Edible Canada

I have been wanting to check out Edible Canada since they opened and the opportunity presented itself when my mom was in town. We brought my nephew and grabbed a table on the patio. My mom ordered the grilled cheese sandwich with maple bacon, brie and apple. I ordered duck confit hash with wild mushrooms and poached eggs. We both had a cocktail with tea and Okanagan Spirits Eau de Vie.
While the food was tasty, the service detracted from our experience. It took a very long time to place our order, our server lost our order and had to return to our table ten minutes later to ask us what it was again. The bacon was missing from my mom's sandwich so she had to send it back. I don't know if it was an off day or just the way it is there...
On a side note, food nerd alert

That is my mom in the background, Duck Hash in the foreground.

SF Notes: Dotties True Blue Cafe

Yes, I realise I have been home from San Francisco for 3 months. But I can pretend that it hasn't been that long by looking through my trip pictures and notes. Its like I was there only yesterday..
I ate at Dotties with a friend. It was her choice, I was just along for the ride and what a ride it was! We waited in line for aprox 30-40 minutes (I didn't mind, I was on vacation) and ended up with seats at the counter. Which meant we were about 4 feet from the griddle. The daily specials all looked fabulous, but I settled on housemade pork sausage scramble with jalapeno cornbread toast and hash browns. Lisa ordered eggs with black bean cakes and toast and we also tried a blueberry pancake. Everything was delicious, but the standouts were the cornbread and Lisa's black bean cakes.
Would I go back again? Absolutely... but if I lived in San Francisco, I probably wouldn't bother to wait in line for breakfast that long....

SF Notes: Pizzaiolo

 

If you ever find yourself in Oakland, or San Francisco, looking for a place to eat, I cannot recommend Pizzaiolo enough. This was my second visit. The first, four years ago fueled an obsession that stuck with me.
Walking distance from the BART in a fun neighbourhood, the place is usually packed.
Four of us went this time and ordered a selection of items to share. We started (and kept going) with bread from Acme bread company. So addictive, chewy goodness.
Off the antipasti menu, we had Blue Heron Farm little gems Caesar, Hand stretched mozzarella with spicy gypsy peppers, little yellow beans and salsa rustica and Padron peppers and okra from the wood oven with seas salt and olive oil.
I had been dubious about the choice of Caesar salad (how good can a Caesar salad be??) but it was the best caesar I have ever had; lots of anchovy and garlic. The hand stretched mozzarella was decadent and the yellow bean salad a nice change from a usual accompaniment of basil and tomatoes. As for the Padrone peppers, well they are always a hit with their smokey sweet spiciness and the okra was a surprisingly delicious addition.
From the Primi, we ordered Spaghetti with Manila clams, housemade sausage and hot pepper. Perfect al dente pasta with just the right amount of sauciness. The clams were nicely done, no hint of rubbery toughness.
From the Pizze menu, we ordered two items. For me, the pizza is what makes this place so special. Their beautiful wood oven yields crusts with just the right balance of crispy and chewy with a hint of charred smokiness. They also have a light hand with the toppings, so the pizza do not end up overladen and soggy. The rapini and housemade sausage and the wild arugula, prosciutto and grana with an egg cracked on top were our choices. I wish i could have ordered them all.
Amazingly, we stilled had room for dessert and split an order of panna cotta with roasted nectarines and wild blackberries and one of chocolate walnut cream cake with espresso caramel sauce. Both desserts were well executed. The panna cotta was a little soft, but that was more than compensated for by the roasted nectarines intense flavour and natural sweetness.
We shared a bottle of Old Vines Zinfandel from Sausal Winery that one of my dining companions had brought and I started with a delicious tequila cocktail. The bill was roughly 40$ each.

"Keep Calm and Carry On"

That was the motto that greeted us as we stepped into Cascade on Main St. I think I may need to adopt that for my own personal use...
I was having a catch-up/birthday dinner with M and Cascade happens to be so close to her place, we ended up there by default. The cocktail lists were impressive, lots of old school cocktails, lots of creative new cocktails, I went with a Clover Club (gin, raspberry, egg white lime and something else delicious) and M had a hemingway daquiri.

 

 

I want to go back just to drink my way through the cocktail menu!
After much deliberation, I settled on the oxtail and M went for the veggie burger.

 

The oxtail was decadent... lots of bacon, tender oxtail. I also loved the little pot they brought it in. I picked a glass of red to drink with it and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Of course, when I sat down to write this post, I couldn't actually remember the name of the wine. I fired off a quick email to the restaurant and received a prompt and detailed reply with a link to the liquor store listing. I will be scoring a bottle of this for nice dinners...

 

I tried a bit of M's burger patty and I found the flavour/texture to be interesting and appealing, but I am not sure I would like it in a bun - too much starch on starch. Of course, I am not a vegetarian, so perhaps not the best choice to judge a veggie burger...
All in all, an excellent dinner and I am sure I will find myself back there sometime in the future. I was also happy with the service and will be recommending this place to others.

Day 7 ~ The longest day

Morning of my second to last day in NY. I got up early, fighting my desire to loll about in my nice hotel room, and went for a walk looking for breakfast. I actually made it as far as the museum of Natural History, before turning back and eating at the Moon Rock diner a mere two blocks from my hotel (nothing like a 40 block trek to whet the appetite.)

.

I headed back to the Hilton, packed my bag and checked out, checking my bag at the luggage room. It was a little overcast and to be honest, I was getting tired. For days now, I had been walking the length of Manhattan and it was starting to get to me. So I cheated and grabbed a cab to the Museum of Natural History. Less than a minute after pulling away from the hotel, the sky darkened ominously. Another minute and thunder rumbled. By the time we passed Columbus Circle, the sky had opened up and thousands of gallons of water poured out. You think I am exaggerating?? I live in Vancouver, one of the wettest places around and I have never seen rain like this. It was 10 in the morning and it looked like 8 at night. Thunder shook the cab and lightening would brighten everything for a few brief seconds.

As we made our way to the Museum, I could see pools filling on the side of the road. It took less than 10 minutes to get there (maybe 15). The street in front of the museum was two way, so the cab driver had to pull over across from the main entrance. I paid him and jumped out. It was like leaping into a cold pool. I gasped for breath, my feet sunk up to my ankles in a puddle, water streamed over me. I tried to get my bearings and dashed across the road and into the safety of the museum. Less than 30 seconds and I was soaked to the skin. I stood in the lobby dripping, trying to decide what to do. I ended up buying a sweatshirt from the museum shop and changing into that. I wrung my hair out in the bathroom, emptied my shoes and wrung my socks out. I coat checked the shirt I had been wearing, hoping that a few hours of hanging would dry it out. Then I went to check out the museum.
I opted for a guided tour and I was glad I did. I think I got more out of it for that reason. But the Met is still my favourite and I wish I had spent more time there than the Natural History museum. Lunch was had in the bowels of the building at the museum cafeteria.

Some sort of mexican type meal....

I grabbed my shirt from coat check and stumbled out of the building. The sun was shining!! I walked back to the Hilton, grabbed my suitcase and took a cab to my final hotel on Washington Square Park. Beautiful building and I felt a little frisson of excitement as I noticed Babbo across the street.

I checked in. The room was small, but clean, comfortable and attractive, but I didn't have any time to enjoy it as I realized how fast my time in the city was coming to an end. I walked down to the Hilton at Ground Zero to pick up my cell phone charger (left it there when I stayed), then headed off for another ramble through downtown, sticking more to the east side of downtown. Then I wandered through Chinatown, Soho, Noho, Greenwich Village and West Village. I wish I had stayed in this neighbourhood the whole time; so alive and interesting. I found myself at a wine bar, sipping a glass of white, planning my first move for the evening. I remembered the recommendation for Kittechai, so I went back to my room, changed and made my way there. It was SO trendy it hurt.

trendy people at Kittechai
But the cocktails were fabulous and the food delicious. I ordered a drink with vodka, muddled pink grapefruit and red thai chilis, the food was an order of Kampachi sashimi. The service sucked, but I suspect that had more to do with my singularly not cool presence. From there. I wandered till I found an Italian restaurant. Another glass of wine, two more appetizer, obsequious service.

My appetizers were a tomato salad with burrata and some sort of octopus dish. Both well executed and tasty. I was starting to feel all warm and fuzzy at this point. I remembered another reccomendation, from my friends at Blue Hill. I had seen the oyster bar they suggested in the neighbourhood, so I made my way there. Lenny & Joe's, I believe it is called. The maitre'd was hilarious, some over the top flamboyant performer. He seated me at the bar and I ordered half a dozen oysters and a virgin mojito (what can I say, I was getting a little tipsy at this point.) I got to chatting about oysters and the west coast with the couple next to me. I told them about my indulgent eating and drinking ramble through the area. He asked me why I hadn't been to Babbo yet. I mentioned my distinct lack of a reservation. He told me I should be able to get in at the bar. I paid my bill and slowly ambled over to Babbo, psyched myself up and opened the door. From the outside, it looks so peaceful. Inside, it was warm, packed, loud. I asked about a possible seat at the bar. Half an hour wait. So I ordered a glass of prosecco, made my way to a corner and tried to make myself as small as possible (we are talking CRAMPED here.) I just watched people come and go for closer to 40 minutes. At one point, a group showed up 1/2 an hour late for their seating. The Maitr'd berated them and made them stand in a corner for ten minutes while he tried to find them a table. Then, a space at the bar and I was in. I ordered a half litre of red wine and a plate of beef cheek ravioli. The bartender was surprised that was all I wanted, but to be honest, I was pretty full and it was now roughly 10:45pm. The pasta was perfect. I cannot put it in words. Lets just say I reached ravioli nirvana. After that, I ordered dessert ( no idea why, or how I managed to eat it.) strawberry crostada with balsamic zabaglione amd balsamic syrup. As I had been enjoying my meal, the couple from the oyster bar appeared, obviously regulars as the bartender hailed them by name. A table was found for them, near the bar and jokes were bandied around. I loved sitting at the bar, what a FUN place to be.
I staggered out, drunk, full and delirious. I had to walk around the block a few times before pouring myself into bed. it was 12:30am

Day 4 !

I slept in for the first time. After my trip to Blue Hill and all the walking in the 3 previous days, there was no way I was dragging myself out of bed at 6 am... It was also my last night in Chelsea, so once I had showered dressed I slipped out for a breakfast at a local cafe called Dish. The breakfast was just what it should be and the service was good. The best part was the price ~ cheapest breakfast since arriving in New York. I checked out of my room and started the walk to my next hotel, the Millennium Hilton ~ found on Priceline for 120$ a few weeks ago because my plans had suddenly changed.
I have no idea what possessed me to walk there ~ I should have been conserving my energy for later! My suitcase did a wonderful job, bouncing off of a curbs and out of potholes. I was particularly cranky as I reached the neighbourhood of Canal Street ~ hot and bothered and people keep shoving pictures in my face trying to sell me handbags, watches and sunglasses!
I finally reached the Hilton at 11 am and decided to check on the off chance that my room was ready early. It was and I was so happy to be in a full size room on the 17th floor. After my last place, it was luxurious. It had a bath! A huge flat screen tv! And earplugs to block out the 24 hour construction noise. My view was quite chilling.

 

I admit, I had a bath, then crawled into bed for an hour. I just needed to refuel. Slightly refreshed, I headed out to explore Downtown Manhattan. My first stop was the beautiful church next to my hotel. THe gravestones were for the most part completely worn away over the years, but one jumped out at me, probably because of our close proximity to ground zero.

 

I stepped into the church itself, a shrine to the workers and others of Ground Zero. After a minute or two, it just became too much and I fled, with a painful lump in my throat. I headed out into the maze of Downtown streets, the beautiful mix of old buildings and gleaming new ones. I was halfheartedly looking for lunch, but nothing was grabbing me. Without knowing how I got there, I arrived at the Staten Island Ferry. What the heck, its free, so I boarded and enjoyed the views of the statue of Liberty on my way over.

 

At the Staten Island end, we had to disembark and missed the return trip, so I grabbed a hotdog while I waited for the next ferry.
The return trip was all about the views of the Brooklyn Bridge and The Waterfalls, which I understood to be an art installation.
Back in Manhattan, I wandered some more, checking out Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange and grabbing a photo of Les Halles for my friend Mel.
Back at my hotel, I had a shower and a nap, before putting my party shoes on and heading down to catch a cab. My dinner reservation for tonight was at Tailor, recommended by one of my coworkers. I decided to cab it and had a thrilling ride, stuck in traffic for 10 minutes at one point. I turned out I was mere 2 blocks from my destination, but not knowing exactly where I was going, I just waited it out in the cab.
Tailor was wonderful! The decor was a very country asthetic ~ rough wood beams, stuffed chickens, rawhide on the tables, bare bulbs wrapped in wire ~ the food was anything but. I ordered a Kaffir Collins while I perused the menu. Settling on Marinated Fluke and Pork Belly with Miso Butterscotch and a glass of rose. I sat back and watched the room. I couldn't take pictures because the light was way too low and they would never have turned out. I also refuse to use flash in restaurants.
An amuse was presented to me, but as soon as the word "apple" came out of the servers mouth I was disappointed. "was the apple raw?" "yes". Damn, I had to gently turn it down. Seconds later, the server returned to inform me that my pork belly dish contained copious amounts of raw apple. I said I would just push it to the side (I had been looking forward to this dish since I first read the menu 3 weeks earlier).
THe fluke was delicious ~ a creamy salty sweet combination with shards of pineapple paper. The portions were generous and I wished I could share this meal with friends ~ I knew we would enjoy ordering almost everything on the menu and sharing little tastes.
The couple next to me were debating their choices and somehow, I found myself chatting with them. The next thing I knew, The woman was giving me her phone number "for next time" if I ever needed restaurant reccs. "Do not hesitate to call me" she said. People have been so incredibly friendly and helpful on this trip!
Finally, My pork belly arrived. The apple had been removed for me, so it was simply the pork belly and the miso butterscotch. My notes are funny at this point;

Oh. My. God. This pork belly kicks all other pork belly ass. For the record, this is the 3rd time in 3 days that I have eaten pork belly. I may turn into a pig...

I really had no idea until that moment that I had been loading up on the pig ~ probably a good thing I was walking so much every day! Anyway, the pork really was the most tender piece of meat I have ever eaten ~ so many people don't quite hit pork belly, but this had it all, including the crisp of the skin and the creaminess of the meat. And the miso butterscotch? I could eat that on everything! A perfect balance of salty and sweet. I could also see where the raw apple would be a perfect foil to the richness of this dish.

Brave (foolhardy) woman that I am, also ordered dessert and a dessert wine. I selected a Banyuls Dessert wine and the "French Toast". A single stick of perfectly crispy brioche with a creamy interior. Raisin puree very thin on the plate with raisin paper draped over. Brown butter ice cream. Warm maple gelee. Caramelised bacon bits. I could feel my heart seizing at the richness, but it was so damn good!

A wee bit tipsy on food and drink, I set out to explore the neighbourhood a little (Tribeca/Soho). The woman next to me had recommended a place for an after dinner cocktail called Kittechai. I couldn't find it (probably a good thing) it turned out later that I had walked right past it within a minute of leaving the restaurant. After about half an hour of walking in my sexy shoes, I had enough and sat down to switch to the flip flops in my purse.

 

Then back to the hotel to call Kathryn and set up my trip for the next day.

Blue Hill at the Stone Barns Farm

If you ever have the opportunity to eat here, seize it. I am so glad that I decided to take the chance and book something that was a bit of a trek from the city.
I think I left you all at the table as I decided to have the Farmer's Feast. I also threw myself at the mercy of my wonderful server and asked him to bring me whatever wine he deemed appropriate. I polished off the Elderflower Royale and swapped it out for a glass of Riesling from the Finger Lakes area of New York State. (I just want to add as an aside that I carried a Moleskin City Diary with me on this trip and I used it at every opportunity. The notes from my Blue hill dinner are a little hard to read, but i can feel the xcitement just reading the little half phrases I scribbled on the page...)

The first item at the table was the signature Vegetables on the Fence. I swear they were dressed with a light vinaigrette. The baby carrot was smaller than my baby finger, just to give you an idea of size. They tasted like the earth, the way vegetables should., And it made me laugh...
I didn't get a photo of the face bacon, the next offering, but Ed Levine of Serious Eats has a great shot of it...

The corn that I saw the chef smoking earlier? It arrived at my table in the form of a beautiful chilled smoked corn soup. I will admit to a geeky thrill as I realised that I had actually seen this prepared earlier...

The next offering didn't wow me quite as much, probably due to the fact that I ate it all wrong and ended up with smoked kale shrapnel all over myself and the table....

The mini tomato burger was out of this world and a harbinger of what was to come... Pure tomato flavour, what I suspect was chevre and an almond flour based burger bun. I could have made a meal out of these alone.

The final amuse was a miniature summer squash wrapped in pancetta, coated with sesame seeds and fried. Like a little piece of meaty salty candy....

As I finished up my amuse, a couple was seated at the table next to me. The guy had obviously been here before and I started eavesdropping a little to see what he had to say about the restaurant. He told his wife they had to order the charcuterie and I silently kicked myself for not having thought of that..


My disappointment was quickly forgotten as the first dish arrived; marinated bluefish with pigs ear and caviar. The bluefish was at once creamy and salty and the pigs ear and caviar added a wonderful crunchy texture. I tried to savour each bite, but it was gone way too fast, along with my lovely riesling. Mindful of the fact that I had to navigate the train back to NY that night, I told my server that I would have a different wine, but I wanted to just have one more glass. He presented me with a wonderful Gewurztraminer.

THe next course was a warm tomato tart. The base was watermelon, topped with goast cheese, bacon and chunks of beautiful heirloom tomatoes (another server had brought a platter of tomatoes around moments earlier and given me a mini lesson on varieties... very cool). My first bite was delicious, but the second... welll, I hit the hidden nugget of tomato water sorbet. The tomato flavours exploded with the shock of the temperature change. I think I may have giggled to myself....

During this time, i had also struck up a conversation with the table next to me. Turns out they also loved food and he was a produce supplier for a lot of manhatten restaurants...

Another tomato dish arrived from the kitchen ~ a salad with water cress, tomato gelee, fresh tomatoes and creamy fresh burrata cheese. It was somewhere around here that I realised that the Gewurtz that I had switched to was made for tomatoes..

A soft boiled egg, panko'ed and deep fried, floating in a flavourful broth with the last of the season's peas.

Eggplant Parmiggiana with a rich tomato caper sauce ( I actually broke out the bread at this point to soak up the wonderful sauce).

The delicious looking Berkshire pigs from the field finally made an appearance on my plate., The quartet of pig (loin, sirloin, boudin and belly) were accompanied by tiny little nugget potatoes and fresh ratatouille. (scribbled in my book? WOW. Underlined three times...)
Dessert came in two parts. I had finished the Gewurtz, so asked my charmingly perfect server fro a dessert reccomendation. He presented me with a Tesauro Recioto Di Valpolocella 2004 (it was so good, made him write it down for me).

First dessert was a plum soup with apricot sorbet.

Second dessert was Roasted apricot with basil sorbet, yoghurt and blueberries....
I was so happy, so content and SO FULL. I happily signed my life away on my credit card and stumbled out to my waiting taxi. I can only hope that I will be able to eat their again one day....

As a bonus, my cab driver for the return trip was wonderfully gregarious and took me on the scenic route back to town and the train station. I got to see the beautiful Pocantico hills countryside and it cost me a dollar less than the trip out to the farm.Somehow, I made it back to my little room in Chelsea to collapse, on sensory overload and completely exhausted....

Day two continued + Hearth

 

After doing some damaged to the credit card at Macy's and H&M, I headed back to my neighbourhood. I had promised Rob I would buy a pretzel, so I stopped outside Penn station and purchased on. It was ok, butI only ate a few bites because I wanted to have a real lunch. Once I was back in Chelsea, I made a beeline for a place I had spotted in the morning, Better burger. I figure that if I am going to eat burgers for lunch, I might as well go with the happy organic grass fed whatever ones! Fries were extra, so I took a pass and paired my deliciously beefy burger with a cranberry hibiscus iced tea.

 

After lunch, I decided to scope out how far away my dinner destination was ~ walkable or not? I headed South East, crossing Union Square which had a wonderful farmers market in full swing. Although I looked, I did not purchase anything ~ the whole pesky not living there issue.... At the far end of Union Square, I discovered heaven ~ DSW AND Shoe Mania AND Filene's Basement AND Whole Foods. I still had a ways to go, so I kept on walking, just soaking up the scenery. Right on the edge of the Lower East Side, I found my restaurant, Hearth, and deemed it walkable from my hotel. Heading back, just exploring streets, I found myself standing in a place called Balducci's ~ gourmet food everywhere. I caved and bought myself a few beverages to try to counteract the heat, before heading back to my room to change. Feeling entirely fromby in my walking shoes, I threw a pair of pointy toed gold flats in my purse and headed back the 30 or so blocks to the restaurant. Once I was in eyesight of the place, I did a quick change, chucking my walking shoes in my purse ~ i love having big purses!
I was a little early, so I sat at their bar for a few minutes, ordering a fascinating cocktail with Rum, sasparilla, ginger and other interesting ingredients. Dinner was good ~ nothing mindblowing, but very well executed. I terrorized the kitchen staff by sitting at the kitchen bar. The chef (I think her name was Liz) was super friendly and accommodating; when I couldn't make up my mind between two dishes, she suggested I go with the octopus and she would make me a sampler of the fava beans. The octopus was the better of the two for sure. So melting and delicious, perfectly seasoned....
For my main. I had Berkshire pork loin with pork pelly and yellow beans. Again, very well made, delicious, nicely seasoned.

After dinner, I ambled slowly home, stopping in used bookstores and thrift shops. I discovered The Strand (book heaven) and spent an hour in there. As I wandered home, I fell in love with the city "I could live here." I thought to myself "Except for the fact that I would be broke, crippled from all the walking and seriously sleep deprived!"

 

The night finished with a stop at Pinkberry for a refreshing dessert before I crawled into bed.

Indian Comfort Food

 

I know, two days in a row, my heading features the term "comfort food". Today's title refers to the name of a little stall on Granville Island where we enjoyed a meal.
Picture the scene....
You are having many drinks with friends at a lounge on the island with abysmal, overpriced food... You are starving, you need an alcohol soaker, your server offers to guard your table, drinks and all. You run over to the market, looking for something fast, tasty and reasonably priced. Enter Indian Comfort Food.

All five of us ordered the Dehli Wrap, filled with butter chicken, rice, mango chutney and other yummy things, served with a side of vegetables and extra butter chicken sauce.
It was enough to fortify us for another four hours of catching up and generally frightening other patrons of the lounge with our "kitchen language"...

Restaurant: Smoking Dog

I continued my solo culinary exploration of vancouver with a trip to the Smoking Dog. Years ago, Rob took me here for a birthday ~ it was overpriced and over rated. Having heard it recently changed hands, I thought I should give it a try.
My reservation was for 6:15. Apparently I didn't need to make one, as the restaurant was almost totally deserted except for the owners and chef costing out the menu at a corner table. My table was not comfortable and I immediately started to feel the awkwardness of dining solo so I whipped out a book, trying not to eavesdrop on the meun costing (impossible by the way). As I waited for my food, a few more tables trickled in. The owner moved on to the dessert menu.
I ordered Mussels and Frites. The mussels were delicious, the broth so flavourable. I was glad that I had saved my pre-dinner bread to soak up all that flavourful juice. The frites were very generic (go fish has spoiled me for life) but that was okay as I didn't particularly want them anyway. I also enjoyed a glass of Viogner with my meal.
Eavesdropping on the menu planning made me want to give their bread pudding a shot "The bread pudding is good.. It was not so good at first, but I think the kitchen has got it know, so we should keep it on the menu." It was okay except for one burned corner of bread, but I found it a little dry for my tastes.
All in all, a pleasant but not exciting evening. Won't be going there on my own again, but could forsee a casual dinner out with Rob or lunch with friends...

Fuel: Redux

Let me preface this by saying you will never see photos of the food from Fuel. I enjoy my time there so much, all thought of picture taking flies out of my head.
I had a mixed experience last visit ~ a Sunday Lunch, but I really wanted to give it another shot. I made a reservation for 6:15 (the only way to get in, BTW is with a reso ~ I watched them turn away at least a dozen people tonight) and requested a seat at the kitchen bar when I got there.
What a great place to sit, watching everything as I sipped an Elderflower Collins (so good). My server was gracious and helpful without being overbearing or obsequious. A surprise offering of a smoked albacore tuna amuse bouche had me loving them long before my meal even hit the stove. I had gone in planning to give the pork belly another chance, but the special won me over; Heirloom Chicken Leg with Foie Gras Stuffing and poached Heirloom Chicken Breast, Celeriac Puree, Celery. It was wholly over the top ~ decadent, rich, flavourful (no salt issues this time), I wanted to lick the plate clean. A glass of Chardonnay was recommended and the pairing worked well, although the wine was not one I would choose to drink on its own.
I opted to follow the over-the-top theme of the evening and ordered dessert; a pear beignet with jasmine sabayon as well as a cup of coffee.
As I enjoyed my delightful dessert, I overheard a group of diners come in... the voice sounded familiar. I heard a "we will put Margaret right here". Turning, I saw the server usher my BOSS to the seat at the bar beside me. Awkwardness ensued on my part (why did I feel like I was intruding on her evening when I had been there first?). Finishing my coffee as rapidly as I could without looking like I was eager to leave, I gathered my bill, plunked down more cash than I usually lay out for dinner for two and left feeling happily filled.

Review: Flying Tiger

Disclaimer: I know the chef and a portion of meal was a treat from her.

I didn't know, when I settled on Flying Tiger, that I knew the chef. I glanced at a menu as I wandered by and a pork belly dish grabbed my eye; I decided to come back from dinner.
I have always found dining solo slightly intimidating, but I was made comfortable as soon as I walked in. A seat at the bar was offered and as I walked up, I spotted a familiar face; Chef Tina Fineza, the Asian Cuisine instructor from my days working at the culinary school. Then another familiar face, a woman who had been a student when I worked at Dubrulle. She was one of the best and I wasn't surprised to see that Chef Tina had snapped her up
The bar looked into the tiny open kitchen, an ideal spot in my opinion! I ordered a cocktail while I contemplated the menu and watched dishes come by me at the pass. Flying Tiger was offering a Dine Out menu, but the pork belly was not on it. I opted for an appetizer from the dine out menu and the pork.

 

The appetizer turned out to be the size of a main: toro tuna sushi encased in a tempura batter. This dish was so rich, I almost had to throw the towel in early on. I think my favourite part were the mushrooms served with the dish. They had an acidity that helped to cut the richness of the tuna and the next thing I knew, my plate was empty

 

The pork belly. This is what all pork belly should aspire to be. The meat was perfectly cooked, tender, decadent. The broth was rich and flavourful. It was served with a shredded mango pickle and garlic fried rice, both of which complimented the dish very well. I managed to eat every ounce of pork, but just had no room for all the rice. I asked for an appropriate pairing of wine and the Klein Zinfandel I was poured was delicious (so much so, I ordered a second glass!) Chef Tina offered a sample of the duck crepes (which look amazing,) but (insanely) I turned her down. I had seen coconut soup on the dessert menu and I was really hoping I would be able to find some room for it..
We chatted a bit, I watched the action in the kitchen, mesmerized. I felt warm and comfortable. The chef chatted with other patrons at the bar, making everyone feel at home (if home included a chef and a kitchen like that!).

 

A plate appeared over the top of the bar, Leanne presenting me with an unordered dessert sampler. The picture is terrible and really doesn't do it justice. The first dessert was a Cassava coconut cake ~ cassava shredded and cooked with sugar and coconut milk, I think. It was delicious, light, not too sweet, loaded with flavour. At the end of the plate, deep fried bananas with chocolate sauce ~ rich, rich, rich. At this point, I was well past the edge and I could only eat one bite. I wanted to save all my energy for the center dessert, coconut soup. I devoured every single drop of that soup...

I walked home from the Flying Tiger, a good half hour walk, half of it uphill in the damp cold. I didn't care. I was warm and delirious with food joy.

Restaurant: Fuel

I have been dying to check out Fuel since well before they opened ~ it just looked so cool inside! Then I heard the news around work that it was the work of Tom Doughty and Rob Belcham (C, Nu). I don't usually talk restaurants, chefs and gossip here, because I figure it will bore most people, especially the Non-Vancouverites. Lets just say these are some culinary heavyweights.
The restaurant opened, the menu could be perused online and my coworkers were raving. My wallet not so much (this place is really out of my league!). But wait; there is a lunch menu. So today, I took Rob to Fuel for lunch as Phase II of birthday action.
We walked in and were greeted warmly, seated quickly in a terribly uncomfortable not cosy environment. Oh, the chairs were comfortable enough, but they were packed in there so tight, the only really intimate feeling about the whole place was how intimate you could get with your neighbours! No pictures because of this AND the table to my right was irritating me with their snobiness and general expectancy of premium treatment while still being rude to the waitstaff.
We were served efficiently, but I noticed another couple that didn't get their bread until we were on our main course and they were there before us.
I ordered a lemon-thyme soda and a braised lamb sandwich. Rob ordered crispy pork belly. We were served cute little miniature epi on slabs of polished (granite?) with whipped butter and Maldon salt. Delicious.
My soda was also impeccable and I was tempted to order a second. For the 3.50$ price tag, it was worth every cent.
The food arrived. My lamb sandwich was huge, the pile of red onions rings still managed to dwarf it. The sandwich itself was tasty and extremely filling, but the seasoning was lacking (read salt). I could not stop eating the onion rings though! Lightly battered, almost tempura like, well salted, crispy but soft and sweet...yum**.
Rob, well I could tell he was annoyed as soon as he tried to cut a piece of the pork belly. It was served in a bowl with a dashi, shiitake mushrooms and julienned red radish. The dashi broth, while adding a wonderful flavour element to the dish, completely negated the crispiness of the pork belly. The presentation bowl was shaped in such a way that it was extremely difficult to cut the pork neatly as well. The flavour was good, the dish was rich and meaty, but the presentation left a little to be desired.
Am I glad I went there? Absolutely! Would I go there again? In a word ~no.
**technical culinary term

Wait! Can I change my mind?? I have been sitting here thinking about it... I think next time I will go by myself and sit at the dining bar in front of the kitchen...