The Daily Catch Seafood Company at 1418 Commercial Drive

Apologies for my delinquency over the past year; it's been one heck of a year for me. Mostly I haven't been doing much worth writing about, and when I have, there's been no time to write about it. But I have the intention at least to remedy that. (We'll see how far good intentions take me...)

I may try to catch up on some of the restaurants I've been to recently, but for now, I'm sharing what I hope will cease to be one of the best kept secrets in the city - Daily Catch Seafood on Commercial Drive.

They have a wide variety of fresh sustainably caught seafood daily. They are not cheap, and I do sometimes feel guilty for being able to afford such wonderful guilt free fare, but if you can afford it, it's so worth it. It's all so fresh, let me say that again, fresh, and flavorful. It reminds me of the seafood of my childhood. I grew up on the island, and we went shrimping crabbed, fished for cod and salmon, dug for clams, the whole nine yards. Seafood had character, and taste! I had begun to think that the flavors of my youth were wistful creations of my memories, but since I started splurging at this shop, I have learned that no, seafood really can taste like I remember.

Whether your motivation is the flavor, the environment, or some of both (like me), I urge you to take a gander by this store, and take some really great seafood home tonight.



Oh, in case you're wondering, they are an OceanWise partner

Bosa Foods - 562 Victoria Drive

I'm back, and exploring new places around Vancouver and the rest of the province as much as I can. And although having a toddler means we eat out less than before, that, and the fact that I now live in the city full time, means that I cook more, and that, in turn, means that I am always on the look-out for great local products, stores, and the like.

My recent find may be a bit out of the way for some, but worth a trip if you like Italian groceries, and a definite gem for those who live nearby. Bosa Foods, an importer of Mediterranean foods that also sells directly to the public, is located in a residential area at 562 Victoria Drive, a few blocks off of Commercial Drive, just south of Hastings Street. They carry a large selection of pastas, oils, vinegars, tomatoes, sauces, meats, and cheeses, as well as sweets, dishware, and the like. The quality is generally great, as are the prices. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop in. If you're not, take a trip next time your cupboards are bare, and stock up.

Be aware the store is not flashy, and you could easily miss if if you weren't looking carefully.

(Note, they have another larger (?) location on Kootenay St. that might be closer to where you are.)

Gold Train Express II on W. Broadway

It has been a long time since my last posting here, and I apologize for that. Thankfully for me it is not because I have no new BC Food and Wine experiences to write about, just no time to write them up. The baby is keeping us very busy indeed! I will, however, try to get some of our recent restaurant visits and wine tastings written up as I can. As a start on that effort, a short review of Gold Train Express on W. Broadway Ave.

Gold Train Express II is a Vietnamese Restaurant that opened up at 3236 W. Broadway in January. We were eagerly awaiting its opening: we really like Vietnamese food, and it is a great quick, inexpensive meal option that works with children too. We had visited their other location on West 10th in the past, but have always found it dirty, to the point where we were not comfortable eating there. The new location is much cleaner, and with a fairly open kitchen making it easy to keep tabs on food preparation, it feels much less sketchy. The decor is exactly what one would expect in an inexpensive Vietnamese restaurant - fake plants, rocky tables, etc. In fact, I found it difficult to believe that the renovations had taken as long as they did. But it's kind of comforting in its own way, and very up front about the kind and quality of food one can expect.

We've now been several times and found our food to be equally fast and tasty each time. Chris likes the Pho, and I tend to order rice noodle bowls (which are served on plates there and without any extra dipping sauce for the spring rolls which is customary at many similar restaurants - they were quick to bring me some when I asked, however). Unlike the location on W. 10th, this one serves bahn mi, (Vietnamese sub sandwiches), which is what we went for yesterday. We love bahn mi, and we were quite excited to see that we were finally going to be able to get some in the neighborhood. A good bahn mi comes on a French roll, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, often with a bit of pate spread on one side (I usually skip this), some butter or mayo, pickled vegetables, and some form of protein, usually grilled chicken, pork, or beef, although tofu can also be tasty. They are or should be inexpensive ($3.50 here), and substantial enough for a meal for a person with a small to medium sized appetite. These ones are a little smaller (a very little) than most I’ve had elsewhere, and I suspect that they use margarine, but they are still quite delicious. The rolls are perfect, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. (Be warned, we recently learned the hard way they don’t serve them on days they can’t get fresh rolls, like Sundays.) And the fillings are quite generous. They don’t put hot peppers in them as has been typical most other places I’ve eaten bahn mi, but that’s OK since my toddler insists on eating whatever I do and he is not a big fan of chilis as yet. All in all, they were a hit in our house, and we will go back for more.

Food pairing for 2008 Road 13 Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne

A few weeks ago I bought a bottle of Road 13 (http://www.road13vineyards.com/index.php) Viognier, Roussane and Marsanne just to have on hand in case the need for a white wine presented itself. Just such an occasion presented itself on Christmas Eve as I was preparing that evening's dinner. I needed some white wine for my lentils that were to be served under maple syrup and balsamic vinegar glazed crispy pork belly with soft poached egg alongside a salad of assorted endives with a sweet-lemon tarragon dressing.

I opened the wine and not only did it seem more than adequate for my needs, it was abundantly clear that it would be a wonderful wine to drink with the meal too. It was bigger than I had anticipated. It had the fruit I expected, but it was also full and rounded, surprisingly so (at least to me) for a wine that has seen no oak whatsoever. It had the body to stand up to the lentils and pork belly, the acid to cut the fat in the pork belly and egg, and the fruit to work well with the salad. The pairing worked so well we left aside the bottle we had chosen for the evening (a fantastic Oregon Pinot) for another night. Chance (and Road 13 wine) treated us well that night.

Bandidas Taqueria

Those of you who either know me personally or read this blog regularly will be quite aware that we are about as far from vegetarians as you can get (don’t get me wrong, we eat plenty of vegetables, it’s just that we think pretty highly of meat), so the restaurant in this review may surprise you.

Yesterday, quite by accident, we happened into Bandidas Taqeria (http://bandidastaqueria.com/) on Commercial. We were driving around the neighborhood when Chris spotted it, and in the haze of hunger I thought I remembered reading something about it on another food blog recently, where it was proclaimed to have the best tacos in the city. I was incorrect. Very incorrect. We walked in, very clearly in the middle of a brunch rush (first clue I was wrong) and it took a few minutes before anyone acknowledged us. Eventually someone came over and added us to the acceptably short waiting list. But when we moved to the bar to peruse the menu, we made a shocking discovery. IT WAS A VEGETARIAN ‘taqueria’. That was the second and damning clue that this was not the place I was thinking of. How can one have a vegetarian taqueria? No carnitas, no al pastor, no pretty much anything I would have wanted to order. But it was too late: we had a good parking spot, a baby and all his gear, and it was too much work to go elsewhere. To his credit, Chris grumbled much less than I would have expected about the unhappy discovery.

The food came quickly, and it was hot. Both good things. Maybe it’s because we had low expectations, or maybe because we were starving, but the food was actually very tasty. I ordered the Dani’s enchiladas (filled with cheese and roasted squash) with the enchilada sauce, and Chris had the heuvas rancheras (sic). (Thankfully it isn’t a vegan restaurant! I never would have heard the end of it. Although they do offer vegan options for those of you who are interested.) The tortillas were the real star of my meal, and that is a compliment. I lived in the Yucatan, and I know good corn tortillas. The enchilada sauce was quite mild, but still quite flavorful, and there was just the perfect amount of cheese inside the enchiladas. I opted for the beans and rice as a side. The rice was a little dry, but the beans were as good as they can be without lard. I would have liked a little cilantro on top, but all in all I was pleasantly surprised and quite happy with my meal. Chris didn’t care for the roasted yams that came as a side with his meal, but liked the rest of plate well enough. Like me, he found the sauce (in his case the ranchera sauce) quite tasty, if a little mild.

Coffee refills were plentiful, overall service decent, and the clientele what you would expect on the drive, a wonderfully eclectic mix of all kinds of people. It was quite child friendly, although there was no real spot for diaper changes in the washrooms. I’m not sure we would go back: it’s not in our neighborhood, and given the baby, when we go out we like to maximize our restaurant experience. But I can happily recommend it as a great casual vegetarian option in the city, where even meat eaters might be happy they joined you for a meal.

2 thumbs.

Gort's Gouda and Maasdammer

A few weeks ago my mother drove out from Alberta to visit. Lucky for us, her route took her past Gort's Gouda Cheese Farm (http://www.gortsgoudacheese.bc.ca/index.cfm). Knowing me like she does, she thought I might enjoy some artisanal BC cheese (she was right of course), and so she stopped to check it out.

She brought us two cheeses, the aged gouda and the aged maasdammer. The gouda was spectacular. It is at once bold and strong and subtly nuanced in flavor. Mildly nutty, it equally at home on a cheese platter at a fancy dinner party or in a homey grilled cheese sandwich on a rainy day. I was proud to serve it recently to one of my foodie friends who was visiting from down south, who was quite surprised to find out it was a BC product. The maasdammer was milder, although still nutty. To me it had more green qualities, by that I mean only that it tasted like it had been made with spring milk, from cows eating new shoots. The quality of the milk was clearly evident in both cheeses, and it is the milk that I think makes these cheeses so unique; the cows eat well, and so their milk is rich and flavorful, resulting in cheeses full of local flavor.

Both were quite addictive, so if you are watching your calories or cholesterol, I suggest buying only a small block. (Buying none at all would be going too far.)
I am now on the look-out for their extra-aged gouda, which is one of my three favorite cheeses. I'll let you know what I think of that when I find it.

Road 13 Honest John's 2007 Red

This wine was an accidental opening. I had prepared some mussels with an italian-style wine and tomato sauce, frites with a lemon aioli, and a light salad for a late night (baby-free) meal. Alas, the wine I purchased to accompany the meal was bad, so we headed to the cellar to see what we could find. We decided on the Road 13 Honest John's 2007 (http://www.road13vineyards.com/index.php), a wine Chris purchased about a month ago, and which we were curious to taste.

A merlot blend, it immediately reminded me of Pétales d'Osoyoos from Osoyoos Larose; it had the same characteristic fruit and roundness of merlots from the area. However, as it opened up with more time and air, it became fuller, and unfortunately, a little rougher. It appears to have seen more oak, or more heavily toasted oak, than the Pétales d'Osoyoos. However, the oaking left the wine a little unbalanced; it began with lovely fruit, leading to toasted caramel, and finishing too quickly. We are in disagreement as to whether the lack of finish is real (Chris) or is due to the slightly overpowering toastiness that precedes it (me). Whatever the cause, this is not a wine to be lingered over. To be fair, however, this wine costs $10-$14 less than the Pétales d'Osoyoos, and we consider it to be a good value BC red at its price point.

Note: This was not a great pairing for the mussels, but we hadn't expected it to be. It would likely be quite nice with a grilled hanger steak or quality beef or buffalo burger.