Inconsistent, and often overly hot, food overcomes attempts at authenticity

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Tacos al pastor and blended lime margarita from Don Guacamole on Robson Street. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun

DON GUACAMOLE’S

1333 Robson St., 604-569-2295. Open for lunch and dinner, daily.

– – –

Don Guacamole’s, a Mexican restaurant and not, as you might think, a cartoon character, is abuzz. On our first visit, the line-up of six or seven people exceeded our ability to wait. On the next try, we got a table, but the place quickly filled up; most were young Mexican Canadians or language students. The Mexican music, cranked way up, and loud conversations make it feel (a) like a rollicking party or (b) that it’s way noisy — depends on what you’re looking for.

I was stoked by the word on the street about the food — authentic Mexican, finally — and I wondered if Don Guac would knock off Lolita’s South of The Border Cantina as my favourite Mexican place. But Lolita’s is safe. While some dishes were good at Don G., others were muddy and messy with no punctuations of brightness or freshness. There were, however, exclamation marks of branding-iron heat. We went back to try more dishes to make sure we hadn’t just ordered the wrong dishes on the first visit. The verdict is, the food is inconsistent.

Taco chips arrived with three salsas (pico de gallo, salsa verde and salsa roja) and lime wedges. The heat in the salsas and other dishes isn’t amped down for wimpy Canadians.

It’s reined back somewhat, though, according to Ricardo Villasenor Jr., whose dad is one of the owners. “It’s very close to Mexican ‘hot’,” he says. After I scorched my tongue, I felt I had to clear landmines before proceeding, weeding out slivers of red or green.

It’s hard to go wrong with a quesadilla ($10), but what I got was odd. It wasn’t flat, but log-shaped on the folded edge and it wasn’t crisped up on the grill. But on the second visit, I saw someone eating what looked like a much better version– flat and crisp on the outside with an even layer of filling — and I wanted a bite or two or three.

The chicken burrito ($9.50) however, was really good. I wasn’t told, but it comes with “red, green or mole” sauces (I overheard this info at the next table). Mine arrived with the green (tomatillo?) and it was mild with ribbons of sour cream swirled through it. I greatly appreciated the ceasefire from the chili peppers.

The guacamole was lime-forward and needed salt. Nopales con queso (prickly pear cactus pads with cheese, $9.50) was one of the messy dishes, as was a chicken torta (a bunwich, $7.50).

The bun had Wonder Bread consistency and with the moist filling, it went mushy in the mouth. The brochetta of marinated steak, bacon, green peppers and onions ($21) was oily and had little flavour.

However, a flank steak (arrachera, $21) with enchilada, beans and rice was one of the better dishes. The meat was tender and flavourful and the rice, flavoured with chicken stock, was delicious.

Service had its ups and downs. There’s certainly enough staff on the floor to carry the rush-hours and the young Spanish-speaking servers are friendly. I got grumpy, though, with a “mailbox is full” reception on the two occasions I phoned, so I kept redialling until someone picked up. On one visit, our main dishes arrived before the starters; the mains (burrito and marinated steak brochetta) went back to the kitchen and held, I imagined, until we finished our first course.

Villasenor mentioned the parrillada for two or more. It’s like having a mini-barbecue of meats at your table; the sharing dish comes with guacamole, beans, quesadilla and napole con quesa and costs $18 per person.

All I can say is, lots of people like it and wait patiently for a table, but Don G. didn’t do it for me.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

The three are working to make the venerable eatery’s menu more ‘West Coast’

Linda Bates
Sun

Hart House chef Kris Kabush, with his colleagues Will Lucas and Breck Lemcke, is working to update the restaurant’s menu. Kabush is pictured here with the AAA New York steak, which is aged in-house for 48 days. Photograph by: Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun

HART HOUSE RESTAURANT

6664 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby

604-298-4278

www.harthouserestaurant.com

Open Tuesday to Friday for lunch; Tuesday to Sunday for dinner; and Sunday for brunch.

Closed Monday.

Overall: ****

Food: ****

Service: ****

Ambience: ****

Cost: $$$

– – –

Hart House, the elegant 1910 mansion on Deer Lake in Burnaby, is understandably a popular spot for weddings and other special occasions, and the restaurant, which opened in 1988, has a loyal following.

No one would be foolish enough to make a radical change to Hart House, which is traditional in the best ways — a handsome property with lovely views on to the garden and gracious service. It’s a long way from the concrete floors and pounding music of Yaletown, and patrons wouldn’t want it any other way.

Yet Hart House’s three young, relatively new chefs have set about to add to the menu, to make it more current and appealing to Vancouver’s foodie population.

One of the three, Kris Kabush, said in an interview, “We’re trying to update the menu and make it more sophisticated and West Coast.” For example, the veal sweetbreads and seared scallops are done in an Indian garam masala crust.

The trio, Will Lucas, Breck Lemcke and Kris Kabush, are sharing the role of executive chef, brainstorming their way to new recipes.

Isn’t that unusual? I asked Kabush. Aren’t kitchens traditionally quite hierarchical?

Kabush allowed that is often the case. In his 26 years (that’s of life, not career), he’s worked at many of Vancouver’s top restaurants, including the Wedgewood, Lumiere and Feenie’s.

He trained, as did colleague Will Lucas, at Vancouver Community College.

On a recent visit, my friend and I found that some of the new dishes were wildly successful and some less so.

Our starters were both terrific. My endive salad was the perfect marriage of light dressing, candied hazelnuts and grapes, with a chunk of chevre on the side. My friend’s seafood appetizer, with warm crab salad, rare ahi tuna, and prawns and scallops in broth, was nothing short of spectacular and left us wanting more. Each of the tiny portions provided a mix of textures and original flavours.

For mains we had one of the more conservative dishes (beef tenderloin) and one of the new ones, smoked duck breast.

The duck is prepared in a smoker on site, cold smoked over hickory and maple wood, then roasted in a traditional manner.

Unfortunately, to my taste, the smoked flavour overwhelmed the taste of duck, which I would have preferred simply roasted.

The accompanying gnocchi and light, fresh fennel provided a welcome balance.

No fault could be found with the beef tenderloin. Tender is the operative word, as in melt-in-the mouth. It was perfectly done, with jus, broccoli raab and fingerling potatoes.

The featured wine, a Rhone Parallel 45 syrah/grenache, worked well with both our meals. If we’d wanted a bottle, we could have chosen from a wide selection of B.C. and imported wines.

I was back in the land of contentment once dessert arrived: a lemon bar with basil and sorbet for my friend and almond cake with fresh berries and sorbet for me. Like the appetizer we loved, these desserts offered a variety of tastes richer in combination.

Service was everything you’d expect in a fine restaurant.

The exceptional setting is certainly part of the appeal here. Allow time to take a stroll around the grounds and along Deer Lake.

Hart House is hosting a special event, an evening of California cuisine and wine Sept 9. (Cost is $45 — phone for reservations.)

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

The Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse delivers exotic flavours with a little pampering

Michelle Hopkins
Sun

Owner Allan Yeo (left) and executive chef Pavle Kontou of Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse on the Steveston waterfront. Photograph by: Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun

MANDALAY LOUNGE & STEAKHOUSE

140-3900 Bayview St.

Richmond B.C.

V7E 4R7

www.mandalaysteakhouse.com

Reservations: 604-628-2500

Hours: Seven days a week from 11 a.m. to midnight

– – –

On those lazy, dog days of summer, Richmond residents believe nothing beats the charm and quaintness of Steveston’s waterfront.

On a brilliant Sunday afternoon, Dennis, my dining companion, and I head over to the newest waterfront eatery to hit the historic village. The Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse opened recently after undergoing extensive renovations from the previous eatery. I can tell you there was a lot of hype and speculation surrounding the waterfront boutique-style restaurant.

The executive chef, Pavle Kontou, went for a menu with panache, offering contemporary European cuisine with a dash of Asian fusion.

The end result is an innovative menu with dishes that are sure to please even the most discerning palate. Don’t overlook the eatery’s signature Post Office Artichokes – sinfully delicious little pockets filled with fresh Parmesan and Swiss cheeses and served with a lime Malay cilantro salsa and sweet chili sauce (both sauces made in-house).

For his starter, Dennis went for the Mandalay prawns — garlic rubbed and pan-seared; simple and delicious.

While we sipped on a fine glass of red from my favourite Okanagan winery, Burrowing Owl, we perused the small but well-thought out carte du jour for our entrees.

I enjoyed classic West Coast fare — Ahi tuna drizzled with a wasabi compound butter served with coconut rice.

Dennis opted for one of the several signature steaks offered. Our friendly, yet professional, server recommended the 10-ounce New York strip loin with the South American chimichurri sauce (one of three homemade sauces to choose from). The Angus beef came with oxford garlic mash potatoes and asparagus. He didn’t have to tell me that his meal dinner was simply “divine,” his expression said it.

Kontou’s world gastronomic experience is reflected in the food’s exotic flavours and freshness. His culinary training took him to kitchens all over the world, including Europe, North and South America, all over the Mediterranean and across Canada.

“I tell the staff to let our customers know that it’s not fast food, so it does take a few more minutes for your food to get to the table,” says Kontou.

“But I promise it will be worth the wait.”

Kontou’s philosophy about food is simple: “You have to have passion and drive to create every culinary dish with the freshest ingredients in everything you touch and make … the rest will follow.”

Well, if our dining neighbours were any indications, Kontou was right. Although the eatery had only been in business a couple of weeks, this family of four was on their third visit and raving about the menu and ambience.

One of the owners is Steveston-raised Allan Yeo. The 30-year-old parlayed his extensive travels around the world (where he liberally indulged his passion for food and wine) into the design, décor and menu.

Yeo, along with partners/friends John Lim Hing and Athina Antunes, describe their restaurant as “offering modern Eurasian cuisine in an atmosphere this is at once sophisticated, funky and fun.”

Yeo created a Malaysian-inspired interior with lots of rich dark wood, stunning elephant sculptures, exotic flowers and white linen.

At the end of our meal, we digest the fact that not only does the Mandalay offer mouthwatering fare, it does so with just the right amount of pampering.

If all my friends’ reviews are any indication, the Mandalay should be one of the eateries to head to when you are in Steveston. The Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse seats 100 inside and 30 on the patio.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

John Bishop does not rest on his laurels as one who has defined the way we eat

Joanne Sasvari
Sun

John Bishop and chef Andrea Carlson pose in Bishop’s Restaurant in Vancouver with Milan’s Heirloom Tomato Salad. Photograph by: Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun

BISHOP’S

Overall: *****

Food: *****

Ambience: ****1/2

Service: *****

Price: $$$$

2183 West Fourth Ave., Vancouver, 604-738-2025, www.bishopsonline.com. Open daily from 5:30 to 11 p.m.

– – –

John Bishop is nothing short of a legend in Vancouver, and not because of those White Spot ads. Or, for that matter, the four books, charity work and public appearances.

Over the past quarter century, he has quietly defined the way we eat and the way we think about food in this city, all from a tiny, 800-square-foot restaurant on a busy stretch of West Fourth Avenue.

Ironically, though, thanks to the culinary revolution he helped start, there are so many fancy new restaurants to visit, it may have been a long time since you actually dropped by the one that started it all.

And that’s too bad, because there has never been a better time to dine at Bishop’s.

All the elements in this elegant little eatery, from owner to service to chef, have come together perfectly, all at a time when the city’s culinary scene has never been more exciting.

“It’s a great time in this city and this province to be in food,” Bishop says.

Bishop, of course, was one of the first local chefs to promote the now nearly universal idea of using local ingredients, back when he opened his restaurant during the recession that had Vancouver in its grip less than a year before Expo ’86.

A soft-spoken Englishman, he’d arrived in Vancouver in the early 1970s planning, like so many others, to stay a year. Then he fell in love with both the city and the woman who would become his wife, decided he might as well stay a while longer, and went off to cook for another local culinary icon, Umberto Menghi.

Since he went out on his own in 1985, countless talented cooks have gone through his own kitchen. But the best fit may just be his current chef, Andrea Carlson, formerly of Sooke Harbour House and Raincity Grill.

“I was instantly taken with her,” he says. “She’s just an amazingly passionate person. She seems very much in that Alice Waters style, only more so.”

Like Waters, the woman often credited with starting the California cuisine movement from her Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse, Carlson is as much gardener as she is cook.

“She cooks with her palate,” Bishop explains, adding, “There’s a wonderful complexity to her food.”

Still, the question is: After 24 years and countless imitators, not to mention those White Spot ads, how does the city’s original West Coast restaurant hold up? Remarkably well, it turns out.

Bishop’s is an oasis of cool, quiet calm in a city where the noise levels even in fine-dining establishments can be riotous, and the décor almost as jarring. It is still a small, cosy space on two levels, with pale walls, white tablecloths, white orchids and a fine collection of first nations art.

Remarkably, given the economy, most nights are sellouts here. (“Being small helps,” Bishop says lightly.) Part of that is certainly due to the service, which is perfectly, easily, casually attentive without ever being intrusive.

Credit the charming maitre d’ Abel Jacinto for a team that’s so thoughtful that when a guest sneezes, a packet of tissues quietly appears at her elbow. But good service and nice paintings aren’t enough to keep a restaurant full, especially when the entrees are over $30 and so many people are watching their budgets.

The real magic here is happening in the kitchen.

It comes as almost a shock to remember that food can be this good. This is not fussy food, drenched in sauces or molecularized out of recognition. It has a strong background in the classics, with a lively sense of flavours and a strong respect for ingredients.

For instance, an evanescently seasonal zucchini blossom fritter stuffed with ricotta is perfectly crisp and light, arranged prettily atop tender baby beets and grilled sweet Walla Walla onions.

Perfectly seared duck breast arrives on a bed of tiny, savoury spaetzle. Stuffed rabbit loin is nicely paired with nutty, chewy wild rice studded with tiny chanterelles and the surprise of tartly sweet roasted apricots.

The wonderful flavours continue into dessert, whether it’s the richly chocolatey, hot fudge brownie sundae or the crisp, sweet fried fig empanada with brown sugar ice cream.

But the highlight of the evening is when Bishop himself comes over to quietly say hello, as he does with every guest every night that he’s in the city.

“When I’m here,” he says, “that’s where I want to be.”

And most of his guests would agree.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Hundreds vie for seats at the chef’s table behind the market’s closed doors

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Diners gather for a unique dinner organized by chef Eric Pateman of Edible B.C. in a corner of the Public Market. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun

Chef Eric Pateman prepares a feast for a hungry audience. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun

There’s life behind those locked doors. One source of nocturnal activity is the after-hours Market Dinners. Local guest chefs use ingredients from the market and cook multi-course dinners with wine pairings and cocktails.

These dinners for 20, organized by Eric Pateman of Edible B.C., take place in a corner of the Public Market with tables set in the aisle. The Vikram Vij dinners have been so popular (600 tried to get one of the 20 spaces) that seats at the table are won by a lottery system. These Market Dinners are $84.94 each and offer a unique perspective on the market.

“We host dinners in the market two, three times a week,” Pateman says. Some are private events. “We had dinners going almost every night in December last year,” he reveals.

Meanwhile, vendors are restocking shelves and organizing displays and janitors are cleaning, preparing for the relentless diurnal tides of humanity .

Over at La Baguette et L’Echalote Boulangerie, the bakers and pastry chefs are just beginning their work day. Every day, they sell 1,000 to 2,000 baguettes and 1,200 rolls as well as croissants, French pastries, patés and several varieties of bread.

“We’ve been in business for 30 years and I still love to go to work every day,” says Louise Turgeon, who runs the business with Mario Armitano. (They first had a French butcher shop, La Madrague, on Granville Island.)

Over the years, La Baguette developed a wholesale arm which sells to restaurants, Whole Foods and Capers. Trucks leave with bread deliveries about 4 or 5 a.m., and the shop, filled with heaven-sent aromas, opens at 7:30.

Over at Artisan Sake, on Railspur Alley, the only premium sake winery in Canada, sake maker Masa Shiroki might be tending to his sake in the wee hours of night.

“It is a very, very difficult process. The difficult part is the pressing,” he once told me. “I stay here to sleep and change the weights every hour, adding more each time.”

He makes the sake in the shop where tastings are offered for a small fee.

Pateman’s company also conducts tours of Granville Island.

“They’re led by chefs so they tend to attract foodies,” he says. They go year-round.

The tour often comes to a screeching halt at Granville Island Tea.

“They have 200 teas there and serve the best chai in the city. There’s no other chai that comes even close. It’s an organic tea with a blend of milk powder, Indian spices, sugar and butter,” he says. “Tourists are blown away by the matcha phenomenon here. Matcha doesn’t have quite the following outside of Vancouver.”

Edible Foods has some 800 B.C. food products for sale, with 600 available for samplings. “We have four fridges dedicated to sampling,” Pateman says. “You can try before you buy.”

Pateman says many of the vendors are so unique, visitors from cities like Chicago and Los Angeles often say they’re going back home to open a similar store. Stock Market (stocks, soups, dressings, sauces) and Oyama Sausage (450 sausages and cured meat products made by a fifth-generation sausage maker) are two such vendors.

As an insider, Pateman spills the beans on Go Fish, the outdoor great little fish shack at Fisherman’s Wharf, where a long line-up pops up just as your stomach starts gurgling its discontent. “At 11:20, you’ll be about fifth in line,” he says. It opens at 11:30. “You gotta hit the time right.”

His recommendation is the Daily Special. “It’s what they get off the fish boats that day. I love the Qualicum Bay scallops grilled and served on a bun. The oyster po‘ boy is good, too,” he says.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Lolo fits right in to the Lonsdale locale as the cool new neighbourhood hangout

Joanne Sasvari
Sun

Owner Michael Moller with some of the fare at Lolo restaurant in North Vancouver. Photograph by: Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun

LOLO

Overall: ***1/2

Food: ****

Ambience: ***1/2

Service: ***1/2

Price: $$

Where: 100 East Second St., North Vancouver

Phone: 778-340-6655

Hours: Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. (10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays)

Website: www.lolonorthvan.com

– – –

Dining at Lolo is a bit like hanging out at a good friend’s place. Things aren’t always perfect, but the mood is so friendly and the food so good that the slight hiccups just don’t matter much.

Besides, at these prices, you can always just order another glass of wine. And that always makes everything seem a lot better.

“Lolo,” for those readers who don’t live on the North Shore, is the nickname for Lower Lonsdale, that trendy area of sleek condos and funky restaurants just up from Lonsdale Quay.

Lolo, the restaurant at the corner of Lonsdale Avenue and Second Street, fits right in as the cool new neighbourhood hangout, a minimalist-chic wine bar that specializes in charcuterie and small plates, with live piano music most nights.

“Probably the most common comment we’ve been getting is North Vancouver needs a place like this, because of the price point and the casual nature of the operation,” says manager Michael Moller.

“When it comes to food, a lot of people scratched their heads at first, but now they get it, the cheese and the charcuterie.”

For a restaurant without a full kitchen, serving cured meats was a logical choice. It helps that Lolo has sourced its charcuterie from popular local sausage-makers TN & Z and Mocchia Meats, and plans to add products from Oyama soon.

The choices are interesting and at times daring — it’s not often you see spicy head loaf on a menu — and include such highlights as the black truffle-studded dry-cured pork sausage and a mild, beautifully balanced Serbian salami, as well as Mocchia’s exotic, clove-and-cinnamon-spiced Toscano.

It’s an evolving selection, too: Moller hopes to add several beef products soon, as well as patés and terrines, which will be made in-house by chef Oscar Zaragoza.

Meanwhile, Zaragoza is whipping up exceptional house-made condiments, such as the sweet carrot mustard, tangy tamarind chutney and tart pickled beets that arrive chopped into a pretty confetti alongside a generous heap of sliced meat or cheese.

Lolo also offers savoury flatbreads such as the popular “Zola,” its tender crust topped with gorgonzola and figs, or the rich “Tarti,” a crisp, buttery base slathered in a mash of potatoes, bacon lardons and melted cheese.

Then there are the spreads, such as the addictively creamy white bean and artichoke, enlivened with garlic and lemon, or the fresh-flavoured Moorish Fava Bean and Mint.

Best of all, for diners on a budget, almost every menu item is under $10. You can eat quite well here without spending a lot of money, especially as all this fun-to-share food is partnered with a nicely edited international wine list, much of which is, happily, under $40 a bottle, with several selections $30 and under.

Like the food, all the wines by-the-glass are under $10, and offer plenty of interesting options, ranging from a sparkly Prosecco to lush sherries and ports, as well as food-friendly aromatic whites and light, crisp reds.

“The guiding philosophy is three things,” Moller says. “First is how well it goes with the menu. Then price point is very important to me. Thirdly, quality. I look for very good value.”

It’s such a good deal on such good wine, it seems almost churlish to quibble about what it comes in, but unfortunately the thick, heavy, too-small glasses at Lolo do the wines absolutely no favours at all.

Then again, Moller points out that nice new wine glasses are on the way.

Also in the works is a much-needed update to the slightly barren decor: “We are looking to inject more colour and more life as well,” Moller says. Meanwhile, the warmth of the staff may well make up for the chilly décor. True, service can be hit and miss, but everyone here is just so darn nice and genuine that it’s easy to forgive pretty much anything.

You know, just like at a good friend’s house, especially if your friend’s name is Lolo.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Great service makes customers welcome

Mia Stainsby
Sun

The action at Coast restaurant eddies around a central circular island where sushi is made.

COAST

Overall: ***
Food: ***1/2
Ambience: ***
Service: *****
Price: $$

1054 Alberni St., 604-685-5010. www.coastrestaurant.ca. Open for lunch weekdays and dinner, 7 days a week from 4 p.m.

Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone.

– – –

Sure, food matters. But the it‘s just as important to feed egos. Restaurateurs who don’t know this perhaps didn’t have mothers like Emad Yacoub’s who didn’t believe in doors. It was always open and tea was at the ready inside.

He just reopened Coast, having relocated from Yaletown to the dense downtown. The $4.8-million, 265-seat, two-level restaurant beauty got slammed on the first day, just from word of mouth. Three expediters stand at the open kitchen like air traffic controllers, routing dishes to the tables and averting pile-ups.

Yacoub could thank his mom, as I said. The door in her second-story walk-up apartment in Cairo was always open and tenants climbing stairs stopped and rested and had some tea before continuing their upward journey. “People were always welcome. When Mum passed away and I went back, the first thing I saw was the door closed,” says Yacoub, sadly.

I watched him make the rounds at Coast. He hit every table, not just ones with shiny-lipped, laughing young women but the old couples with spreading silhouettes and sensible shoes as well.

“I tell my guys, it’s our home, our living room, our friends have shown up. Walking on to the floor for me is like a holiday,” he says. He doesn’t stint on staff and at times, the room is a traffic jam of servers. Anyway, my long riff indicates how impressed I am with the service here. It helps when staff, including bussers, are invited to become shareholders in his restaurants — socialism with a profit motive.

Coast is a medium-priced seafood restaurant. Action eddies around a central circular island where steamers of shellfish and chowders are on the go, and where sushi is made and drinks are poured. Seats near the kitchen are extremely noisy so if you want a civil conversation, ask for a seat on the mezzanine where it’s quieter. I didn’t like the extra-large menu (awkward to hold) and cluttered format (confusing) but chef Josh Wolfe respects seafood. The quality’s there and he leaves well enough alone. The menu shows an Ocean Wise logo, meaning there are sustainable choices. Of dishes I tried, there were hits and some minor misses.

Dinner starts with an amuse bouche of delicious flatbread (crispy and made in a pizza oven) smeared with mascarpone, topped with smoked salmon, sprinkled with arugula. It amused us so much we ordered more flatbread but with sablefish, capers, olives, pinenuts and smoked mozarrella from the menu.

The crabcakes are the best I’ve had. Made in a ring collar, sides are perfectly straight; top and bottom are crisp and golden; inside, it’s very crabby. The New England Clam Chowder with double-smoked bacon, at $8, cost less than a bowl I’d had a few days earlier in Bellingham. This was delicious compared to the sludgey, clamless impersonator.

Steamer mussels and clams were in a hearty pale ale broth speckled with chorizo, tomatoes and corn. Arctic char and halibut were rustic dishes, simply grilled and served with lightly roasted tomato on the vine, another veg and lobster filled new potatoes. Fish and chips featured lovely fish; the batter wasn’t oily but too doughy for my liking and the chips were middling.

The crab gnocchi, a side dish for $14, threw me. It was smothered and lost in a bechamel-like sauce like a baked mac and cheese and honestly, if I had my druthers, I’d choose mac and cheese. I didn’t try the seafood tower ($58 for two) but it’s a good deal with beautiful King crab legs, lobster, Dungeness crab, shucked oysters, manila clams, jumbo tiger prawns (definitely not sustainable), sushi, and mussels. It would, however, look more appealing in a glass bowl rather than the double-layered metal woks.

The wine list “100 Under $100″ and a reserve list offers a great range of products and prices. The restaurant’s O Lounge, next door, is like pheromone city with servers in teensy outfits, sexy lighting, and Austin Powers meets Phillipe Starck visuals.

No shag carpeting, though.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Casual and affordable bistro-style meals

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Caesar salad and beet salad with goat cheese and pecans at The Pony.

THE PONY

Where: 1392 Portage Road, Pemberton

Phone: 604-894-5700

Hours: Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner and for late night snacks

Overall: ***1/2

Food: ***1/2

Ambience: ***1/2

Service: ***1/2

Price: $$

Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone.

– – –

If you’re outdoorsy, I don’t need to tell you of the good hiking around Pemberton — even my last hike to Rohr Lake. Mosquito terrorists attacked and chomped on every exposed inch of me and my feet clomped like pile-drivers hopping boulders up an avalanche chute, but it was still good hiking.

And now, there’s good eating in Pemberton, too. For a very long time (15 years), The Pony Express was a dependable java stop but last April, Alexander Stoll and Neal Harrison took it over with more ambitious plans. They relaunched it as The Pony and offer early morning breakfast, lunch, a bistro style dinner and late night drinks and snacks. It opens at 6:30 a.m.and closes at 1 a.m.

Pemberton, a bedroom to Whistler, is like Canmore, the bedroom to Banff, each with laid-back flavours of their own. But the difference is, Pemberton is fast becoming a foodie town with a vibrant farming community; we were surprised to learn of the Pemberton Valley Vineyard (yes!) and soon, a vodka distillery called Pemberton Organic Vodka (double yes!).

At The Pony, Stoll hails from France and Harrison from England. Together they also run Fat Duck, a catering business and until they took over The Pony, ran a lunch service at Pemberton Valley Vineyard (now discontinued but you can book ahead for dinner at their bed and breakfast operation). Stoll has worked at Val d’Isere and Westin Resort in Whistler and Harrison has worked at the Westin as well as Langara Lodge up the B.C. coast.

When I clambered down the mountain from Rohr Lake, it was a toss-up between The Pony and Wildwood Bar and Grill for dinner. The latter feels like a Whistler transplant and, in fact, is, while The Pony is worn and funky. But the menu at The Pony looked far more intriguing to me.

I hadn’t been impressed with the impatient, irritated service at The Pony that morning when we asked staff about dinner so I had my doubts but the evening service proved to be much better. It’s a family-friendly restaurant with pizzas on the top of mind for kids and bistro-style dishes for adults. At a neighbouring table, parents were pointing out artichokes to their little son: “Will you choke on them?” he asked. I also noted something every parent should know about: a plastic placemat for baby with a built-in trough that hung off the table for the rubble to fall into.

Our server (with Quebecois accent) was informative and enthusiastic. Main ingredients are mostly locally sourced and a big deal is made of the famous Pemberton potatoes. The warm potato salad is one such offer. “Bacon! That’s my kind of potato salad,” said my hungry man. Like many dishes on the menu, it’s available in small or large size. A goat’s cheese and onion marmalade tartlette came with a side of local beet and arugula salad with walnut dressing. A baked Queen Charlotte halibut with a hazelnut herb crust ($26) was really fresh and napped in a mussel cream sauce. Risotto with peas and duck confit was a special for either $14 or $20. As the small size was more than filling, I would have been in a great deal of pain had I gone for the large.

I couldn’t resist a dessert called The Mess (ice cream, meringue, whipped cream, strawberry and rhubarb compote, layered in a glass) and found myself scouring the bottom for the last bits.

Dishes resonate with French bistro influences and that’s definitely the style of food here — casual and affordable and sticking to proven techniques. B.C. ingredients like Pemberton beef, Sloping Hills organic pork, Pemberton potatoes, Fraser Valley duck and local produce will be regularly featured on the menu. The day I called, the specials for the day included Pemberton top sirloin sandwich in pecan bread with demi glace dip (for lunch) and for dinner, Alberta bison with white navy beans, arugula and oven-dried tomatoes and an eight-ounce Pemberton beef rib-eye with cherry gastrique and Pemberton potatoes.

Foodies, you’ve missed the Outstanding in the Field farm dinner in Pemberton (July 18) but you can still make the Slow Food Cycle Sunday (www.slowfoodcyclesunday.com) on August 16 should you want to check out the edible side of Pemberton.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Menu features South American flavours tinged with a taste of the Mediterranean

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Larry Nicolay and Lisa Henderson at Latitude, their new restaurant, on Vancouver’s Main street. Sablefish with kale, fennel and buttered beans is one of their dishes. Photograph by: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun

LATITUDE

Where: 3250 Main St.

Phone: 604-875-6246.

Website: www.latitudeonmain.com

Overall: ***1/2

Food: ***1/2

Ambience: ***1/2

Service: ***1/2

Price: $$

Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone.

– – –

What Larry Nicolay wants is sacrilege. I wanted to shriek out: “No!”

Nicolay and his wife Lisa Henderson recently opened Latitude, the newest comer on Main Street, a smart, affordable restaurant. The bling-iest part of the room is the bar of white Carrera marble on the counter and sides.

While I’m fretting about marble’s delicate nature, Nicolay’s saying he can’t wait until it’s stained and worn, and he’s not worried about its pristine beauty.

“I want patina. I want this place to age like those places in France. Someone, please stain it with red wine,” he said. Someone, please! Slap 20 coats of sealer on it, I say.

Another item of visual interest is the back wall, interesting enough to draw you in for a close-up.

It’s a mosaic of Douglas fir tiles, each with a circle of red wine stain (stamped on with a wine glass). So what’s up with Latitude and red wine stains anyway?

Henderson and Nicolay returned to Vancouver after running Rainforest Cafe in Tofino for about 10 years, a place that brightened my visits to the town.

(It’s now called Spotted Bear Bistro, operated by Vincent Fraissange, most recently the sous chef at Vancouver‘s dearly departed Chow restaurant.)

Latitude brings the couple closer to family; in fact, Nicolay’s brother and sister are part of Cascade Room and Habit (still in recovery mode from a fire), also on Main Street.

Henderson is in charge of the kitchen at Latitude and Nicolay manages the front.

The menu reflects their love of South American flavours but takes detours to the Mediterranean as well.

Similar to their outlook at Raincoast Cafe, the menu tries hard to stick to sustainable, organic foods.

Under starters, soccas (chickpea crepes) and chickpea fries (very much like panisse) take us to sunny Nice; a large serving of ceviche and an avocado and mango salad with spiced pepitas (pumpkin seeds) zips us across the Atlantic to Latin America.

The lamb shank, slow-braised in a Malbec sauce, is fall-apart tender and very tasty.

The paella, with tomato arborio rice and a lovely bunch of seafood — spot prawns, mussels, halibut — as well as house-made chorizo, was very hearty and the seafood, very fresh.

We expected flank steak (with chimichurri sauce) to be hearty as well, but it was a modest serving, too small really for a main dish; however, it was tender, delicious, organic and local.

Halibut with avocado crema, a quinoa fritter and butter roasted radishes was also delicious.

I wondered if Henderson would have South American arepas (cornmeal flatbread), which I love, and they’re coming. She’s tweaking the recipe.

Henderson‘s menu is earthy and served bistro-style with the sort of quality lost on Main Street when Aurora closed last year. Appetizers are $8 to $15; mains are in the tight budget range at $16 to $20.

The wine list backs up the food with a nice selection of well-priced Pacific Coast and South American wines as well as hard-to-find B.C. wines, like the Twisted Tree Tempranillo, Pentage Cabernet Franc, Seven Stones “Speaking Rock” Pinot Noir, Averill Creek Pinot Gris and Orofino Vineyards Gewurztraminer.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Joyeaux owner Annie Dien knows the name shouldn’t have an ‘a’ but she isn’t going to change it. She considers it lucky

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Customers line up for Joyeaux Restaurant and Cafe’s all-day breakfasts and Vietnamese food while owner Annie Dien shows off her delicious — and reasonable — plates. Photograph by: Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun

JOYEAUX RESTAURANT AND CAFE

551 Howe St., Vancouver

604-681-9168

www.joyeaux-cafe-restaurant.com

Open for breakfast, lunch and early dinner, Monday to Friday; to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone.

– – –

I’ve walked by here many times en route to work in the morning. I thought it was a struggling enterprise, but it appears the action ignites when I’m already at work.

Another thing I didn’t know is that at the heart of Joyeaux is Vietnamese food — all I saw were tables with full-on breakfasts. Downtown tourists who did their homework go to Joyeaux for breakfast for the duration of their stays at nearby hotels.

Then at lunch, office workers flood into the place for Vietnamese food, or all-day breakfasts. Owner Annie Dien is the embodiment of the name of her restaurant. (She knows, she knows. It should be spelled “Joyeux.”)

“My friend told me I spelled it wrong,” says Dien. “But I think it’s lucky, so I leave it.” Now that’s an optimist for you. Dien likes to be out front; her sister Ha Duong works in the kitchen and daughter Virginia helps out once or twice a week.

I walked past one day during lunch service and the place was packed with a lineup to the order counter. Many mouths were connected to large bowls by ribbons of pho noodles; others focused on lemongrass chicken, spicy chicken wings or brochettes.

That weekend, my partner and I went to the the Rijksmuseum Museum exhibit at VAG and although I’m a huge fan of the VAG cafe terrace in the summer, I was jonesing for Joyeaux, which was just a couple blocks away.

We tried “special noodle, sliced meat noodle soup,” which is served wet or dry. “Wet” is like pho and “dry” comes with a soy sipping sauce on the side. Yummy.

The Vietnamese crepe is a large, healthy lunch; it’s delicately crunchy outside and filled with bean sprouts, and shrimp, pork, squid and onions. On the side, a sweet dip. (I was surprised to learn that the crepe is made with only flour, water and spices. Eggs are not involved.)

The Vietnamese coffee, brewed by a slow drip method, is so good I picked one up en route to work the next week.

“Very strong,” Annie called out as I walked away. It’s intense, but smooth and you can have it neat or with evaporated milk.

I wanted one of their fruit drinks but without evaporated milk; the guy at the counter suggested a drink made with regular milk. Sure, I said. A beverage with emerald worm-shaped things, red beans, and milk arrived with a scoop of ice cream on top.

The green bits, I believe, are a tapioca product. It tasted fine but to someone outside the culture, it it’s like the happy-go-lucky buffoon of beverages.

I later tried a Vietnamese chicken sub (banh mi), which I liked, especially for the price of $4.25. Vietnamese carrot salad and lettuce added fresh sparkle. Pan-fried rice cakes are glutinous squares with a dark, tangy sauce.

Of course, part of the allure are the prices. Breakfasts are about $5; appetizers are on average, $5 to $7; soups are $7.50; and entrees are $8 to $12. (For the totally unadventurous palate, there’s fish and chips.)

And when it comes to luck, Annie Dien doesn’t wait for it. She makes it happen, just like she turned a spelling mistake into a bonus.

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