Victoria and Vancouver--Summer Roundup

[anewton]

Hi Fellow Hounds:

Thought I'd chime in with some impressions of restaurants at which I have eaten this summer in my hometown, Victoria, as well as in Vancouver.

Victoria:

Have had some reliable meals at some of the "same-old, same-old" places, like Brasserie L'Ecole, Cafe Brio, etc...There have been a number of promising new restaurants opening this year, and of those I have been to only a few as of yet. Here are some general impressions of some of our meals in Victoria this year.

Lunch: Devour (762 Broughton). Replaced Cafe Madrid. Devour is both a lunch spot and a catering company that makes very fresh, delicious food focused on seasonal ingredients and features an ever-changing menu. My wife and I had a great lunch there about a month ago. I had a NY Strip steak sandwich with a picled red onion condiment (can't remember if they referred to it as a "compote") and a very good housemade potato salad (if memory serves). She had a muffelatta sandwich. The dishes may sound pedestrian but the execution and presentation most certainly were not. A good bet for a weekday lunch.

Fol Epi: Not exactly a lunch spot, but they have started making excellent sandwiches on their fantastic baguettes (i.e. country ham and cheese; smoked tune with capers and red onions).

Other lunch haunts that we frequent and heartily recommend are Red Fish, Blue Fish, Pizzeria Primastrada in the Cook St Village, Hernandez, and Choux Choux.

Dinner:

Stage: Have eaten there twice now this summer. While the food has impressed both times, the service needs work. I really want to give this place an unequivocal recommendation, but there are a few sticking points. 1) Not enough servers on the floor, therefore difficult to order more drinks to accompany the small plates as they fly out of the kitchen. 2) My biggest criticism is that they do not bring any serving utensils with the small plates, meaning that the only way to split up the food among friends (and the food is meant for sharing) is to use the same knives and forks with which one has been eating. I find this a big turn-off and very unhygienic. 3) They do not offer to replace your "eating plates" often enough, so that if you order the heirloom tomatoes with fried haloumi cheese and end up with a considerable volume of tomato juice on your plate, you have to put the next item onto that wet, tomato-juice soaked plate.

The above problems can be rectified if one asks for new plates and serving implements, but I shouldn't have to ask, and I always have had to.

I do not want to give the impression that I am savaging this place, as I really like their food and think the people who run the place are very friendly. I am just puzzled by some of these oversights, especially given that the owners used to run the estimable fine-dining establishment Paprika.

Solomon's

Having eaten there twice now, I really must say that I will stick to the wonderful and meticulously made cocktails. Food has not impressed, and I'll leave it at that.

The "new" Rosemeade:

Went into receivership. No permanent owners yet, but it has re-opened with the same chef as before (under new management, of course) as a more casual, moderately priced resto. My wife and I had a pretty solid meal there two months ago. She had a burger made from chorizo sausage meat; I had a pasta dish with some very tasty meatballs. The prices are now very reasonable (most entrees in the teens, a few in the twenties) and it inhabits the same beautiful space. The winelist is now skeletal but sufficient. Hopefully someone with a strong vision can purchase this beautiful Esquimalt property and breathe some new life into it.

Pink Bicycle:

Hardly a dinner destination, but must say that my wife and I really enjoyed our meal of burgers made from ground prime rib meat and topped with smoked horseradish cheese. Not crazy about the fries here but the onion rings are the best.

Kaz:

Changed hands recently, and friends of ours from Japan warned us about the new developments. However, we had a delicious meal there about two weeks ago, and all of our sushi was beautifully presented at a decent temperature. Certainly nothing fancy, but if one finds oneself in Victoria craving sushi, this is not a bad choice (Daidoco is always an alternative at lunch but is not really a sushi joint).

Places I want to try in Victoria:

1) EdGe. Longtime Sooke Harbour House chef Edward Tuscon left sometime in the last year to open up his own place in Sooke, EdGe (the first two letters of his first name and the first two letters of this wife's last name make up the restaurant name). This food is supposed to be much more casual than the uber-fine dining fare at Sooke Harbour House. It is open for lunch and dinner (not every day, though, I'm pretty sure).

2) Aura (in the Laurel Point Inn): Still have not been. Menu looks exciting, and they have an afternoon menu of small plates for sharing, which will enable me to try it out without further breaking the bank.

Vancouver:

Campagnolo: Went with a group of friends during that hot first week in June to celebrate my wife's birthday. I know that this place has been getting markedly mixed reviews around here, but I really liked it. Unpretentious, quite reasonably priced, friendly service, big portions, fresh, local ingredients. Must say that the execution was not perfect, but I was happy with most of what we ate and especially with the bill. Things I liked:

1) Gotta love those cheesy breadsticks they serve in the glass (crostini?) Just wish they would give you more of them.
2) Aspargus with housemade proscuitto. Was seasonal at the time, and tasted just fine.
3) Pork ragu with ? (cannot remember what type of pasta it was served with. Tagliatelle? Papperdelle?) Anyway, it was really good and had nice big hunks of hand cut pork in it.
4) Risotto--One of our friends had a creamy risotto with, I believe, asparagus and possibly crab. I just remember that it had a very creamy, un-gummy texture.
5) Desserts--Were good all around, though I cannot remember what I had.

Should have done the write-up earlier! Oh yeah, almost forgot, we shared a plate of the housemade salumi, and it was excellent.

Medina:
Again, ate there back in June, so my memory for the details is fuzzy. We really liked the place, though, especially the mini-waffles with different sauces (like chocolate sauce, and spiced apricot preserves). My wife had a dish with eggs and beef short-ribs, I believe; I had a baked egg and seafood dish. They were both solid, though I preferred my wife's as my eggs were perhaps just a little tough and dry. Anyway, I love everything the folks from Chambar do and look forward to getting back to Chambar sometime.

Coffee "Taste-Off" Bump 'N' Grind vs JJ Bean.

One morning we did a "coffee taste-off" to see who made the better Americano. We have an Artiggiano in Victoria now, so we know what they are capable of. Anyway, in the showdown between B'n'G and JJ Bean, we both preferred the Americanos at JJ Bean. Service was friendlier, but really the coffee had a richer, more complex flavour at JJ Bean's, and also was hotter. We went to the Commercial Dr. location. I think I might actually prefer JJ Bean's to Artigiano now. Will have to try the 49th Parallel coffee shop next time we are over (seems like most of the top places in Vancouver use 49th Parallel beans, anyway).

Market, by Jean-Georges Vongericthen.

Okay, here's the thing. The servers were really, really friendly and warm. The place looks nice (though quite hotel-y). The cocktails are good, although with starting prices at $12, it certainly ain't happy hour at Market.

But the food was certainly not spectacular or even all that good. My wife and I both had the two course plus dessert lunch yesterday. The first course I had, the tuna and tomato salad, was easily the best thing either of us ate there. Small thumbnail sized cubes of transluscent, beautifully fresh sashimi were arranged beautifully on a plate with heirloom cherry tomatoes (halved), delicately sliced onions, and some fresh herbs. It was very, very good.

My main, though, left much to be desired. Crispy carmelized duck with toasted cashews was indeed crispy, but WAY too sweet. The marinated mango slices that were served over top did not help matters. The dish ended up tasting way too "one note" due to the sweetness level. And there seemed to be more batter than actual duck meat on my plate. It lacked the complexity (i.e. heat, sourness) that real Asian food needs to succeed.

My wife's main, Phad Thai, was just "meh," as the kids say. Tasted similar to any Phad Thai one can find in any middle-of-the-road, decent Thai restaurant in any major North American city. Nothing to make it stand out in any way.

The dessert plate was miniscule, though I did like the lemon meringue pie and the chocolate mousse with the little blackberry atop.

Overall, I was not impressed, but the service was very, very gratious and even bought my wife a comp'ed drink because they initially brought the wrong drink to her (which she drank and was happy to accept as a replacement drink to the one she ordered. But the server would not take 'no' for an answer, bless her).

Restaurant DB Moderne:

I cannot say enough good things about our meal at DB Moderne. They messed up our reso (had us on the following Wed) but after that it was smooth sailing. The light as air cheese puffs they bring when you arrive are delightful (they seem to disappear in your mouth when they hit your tongue, leaving only the essence of cheesey, bready goodness on the palate).

The appies were excellent. I went with the 3 course, $35 tasting menu, which was an absolute steal. The server reassured me that the portion sizes on the tasting menu were the same as if one ordered a la carte.

My duck terrine was one of the best terrines I have ever tasted. My slow-cooked halibut with potato croquettes, white and green asparagus (delicately shaved), fava beans, and meyer lemon confit was one of the better halibut preparations I have ever tasted.

My wife had the DB Moderne Burger, and it was the best burger either of us had ever tasted. They don't mention it on the website, but there is a cube of foie gras in the middle of the burger patty. (as if the combo of fresh ground sirloin, beef shortrib meat, and black truffles was not rich enough to begin with). The meat was cooked rare to medium rare, much to our delight and approval (so hard to find a burger joint in BC that does not overcook their bloody meat, pardon the pun). The fries were really good--crispy exterior but tender in the middle.

The desserts were excellent. My wife got the sundae with the cherries (brandied, I think). I got the dessert special: toffee pudding with layers of raspberry crisp, fresh blueberries, and topped with a scoop of housemade lemon ice cream. (I know, sounds like too much, but somehow it worked). The desserts were decent size, too. Big enough to share but not too much for one person.

The wine list impressed. The service impressed. The bill REALLY impressed (how do they do all that, with that level of service, for $35 for 3 courses?) That the food was not 'trendy' in any noticeable way (no foams, agar-agar preparations, or presentation gimmicks) was just fine in my books.

If I had to choose one dinner out as my "meal of the summer," the meal at DB Moderne would be IT. Punches WAY above its weight for the price. Now I'm actually sold on trying the more expensive Lumiere.

Oh, and unlike some restaurants associated with celebrity chefs, DB Moderne is actually visited by its namesake chef several times throughout the year, and the restaurant will inform customers in advance (via email) of the times when Daniel Boulud will be in attendance.

For all you Vancouverites who may not have tried it yet, all I can think to say is "Godspeed to you."

PS--Tried the Argo Cafe, too. Totally classic greasy-spoon, with well-executed (and affectionately dated) diner classics. Spaghetti tossed with bacon-mushroom-cream sauce with scallops, halibut, salmon, cod, and prawns for $10? I felt like I took a time machine to the 1980's, but in a good way. Wife's Striploin steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, and decidedly prosaic (but properly cooked) vegetables (i.e. broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) was practically the dictionary definition of 'comfort food.' Thanks for this tip, everyone.

[grayelf]

Super post, anewton, especially the Victoria stuff. I have to go for business every two months or so and am always seeking data :-). Particularly excited to know the o-rings at Pink B are worthy. So hard to find good onion rings!

I plan to do a post similar to your for my summer visits to your fair city soon so thanks for setting the precedent.

Interesting you found the service at JJ Bean's more friendly -- I've been to B&G twice recently and was extremely impressed with the baristas/owner's forthcomingness (is that a word?). Thanks to Joe, I now have a new favourite caffeinated beverage: the iced dirty chai latte. I have not tried their hot coffees yet though on accounta the crazy temps we've been having here lately :-).

[ck1234]

Great thoughts! I agree with your review of Market & DB Bistro. Market totally underwhelmed me with the food too. DB is actually my fave restaurant in Vancouver at the moment. I'm also glad you got to Argo. It too is one of my faves...I love the lamb shank when they have it!

[sumashi]

Great post anewton, it was definitely a good read.
I also love Daidoco and Red Fish, Blue Fish...
Kaz changed hands?? Wow, I never noticed.. it's still the same sushi chef behind the bar. I didn't find anything too different when I went there last week. Still like it! Just wondering, have you tried Ebizo? A friend of mine recommended it, but I haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

Agree with Fol Epi... i'm currently stalking them for their next batch of almond croissants, which i've only seen once.... The guy behind the counter said it's whenever the chef feels like making it.. when the stars line up correctly... Hopefully I can catch it when he does :)