(Images by Choli Designs)

When you think of Oak Bay, images of grandiose houses, flags on street lamps, and little old ladies with walkers come to mind. Unwittingly, you have been fooled. Tucked in between the resident neighbourhood pub on one side and a Tudor sweet shop on the other is Vis a Vis – a quaint but elegantly casual rustic wine and charcuterie bar. Who’d a’ known?

Unlike owner Matt McNeil’s other restaurant ventures – such as The Penny Farthing, The Irish Times and The Bard and Banker – Vis a Vis boasts a more simple yet sophisticated decor. Exposed brick, gorgeous wooden tables, chalkboards, earth tones, and charcuterie cabinets.

To start, I order a 5 oz. glass of Le Vieux Pin Viala ($11), one of the 24 available table wines on order. With the option to choose a 1 oz., 5 oz., or 8 oz. pour, or a tasting flight, and utilizing a fancy air control system (enomatic preservation), Vis a Vis is able to offer a greater variety – and quality – of vino by the glass than most.  So while you aren’t going to find a $7.00 glass of wine here – unless you opt for a 1 oz. taste – your mouth is in for a treat! Very helpful, every item on the food menu is paired with a category of wine (i.e. soft and fruity, aromatic, big and bold) to make pairing more accessible.

Of course, if wine isn’t your thing, Vis a Vis also offers an array of locally crafted beverages to whet your whistle including products from Victoria Spirits, Phillips Brewing, Driftwood Brewery, Lonetree Cider, and 2% Jazz Coffee.

Speaking of taste buds, how about the food?

In 3 words? Seasonal, simple, flavourful. 

In more than 3 words? Well…

This particular night we start with a sampling of their cheese and charcuterie selections ($5 per item). While much of the charcuterie is made in house, such as the glazed pork hock terrine, smoked pork belly rillette and the corned bison tongue, they do support other Island meat producers including Two Rivers Meat’s bresaola and bison salami, The Whole Beast’s lemon fennel salami, as well as Choux Choux Charcuterie and Hilary’s Cheese Co. The possibilities are endless. If you like cheese and meat paired with a side of gingered quince jam or pickled vegetables, this is your kind of place.

Next we move onto the albacore tuna tataki with lemon reduction, fennel and radish slaw ($10), followed by grilled octopus with squid ink fettuccine, salsa verde and chorizo ($13). The tuna is so delicately prepared and contrasted against the slaw and the citrus really makes the dish come alive in my mouth. It is, as far as tuna goes, perfection. Likewise, the grilled octopus’ smokey essence pairs strikingly with the bold and black squid ink pasta; in an unlikely combination – the salsa verde and chorizo – both lighten and heighten the taste experience to a whole other level. It’s fresh yet comforting in the same moment. My only complaint is that when ordered together the octopus obliterates the tuna. In future visits, it would be best to order the dishes separately and finish one before sampling the other.

2 hours later, we order our main course: Ricotta ravioli with pine nuts, bell peppers, sauce verte, and confit lemon ($12) and upon recommendation of the Chef, the pork belly with grapefruit, endive, and maple onion caramel ($10). Holy Hannah! Let me be straight with you – the ravioli slaps me in the face with Spring – green, seasonal, fresh, yet rounded and nicely balanced. And the pork belly astounds with it’s opposing textures and flavours – soft belly and crunchy endive, rich pork and refreshing citrus. I’m impressed.

Hungry (not really) for something a little sweet, we complete our meal with the Spanish inspired house made churros with maple bacon sugar and white chocolate apple sauce ($6). Have you been to Spain? This is it – Canadian style. You can’t ask for anything more. Sugary, nectarous, carb happy dessert. Heaven.

Curious why Chef Jeff Keenliside makes the food he does, he tells me it has to do with “complexity in production and simplification in service. The processes like sous vide cooking, terrines, smoking, curing, sauces, relishes, pickles, etc. and having things ready to plate are the future of food, as opposed to having mostly raw ingredients which require a lot of a la minute cooking. Still bringing in great local fresh ingredients but putting in hours of production time to simplify service without simplifying what we do too much”. I love it.

As per usual, the service was bloody impeccable. Friendly, high energy, enjoyable, informative and attentive.

All in all, a great experience. My only wish: that the restaurant be more centrally located. For those willing to brave the trek up to the mean streets of Oak Bay, make sure you stop in and have a bite. Your tummy will thank you.

2232 Oak Bay Ave
T. 250 590 7424

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Open daily, 11 till late.

Read Part 1 here

~ Kristy Gardner

Although Vancouver Island Brewery is one of BC’s oldest microbreweries—it was the first to open in Victoria back in 1984 and shares its birth year with Granville Island Brewing in Vancouver—it hasn’t exactly been a darling of the booming craft beer scene over the past, well, couple of decades. Their beers have been fine forever, but apart from their Hermannator Ice Bock, an annual winter seasonal, there hasn’t been much of anything in their line-up that would make the average beer geek’s heart flutter. Well, that all just changed with the launch of VIB’s new Brewer’s Batch series of special releases in bombers (650-ml bottles), starting with this brew which features an illustration of a Martin Mars water bomber (based in Port Alberni) on the attractive label. But does the beer inside live up to the hype? And for that matter, what exactly is a White IPA?

www.vanislandbrewery.com
Twitter |  Facebook
Victoria, BC
6.8% ABV

Appearance: 4.5/5

There isn’t really a rule for what a White IPA should look like, but this one looked like a Belgian Wit, which seemed about right. While I prefer IPAs to have an orange tone to them, this was very pale yellow in appearance, with a very bubbly, pristine white head of foam that quickly settled down but didn’t disappear after the pour.

Aroma: 3.5/5

The spicy, peppery aroma made me think of a saison first and foremost. Not a bad thing since I love that style of beer. There were also some citrus fruit notes, but it was hard to say if that was from the hops or the yeast/wheat malt combination. One of my favourite aspects of a good IPA is the distinct northwest hop aroma and that wasn’t really evident here.

Flavour: 3.5/5

I’ll admit I was disappointed at first. After my first mouthful, my reaction was “Oh. That’s it?” But it got better as my palate started to figure out what was happening in my mouth. Here’s the evolution: first swallow or two, I couldn’t taste much of anything beyond a sort of bitter zing that didn’t resolve itself into any specific malt or hop flavours. Because the body of the beer is lighter (thanks to the wheat malts used in combination with barley), it lacked the semi-sweet backbone that a good, solid IPA usually offers as a foundation to the hops. However, as I drank through the glass, I noticed more and more nuance within that bitter zing. It became somewhat peppery, and then I found some citrus and tartness in there, too. By the end of my first glass, I was more than ready to refill it with what remained in the tall bottle. However, I can’t give it a high score here because by that time, I’d pinpointed a flavour style in my mind, and it wasn’t anything in the IPA vein. Instead, it tasted very specifically like Moinette Blonde from Dupont, which isn’t exactly a saison but does have some similar characteristics. Moinette is one of my favourite beers, so I’m not saying I don’t like this. I just don’t know if it can accurately be described as an IPA of any sort.

Mouthfeel: 2.5/5

There’s a strange dichotomy here: the thin body of the wheat beer didn’t really support the zingy bitterness generated by the yeast and hops. It just didn’t “feel” right, although again, as the bottle emptied, I grew more and more comfortable with it.

Overall: 4/5

It’s tough to be critical of this beer just because it didn’t really live up to expectations on the IPA side of things. I really like it and will buy it again, I’m sure. Maybe if it had been called a West Coast Saison I wouldn’t be so critical of that aspect, but I worry about the hopheads out there seeing IPA on the label and then being disappointed or overly critical. That said, I give Flying Tanker a bonus for being inexpensive ($4.99) and available in the government liquor stores. Too many of the big-bottle specialty brews on the market are priced in the $8-$9 range (which translates into a $25 six-pack! Even this one, which seems cheap, works out to $15 for a typical six-pack). OK, the lesson in beer economics is over now. And I give a big thumbs-up to Vancouver Island Brewery for making this big leap with such an adventurous brew! Now, if only they’d be just as daring and actually call their new Beachcomber Summer Ale a Hefeweizen, of which it is a fine example. Just sayin’ …

Total Score: 18/25

~ Joe Wiebe

Okay – I am not telling you anything new by saying spot prawn season is upon us. But HOLY SHIT – SPOT PRAWN SEASON IS UPON US!!!

I cannot think of a local seafood more universally beloved. Everyone has them on their menu (the wok seared soy prawns at Sea Harbour are fucking genius). What’s particularly glorious is watching people buying them by the bagful on the docks to enjoy at home. It’s part of the mythology of living in Vancouver.

My favorite way of cooking them is going to sound shameful and disgusting, but anyone who grew up with in a Hong Kong household will know what I am talking about.

Ketchup Prawns.

It’s not a joke. They are completely fantastic – wok stir fried, shells blistered from super high heat, glazed with a lightly sweet and sour sauce that takes on the briny bisque-y-ness of the prawn heads. Toss in some aromatic herbs and you are in fucking heaven. I don’t have a recipe – more of a method.

First off the prawns MUST be live before you cook them. The sweetness and firmness of live prawns are unparalleled. Next, trim off the sharp beards and legs from prawn. Makes for much neater cooking and eating. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt the prawns. They are wriggling because it tickles so delightfully.

Get a large pan – cast iron or stainless steel. If you’ve got a wok and a proper burner, go for it. Get that pan hot. I mean really seriously hot.

Pour in enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and let it shimmer, toss in slices of ginger and garlic for a quick stir around to flavor the oil. Then add the prawns – the shells should blister and sizzle. You want it HOT. Stir around a bit – now add a 2 or 3 tablespoons of ketchup (I use a spicy Malaysian ketchup from T&T), resisting the temptation of adding too much. Start stir frying.

You want ketchup to glaze and caramelize. Now add some aromatics, chopped green onion and cilantro are traditional. A good fistful of finely chiffonade kaffir lime leaves or lemon grass would not be a bad choice either.

Serve with some rice on the side to sop up the sauce – and there you go. Hong Kong style ketchup prawns.

~ Canucklehead

I have 2 tickets to giveaway to tonight’s SOLD OUT Hop-Headbanger’s Ball at Woodland Smokehouse on Commercial Drive, courtesy of our friends at Townsite Brewing (they make some delicious beer if you haven’t tried it already!). Come inside for your chance to win!

I will randomly select a winner at 3 pm today from the correct responses to the following BC craft beer quiz:

1) Who is John Mitchell and why is he known as the ‘Godfather’ of BC’s craft brewing industry?

2) What long-standing brewpub in Victoria did he help open in 1986?

3) What rock star do you plan to dress up as if you win tickets to the ball?

For a list of Vancouver Craft Beer Week events, visit: vancouvercraftbeerweek.com

On a recent trip to Vancouver, I had the privilege to climb the stairs high above Save-On-Meats and witness the makeshift Boxing-Gym for the service industry known affectionately as “The Meat Locker.” Inside, skipping rope and sweating up a storm was a veritable “Who’s-Who” of the Vancouver Service industry training for “Aprons for Gloves” a program created to benefit and support youth boxing programs at the Astoria Boxing Gym that are in desperate need. It was so inspiring to see Arthur Wynne of The Union Bar, side by side with Chef Dale Mackay of Ensemble, Julia Cumo of The Keefer Bar and many others being put through the paces by Brian “Main St.” Grant of Pourhouse to support this worthy cause. So to all involved in Aprons For Gloves, I cheers to you with the “Mickey Rourke” a cocktail named after the boxer-turned-actor-turned-boxer-turned-actor again. This program is by far the most inspiring thing I’ve ever witnessed in the service industry, where members are grinding it out to better themselves and the programs for youth in need. Please support “Aprons for Gloves by sponsoring your favorite industry member: click here

“Mickey Rourke”

• 2oz Jameson Irish Whisky
• 2oz Crannog Backhand of God Reduction
• 1oz Lemon Juice
• 1oz egg white
• 4 Dashes Pourhouse Boker’s Bitters
• Dry shake ingredients, then add Ice, Shake again and double strain into glass

Backhand of God Reduction: Combine equal parts of flattened Backhand of God with Sugar and Reduce over heat until syrup.

~ Gerry Jobe

Victoria boasts the most restaurants per capita in North America, save for San Francisco. In a culinary sea of eateries, how does one choose where to indulge their next craving? The best bet is to sample as many dishes as possible.

Enter tapas. Despite the English austere of the Capital city, Spanish style dining seems to be taking over.

In case you haven’t heard, tapas involve ordering a handful of dishes, all of which are portioned to “small plate” sizes and passed around the table so as to allow the diner to sample a variety of flavours, textures, and experiences. Heck yeah. Why wouldn’t I want to put all kinds of culinary adventures in my mouth?

Up first in this series, I present you with The Superior.

Hidden on a quiet corner in the neighbourhood of James Bay, The Superior is a local gem. Area producers such as Discovery Coffee, Phillips Brewing, Gulf Island Brewery, Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, and many B.C. wineries as well as Saanich Organics and various other local farmers stock the ever changing menu, while non-professional – but incredibly talented – musicians serenade diners to the tune of jazz, blues, acoustic or even cabaret performances and local artists construct a constantly evolving space in which to experience your meal.

Currently the dining room features a Spring theme with baby crows hatching from their blue and white eggs along multi-tiered shelving, trees growing from the centre of your table, and of course, where there are small birds, there are birds of prey. As Spring moves along, the crows get bigger, the owls make their way across the room, and the atmosphere begins to shift into Summer.

Suited toward a romantic evening between two lovers (um, yes please) cozied into a plush red velvet sofa, a casual family meal at an elevated long table or lunch between friends on their garden patio, The Superior is a sophisticated venue that is, in every sense of the words, inventive and expressive.

Chef Torin Egan boasts the restaurants creativity – choosing to work here because of the expressiveness he is allowed; while manager Lisa Boehme pushes diners’ senses. She tells me the restaurant is meant to both “shock and compel” their guests into a 5 sense eating experience. I’ll take one of those!

On this particular evening we sampled an array of dishes. We began with the obligatory root chips with a charred scallion aioli ($5). A staple on the menu, these chips will make a lover of any anti-root vegetabler.

Round Two: While, the mushroom and gruyere arancini with truffle aioli ($6) lured me into a state of rich cheesy carb-laden contentment, the kale salad with apple, buttermilk ranch dressing, and crumbled blue cheese ($10) astounded my taste buds in ways I didn’t realize kale could – crunchy, full bodied, creamy and refreshing all at the same time.

Round Three: Bring on the meat! When presented with the option, Sooke trout is a fresh treasured delicacy that I crave. When it comes with local brassicas, smooth seasonal squash, rugged farro, and crisp bacon ($17) – it’s a sealed deal. Follow that up with Chef recommended sweet yet spicy ginger hoisin pork ribs that melt off the bone ($15) and you’ve got yourself a happy girl.

If after dish 5 your stomach can handle a little somethin’ somethin’ for dessert, I highly recommend the bacon fig doughnuts ($6), served with the most succulent maple syrup you’ll ever ingest. I have also been known to order one (or two) of the ginger cake with salted caramel and sour-cream sorbet ($9).

Service wise, I was impressed. If anything, the server was overly attentive. While not optimal, I would rather have my water glass topped up after three sips than have my wine glass empty for three dishes.

If you want to check out this superior restaurant, reservations are recommended and it’s housed at 106 Superior Street… For now. In the future however, it may find a new home in a new neighbourhood. Boehme stresses to me that while the building is for sale, the restaurant definitely is not. It will simply be “housed in a different box”, she tells me. Thank goodness.

The Superior: Superior food, style & concept.

106 Superior Street  | Victoria
Tel: 250.380.9515

Website | Twitter

Hours of Operation:

lunch Tuesday to Friday 11:00 / 2:00
dinner Tuesday to Sunday 5:30 / late
brunch Saturday & Sunday 10:00 / 3:00

~ Kristy Gardner

I love road trips. Even a short one holds the promise of roadside diners and strange new foods. And as far as I’m concerned, a bag of Tim’s Cascade Jalapeno chips counts as culinary exotica – as long as you are eating them on the I-5.

Lately, trips to Seattle have been particularly rewarding. While Vancouver balances West Coast freshness with French rigour and Asian brightness, Seattle takes it’s own distinctive point of view with local ingredients. It’s an approach that marries a laid back lo-fi vibe with rock solid technique. And the spate of Puget Sound openings in recent years has been simply astounding – Willow’s Inn, Delancey, and Sitka and Spruce among others.

For my money, there is no place better than The Walrus and The Carpenter. And there are plenty of others willing to endure two hour waits who agree with me. A local told me he puts his name down for a table, goes home, takes a shower or perhaps a nap – and then returns refreshed for dinner. Smart. I’ll have to try that approach one day with Vij’s.

When you are finally seated – you take in the beautiful bright room, anchored by a large zinc oyster bar.

I gotta tell you. It’s a strange menu - lot’s and lots of oysters, small plates of lightly cooked seafood and salads that mix chilled greens with various forms of eggs. Virtually no cooked red meats or poultry. Confused – the first time I went, I tried to force a traditional three course narrative, and it did not quite work. The second time, I simply surrendered to how the kitchen was trying to guide my meal – and it was perfection.

The first order of business were the oysters – fresh, cold, and perfectly shucked.

Not a drop of precious liquor spilled, and not an mark on the delicate flesh. I discovered I could eat a dozen Hama Kama from Hood Canal in a disturbingly quick go.

The fried oysters were the best I’ve ever had. Crisp cornmeal batter on the outside, warm almost custard-like within. In my imagination of what-would-I-eat-right-now-if-I-could-have-anything, these deep fried oysters pretty near the top of the list.

The show stopper of the evening – grilled sardines with shallots, walnuts, and parsley. Warm and succulent fish – offset with a light vinaigrette and grounded with bitter walnuts. Reminds you immediately of the best escabeche or savoro of the Mediterranean. I ate this bones and all.

Finished the meal with bay leaf panna cotta – a balancing act between indulgent textures with restrained savory sweetness.

How can you tell attention to detail is crazy? When everything looks so fucking effortless. Everything tastes of itself – but only more so, gently and smartly amped up.

They take an admirably hardline to their seafood – it is prepared how the kitchen feels like it best showcases the ingredient, full stop. On my first visit, I was told that they had local mackerel which they served very lightly grilled. I must of had a dubious expression on my face, because the waitress told me to trust them, it would be really good. And it was.

I continue to be richly rewarded for my trust.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
4743 Ballard Ave NW | Ballard
Seattle, Wa 98107
1.206.395.9227
Website | Twitter | Facebook

~ Canucklehead pays for his own food and avoids the no fly list by driving through the Nexus line as quickly as possible.

For the longest time – it seemed like Vancouver had two distinct food cultures, great West Coast cuisine and world class Chinese food. But rarely was there any cross over, either in flavor influences or clientele. It was the Two Solitudes of local dining. As a Chinese guy who is passionate about food, I’ve always tried to demystify Chinese food. It’s pretty simple, good food is good food.

With all of this great Chinese cooking at our doorstep – cross cultural Asian restaurants have been generally met with skepticism or even hostility. When the excellent Bao Bei opened, some said to me that it was not authentic and too fancy.

What?

Here’s a little secret. Real Chinese diners are not beholden to ‘authenticity’. What matters is good cooking. Well selected ingredients, cooked with respect, lifted with balanced and natural flavors.

Tom Doughty and Robert Belcham prove this point abundantly at the new Fat Dragon – an ode to pleasures of Asian BBQ with a Southern twang. There are no shortcuts here. Where other restaurants equate “Asian” with sugary sauces worthy of a Tim Horton doughnut (Chinois – I am looking at you), Fat Dragon heads down of road of restraint and careful technique. And the rewards are delicious foods made for sharing with a easy going vibe.

^ Albacore tuna is lightly cold smoked, brightened with a spicy sharp sauce that accents not masks the natural sweetness of the fish

^ The smoked beef deckle with the steamed Chinese bao is completely luscious, a sort of dream of Texas dim sum

^ The crispy beef ribs are fantastic - rich, succulent - but tightly focused. The perfect mix of fall apart smokiness with Asian crackle

^ Finish your meal with one of their house made soft serve. I mean - who can resist a bit of DQ goodness?

With warm brick, soft candlelight and strings of lights, the room conveys a back yard friendliness that is exactly in tune with the food. The flavors are smart, grownup, but most importantly of all – delicious. Sounds pretty Chinese to me!

Fat Dragon Bar-B-Q
566 Powell Street | East Vancouver
604.558.0880
Website | Twitter | Facebook

~ Canucklehead pays for all of his food, eats in disguise, and uses a giant telefoto lens.

What do you get when you combine great coffee with high quality doughnuts? Answer: the worst kept secret in town.

I’ve been busily working away at preparing to open the second café for 49th Parallel, which will feature doughnuts under the brand of “Lucky’s Doughnuts”. Why doughnuts you say? Why not?!

The idea of doing doughnuts began stewing in 2007 when 49th owner Vince Piccolo and I began traveling to some of the coffee trade shows in the States. Every town that we went to had a quality doughnut shop where we would go in the morning to pick up a box of doughnuts to take to our coffee booth. This will be our attempt to create that same marriage between coffee and doughnut here in Vancouver.

For the project I have traded in my barista’s apron for a chef’s jacket. After our trips in 2007 I began to take pastry classes in America with a specific emphasis on doughnuts. Back home we’ve utilized the talents of pastry chef Dawne Gourley to develop our own doughnut recipes. Dawne has worked as a pastry chef for many years creating recipes for Bishop’s, Giovane and currently serves as the brand director for David Hawksworth’s Bel Café.

Here is a link to Dawne’s blog: here

The space is located at 13th and Main Street and is shaping up quite beautifully. The reclaimed wood and Gastown brick are a departure from the very polished look of the 4th avenue location. Vince has taken the reigns in creating a beautiful cafe, starting with the neon sign that we just put up out front.

We anticipate to open in late May/ early June.

~ Colter Jones

(Photos courtesy of Spatulamedia)

In Feburary, we hosted a “Trader”Vic Bergeron VS. Donn “The Beachcomber” Beach “Tiki Title Bout” as part of our Liquid Sundays program at RauDZ. While Trader Vic emerged victorious by a landslide, the consensus among our guests was that this cocktail was the best of the night. Created by Donn “The Beachcomber” Beach in 1948, this Tiki Cocktail is one of the only blended drinks I have absolutely no reservations in making. Since Peach Brandy is a bit of a rarity, I have substituted the original recipes call for simple syrup, with fresh peach nectar. With an ominous name, and a rich complexity, be warned, it may be your downfall as well…

• 4 Mint Sprigs
• 1 Slice fresh Pineapple
• 1.5 oz Lime Juice
• 0.5 oz Peach Nectar
• 0.5 oz St. Remy Napoleon (or suitable Brandy)
• 1oz Bacardi Original

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until creamy and smooth. Garnish with fresh mint.

~ Gerry Jobe

Blind tasting reviews are a fun game to play with restaurant sommeliers and wine nerds across town. I pour a glass from a mystery bottle and ask them to review it blind.  By not knowing what the wine is or who represents it, hopefully, an honest-no-bs-review is achieved.

Come inside and read the review of our next contestant…

Wine reviewed by Jason Yamasaki, a member of Chambar’s wine team. Jason is certified by the International Sommelier Guild, he has a WSET Advanced certificate and he’s worked a vintage in Austria. He’s a wealth of knowledge and has read just about every book on wine – and remembers most of the contents. Long story short: he’s pretty much the biggest wine geek around.

JoieFarm Un-Oaked Chardonnay 2011

ABV: 12.2%

Category: Chardonnay

Country/Region: Okanagan Valley, BC

Winemaker: JoieFarm

Appearance: Virtually water-white with a hint of lemon-green.

Nose: Pure, bright aromas of fresh apples and pear with a touch of herbaceousness and a pleasant minerality.

Palate: A dry wine but expressing ripe fruit character and a sunshine-bright gulpability. Actually finishes with a little banana-esque flavour.

Assessment of quality: Perfectly suited to the warming spring weather. Tote to the beach or the park and let the flavour just be an extension of the crystal-clear day.

Further comments upon reveal: Ah! A lovely producer for local deliciousness.

Availability: From the winery, private liquor stores and restaurants.

Pricing: $22.90 from winery, $25-30 in private liquor stores.

If the Negroni, for bartenders, is the “Breakfast of Champions,” then the “Lucien Gaudin” is what’s for dinner. This cocktail was named for the French fencing champion who won four gold, and two silver medals in the Olympics between 1920-1928. By substituting white vermouth and Cointreau for the Negroni’s sweet vermouth, the cocktail gains a light sophistication, matched by its clean presentation and delicate rose hue. It is a great offering for those who enjoy stirred cocktails, but are not in the mood for darker spirits. Tragically, Lucien Gaudin ended his life by his own hand in 1934, but the legacy of his Olympic triumphs lives on through this classic.

• 1oz Gin

• 0.5oz White Vermouth

• 0.5oz Campari

• 0.5oz Cointreau

Stir over ice, Strain into Coupe glass, Garnish with an Orange Zest.

~ Gerry Jobe

Tickets go on sale at 11:59 pm Thursday, April 12, 2012.

Vancouver Craft Beer Week .com

I have always had a thing for Easter Sunday meals. Growing up completely ignorant of the religious gravity of Easter, for me it was a time of chocolates, jelly beans, and yellow marshmallows. Easter also meant your first real warm weather meal of the year. Legs of spring lamb, glazed sweet hams, asparagus, crisp roasted potatoes… you see where I am going here. The only thing I remember from the classic 1980’s British TV show, Brideshead Revisited (think Downton Abbey with floppier hair and less chatting with the servants) is that they served hard boiled quail eggs in a nest for Easter lunch – and I thought, how fucking awesome is that!? You can see why I was a disappointment to my father.

This year I wanted to do something a little different from the usual roasted meats. So why not something to really celebrate that most culinary Easter symbol, the egg? Ever since I read about tajarin pasta from Piedmonte in Jeffrey Steingarten’s superlative The Man Who Ate Everthing, I have been dying to try it out. When it comes to food – I can be a “more is more” kind of guy – and pasta that is made with 40 egg yolks per kilo of flour, that’s about as ‘more’ as you can get.

Dumping flour, egg yolks, and a pinch of salt into a food processor – a few seconds of whirring – the resulting dough is stiff and crumbly, albeit with the richest golden color imaginable. I don’t know what the chemistry at work is, but the dough is very tight and difficult to knead and definitely less pliable than normal pasta dough.

It is the opposite of what I was expecting. My brow is sweating nervously at this point – guests are arriving in 3 hours and there is no Plan B. Rolled to the second thinnest setting and then thinly cut, I end up with bales of beautiful golden noodles. My nervousness is now replaced by excitement.

Cooked in boiling salted water, for longer than you’d expect to get it al dente, and then tossed with sage butter noisette (I know – I am mixing French and Italian cooking terms here – but whatever), a touch of broth, some more softened sweet butter, and Parmesan – the results were fantastic. Subtle, elegant nuttiness – the noodle had real bite but was still light in the mouth. Tasting exactly of itself, it’s a dish that is more than the sum of it’s parts. Delicious.

Granted, this is dinner party food, and really, best enjoyed in small portions (though you may find yourself having multiple small portions). The recipe below suggests that it serves 6, but the portions would be gigantic. It’s enough for 8 or 10 people.

Pasta Tajarin Burro e Salvia
(paraphrased from the Man Who Ate Everything with my notations)

1 pound of all purpose flour
20 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Mix by hand or food processor to get a rough dough. Sprinkle surface with flour and knead still smooth (dough will be very stiff). Divide into 6 portions,wrap with plastic wrap, and let rest for half an hour on the counter.

Working with your pasta maker, roll pasta out to the second thinnest setting and then lay the sheets out to dry on a floured kitchen towel till slightly leathery, about 10 minutes – turning over half way. I lay my pasta sheets out to dry on one of those portable laundry racks – works great and gives me lots of room to work with. Cut pasta on the thinnest noodle setting, dust with flour, twist into little nests and set aside on a baking tray (Jeffery says for up to half a day – so you can get this part done way in advance).

The butter sauce will look scary, but remember, you’ve got a lot of pasta.

About 3/4 cup of butter for the noisette
7-8 sage leaves, chiffonade
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (up to half a cup)
Splash or two of chicken stock (up to half a cup)
A few tablespoons of softened butter to finish.

Heat butter in a small saucepan – when melted and foaming subsides, add the sage leaves. Continuing heating till nutty brown – being very careful not to over heat and burn the butter, which can happen heart-breakingly quickly. Remove sage leaves and set aside the butter.

Boil a lot of salted water vigorously, and add the noodles. They will take longer to cook than you’d expect with fresh pasta, but start checking after 3 or 4 minutes. When ready – drain and dump noodles into a large warmed bowl. Toss through with noisette sage butter (brown bits and all), fresh softened butter, and few tablespoons of the Parmesan, loosen a with a little warm chicken stock (as much as half a cup or so). Taste as you toss adding cheese or stock as needed, but you should not really taste either ingredient distinctly, rather a nutty subtle whole.

Serve in warmed bowls. If you are feeling very generous – shave white Alban truffles over the noodles. Don’t even think of using white truffle oil – which is a bastard chemical cheat of an ingredient.

Sit back and enjoy.

~ Canucklehead

Martin Picard was recently in town at Barbara Jo’s promoting his new cook book, Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack with a book signing. I am not afraid to admit that I am a pretty gushy fan of his. When Au Pied de Cochon self published their first cookbook, I called the restaurant in Montreal trying to get a copy. The hostess was astonished that someone in Vancouver had actually even heard of PDC, let alone want their cookbook.

Well, in the intervening years, Martin Picard’s enthusiastic exploration of Quebec cuisine and rich excess has won him legions of adoring fans (even Rob Blumer showed up to the event, adding some Food Network buzz to the proceedings). It’s easy to overlook that there is also restraint in what he does, keeping his cooking firmly in the world of real food and not stunt cooking. “Sometimes what I cook looks simple, but behind it there is a lot of complexity and technique.”

Picard opened Au Pied De Cochon’s Cabane À Sucre about five years ago to celebrate the food of the country side and the traditional sugar shacks that turn maple sap into syrup. An immediate hit, reservations for the season sell out within hours each December 1st. The new cookbook aims to give a taste of what we are missing, with a focus on detailed step by step photos and recipes that work.

“Each recipe was tested almost seven times, and we are sure that people will have great success with it. I am very proud of the fact that the people will be able to taste real maple syrup in each of the recipes… The maple eclairs that were made here [by the cooking team at Barbara Jo's] taste exactly like the one’s we did in Montreal.”

For many, including myself, the first step in trying the recipes is getting over the idea that maple syrup is a luxury product to be used sparingly. Picard wants us to conquer our prejudice.

“It’s much like how olive oil is treated. We have a false idea that we need all sorts of olive oil that you drizzle a little on things. Then you go to Spain you see how it’s really used.”

Here, maple creme is used in a sandwich of duck fat fried pancakes, pork confit, and cucumbers.

The PDC’s no holds barred food has clearly made a huge impression in the culinary world – with even California taking notice and influencing Los Angeles’ Animal Restaurant. For Picard, “It’s very cool that when you have success, you inspire other people, as I have been inspired by other chefs and restaurants before me.”

As with all great chefs, Picard’s generosity underpins everything he does. He shares local Quebec cuisine with us because he loves it and wants us to love it too. He wants us to really celebrate and enjoy maple syrup, perhaps the most Canadian ingredient out there.

“We are so happy when people are coming from other provinces and the US to come and eat with us.” And with the new book, Picard says “Now we can really share our passion.”

~ Canucklehead

We have a copy of Martin Picard’s new book “Au Pied De Cochon Sugar Shack” to give away to the first person to correctly answer the following question in the comments section below:

What renowned Montreal restaurant did Martin Picard help open in the early 90’s?