Get that grill fired up!

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, summer has almost arrived. In Vancouver, however, we are being teased with sporadic pockets of sunshine followed by bouts of rain. I am incredibly impatient and just want summer to settle in already but I am trying to look on the bright side. All of these sunnier, warmer days mean that it is time to get the grill fired up! BBQ season is almost upon us so we might as well get some early practice in. And on the plus side, grilling always means less dishes to clean afterwards! I can get on-board with anything that means less cleaning.

Last night I adapted a Jamie Oliver recipe that I have blogged about before, Grilled Tuna and Asparagus. Only this time I decided to avoid the tuna (have you been reading the headlines about radioactive tuna?! Yikes!) and went with chicken instead. Besides tasting all zingy and summery (sure, that’s a word), this dish is unbelievably quick to make. I think you’ll find it is a reliable go-to recipe for a quick, yet tasty, weekday dinner.

Tags: Jamie Oliver, cooking, recipes, summer, BBQ, grilling, chicken, dinner

My Kitsilano favourites

In an effort to make good places easier to find for those who aren’t overly familiar with the dining scene in Vancouver, I am aiming to make a list of places that I recommend in each area of the city. My aim is to provide readers with a list of tried and true restaurants in different price brackets so that most of the guess-work is done. Here are my price definitions:

High End: Prices in this category are typically above $25 per main course. These are higher-end places so a bit of effort with dress is required, reservations are likely, and these restaurants can be relied on for a special occasion or to impress a date or family members. A little hoity-toity but not in a you-aren’t-good-enough-to-be-here kinda place.

Mid Range: Prices in this category are generally around the $15 to $20 mark for main courses. The atmosphere is welcoming and slightly more formal than the lower-end places so you could likely still get away with jeans, but not your Lululemons. Perfect for situations where you want a comfortable setting, like date-night, catch up with the girls, or just a good meal at a decent price.

Affordable: Prices in this category are around $10 to $15 for a main course. The atmosphere is usually more laid-back so there really isn’t a dress standard. Perfect for weekends, affordable alternative to cooking,

I will start with an area of the city that I know well, Kitsilano, and I hope to soon have a similar list for other areas of the city. Note: obviously I haven’t eaten at every single place in Kits so this list will continue to change.

High End Choices in Kitsilano:

• Bishop’s - A local high-end favourite, Bishop’s has been in business for 25 years doing what they do best; local, (mostly) organic food with a definite West Coast influence. Perfect for special occasions.
• Pair Bistro (technically in Point Grey but close enough) – A Point Grey neighbourhood favourite that proudly showcases quality BC foods in a cozy space. Extremely well-priced for the quality. Almost unfair to put it in high end as some of the dishes are under $25.

Rosemary Pepper Crusted Elk Medallions from Pair Bistro

Mid Range Choices in Kitsilano:

• Maenam – A popular West 4th-based restaurant that offers well-executed, modern Thai food. Maenam is friendly on the wallet, without sacrificing quality or ambiance.
• La Quercia – A small, intimate restaurant located on the corner of Alma and West 4th. Offers exceptional Italian food and wine at reasonable prices. Book well in advance.
• The Flying Tiger – The Flying Tiger manages to successfully introduce Vancouverites to the wonder that is good Asian street food. I recommend sharing dishes. It gets pretty busy so try to plan ahead.
• Bistrot Bistro - Traditional French comfort food served in a modern, casual bistro. Relaxed atmosphere, good service. Again, I recommend sharing dishes.
• Gramercy Grill – A mature Arbutus Walk restaurant that serves reliable, unpretentious food. Attentive service and a wonderful sunny patio.

Duck Confit Macaroni from Bistrot Bistro

Rabbit Duo from La Quercia

Affordable in Kitsilano:

• La Ghianda –  This modest deli provides hearty, simple Italian fare at affordable prices. Dine-in and take-out options available. Limited seating. Open from 11am to 6pm.
• Thomas Haas - A patisserie and chocolate store, owned and operated by renowned pastry chef, Thomas Haas. Delicious sandwiches are available for lunch. Not open in the evenings, Sundays or Mondays.
• Burgoo – Recently opened on 4th, Burgoo offers comfort food. Some of the dishes are bland but I can never say no to the Gooey Cheese Grillers – which I think are the best grilled cheese in town!
• The Eatery – There are so many things to dislike about The Eatery. It’s loud and dark, there is always a line-up, and the service is very hit-and-miss, but it is a fun place to go for not-your-typical sushi. Sushi connoisseurs likely hate this place but I think it has an appeal. Don’t pass up the Tuna Tempura.

Meatball and Gruyere Panini from La Ghianda

Gooey Cheese Grillers from Burgoo

Tags: affordable, dining out, fine dining, Food, Italian, Kitsilano, restaurants, sushi, travel, Vancouver, West 4th

Bacon Takeout Window at Edible Canada Bistro

Granville Island
1596 Johnston Street
Vancouver, BC
V6H 3R9

T: 604 682 6675
www.ediblecanada.com/bistro.php

I am well aware that I mentioned in my last post that I need to refrain from eating so much bacon and pizza but then Edible Canada Bistro did something truly remarkable. They opened a takeout window that sells menu items inspired by bacon. Yup, they did. They went there.

I felt that I had to lend my support to something so utterly brilliant so, on Saturday morning, my trotters and I were there ready to dig into something bacon-y!First up, was the BLLT (bacon, lobster, lettuce and tomato on a swiss roll) which was lovely but I did notice a distinct lack of bacon (the bacon element for this dish is bacon aioli). This is probably good as to not over-power the delicate lobster but I would have liked a bit more bacon (maybe bacon pieces within the lobster mix?). Nonetheless it was delicious and $12.

For those wanting a bit more of a bacon hit, the Two Rivers All Beef & Bacon Whistle Dog should hit the spot. With smoked cheddar, fried onions and bacon jam, there was a lot of flavour in this bad boy. The bacon jam was too sweet for me but the more savoury flavours of the meat and cheddar subdued it slightly. I would absolutely order both dishes again.

Although the menu items I had were lighter on the bacon than I had anticipated, I will still head back to try some of the other menu items, like the tempting bacon and duck rillette poutine, a box of bacon strips, a West Coast Cobb salad, and crispy fish and bacon tacos. If you like your desserts with a touch of bacon, indulge in the bacon cinnamon sticky bun, bacon chocolate gelato, or banana bacon bread. The window is only around until the end of summer so don’t hestitate getting down there. Oink oink!

Tags: bacon, bacon menu, bacon window, Edible Canada Bistro, Food, Granville Island, Vancouver

Pizzeria Barbarella – Photo Visit – May 2012

654 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC
V5T 1X7

T: 604 210 6111
www.pizzeriabarbarella.com

I have been eating a lot of pizza lately. A lot of pizza and a lot of bacon. It might be time to introduce some salads me thinks. But before I do something quite so hasty I wanted to share some photos of the pizza that I had at Pizzeria Barbarella last night. It was my first time there and I was quite impressed with the topping choices. I had a hard time deciding on what to get as there were about four that sounded fantastic. We finally settled on the Funghi and the Amatriciana.

The Amatriciana was made with house cured pancetta (extra points for effort) and I am an absolute sucker for anything with truffle oil, which was drizzled on the Funghi, so I enjoyed both pizzas. It was my first visit so this is not a proper review but I was surprised to find the prices so high (considering the location) and my first impression was that the space lacked atmosphere as it felt cavernous. The pizza was good but not the best that I’ve had in the city but with that said it is worth a visit if you are in the area.

Funghi – besciamella, fontina, oven roasted cremini mushrooms, parmigiano reggiano and white truffle oil

Amatriciana – tomato, fior di latte, aged mozzarella, house cured and smoked pancetta, red onions, fresh garlic, chili flakes, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil

Tags: Food, Mount Pleasant, pizza, Pizzeria Barbarella, restaurants, Vancouver

Pig on the Street – Food Cart

Outside of the Art Gallery
Howe Street, between Robson and West Georgia
Vancouver, BC
V7Y 1K8

No telephone
www.pigonthestreet.com

Brief Description: It’s a food cart. It sells bacon wraps. Enough said.

It is unusual for me to visit a new food find three times in less than a week but that is exactly what happened this week when I discovered “Pig on the Street”, one of the newest food carts to be added to the successful food cart program in Vancouver. It doesn’t take a genius to put the words “pig” and “bacon” together – yup, we now have a cart that trades in bacon. Woo hoo!

Krissy and Mark run the bright pink food truck that can be found nestled between other food carts outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Bacon sandwiches are very common in the UK – when I lived there I definitely ate my fair share and they truly are a great hangover cure. But after eating the “Pig on the Street” bacon wraps, I can vouch that they shouldn’t just be consumed when you have a hangover.

PigLT

The cart sells five different wraps, and all but one, have the common theme of containing bacon. Their one vegetarian option substitutes grilled halloumi (an ingredient I don’t think gets enough use here in Vancouver) for the bacon. The wraps are all $8.95 (including taxes) and are made with their very own handmade flatbreads. The four bacon flatbread wraps are:

• PigLT, which is my favourite, is filled with double-smoked bacon, cheddar, avocado, tomato, greens, and a bacon maple mayo.
• Southern Piggy, is filled with double-smoked bacon, cheddar, roasted corn, grilled peppers, greens, drizzled with bourbon BBQ sauce and finished with chipotle mayo. (I really liked this one too!)
• The Porker contains double-smoked bacon, sausage and bacon stuffing with sage and apple, goat gouda, greens, and apple and cider chutney.
• Piggy Blues is made with double-smoked bacon, blue cheese, grilled mushrooms, caramelized onion mayo, and greens.

As mentioned earlier, there is a veggie option, No Piggy, which is made with halloumi and I believe there is a breakfast wrap on weekends (at least there was last weekend) which was filled with a scotch egg and bacon. The Brits will love that one! For me, the best part is the bacon – they try to source locally and use humane bacon – and they cook it just perfectly. It is a little crispy yet with a chewy texture. Yum!

Southern Piggy

Final Thoughts: I love what “Pig on the Street” is doing. It is such a simple concept but so well executed that it’s hard not to love it. Be prepared to wait if it is sunny – the line-ups this week have been increasing with word getting out and the sun sticking around.

Tags: Achin' for bacon, Art Gallery, bacon, Downtown, food carts, food truck, Pig on the Street, Vancouver

La Quercia – Photo Visit – May 2012

3689 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6R 1P2

T: 604 676 1007
www.laquercia.ca

Brief Description: A small, intimate neighbourhood restaurant located on the corner of Alma and West 4th, La Quercia offers exceptional Italian food and wine at reasonable prices.

B and I had been plotting our return to La Quercia for some time before friends had mentioned recently that they’d had to wait almost two months (!) for a reservation. Our trip came sooner, rather than later, when I phoned last week and received the surprising news that they could actually take us on Sunday evening…at 5pm…which was definitely earlier than I was anticipating but I snapped up the reservation as I was uncertain how long it would be before another came along.

We ordered what must be one of the best deals in the city – 7 course alla famiglia (a chef’s menu that everyone at the table shares) for $45. I’m still floored by this as it is such good value for money. I was so full by about dish 4 that I struggled to get through the rest of the dishes, but I persevered and made myself walk all the way home as a way to burn off some of the calores. The stand-out dishes for me were the pork belly and the pasta dishes, particularly the stinging nettle agnolotti.

Lattuga con salsa Bolzanese: Butter lettuce and trout

Parmesan Souffle

Pork belly, canederli, cappuccio

Stinging Nettle Agnolotti

Lamb Ragu Gnocchi

Rabbit Duo, leg of rabbit and sausage wrapped with proscuitto

Lemon cream with citrus segments

Final Thoughts: As I mentioned earlier, the chef’s menu must be the best value in the city – $45 for 7 courses or $60 for 10 courses, but you can also order à la carte. La Quercia remains cozy (it is a small space) and the service is still attentive and thorough. La Quercia really has a lot to offer so I can see why they are constantly booked up. Try to book well in advance and go hungry!

Tags: Food, Italian, Kitsilano, La Quercia, restaurants, Vancouver

Louis Gervais Spring Showcase – Photo Visit

850 Harbourside Drive
North Vancouver, BC
V7P 3T7

T: 604 904 7720
www.louisgervais.com

Brief Description: Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering is a North Vancouver based bistro/cooking school/gourmet caterer which focuses on classic European dishes.

B and I were recently invited to the Spring Showcase at Louis Gervais, which was the same event that we had attended this time last year. We had such a fun evening last year, with tasty food and many glasses of wine, that we were looking forward to returning this year.

The team at Louis Gervais did not disappoint and they really spoiled the guests with traditional European dishes (directly from the Louis Gervais kitchen), wines from Marquis wine, and desserts from Marie Antoninette cakes. The staff were all incredibly attentive and each dish was well-executed.

Guests enjoying the Spring Showcase at Louis Gervais

Duck a L’Orange

My favourite dish of the night was the Le Filet Chateau, served with foie gras soubise glace de viande and straw potatoes.

Oceanwise Cod with piri piri sauce

Italian Chevre Truffles

Ratatouille Cups with Asiago Brittle

Marquis wines provided some tasty wines, including a 2009 Cameron Hughes Lot 191 Lodi Zinfandel, which I couldn’t get enough of, and a 2009 Surani Pietrariccia Fiano.

Dessert was provided by Marie Antoniette cakes, who also provided the ridiculously good cupcakes at last years event. The rich and moist chocolate cake, which I didn’t get a photo of, was my favourite again. I couldn’t get enough of them last year!

Final Thoughts: Great food and great wine – what more can you ask for? All in all, we had a wonderful evening at the Spring Showcase. I was surprised to discover that their cooking classes are only $85 per person – much more affordable than the classes downtown. Too bad that North Van is just that bit too far out of my way or I’d be signing up for a class stat!

Tags: catering, cooking class, Food, Louis Gervais, North Vancouver, Spring Showcase, Vancouver