February 21, 2012
This isn’t a food related post…strictly speaking.
Recently, I’ve been addicted to a great app called “Mushroom Garden”. It’s wildly popular in Japan, and if you play this game you’ll understand why.
The point of the game is to raise mushroom and collect numerous “mutant” mushrooms. It’s a bit like Zombie Farm, and is totally addictive. The mushrooms/funghi are super cute, too. Amazingly, the app is free(!) so there’s no excuse not to give it a try! Available on iPhone/iTouch or Android.
February 13, 2012
This past weekend, my wife and I went up to Whistler for a ski fix and to give its food scene a look/taste. After a some research, we settled on Alta Bistro, a nice little place in the Lower Village.
After a long day of skiing, we were famished and actually showed up 30 minutes early to the restaurant in the hopes that they could accommodate us. “No problem” was the answer, and we were ushered to our seats by the affable waiter. Once seated, we were greeted by our main waitress, who walked us through the menu.
Why, hello there...
Alta has two set courses: one at $29 and one at $39. They are available online, and though they don’t look like much, they are excellent value in every sense. While we decided on what to eat, we ordered some cocktails. My wife had the delicious Hemmingway Dacquiri, while I had the Boulevardier. I have to say that the Boulevardier was a rather stiff drink. That stuff will put so much hair on your chest you’ll feel like Robin Williams. But I digress…
We opted for the $39 menu. We both started with the lovely Miyagi oysters which were creamy smooth and ocean fresh. A great way to start the meal.
Next up was the house-made duck liver parfait, smoked duck rillettes, rye and molasses breadcrumbs, and lemon balm. The dish was served on a rustic-looking cutting board, and you are invited to mix and match the ingredients to your liking. I found the duck liver parfait to be wonderfully veloury. Liver can taste a little tinny/bitter if prepared poorly, but this stuff was so well prepared I wished I had a tube full of it so I could carry it around 24/7.
Angus Beef Love
The final course for me was the Angus Beef Bavette, which involved numerous, thick cuts of beef accompanied with, amongst other things, swiss chard, beets, chard and sunchokes. The meat was rare/medium-rare, which is just how I liked it. It wasn’t overly seasoned and the taste of the beef went well with the earthiness of the winter vegetables. Again, a big “thumbs up” to the kitchen for preparing the swiss chard so expertly. They managed to maintain the integrity of the taste and texture, without it being rough and difficult to eat/digest. The portion size of this dish was just right, and by the end of this very enjoyable meal we actually had to say no to dessert.
Our entire experience was really heightened by Alta Bistro’s atmosphere. It has a quiet, informal kind of charm, highlighted by the tasteful lighting, murmur of conversations, and ski-inspired art work. All members of the waitstaff were very friendly, knowledgeable, interested in the food they served, and passionate about all the kitchen had to offer.
It has been a while since I’ve had such a pleasant dinner experience. I would definitely recommend coming to Alta Bistro, and would absolutely come back again, if only to soak up the atmosphere (and a drink or two…).
February 7, 2012
Linzer Cookies (or “Petits Viennois” as my people call them) are a tradition around the holidays. They are also addictive and delicious, and once you taste one you will certainly conjure any excuse to make them. It’s just as well, really, because they’re dead easy.
Linzer Cookies
The key to their success, as with all things, is organization, good quality butter, and high quality jam (you could always make your own, if you’re feeling adventurous).
Now, the photo I have is of winter holiday-themed cookies, but I’m sure you’ll be able to use your imagination and find some heart or cupid cut-outs for the cookies’ centre windows.
INGREDIENTS:
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Sift your flour and mix in your sugar. Then, work in the butter cubes with your hands by rubbing it into the flour-sugar mixture. Your goal is to incorporate the butter without overworking the dough. If you’re finding the dough not coming together or its a little dry/crumbly, add some of that milk I mentioned above one tablespoon at a time. Your final goal should be a uniform dough.
2. Wrap your dough in cling film, press it down so you get a Camembert-looking shape, and let it cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. While your dough is cooling, set your oven to 380 Fahrenheit. Check your email, have a glass of wine, and clear some workspace for the next step.
4. Lightly flour your surface and roll out your dough until it’s about 1/4 of an inch thick. It is important that the dough is uniformly that thickness. If some areas are thinner, those cookies will bake (and potentially burn) more quickly.
5. Once you have your dough rolled out, use a cookie cutter (or that wine class that you’ve just emptied into your belly…arherm…) and get busy cutting out your cookies. You should have once circle for the base, and another for the top.
6. Once you have an even number of circles, punch a hole in every other circle with a smaller cookie cutter (a thimble might do the trick) to make your jam windows.
7. Bake your cookies for about 12 minutes until they are a light brown. The timing will depend on your oven, so keep a close eye on the cookies. They burn quick, and taste horrible if they do.
8. Once your cookies have baked to perfection, let them cool just a little on the counter as you prepare your icing sugar. Then, using a fine meshed strainer (a tea strainer can do if you’re in a pinch), dust the tops of your cookies (i.e., the circles with the holes/jam windows in them) until they are evenly covered but not caked in icing sugar.
9. Right, you’re almost done. Spread some of that lovely jam on the bottom of your cookies and then cover them with your icing-covered circles. I would recommend assembling a few warm-up cookies first to perfect the ideal amount of jam you would like to use.
That’s it. If you’re organized and fast, the entire thing should take less than 1.5hrs. Though this may seem like a lot, most of it is waiting around/wine drinking time. Better yet, make it quality time for you and the one you love (and some more of that wine…) this Valentine’s Day.
February 5, 2012
My second foray into the world of Dine Out Vancouver was to Miku, the aburi sushi-focused restaurant in downtown Vancouver.
Upon entering the restaurant – especially at night – one is struck by the warm atmosphere and sense of space. The lighting is lovely and tasteful, and though there are a ton of tables, you never get the claustrophobic sense that they’re crammed together. Even the cooks, who work behind the long counter, have ample room for them to ply their craft in full view of an appreciative public.
It is the style of sushi that really sets Miku apart from other sushi places. A place with expertise in aburi (or “roasted”) sushi is a pretty sweet find. Grilling the delicious variety of fish on the nigiri adds a great, smoky depth of flavour. The quality and preparation of the rice is also expertly done by Miku’s skilled chefs.
Aka Miso Pork
Miku’s Dine Out Vancouver menu was very generous. The appetizers (Tofu and Tomato Caprese, Nori Tempura Battered Crispy Ebi, Aka Miso Pork and Aburi Soy Daikon) were well thought out, providing a medley of tastes, texture, and temperatures. The Aka Miso Pork stood out for me. I thought it was wonderful the way that the sweetness of the succulent pork paired with the earthy sweetness of the red miso and slightly bitter daikon found at the bottom of this mound of joy. The micro greens were a great touch, too.
10 Nigiri Main Course
The main course, which consisted of a number of 10 nigiri, was also plentiful. Though each nigiri was expertly constructed, I was left to feel that there were simply too much going on in the case of one or two of them. What might have been an attempt at creating various “layers” of flavour arguably ended up conflating them on a few occasions.
The final course (green tea éclair, orange vanilla sauce and yuzu orange sorbet) was original. The yuzu orange sorbet was a great way to clean the palate after the meal, but the green tea éclair was not a success.
All along the meal, the food was admirably complimented by the sweet muscat wine, the surprisingly licorice-like sake, and sour-sweet nigori umeshu of the dinner alcohol “flight”. Though it’s a $25 extra, this little booze parade is worth it.
As far as the service goes, I have to say that I spent the entire meal feeling that there was something “off”. Maybe our waitress was having a bad night (goodness knows I had enough of those when I was in the service industry), or maybe it was the strange way the staff added the honorific “san” at the end of each others names (presumably to give it a more authentic Japanese feel?). That said, the staff was working hard, zipping around the dining area and making sure that our tea cups were always full. Kudos to them for their attention to detail.
I’m glad I came to Miku, but as of right now if I’m not sure I’ll be back any time soon. Then again, just thinking of aburi sushi is making my mouth water…
January 29, 2012
To me, the Bel Cafe makes sense. This sleek and inviting cafe is at the bottom of the lovely and newly renovated Rosewood Hotel Georgia, and is a nice compliment to its neighbour, Hawksworth.
Drawn to the promise of a new cafe that sells macarons, my wife and I decided to give Bel Cafe a go. My first impression was of a cafe that wanted to set itself apart from those competing in its weight class, e.g., Thierry and Thomas Haas. Its staff was professionally dressed and tried very hard to hit that tricky mix of polite without sounding cold, and deferential without sounding weird. The decor also possessed this same Janus-faced personality by being clean and uncluttered without feeling like an operating theatre.
Macaron!!
The coffee was good, though it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea (I like my coffee mellow and sweet) but if you like your coffee to be like an old sailor – bitter and strong – then this is the place for you.
The maracons were delicious. We ordered a rose-flavoured macaron which was wonderfully fragrant and beautifully textured. The sesame seed and yuzu macaron was similarly well executed, and its mix of earthiness and sourness was a nice backdrop to the strong coffee. I thought that the macarons were a bit expensive, which is par for the course in the downtown peninsula, but given the entire “Bel Cafe” experience, I thought they were pretty good value.
As a whole, Bel Cafe charmed me with its attention to detail (notice their signature cups and plates), the quality of its products, and its tranquil atmosphere. I’d recommend this little cafe, which has a quiet feel where its customers can sit comfortably out of the rain and watch the comings-and-goings of downtown Vancouverites.
January 27, 2012
Say what you want about Oliver & Bonacini’s brand, they have recently hit on a great little formula that seems to work in my book. Their newer restaurants like Luma and Cantina provide good food, good service, and a relaxed-yet-classy ambiance. This opinion extends to the Bannock, a lovely little spot just across from Old City Hall in Toronto.
We came here during a recent trip out East to visit the family and stopped into Toronto for a few days of reunions and face-stuffing. We had moved from Toronto to Vancouver before the restaurant opened, and when we first saw Bannock we were amazed at how the place looked (especially when you compare it to the coffee place that was there before). The natural-looking design materials add a nice warmth, and seem to absorb hard sounds, so that all that is left is the energetic murmur of customers’ conversations.
Our waitress was great, knowledgeable about the food, enthusiastic about the ingredients, and quick to take our orders.
Burger and Root Crisps
I was in the mood for a burger. I know it’s not the most exciting selection, but I always consider burgers to be a kind of litmus test for a restaurant (like an omelet is for a chef). Bannock’s burger and “root crisps” (i.e., fancy chips) were great. The burger was well seasoned and beautifully moist. the root crisps were nothing to write home about, but they added a nice crunch to the place, and were more interesting than regular chips.
Moroccan-inspired Lamb Stew
My wife had a daily special, a kind of Moroccan lamb stew. Now that was something to write home about. The temperature in downtown Toronto that day hovered around -15 celcius with the wind chill, so the belly-warming goodness and subtle spiciness of the stew really hit the spot.
From a value perspective, I have to admit that these dishes were a little pricey (my burger was $15) but if you have a little extra cash to throw around the entire Bannock experience is worth it. My main criticism, however, is how they charged/gouged us for flat water without informing us, making us feel as if we’d been had, and making the restaurant look cheap. I’m fairly easy to please, but such antics constitute a cardinal sin in my book.
Ignoring the entire “water issue”, Bannock is a solid all around experience, and though the food is a tad pricey, its worth visiting at least once if you find yourself in downtown Toronto. I’m not sure I’d go back, but I’m glad I went.
January 24, 2012
I have lived a charmed life, and some of its summers were spent in France. Part of my healthy diet was chocolate…lots and lots of amazing, high octane chocolate. Despite my best efforts, rare were the chocolate places that stack up to the those childhood memories until I went to Thomas Haas in Vancouver.
Though I only spent a little time here, everything was amazing. The coffee was good, the atmosphere warm, the decor sleek, and the staff was very friendly. Mr. Haas was even behind the counter, smiling and laughing with clients.
Lemon Tart
On the menu for our little afternoon snack were two cakes. The first was a phenomenal lemon tart. The lemony taste was sharp and bright, and the smooth texture of the filling was beautifully contrasted by the (not too) crispness of the crust.
The second item was a pistachio sour cherry tart. This was also a real feast for the eyes and the palate. Again, the execution was great, and the tartness of the cherry was highlighted and tamed by the dessert’s sweet dimensions.
Pistachio Sour Cherry Tart
On a second visit, we also bought some pretty exceptional Thomas Haas chocolates. The quality of the chocolate was some of the best I’ve found in North America, and the balance of each chocolate’s flavours was a great pleasure. Each chocolate was like a glittering jewel that I found myself admiring for a few moments before my more primal instincts took hold and it disappeared.
We also bought a Stollen cake which was something to behold.
The only factor to keep in mind when visiting Thomas Haas’ stores is that they can be wildly busy. The first time I came here a line actually snaked out the door! If you can wait, however (and I strongly recommend that you do), you will not be disappointed. This may very well be the best chocolate and viennoiserie in the city.
