Chef Lee Humphries proffers a meatball appetizer at Judas Goat, in Blood Alley in Vancouver. The restaurant offers a tapas-type food experience with several gently cooked dishes, some of which use the sous vide method. Photograph by: Jon Murray, PNG, Vancouver Sun
Chef Lee Humphries proffers a meatball appetizer at Judas Goat, in Blood Alley in Vancouver. The restaurant offers a tapas-type food experience with several gently cooked dishes, some of which use the sous vide method. Photograph by: Jon Murray, PNG, Vancouver Sun
Follow this goat to good food
Mia Stainsby
Sun
AT A GLANCE
Judas GoatWhere: 27 Blood Alley, 604-681-5090
www.judasgoat.ca
Open: Monday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight. Will open for lunch soon
Over-all: 4
Food: f4
Ambience: f4
Service: ff3 1/2
Price: $/$$
It’s called Judas Goat and I’ll let co-owner Sean Heather explain the name. The gregarious restaurateur doesn’t let a little laryngitis stop him.
“It’s from slaughterhouses around the world,” he says. “People had difficulty getting animals off the truck but the goat’s demeanour is embraced by most farm animals. If a goat approached the truck and made nice with the animals, they would follow it off the truck and he gets something to eat in the end. The goat is oblivious. It’s not being malicious.” The term was also adopted for traitors in politics and war.
And furthermore, Judas Goat, the restaurant sits in an alley once lined with abattoirs in Vancouver’s history, thus its name, Blood Alley. “Nobody could accuse us of stealing a Spanish name,” Heather says.
At first, he and co-owner Scott Hawthorn wanted to replicate the Spanish tapas bar but realized the food inspectors would not approve of dogs, of standing and drinking, or of food sitting on counters in need of refrigeration. And the tapas bar groove in Spain, they realized after a food-filled tour, was of serial visits by families moving on from one bar to another.
They did, however, want Judas Goat to be a place for a nibble and a drink before moving on to bigger bites at nearby nosheries such as his Irish Heather or Boneta. They’ve been pleasantly surprised to find people don’t want stopgap. They want dinner, so they stay and work through most of the menu.
Like at Au Petit Chavignol, the menu is a list with boxes where you write in how many of each dish you want.
The place is a squeeze boite. The Lilliputian kitchen, with a sous vide and conveyor toaster as the main appliances, butts up against a marble-topped diners’ table with chairs that look like yellow clothes pegs. Lee Humphries is in charge and his dishes, despite their pre-prepped nature, are exciting.
Like the other Spanish tapas impersonator I love — Mis Trucos, on Davie Street — there’s no grill at Judas Goat, which encourages gentle treatment, like the tasty warm lamb cheek wrapped in Savoy cabbage with white truffle oil. So tender and delicious. Pork belly aficionados are going crazy over the melt-in-your mouth texture of the fatty meat cooked by sous vide with onion puree and pine nut and orange gremolata. Me, I prefer a crisp texture which fools me into thinking it’s not as fatty as it really is.
Beef brisket meatballs are made with pulled, not ground, meat. Very good. The sablefish with smoked paprika and lemon and a side of couscous should convince any sous vide doubter that it does wonders for fish.
Rabbit rillette with carrot panna cotta is a playful conceit and delicious, too.
Scallop tartare with pork rinds features a very nice tartare, but the crispy rind next to it had the pig’s number stamped on it. A reality check.
Potted prawns with pistachio butter featured prawns so tenderly cooked, it was just past sashimi stage.
All of the above might seem like I attended a Roman orgy supper, but I visited twice and the dishes are tapas. They’re about $6 a pop. You’ll find a tight, food friendly wine list on the flip side of the menu sheet; and interestingly, there’s half a dozen Spanish sherries. In a couple of weeks, Judas Goat opens for lunch and I’ve taken note. It’s walking distance from my office.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Reviews are rated out of five stars.
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Chef Lee Humphries proffers a meatball appetizer at Judas Goat, in Blood Alley in Vancouver. The restaurant offers a tapas-type food experience with several gently cooked dishes, some of which use the sous vide method. Photograph by: Jon Murray, PNG, Vancouver Sun
