had to write the beginning of this post like a romance novel because for me CocoaNymph Chocolates and Confections create the sexiest, sinful and most indulgent truffles and bars I have ever had. For me it truly was love at first bite.

Owner and Chocolatier Rachel Sawatzky knows just what to make to seduce and score with her customers.  In her Kitsilano kitchen she produces a reoccurring line-up of individual batch chocolates that are like nothing you have ever tasted before. With flavours like “Lucy in the Chai”(a dark chocolate ganache infused with a chai spice and black tea), “Barnabus the Tortoise”(a soft caramel and milk chocolate centre, flavoured with brandy and topped with a maple glazed pecan), and one of my favorites the “Chariot of Fire”(dark chocolate ganache infused with a pepper blend and then topped with a real chili pepper), her truffles are like little pieces of art that seduce with intense flavour.

Adding to the riches, the shop offers four types of drinking chocolate.  This cup is the richest, drippiest, most opulent concoction I have ever put this set of lips on.  “Our drinking chocolate is more of a European style – it’s like drinking dessert,” says Sawatzky.  I completely concur. Of course this drinkable dessert is also served with a large homemade marshmallow – sexy and cute – FTW!

To understand why CocoaNymph is so successful you need to know the story of how this once pre-med student traded in her textbooks to ultimately be head scientist experimenting in her own chocolate lab.

Sawatzky began her foray into chocolate creation in 2002. She had always had a passion for baking and would often try out new recipes that she found in magazines on her friends. As a student, taking her bachelor in science focusing on microbiology with the plan to attend medical school, Sawatzky was, like most students, broke.  With only $80.00 to her name and Christmas right around the corner she was desperate. Deciding to invest her remaining cash into chocolate supplies, Sawatzky hoped to makeand sell 300 chocolate and sea salt truffles thereby giving her some extra cash to buy Christmas presents. Her chocolates were so successful that Sawatzky ended up making and selling over 3000 of them! Long story short – the entrepreneur later stepped away from academia for good and launched her new career as a Chocolatier.

She cites her science background as a benefit that sets her chocolate shop apart from local competitors. “I believe I’m the only one operating with a science background and it gives me a bit of an advantage because I understand chemistry and how things work together,” says Sawatzky.  “The consistencies of my fillings are different, they are generally smoother and they hold together better. And the flavours hold better too because they are emulsified in a different way. I use different techniques than a lot of others.”

You can taste this chemistry in her work. “What makes me different is that I have a strong connection with flavour and when you taste my raspberry truffle I want you to taste raspberry, I don’t want you to taste something vaguely fruity. My philosophy is that it should taste like it has an impact,” says Sawatzky.

It’s this attention to detail and to the science of working with chocolate that has resulted in Sawatzky’s tireless efforts towards perfection. She shares that with her dark chocolate and sea salt truffles and bars it has taken her seven years to perfect them.   Now she has a hard time keeping this product on the shelf and it’s this specific item that personally keeps me coming back!

During my last visit I tried the “Pumpkin” ganache truffle – which was simply amazing.  Another that is just as beautiful to look at, as to consume, is the “Liz” – it has a piece of real gold leaf on top – completely glamorous.  Then there is the “Bliss” which is a marriage of white and dark chocolate that is most certainly blissful and I guess appropriately named.

On any given day you will find a collection of these tantalizing bites and sometimes a new offering or two.   Sawatzky is consistently experimenting in her lab so there is always something new to try when visiting CocoaNymph.

CocoaNymph Chocolates and Confections has definitely raised the “chocolate bar” in Vancouver’s sweet scene (pardon the pun)!

CocoaNymph is located at 3739 West 10^th (at Alma)

www.cocoanymph.com

Follow on Twitter: cocoanymph

Facebook: CocoaNymph Chocolates and Confections

Photos by  www.michaelrathjen.com

The restaurant is modeled after an Australian concept and it seems they’re trying to bridge the gap between restaurant and bar, for those customers who want to be out with friends for a casual drink and still get something good to eat.

Admittedly, I don’t eat much pizza, even of the thin-crust artisan variety, but I could see their creations being an attraction with groups because they’re shared easily. They have a simple Margarita on the menu and I loved the short-rib/caramelized onion/mozza/horseradish cream pizza but it was the prosciutto/pea mousse/poached egg appy that I would go back for. Delicate but properly salted (something lacking in the crudo and cured salmon plates) and flavourful, this is a dish that makes a light precursor to the dough and cheese likely to follow.

The room is funky and dim, like all good lounges. They have a conversation-starter chandelier over the bar that looks like a giant spider, and some custom wallpaper that seems to make everyone look good. Unfortunately this is the kind of place that does well with lots of foot traffic and it’s across the Davie Street Divide that seems to make businesses suffer. Hopefully Charlie can make it stick.

Charlie’s is at 1265 Hamilton Street.

I don’t eat meat. I think it’s gross.

There, I said it.

And I think there’s about a bajillion things in the world that can be made without meat that are full of delicious tasting goodness. In addition, I have (as clearly this article is all about me) recently been converted into one of those people that will fully cuss you out for eating…well…whatever it is I think shouldn’t be eaten. You know my type: you’re with a group of friends and you suggest a fabulous new charcuterie or steakhouse to go to for dinner, and your buddy’s girlfriend looks at you like you just murdered a dozen innocent lambs in front of her. Well ok, so that’s exaggerating, I’m not quite that bad. However, I will certainly sneer at the dude down the bar with a chicken wing hanging out of his yapper.

Now I know there’s lots of serious omnivores here, like the wannabe sausage thief for starters (and yes! To answer your question Mr. Wannabe, it is wrong!) so I hope I don’t offend anyone. Oh, hang on just a jiffy – you offend me every time you rabidly chow down on the aforementioned chicken wing, so who am I kidding. But for all you Foodists folk who enjoy avoiding meat, and love new vegetarian/vegan recipes, that’s what I’ll be bringing you twice a month.

To start off on our vegan goodness voyage of discovery, I introduce our guide: Veganomicon. Written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero this cookbook is just shy of 300 vegan recipe-filled pages, and I have yet to be disappointed by anything that I’ve made from it. If I could marry it I would, it’s that good to me. I eat the Chickpea Quinoa Pilaf on a weekly basis, can’t wait to have a go at the Mac Daddy (I’ll leave that one up to your imagination) and their Asparagus-Spinach Dip (remember this is vegan! so it’s dairy-free) has been added to my arsenal of dips & spreads. The one I want to share with you here is Spinach Linguine with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes. My sister and I made it one night while watching Canada win a Gold in men’s snowboarding and we nearly burnt the s**t out of it we were screaming in celebration at the TV so loud. But I digress.

Here’s the recipe:

Spinach Linguine with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes
(there’s a recipe for both of these components, to be combined at the end)
Serves 4
Total time (pasta+pesto): 45 minutes
*Tip: Make your pesto while the water for the linguine is boiling, so that you can time this right.

(a) Basil-Cilantro Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 a lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Method:
Place the basil, cilantro, almonds, garlic, lemon juice and salt in a food processor and blend until pasty.
With the food processor on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until relatively smooth and no large chunks or almonds are left (*Jackie’s note: I don’t blend as much – I like chunks of almonds). If you don’t have a food processor use a blender and then just add the olive oil at the end.

(b) Spinach Linguine with Artichokes
Ingredients:
1/2 pound spinach linguine (I used a gluten-free pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size red onion, slices into thin half-moons
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons white cooking wine, vegetable broth, or water, whatever
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Basil-Cilantro Pesto (see below)
1 (15-ounce can) artichoke hearts, drained and sliced in half (don’t use the jarred kind in oil, it’s expensive and too oily for this; get the kind that comes in brine)

Method:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine according to the package directions. Once you’ve added the pasta to the water, proceed with the recipe.
Preheat a large skillet over med-high heat and saute the onion in the olive oil until softened, 5-7 mins. Add the garlic and saute for a minute more. Add the white wine, salt & pepper and cook for another 1-2 mins. At this point the linguine should be done.
When the linguine is ready, don’t drain it. Use a pasta spoon to transfer it to the pan in batches. This is a good method because you can use the pasta water to thin out the pesto and make sure that everything gets evenly coated. When you add one batch, add a bit of the pesto too and using the pasta spoon, saute to coat.
Proceed with the rest of the pasta and pesto until you’ve added all of it. If it seems dry, add extra splashes of pasta water.
Add the artichoke hearts and toss to coat. Cook gently over low heat just unit the artichokes are heated thought, about 3 mins.

Serve immediately!

Go cook it now. Do it! Then thank Isa and Terry. And then invite me over for dinner.

Cheerio,

Jackie

p.s. Maybe the authors will read this and send me a free cookbook that one of you lucky Foodists readers could win (hint hint).

Their cocktail list is just massive – really more of a book than a list – and so it makes sense that it starts out with “a few rules” (by which they mean a page) and ends with a section of guest contributors from established cocktail haunts around town. I haven’t found a strategy for attacking it yet, so I started with their signature “Vancouver” cocktail (because it was the Olympics), then went with Jamie Boudreau’s “Zim Zala Bim” (because it’s fun to order) and ended up going down the whiskey spiral (as I usually do) with exquisitely made Sazeracs and crustas. Subsequent visits have not dulled the excitement waiting on nearly every page as I get pulled in different directions by alluring concoctions.

As for food, I prefer their snacks and appys to mains, but that may be because of the distractedness factor (see above). The crispy pig’s ear with sweetbreads seems to be on everyone’s lips, literally, and I enjoyed it, although I’m not usually one for frying things. The terrine de campagne is excellent, as is the steak tartare and who doesn’t love duck rillettes?

I’ve never loved loungey rooms with big windows – they feel cold to me – but the room is gorgeous and fun with it’s black leather banquettes and turquoise chairs and there’s enough going on in the menu to keep me from noticing for a while anyways.

The Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe is at 850 Thurlow Street.

Behind the fun and frivolity is a true belief that food is important, both as a source of nutrients and as a means of building culture and community. That’s why I’m proud to support A Loving Spoonful’s work. They’re a Vancouver-based agency that provides free, nutritious meals to people in Vancouver (and its suburbs) who are living with HIV/AIDS. Their clients are men, women and children. Families. People who no longer have to choose between medication and food, and people who are too ill to buy and cook food. With A Loving Spoonful’s services, people can concentrate on getting better. You wouldn’t believe the client stories I’ve heard. They’re simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring.

Each year, A Loving Spoonful partners with Friends for Life to produce Dining Out for Life. On March 25, more than 200 restaurants from Vancouver to Whistler to the Fraser Valley will participate in this great event. Here’s how you can help:

• On March 25, dine out at one of the participating restaurants. 25% of your food bill will automatically go to A Loving Spoonful and Friends for Life.
• When you’re at the restaurant, ask your server for a donation envelope. Each envelope comes with a ballot that enters you into the grand prize draw valued at more than $1000.
• Buy a bottle of wine from Sumac Ridge Estate Winery. For every bottle sold in B.C. in March, they’ll donate $1 to Dining Out for Life.
• Buy a bottle of Stella Artois on March 25. For every bottle sold that day, they’ll donate $1 to Dining Out for Life.
• New this year: businesses can sign up for the Dining Out for Life corporate challenge.

If you needed an excuse to order dessert, here you go. On March 25, I hope you’ll join me in Dining Out for Life. Which restaurant will you go to?

Seared Tenderloin with braised spinach, tomato confit, tomato powder and peanut veloute.

This lovely looking dish is actually death on a plate. In the past year there have been massive recalls of spinach, tomatoes, beef (all for ecoli) and peanut butter (salmonella). Understanding the who, what, why, where and how of our food is more important than ever.

We live in a world filled with opportunity, but also with great challenges. At times, it feels impossible for any individual to make the world a better place. But each and every day, you really can make a difference. The struggles we face as individuals and a society are complex and interconnected issues. Food is no exception, but this is also its strength. The food we eat has direct and clear implications for everything from clean water and fossil fuel use to hunger and obesity, the power to change the world is right in front of you- on your plate.

Here’s why provenance, from provenir (Fr.) “the origin or source of something,” matters to you, your family and the planet.

1. Health. Not only are whole foods superior nutritionally, many are even better when grown in healthy soil. Beyond that, the impact of poor diets on our health is immense. Obesity is not only the leading risk factor for type2 diabetes, the direct medical costs are $93 billion dollars each year.

2. Food Safety. As you can see from the photo above a beautiful looking plate can still make you sick. This is despite a massive number of government regulations intended to make food safe. Just last week, a blogger broke the story of a massive meat recall before the USDA.

3. Environment. Sustainability does not mean a particular product is fair trade or organic, etc. An individual product cannot, by definition, be sustainable. Sustainability is a system-wide condition, not a product level benefit. We need to understand the underlying process and the implications for a larger system- relying on a reductionist label is insufficient.

4. Farmers matter. The best farmers have an amazingly wide array of skills- biology, horticulture, business, accounting, mechanics…Farmers connection to and understanding of the planet’s natural systems are one of our most important links to the Earth. Farmers can teach us how to live and work in harmony with nature. One of the great farmers of all time, Masanobu Fukuoka, explains, “The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”

5. Food is not a commodity. Although agriculture has inspired many of our current economic systems, food should not be a commodity, It is a biological necessity, and, as such, should be regarded as distinct from copper, iron ore and light sweet crude.

*Bonus*

Cooking is important. As Harvard Professor of Biological Anthropology, Richard Wrangham explains, “It’s the development that underpins many other changes that have made humans so distinct from other species.”

Not ready to give up, I led the Foodists film crew through Granville Island’s festivities to capture all the action. Be prepared for regional specialties, tantalizing bites, and a few too many… I’ll just leave it at that.

Melody Fury of The Foodists, ventures out during Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics and experiences a tasting of Olympic proportions!

Produced by United Nathan Productions.

Costco is not something that one would normally think of as being associated with The French Laundry but it was there that I had my first encounter with the famous restaurant. It was years ago, while browsing the book aisle, that I came across a large tome in the cookbook section. The minimalist cover was what caught my eye. An elegantly folded napkin neatly held together by a wooden clothespin placed on a plate against a white background. Then the title puzzled me, ‘The French Laundry Cookbook’. Wait, a cookbook that didn’t show food on the cover? Huh. Curious. For the next half hour I pored over its pages, gawking at the beautiful photographs of dishes that were so different than anything I’d seen before. And then I walked away, thinking there was no way a book like that would ever be practical.

To hell with practical. Eventually I realized what the French Laundry was, bought the book, read it cover to cover, and even cooked from it. But actually dining at the restaurant felt like something out of reach. Then a few months ago, the opportunity presented itself and my husband and I jumped on it.

We joined two other friends there for dinner at the beginning of February, both of whom had been there before. From talking to them and others, and much reading on the Internet, I had an idea of what to expect. Battle strategy: don’t eat during the day if you can or only enough to take the edge off, drink lots of fluids (tea is great), wear formal but comfortable clothes. Jackets are required for the men. During the meal, pace yourself. Eat slowly and savor it. Don’t fill up on bread. There’s going to be a lot of food. And it will be rich. A lot. Seriously.

The French Laundry is located on the main street of Yountville, a tiny town in Napa Valley with a population of a few thousand people. The building is a small two storey stone and wooden structure that blends into its surroundings and can be easy to miss.

Award plaques from the ‘Relais & Chateaux’ and ‘Traditions & Qualité’ associations.

The French Laundry’s vegetable garden and greenhouse across the street.

A small garden on the restaurant property where guests can sit and relax between courses.

Even though it is a fine dining restaurant, The French Laundry has a sense of humor in its decor as well as the food. Soft ambient lighting is provided by small lamps along the walls, but the lampshades are subtly decorated with the same symbols that are on clothing washing tags. They were designed by Raynaud for Per Se in New York but Chef Keller liked them so much that he used them at The French Laundry too.

We dined at the restaurant at the beginning of February, so it was the perfect time of year for black truffles. The pasta dish arrived at the table under a cloche and when it was lifted, the first thing I noticed was an intense truffle aroma. Then they bought out a large black truffle in a locked box, and added the shavings tableside. Even without the shavings, this would have been the best pasta dish I’ve ever had.

At this point a bread basket is bought around with several different types of buns to choose from. The most striking one was the pretzel roll, and it tasted exactly like a salty chewy giant pretzel only much smaller and tastier. It is really hard not to fill up on bread because they’re so good, and you want to try them all. All of the bread served at the restaurant is made at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery located a few steps away from the French Laundry. Sadly, the rolls are not for sale.

“Rouelle de Tete de Cochon” – Yukon Gold potato puree, melted collard greens, Blis maple syrup

A cheese course comes after the main dishes. My tolerance for blue cheese still needs work so I found this a bit too strong for my preference. The garnishes were very good though.

“Stilton” – French prune, walnuts, fennel bulb, black pepper gastrique

Even the palate cleanser course contains multiple components. Each part of this dish was a different temperature, texture and taste.

“Coffee and Doughnuts” – cinnamon sugared doughnuts, cappuccino semifreddo

You can never go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate. The small round chocolate orb in the middle of the bavarois was hollow, and filled with roasted peanuts.

Peanut Butter Bavarois – candied peanuts, banana sorbet

We couldn’t eat any more after the last dessert course so we got the mignardises packed up to go. The truffles are very intense and pure in flavour.

Mignardises – assorted truffles

Mignardises – candied, chocolate-coated macadamia nuts

Each person also gets a small bag of shortbread to take home.

Scottish shortbread to take home

It was an amazing experience and one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had. As Chef Keller inscribed in my cookbook, it’s all about finesse. And it was.

The French Laundry
6640 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599-1301, United States
(707) 944-2380
www.frenchlaundry.com

Note: If you have a book that you want signed, or if you want to buy a signed copy from the restaurant, the reservation office of the French Laundry will make arrangements for it. Chef Keller was out of town at Per Se so I dropped off my copy of The French Laundry Cookbook with the reservation office (located behind the restaurant) the day before dinner. They provide a form where you specify a mailing address, billing information for the shipping charges, and an optional customized message. The form also has a section to request a signed copy of the dinner menu. The shipping charges worked out to $16 via US Post.

New Orleans is a special place for more reasons to count, but its gastronomy certainly ranks pretty high up there (followed closely, perhaps, by its open-container outside drinking laws). It is, after all, where the spices and traditions of a few overlapping cultures—African, French, Acadian (or Cajun, meaning French-descended by way of Nova Scotia), Spanish, Creole, even Italian—meet the delectable fruits of the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana’s bayous and countryside, with hearty Southern flair.

At the risk of regretting my flight home, I’ll recall a few standouts from the depths of my butter-clouded mind: fresh oysters prepared a zillion different ways; rich turtle soup and whiskey-sauced bread pudding soufflé; po’boy sandwiches stuffed with everything from roast beef “debris” to BBQ shrimp (shown below; it doesn’t involve a BBQ, mind you, but lots of butter and pepper); late-night beignets piled with powdered sugar; spicy crawfish/shrimp “boils”; French-style fish meunière; paella-like jambalaya, with rabbit and andouille; Cajun spice rum and anisette-spiked Sazeracs. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, folks.

Indeed, a few gluttonous days in New Orleans are hard to beat. The best you can do, then, is re-create some of its deliciousness upon your return. Not surprisingly, the region’s food lends itself quite well to home cooking, if you can find a few key ingredients. For my own wish-I-was-still-there NOLA dinner party, I chose a hearty Creole dish my husband and I happily devoured on our last day in town: crawfish etouffee.

To translate from the French, crawfish tail meat is “smothered” in the etouffee, to make a rich, spicy brown stew of vegetables, butter, and Cajun spices that’s served over rice. It struck me as the perfect main course—more unusual than other New Orleans classics, like gumbo or jambalaya, but still relatively easy to make.

I was ecstatic to find crawfish meat—frozen and from Spain, which isn’t ideal but will do the trick—as well as two popular Louisiana sausages, andouille (smoked, pork) and boudin blanc (pork with liver and often heart, plus rice), at New York City’s Chelsea Market. Score! (In case you’re wondering, I already had the Mardi Gras beads and voodoo doll, which we fashioned into a centerpiece of sorts.)

I used an etouffee recipe from famed New Orleans chef, Emeril Lagasse. Specifically, it was the recipe Emeril demonstrated on The Martha Stewart Show—the visual (video) aid actually came in handy. I’ve edited the recipe below just slightly to better reflect what he does in the video.

Because we had a larger group—and everyone likes to eat a lot—I doubled this recipe with no problems (two pounds of crawfish still sufficed, though). I was alarmed at first that our butter-and-flour roux was not as dark as Emeril’s, but the dish turned out just fine. Delicious, in fact.

The grilled andouille and steamed boudin sausages (steam until cooked, 10-15 minutes, then remove the thin casing and squeeze some lemon on the meat), both served with spicy Creole mustard and French bread, made wonderful Louisiana-style appetizers…although next time I will probably throw some of that andouille into the etouffee. Yum!

Serves 8

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs fresh thyme

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 cups shrimp stock

1 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes

1 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Hot sauce, like Tabasco, to taste

2 lbs crawfish tails, with the fat (or substitute shrimp, if you must)

2 tsp Emeril’s Original Essence (or make your own)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Hot cooked white rice, for serving

Directions

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 4 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Make a roux by adding the flour slowly and whisking to combine. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of peanut butter. (Do this for a good couple of minutes, being careful not to burn the butter.)

2. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, 6-8 minutes. (They will appear dry—that’s okay.) Stir in garlic; let cook for a minute. Add stock, tomatoes, salt, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco; bring to a boil. Skim surface, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, toss together crawfish tails (and any crawfish fat) and the Essence, and add to the simmering sauce along with the lemon juice, scallions, and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add remaining 2 Tbsp butter; stir to combine. Serve over rice.

The streets were eerily quiet last Sunday morning before the men’s gold medal hockey game, Canada v.s. the US. Line-ups of fans were winding around the block outside bars, all decked in red.

My friends and I congregated at Metropole and I was painfully nervous. I knew we must win this game or all hell would break lose. I’ve literally seen grown men cry when the Canucks lost and let’s not forget the very ugly riot when we lost the Stanley Cup. Still, hockey is our game and we believed.

Like many of you experienced, the anticipation was maddening and the cheers were deafening. I’ve never screamed or tweeted IN CAPS so much in my life. Here is my twitter play by play.

Our first goal

Our second goal: We were all chanting and feeling strong.

FRICK! US scores their first goal. Our spirits were dampened a bit but we’re still in the lead.

NO!! 24.4 seconds left in the 3rd period and US team’s Zach Parise scored. The bar went silent. Jaws dropped. Tears welled up. Very anti-climatic.

Overtime! I wanted us to win sooo desperately that I prayed and tweeted this:

AND IT WORKED! I couldn’t believe it! Our very own Sidney Crosby scored the winning shot 7:40 into overtime! The place exploded into ballistic celebration, hugs, screaming, and rounds of O Canada.

When I was exhausted from cheering, I remembered this:

Now, I’m not taking any credit for our victory but in the heat of the moment, my patriotism overpowered my foodisty. I almost swore off wine but thank goodness my senses kicked in.

No regrets though, it was definitely worth it. Have fun taunting me this month.

Where were you when Canada seized gold?

From my experience, most Canadians don’t know much about Mississippi.  Sure we know the rhyme “M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I” that helps spell the Southern state, and when it is pronounced slowly it can account for one whole second,  but for this foodist, Mississippi was and is a pantry of delights.

I recently spent some time in the notorious state producing a television documentary on race relations.  I wouldn’t have traveled there if it had not been for my subject matter, and I’m very grateful for this experience. Just as I like telling stories for the small screen I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell the tales of some of the Southern food I experienced during my time there too.

There are loads of great places to eat in Mississippi but one of the “must-go-to” restaurants I was told about was The Auditorium Restaurant right in the heart of Jackson. The unique venue is set in an old elementary school and is considered the place to hear the best blues jams while consuming all things Southern. This sounded pretty much perfect to this “wanna-be” Southern belle.

I was however perplexed with the definition of Southern food so decided to enlist the help of Executive Chef Nathan Glenn. “I’ll tell you what Southern is – it’s a regional thing – a place that has developed it’s own food,” says Glenn. “You get a mixture of German, African, Indian, Irish, Scottish, Cajun, Creole, Spanish etc., There were all these different influences in this melting pot during the Civil War years and we were kind of cut off so we just did what we could with what we had. So Southern cuisine is a mixture of all those different cultures coming together and using the natural resources that we had. And everything is so close to the coast of New Orleans and it’s a port city so you had such great influences – especially all the French influence in our food in Mississippi and Louisiana.”

Wow – it sounds like it could be everything – yet southern food does have a distinctiveness, and nowhere is that more apparent then on The Auditorium Restaurant’s menu. Just some of the items offered are Fried Green Tomatoes served with a Creole Honey Mustard, Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Blackened Catfish, Vinaigrette Slaw, Hushpuppies, and homey desserts like Homemade Banana Pudding, and Raisin Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce. Delish.

Glenn’s eyes light up proudly when he describes his signature dishes: Sweet Potato Crawfish Cakes, and Shrimp and Grits (New Orleans style barbeque shrimp with diced ham, local shitake mushrooms, sweet potato grits and salad).

Taking the Chef’s suggestions I decided on the crawfish cakes – however I was leery. My only experience with crawfish was when my brother and I used to spend hours in this little stream near our grandparents home catching these marine crustaceans and then making them attack sticks that we poked at them. The idea of these little lobsters chopped up and made into a cake was less than appealing to me, but my first bite confirmed why this dish is one of Glenn’s best!

There is something approachable and friendly about Southern food. It’s not pretentious and even if it is presented elegantly it’s still at ease. If you can’t make it to The Auditorium Restaurant, or Jackson, Mississippi to sample these scrumptious delights, there is hope.  The Best of Bridge Series of cookbooks has published a great volume called “Best of the Best from Mississippi Cookbook” and you can order it through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Best-Mississippi-Cookbook-Mississippis-Cookbooks/dp/1893062449

It is what I will be consulting in the next few months as I prepare to throw a little “Southern” on my family and friends.

At the restaurant’s launch, we had the opportunity to try some of their dishes (share plates/family style portions) and were beyond impressed. Typically, I am always one to go directly to the source for authenticity (e.g. Want Indian? Go to a family-run tandoori restaurant. Want great ramen? Go to Hokkaido.), and was skeptical at first. However, once we had the opportunity to try a range of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indian fare, we were won over:

Vietnamese Summer Roll Pickled shiitake mushrooms, vermicelli, hoisin-peanut sauce – Very flavourful, delicate and oh so tasty! A lovely dish as a starter.

Sake Kasu Sablefish Gingered BC tomatoes, sweet miso sauce – Who knew a piece of fish could be a little slice of heaven? The unassuming little tomatoes also packed an impressive punch, I was sad when this dish was over. (I was also sad that I forgot to take a photo of this one because it looked and tasted too good to last.)

Homemade Tofu with Maitake Mushrooms Mongolian truffle sauce, braised daikon – Looks like and tastes like Asian home comfort food. A mix of both hard and soft tofu are prepared on the premises. Tofu by itself may be bland to the novice tofu eater, but Oru’s version highlights delicate textures and flavours.

Marinated Flank Steak and Vermicelli Noodle Salad Peanuts, pickled green papaya, calamansi lime dressing – Refreshing, delightful, having just the right amount of punch with the lime. Addictive and something I would love to make at home if I could get the recipe and the freshest cilantro.

Shoyu Ramen with 24 hour Braised Berkshire Pork Belly Homemade ramen noodles, perfect egg, fresh bamboo shoots – Now this was impressive and for its $15 price tag, it better be. Having enjoyed some of the best fresh ramen in Hakodate, Sapporo and at NYC’s Ippudo in East Village, this was prepared to perfection. The noodle texture was the right balance of firmness and chewiness, the broth and pork belly had the right amount of flavour mixed with fat, and the boiled eggs were still slightly soft in the middle and likely organic.

Whole Arctic Char Soy sauce, scallions, ginger  -  As traditional Chinese cuisine dictates, the whole fish is always brought to the dinner table. Including eyes, bones and innards, presentation is everything as is, timing. The whole fish was plump and intimidating in size but masterfully and authentically served right down to the final pouring of hot oil before serving. I’ve never had Arctic Char before but it was so delightfully moist and delicious I had a hard time stopping. Definitely a share plate!

Smoked West Coast BC Sablefish Claypot Lap chong fried rice, snap peas, cloud ear and shiitake mushrooms – The quantity of rice here compared to the usual portion at a local greasy spoon differs vastly but likewise, the quality of ingredients being offered here. Fresh local sablefish is out of this world and this combo definitely hits a home run.

Murgh Makhani Tandoor roasted chicken, naan bread, mint chutney – This dish wowed me personally, as I adore authentic Tandoori dishes, and yet dispise the taste of mint. According to our helpful server Heather, much care is given to this dish; the mix of spices and the right balance of char are all calculated to make every part of this meal a memorable one. I couldn’t stop with the mint chutney, which surprised even myself every time I went back for it.

Suffice to say, we will definitely return to try some of their lunch items, or just to have another excellent—and very authentic—“pan-Asian” meal. Take note that all of their seafood is Ocean Wise certified and they use only organic or naturally raised meat. Their Chef’s Table dining experience can also be booked in advance and accommodates parties of up to 12. Our personal thanks again to David Wong, Chad Clark and Jacob Luksic for their kind welcome and assistance.

Ukraine House: The best perogies and Kielbasa I’ve had in a while, plus .5 L Obolon beer and no lines make Ukraine House my favorite house so far. They also have borscht and an impressive line up of vodka cocktails with names like “Guilty Conscience” and “Shot in the Head”, but it’s in at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre at 16th and Cambie so your chances of having a crazy party night here aren’t nearly as good as at the Irish House.

Swiss House: nestled into Bridges restaurant on Granville Island, they have a Swiss menu prepared by Swiss chefs and a couple of options from Bridges’ regular menu as well. There’s fondue of course, and raclette, another type of melted cheese dish served with potatoes, pearl onions and cornichons. Sadly (?) they were completely out of Rivella, an interesting soft drink made out of milk serum. Apparently the Swiss love it.

Outside of Swiss House, there are free raclette offerings daily between 2 and 4 PM.

Saxony House: walking up to Saxony House, it felt a little like walking to a rave as the Rowing Club was lit up with purple lights and sparkles. Inside, however, was a German band (Saxony is a region in Eastern Germany), German sausage and German mustard.  Then after 10 PM, it all turns into a Eurotrash DJ awesomeness.

Atlantic Canada House has gotten a lot of press for their free tastings of Atlantic food but I had more fun in the bar sampling Newfoundland Screech and Glen Breton single malt from Nova Scotia than I did trying P.E.I mussels and lobster fritters.

Holland House, German Fan Fest and Slovak House all have cultural cuisine (and drinks) on offer as well, but I haven’t been yet. City Caucus has a complete list of pavillions, as does Miss604.

What are your favourites?

There’s a new dog in town, just in time for the Olympics. For the roving hordes on Granville Street who don’t want slices of pizza, there’s now Dougie Dog. All natural dogs served up in L.A. rockstar style, the selection includes Downward Dog (veggie) and the ever-popular Dave Grohl special with whiskey-infused meat.

The namesake Dougie Dog comes with pastrami, French mustard, horseradish and cheese and is a pretty tasty stop between bars.

For something new in the hot dog world, they have combo’s of mac n’ cheese and the largest selection of rootbeer in Vancouver. Open way late for Olympic-partying sustenance at 1011 Granville Street.

When in New York last fall, I felt a heavy sense of injustice when comparing their prices with ours of the same bottles. I laughed it off and carried on but the feeling of betrayal remained. It’s at least comforting to know that there is a collective group of passionate people in BC who are attempting to motivate change within the system. Our audacious prices certainly don’t mean that I’m brimming my basket with 2L bottles of barely BBQ worthy wine, but have instead altered my behavior by adjusting my budget creatively. My monetary goal is to hover beneath the $25 mark.

Last week, I craved a browbeater and so drove through the rural roads of South Point to visit Liberty, a wine shop on 152nd Street. I was drawn to an ‘05 Poppy Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, despite the associate describing it as drab by stating it as being solely balanced. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the contrary. I kid you not, I tasted peat. Although I commonly taste smoke in wine, never have I had something that was so reminiscent of scotch. It was full-bodied and also carried characteristics of chocolate, cassis and hay.

You know what? I loved it. At $24.99, it barely broke even, but it ignited my interest and left me to ponder it for some time thereafter.