Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme bring familiar feel to warm, modern restaurant
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Owners/chefs Adam Pegg (left) and Lucais Syme enjoy la dolce vita at La Quercia on West Fourth. The two previously cooked at La Buca restaurant on MacDonald. Photograph by : Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun
LA QUERCIA
Overall: 4
Food: 4
Ambience: 4
Service: 4
Price: $$
3689 West Fourth Ave. (at Alma), 604-676-1007. www.laquercia.ca. Open for lunch Tuesday to Friday; dinner Tuesday to Sunday.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
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At La Quercia, should you be overcome with deja vu, that’s not what it is. It’s a trickster restaurant.
La Quercia, another sign that Italian food has rebounded, not only feels a lot like La Buca, the hip little boite on MacDonald Street, but the two owners, Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme, previously cooked there. Consequently, the food has a familiar ring. The room has a similar look — quietly modern and just the right size for a warm neighbourhood restaurant (30 seats). Weirdly, on the walk to the washroom (singular, not plural), you kind of walk through the small kitchen, just like at La Buca (although at the latter, you walk right through it, brushing elbows with the cooks).
La Quercia, which means “oak tree” in Italian, was named because of its “strong roots and its ability to live through drought,” says Syme. The restaurant, too, has good roots. Pegg spent three years in Italy taking a Slow Food Master of Italian cooking program; he’s cooked in Victoria at the Herald St. Cafe (he had lots of buzz during his time), as well as at Il Terrazzo and a bakery. Syme has worked at Cioppino’s, Bluewater Cafe and Raw Bar.
On the floor, the night manager has worked at Cioppino’s and for the celebrated Susur Lee in Toronto.
“There will be no foam this or scented that,” says Pegg. “Our menu is reflective of the simplicity and classic combinations of Italian cooking.”
Both evenings I visited, people arrived like moths to a light. The ones without reservations were turned away. At one point, I thought that included Food TV celebrity Bob Blumer, but he’d only disappeared into the washroom.
Pegg’s and Syme’s food (they both cook) speak of Slow Food and Italian regions. It has an artisan feel, especially the pastas. Ingredients are selected for quality and the regular menu is very small — the daily specials, which do change daily, make up a lot of the offerings. In fact, keep focussed because the verbal explanation of specials will separate the mindful from the distracted.
Like Trattoria Italian Kitchen further east on West Fourth, the menu is divided into antipasti, primi (pastas) and secondi (meat and fish).
I can see the food is meant to be light, but my one criticism is that some of the dishes tread too lightly with flavouring even when beautifully cooked. I wanted more intensity or even seasoning in some. The risotto, for example ($50 for two), uses the gorgeous Acquarello one-year aged rice (amazing texture and evenness), but despite the small bits of wild boar pancetta the dish was too subtle. The agnoletti, expertly formed, was in a brodo (broth) and I wanted just a little bit more intensity somewhere in the dish.
That being said, the flatiron steak with arugula, balsamic, pine nuts and Parmesan ($23) was juicy and delicious; squid with dandelions (a special and they didn’t give the price) and arugula was tasty; scallops with pork belly (another special) approached amazing (the scallops had not tightened at all in the cooking).
I don’t need to instruct you on desserts. They’ve got it in hand. They change frequently, but a summer favourite seems to be semi-freddo. We tried the almond semi-freddo, topped with a meringue swirl. Nice! Sticks of stewed rhubarb over a lemon cream was a simple country-style dessert I couldn’t get enough of; almond blueberry tart was more cake than tart — again delicious.
The wine list features mid-range Italian wines. Should you wish for something more exquisite, ask about their reserve list. Also, they’ll open wines sold by the bottle if a table orders two glasses of it.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
