Going from the schnitzel to Transylvanian doughnuts
Mark Laba
Province
Nick Cruciat (right) and Ciprian Hortopet with the dish, the Knight’s Platter, at Transylvania Flavour. Photograph by : Jon Murray, The Province
Where: 2120 West Broadway, Vancouver.
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-730-0880
Drinks: Fully licensed.
Hours: Tues.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 1 p.m.-11 p.m.’ closed Mon.
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If ever there were a place that could convert a bloodsucker into a meat-eater, this is the joint. And even if it didn’t work, a hefty schnitzel wrapped around the neck would make a perfect padding to render a vampire’s bite harmless. Thick enough that no fang could penetrate. I’m wearing one now as I write this in the wee hours of the night.
I first wrote about this restaurant when it was a tiny sandwich shop in Gastown, but since then, it has branched out and expanded its space in this new location and is serving up a new menu covering everything from soup to nuts and even includes Transylvanian doughnuts.
Hit the new digs with Ricky Roulette who was sporting a new hair-replacement job that resembled a vampire’s pin cushion.
“Whaddya think of the new look?” he asked.
“Bela Lugosi is dead and, frankly, so is your head.”
“Hey, at least my scalp doesn’t melt in the sunlight.”
Putting aside our passive-aggressive bantering, we admired the surroundings. Red-painted patterned ceiling, black furnishings, yellow-gold walls and some heavy wooden showcase cabinets that bespeak Old World permanence and elegance. A few atmospheric images of ancient Transylvanian architecture ante up the eastern European motif of brooding mystery.
No mystery here, though, when it comes to the food. Robust Transylvanian and eastern European dishes that would warm the heart of any evil bloodsucker. We began with two appetizers-the homemade Perogy Pillows ($10), filled with yam, toasted caraway and friulano cheese with a nutty flavour and the mititei sausages ($11), a Transylvanian skinless beef-and-pork specialty served with mustard and delectable fried-potato wafers. The perogies were drizzled with a wonderful roasted red-pepper sauce and, along with the sour cream and the bacon, I could feel one artery straining.
For mains, Ricky Roulette continued his quest for a myocardial infarction with the hefty pork schnitzel ($18) that appeared to be roughly the same size and shape as Argentina. A beautiful breading with visible herb speckling, and the mashed ‘taters and glazed beets were deemed delicious.
I sank my snout into chicken paprikash ($18), with excellent homemade dumplings that are bigger and fatter than the usual spätzle varieties. Savoury smoked paprika-spiked broth coddled my tastebuds and my only complaint was that maybe a bit more poultry would’ve been great.
For dessert we tried the papanash, or Transylvanian doughnuts ($7), two dense deep-fried critters more savoury than sweet that you sweeten with sour cream and raspberry sauce.
It’s the homemade factor that’s the winner here, from cabbage rolls to the feta cheese-and-polenta mamaliga — the Cruciat family’s mega- meatball recipe — to the rakott krumpli, a casserole with scalloped potato, sausage, egg and sour cream.
For drinks you can’t beat the Krusovice Lager from the Czech Republic that really cuts to the chase when dealing with heavy meats and sauces. And if you’re still worried about vampires, there’s enough garlic here to keep them at bay for at least a month.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Driving a stake through the heart of hearty home cooking.
RATINGS: Food: B+; Service: A; Atmosphere: B
