Chef Ben de Champlain's 1st Course - Central America theme

First up, inspired by the west coast of Central America, we had a Qualicum scallop ceviche, chile, cilantro balanced with grapefruit and orange citrus. Beside was the braised fennel with guajillo chili dressing, which had a green tea flavor with berry overtones.

Lauren Mote's Aguas Fresca

Lauren paired this graciously with what she called

Aguas Fresca

1.5 oz Hornitos tequila
.5 oz homemade fennel seed and orange sherry bitters
1.5 oz watermelon water
.75 oz lime juice1 oz cane sugar
mint and cucumber foam

A refreshingly dangerous cocktail, whose nose of cucumber dissolved to a light watermelon affair on the way down. Lauren’s secret: A pinch of gelatin to hold the foam.

This was closely followed up with a Caribbean region inspired jerk spice poached prawn, tomato chayote and pineapple salad, pimento dressing (all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, habanero hot sauce), served with avocado crema and a homemade fluffy soft tortilla.
I could have easily eaten a dozen of those prawns. Some may like to be able to experience the flavours together with a little less effort, but this is casual Caribbean.

2nd Course with paired cocktal

Lauren countered with a cooling cocktail:

Tamarind Bushy Tree

1.5 oz Hornitos tequila
.5 oz homemade house bitters (Hi-proof whiskey base with coriander)
.75 oz lemon juice
1 oz tamarind allspice syrup
.25 oz cilantro water

That amazing crusty rim was a stucco of chili powder & dehydrated mango salt – truly inspired as it mirrored the plates spicy fruitiness.

3rd course, Flank Steak

The finale featured a traditional Mexican flank steak, a fairly tough cut of meat which required a long marinade of Achiote & Driftwood Whitebark beer to make it tender. The slightly sloppy greens were a jicama, watercress and cucumber salad, jalapeno and cilantro dressing, grilled onions. All inspired by the Yucatan region of Mexico, it was rustic, hearty, and held a mild sneaky heat.

Lauren saved the best for last with a silky cloth in liquid form…

3rd cocktail pairing - Horchata Picante

Horchata Picante

1 oz Hornitos Tequila
.25 oz homemade ancho & chipotle bitters
.5 oz homemade chocolate vermouth
4 oz almond and rice milk horchata

Chocolate vermouth! Did you hear that! Wow, this sealed the deal for me. I walked out of the Refinery a happy and better man, glowing from the inside as I truly believe that this level of care put into food and drink becomes part of the being.

I would reserve now… at a paltry $30, every Thursday, this will surely sell out every week.

“Klahowya” is an aboriginal greeting meaning “welcome” and I certainly did feel at home among friends at the launch of The Fish House’s Klahowya menu a few days ago.

To honour the new Klahowya Village aboriginal experience in Stanley Park, Chef Karen Barnaby and her talented kitchen staff have created a menu that will run until September 6th. The dishes feature fresh, local ingredients like cedar planked salmon, cold smoked bison—even pickled milkpods and elderberries—prepared in traditional aboriginal ways and paired with a selection of wines from aboriginal Okanagan winery Nk’Mip.

I thought the food was delicious, the wine quite terrific, and of course the setting idyllic, but don’t take my word for it, check out this video by local foodie Jason McRobbie (@thegoodfooddude) or check out The Fish House online. It’s a popular spot, so I recommend making reservations.

I’ve been dragging my heels on writing this article for months. I think perhaps because I didn’t want everybody and their cousin to know about one of my favourite restaurants in Vancouver. There, I said it: Yew Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel is one of my favourite restaurants in Vancouver.

Plenty of food review websites have sung the praises of Yew, and since its opening in late 2007 the restaurant has won numerous awards and accolades, so it felt like another article in favour of this Vancouver hot spot seemed unnecessary to me—hell, even my sharp tongued friend Andrew Morrison gave Yew his stamp of approval. What more could I offer that hasn’t already been said?

Oh what the heck, let’s give it a go anyway.

If we’re honest, most people consider hotel restaurants to be over-priced and filled with tourists and businessmen or discount buffets crowded with senior citizens looking for a deal. The food is most often “classic” styles—which is coded language for uninteresting or passé, right?

Yew is none of these things. Not even close.

A restaurant has to be about the food first and foremost for me. And the continental offerings featuring fresh, local ingredients prepared by Yew’s kitchen are consistently delicious and well presented. This brigade really knows how to season food and dress a plate!

Every month or so, Yew has been putting together set menus called “No Passport Required” with a selection of appetizer, entrée and dessert for only $35. I don’t know about you, but $35 for a dinner of this calibre is terrific value.

For example, last month’s appetizers featured BC spot prawns with artichokes, fennel and aigo boulido vinaigrette. Also offered was basil soy bean soup with hierloom tomato as well as seared foie gras & chicken liver mousse with grenache vinegar and ficelle to start. Yum!

For mains they featured crispy skin duck confit, roasted fingerling potato, green beans and olive jus or a local seafood bourride with saffron lobster broth and potato & pea shoot. The third main was an agneau of roasted lamb sirloin with socca and tomato-coriander sauce. Hard to choose, right?

For dessert they showcased what they called “noisette”, which was a delicious home made brown butter hazelnut financier with vanilla crème Bavarian & raspberry sorbet. With a little coaxing, you could convinced your waiter to bring you some of the remarkable small dessert offerings they feature on their lunch menu (I recommend you try the shooter glass filled with tropical fruit infusion with apricot purée ravioli—oh my…).

But not everyone is a Foodist, and an important extension to the kitchen for many are the mixologists manning the house bar. Well, let me tell you, if you want a killer Negroni or an Old Fashioned made right, or some more adventurous “new school” cocktails, Yew will not disappoint.

Big fan of trying new wines? Not a cheap hobby though, right? Well Yew is the place for you. With a selection of over 300 wines, the staff will open any bottle on their list as long as you order at least two glasses. ANY bottle.

Oh it gets better wine lovers! They host what they call Wine Down Sundays, where any wine of the menu is 50% off (or, as my wife likes to say, “two-for-one!”). If the food, service or room descriptions didn’t get your attention, that should wake you up.

Are you starting to understand my affection for this place? Uh-huh, thought so.

The dining room is comfortable and warm—especially compared to the stodgy old Chartwell’s days. Like its name (a Yew is a an indigenous tree to BC), the interior reflects BC’s natural surroundings with lots of natural light bouncing off the lustrous wood and rock elements.

There are various types of dining areas, from small tables, cozy booths, and even a large communal maple table and sky-lit dining room enclosed in glass for large parties. There’s also a funky lounge and bar area for more casual encounters contrasted by a gorgeous private dining area surrounded by glass and rows upon rows of fine wine.

The service at Yew is absolutely top drawer. This is a hotel restaurant in the finest tradition where every staff member is trained in the hospitality business and works to make you feel special, such as saying things like “Give our best to your wife Andrea” as you leave. How did they remember her name, let alone mine? Impressive.

Eating at Yew feels like an odd combination of dining at a friend’s house and being a famous celebrity with the attention that comes with that status.

In fact, Andrea and I ate at Yew one evening many months ago, and without realizing that we were Foodists or anyone other than any regular guest, the General Manager Jeff Hanson came to our table after our meal with an offer of complimentary dessert items they were featuring on their lunch menu and asked how our meal had been—which had been terrific of course.

When he offered his personal business card, I reciprocated, handing my work card (not Foodists card), and the very next day Jeff emailed, thanking us for coming in and inviting us back again soon. Not because we were food writers, just because he genuinely cared and took the time to express his welcome.

Another time we were eating with a large group in the large private dining area and Yew’s talented chef, Oliver Beckert, sent over a couple of plates of his smoked mashed potatoes, which the staff had remembered that I was crazy about (seriously, you have to try this stuff—it’s magic). He came by to say hello in person and make sure everybody was happy—oh, we were downright giddy of course!

The staff at Yew treat their guests like they genuinely care—quite a contrast to the attitudes of servers in some of their “fine dining” competitors in Vancouver (most of which cost much more too).

Beyond the terrific food, drinks, ambiance or even service, what makes a really great restaurant dinning experience? Some might describe it as context, such as the mood you’re in that night. Sure, that’s fair. But I tend to be in a pretty good mood when I’m out for dinner, don’t you? I think beyond context, it is the magic created when a place starts to take on an authentic personality of its own. And this is often done through storytelling, and Yew is an excellent example of this.

We’ve gotten to know one waiter over the months who’s worked at Yew for more than two decades. One night he told us about the relationships he’d forged with regular clientele who generously support him in raising funds that he uses to build schools in impoverished communities in his home country of Morocco. Powerful stuff.

Another staff members sat us at “Mr. Segal’s table”, explaining that Vancouver entrepreneur and philanthropist Joseph Segal ate lunch at his own table every day when the restaurant was known as Chartwell’s. But after the renovations and renaming to Yew, he came less frequently, complaining that the smaller tables bothered him as they impeded his ability to spread out his papers and keep working while dining. The restaurant quickly had a new table made that at first glance looks just like the others, but on closer inspection is 7″ wide both directions. I’ve eaten at this table a couple times and it somehow feels special when you sit at Mr. Segal’s table.

Now that’s storytelling. That’s Yew.

I’m not a big fan of food bloggers running their mouth after an initial visit to a restaurant (and really hate those that seem to dole out positive reviews for free meals…). Getting a sense of a place takes time as they have bad days and evolve and change over time, but since rediscovering Yew a few months ago, I’ve eaten there numerous times with my wife, friends, family, clients and even with international dignitaries—foodies all.

I am happy to go on record to say that Yew has been one of our favourite places to dine in Vancouver in 2010.

So why did I wait so long to write sharing this worship with you all? Well, to be honest, I sometimes fear that if word gets out that a place is making wonderful food and pouring terrific wine at great prices, the wrong kind of crowd would fill the place and I wouldn’t want to go anymore. But join me for dinner at Yew tonight and let’s make sure that never happens! Shall we dine at Mr. Segal’s table?

YEW restaurant + bar is located in the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver
791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 2T4
Phone: 604.692.4939 for reservations or use Open Table.
web: http://www.fourseasons.com/vancouver/dining/yew_restaurant.html

Barbecue Champion Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk slices BBQ Tri Tip to "oooohs..." and "aaaahs..." from the crowd.

Congratulations to our friend Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk for his success with the weekly BBQ at Fairmont Pacific Rim‘s  Lobby Lounge Patio.

I got to taste samples of the all-you-can-eat buffet they are featuring for $19.95 every Sunday—and let me tell you, considering it includes pulled pork, fresh bread, beans, amazing tidewater coleslaw, potato salad and grilled pineapple with Mexican caramel sauce, that is a real bargain.

This is world-class barbecue. In fact, it’s the very same stuff that won Rockin’ Ronnie the honour of leading the first ever Canadian BQ team to victory at a major US BBQ competition.

I know where I’m having lunch next Sunday, how about you?

Recently my friend Ryan and I mustered the nerve to meet at “The Bull” for dinner. And you know what? It was good! I know! It wasn’t fancy like a visit to Ruth’s Chris or Gotham, but we enjoyed the old school steak served with baked potato or fries plus salad or veggies.

Pepper steak, served with sautéd mushrooms and veggies, plus fresh cut fries and garlic toast—oh, and soup to start. Not bad for twelve bucks.

The signs outside the decrepit looking building, with their loud and proud offer of “Prime rib dinner for only $8.95!” have always made it seem like a place for penny-pinchers, not those interested in a good cut of meat. And really, is a good deal on beef really such a good deal later on when you pay the price? Nuff said.

Once inside however, one of the first things I noticed is that they serve only Alberta Grade A beef. Hmm. The only person in the clean but unadorned dining room was an old Chinese woman named Linda. When asked about the restaurant, she rambled on for minutes in her thick Cantonese accent about how she and the cook had been there for over 25 years, and how before that the line cook had been grilling up steaks at Black Angus for 17 years. With an additional 6 years before that even, this adds up to 48 years in the kitchen over a hot grill. That would explain why when I asked for my pepper steak to be medium rare, it was indeed medium rare. Exactly right in fact.

The old cook has been on the grill, making steak "the right way" for 48 years.

Folks like Chowhound have called this place “a strange relic,” going so far as to describe the clientele as “an odd mix of truckers, tattooed longshoremen, prostitutes, and slumming hipsters.” Now that may be so, but I don’t it’s fair to write this place off entirely. Perhaps I like “sketch” more than most (I think I do), but I enjoyed its kitschy diner-style ambiance appealing compared to the generic Keg vibe we’ve come to expect from typical steakhouses. You could shoot an entire movie using this restaurant as a backdrop.

Sure, the ingredients weren’t über high-end, and the preparation wouldn’t win any awards, but  I quite enjoyed the humanity of Brave Bull’s House of Steaks. It was comfortable, we were treated well, and our reasonably priced steak dinners ($32 total for two!) were delicious. And that’s no bull.

The dining room is more like a diner than a steak restaurant, but it has tons of old school charm. These two Chinese young people were there on a date.

For some photos of our trip, check out my Brave Bull set on Flickr. Oh, one last thing. They only accept cash apparently.

PS – One bit of interesting trivia about the Brave Bull is that the logo was designed by famous Canadian design icon Jim Rimmer, apparently in exchange for a case of chicken burgers! Awesome.

I loves me a good cupcake. Don’t you? There’s something slightly less guilty about eating a couple (or six) little cupcakes compared to stuffing your face with a thick slab of moist chocolate cake smothered..with…rich….butter…..icing……ooooooooooohhhhhhh—oops sorry, sorta lost myself there for a second.

Anyway, I am honoured to have been asked to serve as a judge of the upcoming 1st Annual Vancouver Cupcake Challenge happening on Sunday, June 20th at the Roundhouse in Yaletown. Competition is said to be healthy, but a cupcake competition is a wholly different situation.

I’m a little worried about eating a billion calories in one sitting—I don’t want one night of glorious cupcake delight to cause the onset of type 2 diabetes! But I hope they don’t want me to spit like they do at wine tastings—that always seems so wrong. That should be a rule: you just don’t spit out good cupcake. Ever.

Speaking of rules, I’m taking my role as judge seriously and have been thinking about what criteria cupcakes should be judged on. I like the idea of judging originality, with decoration and presentation key factors of course. What about frosting style? Or more importantly, cake to frosting ratio? Obviously texture and moistness of the cake itself is very important, but what about the wrapper removal or “crumbiness” of the cupcake? No one likes a cupcake that’s hard to get at or one that falls apart all over your favourite shirt. I think this calls for some pre-event cupcake research? Anyone want to help?

Please join me to taste Vancouver’s very best cupcakes and help choose the People’s Choice Award. Admission to the event is FREE, and apparently there are doorprizes too!

What Vancouver’s 1st Cupcake Challenge
Where Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown
When June 20th, 2010 11:00am – 3:30pm
Info http://www.eventbrite.com/event/701084964

UPDATE

Yesterday was the event and it was a success from where I sat at the judges’ table. There were over 1100 attendees and they even had to close an hour early because all the vendors sold out of cupcakes! Among the cupcake vendors represented were Big City Cupcakes, Bon Gateau, Pink Sugar Cupcakery, Indulgence, Cupcake Couture, Frosting Cupcakery and Baker’s Market.

The judges were challenged to rate the following cupcake flavours, based on taste (10 points), presentation (5 points) and originality (5 points):

Strawberry Cheesecake (Big City Cupcakes)
Double Chocolate (Bon Gateau)
Oreo (Cake Tease),
Vanilla with maple/caramel swirl (Cupcake Couture)
Neopolitan (Frostings)
Lemon and Vanilla (Indulgence)
Root Beer Float (Pink Sugar Cupcakery)

The winning entries were as follows:

Vancouver’s Best Cupcake Food Bloggers’ Choice – Big City Cupcakes’ Strawberry Cheesecake
Vancouver’s Best Cupcake People’s Choice – Frostings Cupcakery’s Neopolitan
Vancouver’s Best Cupcake Judges’ Choice – Frostings Cupcakery’s Neopolitan

Congratulations to Mijune and Nicole Marie Events for producing a terrific event.

Nimby Burgers - Image Courtesy Janeen Leynes

As a lover of all things hamburger, it often pained me to say that the landscape in Vancouver was historically uneven. Sure one could say “You’re crazy, why not just go to Vera’s or the Tomahawk Grill?”. The burgers are good but for years now I recognized that what Vancouver had was a glut of big beefy burgers that were sit down style and although delicious, made the ritual of eating burgers a bit more formal than necessary. Often times, all I wanted was a burger place where I could walk up to and grab a quick burger (or two). Without this option in the city, I would have to beg family and friends to accompany me on burger runs to Bellingham or Seattle. And believe me this happened more than I’d like to admit, never once flinching at the fact that I would drive 2.5 hours plus border line up do so.

When it comes to burgers I’m a bit of a throw back to simpler times, when making a good burger was their sole focus. Over the years it became more and more obvious to me that what Vancouver lacked in terms of burgers was a simplified concept. Enter the Nimby Burger.

Nimby Burger, short for “Not in My Backyard” opened last Thursday in Kitsilano as an annex of the Local, just off of Yew and Cornwall. Backed by the Joey’s Restaurant Group, Nimby’s small space makes for a tight squeeze, but it proves only to be a benefit to turning out fresh food quickly. In fact many of my favourite burger joints have their employees working in less than spacious kitchens while producing remarkable results. Although I didn’t notice that right away it should have been my first hint about what was to come at Nimby Burger.

Upon arriving at Nimby Burger, what was noticeably absent was the seating. There is no seating whatsoever and patrons are free to eat on the spot (as I so often do), but with Kits Beach across the street I don’t see it being an obstacle especially on clear days in the city. Nimby Burger also employs a clean up patrol to pick up any of their garbage, to ensure the neighbourhood and beach remain Nimby-litter free.

The staff at Nimby wear uniforms reminiscent of the classic burger joints of the 50′s, complete with crisp white shirts and red aprons with the classic paper hat which adorns their logo. The Nimby menu is very straight forward offering burgers, fries, shakes and drinks. If you’re looking for anything thing outside this menu be prepared to look elsewhere to find it. Nimby Burger does fast food and they do it well.

The standard Nimby Burger comes with a three ounce beef patty made from Canadian chuck, special sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and pickles. But don’t let the size of the burger fool you, there is a tremendous amount of beef flavour that comes from each bite. Combine this with the soft bun, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, special sauce and pickle you have a burger that speaks for itself. Since their burgers aren’t monstrous you may find yourself ordering more than one. You can add American cheese if you like but I recommend you go for the ‘Dooblay’ which doubles the patties and the cheese.

Similar to the In-n-Out burger patrons of Nimby can stack additional patties and cheese on their burger if they are feeling the need. What is remarkable about the Nimby Burger is the delicate balance of flavours and textures painstakingly developed by Joey’s Executive Chef Chris Mills. Cooked on a copper lined chrome flat top grill, the patties are not only cooked well forming a caramelized crust.  All Nimby burgers are wrapped in paper half sleeves and your order is packed in an open topped cardboard tray which makes it a nice portable option when on the go in your car or on your way down to the beach.

In addition to burgers, Nimby offers hand cut fries lightly sprinkled with salt and though not my personal favourite in terms of crispiness, the fries, with their great potato flavour, work nicely with the burger. There is only one size of fries, and it’s enough to compliment your meal but I don’t recommend the fries on their own.

You can complete your meal at Nimby with your standard soft drink but what’s a burger experience without a milkshake? Nimby uses their own ice cream mix of 14% milk fat for all their shakes and are available in three flavours: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. On my visit I had the chocolate which was good, but of the items sampled at Nimby I would say it is the only item that could use some tweaking. The shake itself was thin on the chocolate flavour, but this could have been isolated to this particular visit. The shake succeeds in that it is extremely smooth and creamy and you won’t have to go red in the face trying to drink it with your straw.

Overall, Nimby Burger is a great fast food experience. Although they are not enough to stand on their own, the fries and shake do well to compliment the balanced and well executed hamburger. Nimby’s quick service, approachable staff, and a commitment to keeping quality and simplicity at the forefront will have you coming back for more. Rejoice Vancouverites, Nimby Burger fills a gap that was long overdue in the city’s fast food landscape. As for me, maybe getting quality fast food won’t involve border line-ups and exchange rates. I will miss that look the border gaurds would give me after explaining the purpose of my trip.

NFA chefs work in the background preparing their culinary creations for guests. On the wall to the right you can see a chalkboard describing the six course set menu.

Everyone has by now heard of the trend of underground restaurants. There are those who swear by it and others who argue that it’s a bad idea. I say bring it on. I love the challenge of entertaining group dinner parties and if my friends invited some cool people who showed up with their beverage of choice, and were willing to compensate me for my costs and time, why not? Why should we hide that?

Recently a select few Vancouver foodies were invited to sample some culinary offerings from one of Vancouver’s first underground restaurants, NFA, short for No Fixed Address. Hidden in an apartment *somewhere* in Vancouver, chef Steve and sous chef Damian wanted us to sample and comment on new menu items—an assignment I was glad to accept.

From the moment we walked in I knew this was something special. Having already had a couple of these “underground” dining experiences under my belt, I was familiar with the routine and was already making comparisons to previous encounters. There was something more polished and refined about chef Steve’s operation than I expected—it felt almost mainstream, but in a good way (if that makes any sense).

Soy and ginger marinated salmon with Thai basil on lime chili creme fraiche atop a thin slice of Asian pear. OMG.

Like any underground restaurant I suppose, NFA is for those who’ve lost interest in flashy, pretentious dining, but still want memorable culinary experiences lovingly crafted by passionate gastronomes. NFA’s dining room (an apartment living room) was comfortable, flickering candlelight creating a warm ambiance, and the direct interaction with the host chefs, who double as your servers, gave the evening a genuine and intimate feeling.

NFA's medley of marinated squid with various preparations, some stuffed with three types of chorizo, and some battered and fried crispy.

NFA’s set menu of six courses served over a couple of hours was a balanced combination of fresh, local ingredients prepared with Asian and Mediterranean flavours in perfect harmony. At first glance a few of the dishes seemed to border on pretentious while avoiding the stacked towers of precariously balanced items surrounded by meticulous squeeze bottle dribbles. After initial bites of each dish, it became obvious why such care was given to their presentation.

NFA's Crab & scallop cake. One of the best crab cakes I've ever eaten. Not kidding.

I’ve been to a few of these now and have hosted something similar myself, so I can say with confidence that chef Steve has created something special with NFA and I recommend everyone try it for themselves. “But it’s an underground restaurant!” you say? No problem. Look up NFA on Facebook, chef Steve at 778-847-3853 or email him at bookings@nfa-reservations.com and he’ll hook you up with a chance to dine with him yourself.

I guess underground dining isn’t so underground anymore.

[Note: for more photos from my NFA underground dining experience, visit this Flickr set]

I’m salivating right now, actually.

Chinese food is incredibly diverse. Each region has its own specialties, style and preferred ingredients. Trying to name a single favourite Chinese dish is nearly impossible. When friends visit from out of town, it takes us a week just to get through all the Chinese restaurants that I want to show them.

In a city that is generally food-obsessed, with a significant Chinese population (who are definitely food-obsessed), it’s about time that something like the Chinese Restaurant Awards came along. Best dim sum, soup, crab dish, congee or barbecue? There’s a category for absolutely everything.

What I love about the awards is that all categories are treated equally. The award for best congee is placed at the same level as the award for fine dining. That strange quirk about Chinese restaurants—the general lack of attention to decor or atmosphere—means that the food takes centre stage. So long as the place is reasonably clean, I’ll take a spartan diner with plastic tablecloths because I know all the money’s going into the food. Still, I welcome the occasional Chinese banquet, with its carefully controlled 12 courses of auspicious amazingness.

The list of winners is extensive. If you prefer, CBC has created a handy-dandy map of the winners.

I’d already eaten at both Vancouver locations of Provence before (Marinaside is a great place for weekend brunch in summer), and I enjoyed each experience, so when the lovely PR powerhouse Nancy Wong invited me to dine with some of the city’s culinary elite, I knew there was only one answer: yes please!

I like fish when it’s done well, but that’s the trick isn’t it? You can muck up fish faster than Anthony Bourdain can drink a shot of snake blood rice wine—wait, what? Anyway, I was looking forward to seeing what Executive Chef Jean-Francis Quaglia had in store, and curious to find out what all the hoopla about their fish celebration was about.

With varying tales of its origin, the French have their own quirky version of April Fools’ Day called Poisson d’Avril (literally April’s Fish) where people welcome spring with a little fun and some practical jokes, such as sticking paper cut-outs of fish to friends’ backs without them noticing. They could walk around for hours before someone finally points and yells “Poisson d’Avril!”, exposing the victim. The fun lasts the whole month of April, with restaurants, patissiers and chocolatiers, serving fish-shaped treats to customers with a giggle. Oh those French, such clever tricksters.

When I arrived at Provence Marinaside, a quaint French restaurant tucked along the eastern edge of Yaletown next to False Creek, I found the dining room decorated with adorable child-like drawings of fish. Huddled in the corner was a growing crowd of the who’s who of Vancouver’s food scribes, and as I joined them I was welcomed with an offering of two rosé options, one from the BC Okanagan, the other from France—I sampled both of course, preferring the Hester Creek actually.

As I chatted with old friends and introduced myself to many foodies I’d only ever known from their writing, I felt a soft tap on my back. A quick glance behind revealed nothing in particular, save for a waitress setting a table. Then I noticed the paper fish stuck unknowingly on the backs of virtually everyone in the busy dining room and realized the games had begun. Would a child run through the crowd yelling “Poisson d’Avril!” soon?

When dinner was served, I found myself at a table with my old friend Rhonda May of CityFood. Across from me sat the bon vivant Sid Cross and his charming wife Jane. Beside me sat food writer Judith Lane, Vancouver Magazine‘s Christina Burridge, and Paul Kamon from Urban Diner. At the next table was another group of food fanatics, including Vancouver Foodster Richard Wolak, George Froehlich of Savvy Insider, Cassandra Anderton of Good Life Vancouver, Michael Schratter of 24hrs, freelance food writers Jason McRobbie and Raj Taneja, and fellow Foodist Melody Fury, founder of Vancouver Food Tour.

Halibut Cheek Confit with snow pea sprouts, piquillo peppers and tapenade crostini.

As the dishes started to arrive, starting with halibut cheek confit followed by a duo of smoked fish, we feverishly started to dismantle the plates before us. Not surprisingly, by the time we’d finished our mackerel façon bouillabase and were served our entrées, conversation had turned to cooking, wine and recent culinary exploits. I loved the food, although like any great meal, it was the lively conversation with good humoured, like-minded people that made the experience so memorable.

Duo of Smoked Tuna and Salmon with pearl onions, gherkins and mixed greens.

Entrée options included citrus dusted wild salmon served with asparagus and fingerling potatoes, halibut with dried plum vinaigrette with saffron potatoes and green beans, and baked sardines with Mediterranean vinaigrette, farro, arugula and spinach. There was also a daily whole fish option of sea bream served with seasonal vegetables and seven grain rice, and a pan fried sablefish on a bed of snow pea sprouts, piquillo peppers, shaved fennel, orange, and black olive essence.

Mackerel Façon Bouillabase with poached mackerel, saffron rouile and gruyère cheese.

Ever the sucker for black cod, I ordered the sablefish and was not disappointed. The sweet, oily flesh was highlighted by the mild citrus and anise flavours. The pea sprouts and olive drizzle provided a savoury counterpoint to the buttery fish, and the Hester Creek rosé provide a lift that reminded me that summer was on its way.

Sablefish with snow pea sprouts, shaved fennel, orange and black olive essence from Provence Marinaside.

Another advantage of sitting at a table with fellow food loonies, was the swapping of samples from one another’s plates. Rhonda May’s sea bream was delicate and fresh, while Paul Kamon’s sardine dish was confident and packed with flavour. It seemed these two ordered food that reflected their personalities—wait, what does ordering a fatty fish say about me? I enjoyed the complexity of my sablefish choice, but after sampling a number of the offerings, I’d have to say I would order the baked sardines on my next visit.

So, did I feel compelled to write this glowing report because they comped me the meal? Well, kind of to be very honest, but you know what? It was good and they deserve the praise. The set menu is terrific value, the Ocean Wise fish offerings were delightful and the service was warm and friendly.

I will offer one criticism to keep me honest though. Sadly typical of many restaurants in this city, the website for Provence Marinaside (and its sister restaurant Provence on West 10th) is rather unfortunate—frankly it’s unbearable and needs a complete makeover. (I know someone they can talk to when they’re ready to make their online marketing match their cuisine.)

As the evening wound down and I prepared to leave, our effervescent host Nancy giggled as she reminded me about the long forgotten paper fish taped to my back. On it was a 20% off coupon good at Provence Marinaside—now that’s an April Fools’ joke even my jaded food writer friend would approve of—regardless of who paid the bill!

The Poisson d’Avril celebration continues throughout the entire month of April, featuring a choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert for $45 per person. While you’re there, enter the contest to win a cooking class for two with Chefs Alessandra and Jen-Francis Quaglia in your own home!

Provence Marinaside is located at 1177 Marinaside Crescent (just around the corner from Urban Fare), Vancouver, BC; 604-681-4144 www.provencevancouver.com/marinaside
Reservations

Last month was my birthday.  As always, my lovely husband spoiled me rotten – dinner at Tojo’s, a beautiful Shun chef’s knife and a cooking class at Dirty Apron.  He had originally signed me up for the knife skills class, but a quick look at the choices and I immediately changed it to Meat Eater’s Unite – The Meat Class. 

The name says it all, and chef instructor David Robertson started with a warning that we would want to go home and take a nap after we were finished.  He wasn’t joking!  During the 4 hour class, we would make 3 different meat dishes.  First we would watch David demonstrate, then we would go to our stations and prepare the dish ourselves.  As each dish was completed, we would make our way to the dining room to enjoy the meats of our labour with a glass of wine or sparkling apple juice.  This great review from last August describes Dirty Apron perfectly.  It really is a beautiful space, very well equipped and David is an enthusiastic and talented instructor. 

 

First on the menu was Grilled Lamb Chops with Olive Tapenade and Herb Crust, served with a side of Warm Caramelized Onions topped with lightly dressed arugula.  All of the flavours worked very well together; none of them overpowered the other, they just combined perfectly with every bite.  The olive tapenade was very basic – calamata olives, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, and the herb crust consisted of panko breadcrumbs whizzed with mixed herbs in the food processor.  It’s a great way to use up fresh herbs that might be a little limp, but are still full of flavour.  They can be used for all kinds of meat or fish (change the combination of herbs used to suit your needs) or mixed into pasta or vegetable dishes. They keep their beautiful green colour and they will also store well in the freezer.  This was an impressive looking dish that can be mostly prepared ahead of time, so it would be perfect for a dinner party.

Our next dish was Pork Wellington with Grainy Mustard Sauce, served with Black Pepper Apple Slaw.  The Berkshire pork tenderloin, cut into individual servings, was seasoned and seared, coated with grainy mustard and thyme, then rolled in puff pastry.  Once cooked, it is cut in half and stood on it’s ends in a lovely mustard and white wine sauce, topped with the apple slaw. This was probably my favourite dish; it had great flavours and a really nice presentation.  The tartness of the granny smith apples worked very well with the pork and mustard, and the pastry and sauce added a richness that made it extra special.  Once again, impressive looking and easy to prepare ahead of time. 

The third and final dish was a Grilled Rib-Eye Steak in Red Wine Sauce with a side of Truffle Mashed Potatoes.  We had prepared our individual steaks at the beginning of class with a garlic, soy, maple syrup marinade, so 3 hours later, they were ready for grilling.  At this point, it’s worth mentioning that between each course being prepared and eaten, and the next demonstration, our stations were tidied and prepped with ingredients for the next dish – if only this could be arranged at home!  So, our grills were pre-heated and the cooked potatoes ready for peeling and the food mill.  I must say, I’m a big fan of potatoes and these were divine – mixed with a little cream, butter and salt, the humble potato was taken to the next level with a few drops of truffle oil.  Served with the steak, red wine sauce and a few veggies, this was a simple yet delicious dish.

I’ve attended classes at a number of cooking schools in Vancouver, and I would say this was the most informative and hands-on class yet.  It was nice to make all of the dishes in their entirety vs just one component of the dish, and the dollar to value ratio is definitely worth it with this particular class ($145) – I would almost guarantee that you will go home with a full belly and a nice take-out container with the tasty morsels you couldn’t finish.  In addition, the Dirty Apron Shop is well stocked with good quality and hard to find ingredients as well as kitchen utensils.  Two thumbs up!

Here are the recipes:

Grilled Lamb Chops with Olive Tapenade Herb Crust  Serves 2 

2 lamb chops

1 ½ Tbs Olive Tapenade

1 ½ Tbs Herb Crust 

• Preheat oven to 400 F & preheat grill or pan
• Season lamb with salt & pepper then grill quickly, about 1.5 min on each side
• Remove lamb from grill or pan and spread olive tapenade evenly on one side of each chop
• Spread herb breadcrumbs evenly over the tapenade – at this point, once the chops are cooled, you can place them on a baking tray in the fridge until ready to cook
• Bake in oven for 5-6 minutes until medium rare or until meat thermometer reads 130 F
• Serve with a side of warm caramelized onions topped with lightly dressed arugula & garnish plate with a few drops of balsamic reduction and olive oil

 Olive Tapenade  Makes ½ cup 

1 cup pitted Kalamata olives

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

¼ lemon, juiced

•  Process olives and garlic in a food processor until smooth
• With the motor running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until thickened
• Season with lemon juice, salt & pepper
• Store in fridge up to 1 week

 Herb Breadcrumbs 

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 – 2 oz mixed fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, Italian parsley, chives

Salt & pepper

•  Process herbs in food processor until finely chopped
• Add breadcrumbs and mix until entire mixture turns green
• Season with salt & pepper
• Store in an airtight container and store in freezer until needed
• Change combination of herbs to suit your needs – keep different mixtures in the freezer to have on hand

Pork Wellington with Grainy Mustard Sauce & Apple Slaw  Serves 2 

2 x 3 oz pork tenderloin, centre cut

2 x 6×6 inch square puff pastry

1 tsp grainy mustard

2 sprigs thyme, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

Salt & pepper

Vegetable oil

•  Preheat oven to 450 F & preheat pan
• Season pork on all sides with salt & pepper
• Heat vegetable oil & sear pork until browned on all sides
• Remove pork from pan; set pan aside, with juices, for later use
• In a mixing bowl, incorporate mustard, thyme & pork, coating the pork on all sides – cool pork before next step otherwise the bottom of your Wellington will get soggy
• Place puff pastry on a work surface, brush the surface with beaten egg, place pork at bottom centre of sheet and wrap to cover, putting join on the bottom
• Seal sides by pressing down, cut thin pieces from edges of pastry to make straight and use the thin pieces to make a design on top of the Wellington
• Transfer to baking sheet and brush entire outside with egg – at this point, you can place them on a baking tray in the fridge until ready to cook
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until pastry is golden or until meat thermometer reads 145 F
• Once cooked, cut pastry ends off of each Wellington to make a base and cut the Wellingtons in half; stand the 2 pieces on the base, in mustard sauce and top with apple slaw

Grainy Mustard Sauce  Serves 2 

1/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup chicken stock

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tsp grainy mustard

½ Tbs chives, chopped

½ shallot, finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Salt & pepper 

• Using the pan the pork was seared in, sauté the shallots and garlic over med high heat in vegetable oil until soft
• Add white wine & chicken stock, reduce to ¼ of the liquid
• Reduce heat to medium low, stir in cream & mustard
• Continue cooking until liquid is slightly thickened
• Season with salt & pepper & add chives just before serving

 Black pepper Apple Slaw  Serves 2 

½ granny smith apple – skin on, cut into matchsticks

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp sherry vinegar

1 Tbs olive oil

½ Tbs chives, chopped

Salt

•  Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix, season to taste & keep in fridge until needed

Grilled Rib-Eye Steak with Red Wine Sauce  Serves 2

 2 x 6oz Rib-eye steak

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs maple syrup

1 Tbs soy sauce

½ Tbs ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Fleur de sel

•  Combine steak with all ingredients, except fleur de sel, in a bowl, & leave to marinate 2 – 3 hours
• Preheat grill on high
• Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry with paper towel
• Season with fleur de sel & transfer to grill, cooking 4 – 5 minutes on each side for medium rare – a meat thermometer should read 125 F
• Remove from grill & allow to rest for 5 minutes

 Red Wine Sauce  Serves 2

 1 shallot, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup red wine

1/3 cup beef stock

1 Tbs cold unsalted butter

Vegetable oil

Salt & pepper

•  Sauté shallot & garlic in oil in a small saucepan, until soft, without browning, about 2 minutes
• Add red wine & beef stock, reduce to about 1/3 of liquid
• Add chilled butter, whisking in a bit at a time, season with salt & pepper
• Strain through a fine sieve, if desired; keep warm until needed

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?

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?

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.

Travel is often defined by memories of food. Perhaps it’s the multi-sensory aspect of the experience, but it’s often the meals and snacks we try when on an adventure to some far away place that stick with us the longest. If the myriad of blogs and online banter about its food culture is any indication, Vancouver is a wonderful place to visit, ripe with memories for the making.

With so many people arriving in Vancouver this month for the 2010 Winter Olympics, followed by numerous designers converging this spring for Design Currency: Icograda Design Week Vancouver 2010, many will be wondering where to eat while in town. This brief overview should give new visitors some ideas where to go.

Continue reading Designer Eating in Vancouver.