Mistral French Bistro

Today was a special day – we went to Mistral French Bistro (www.mistralbistro.ca) for lunch. Mistral is probably my favorite lunch spot anywhere. Yes, anywhere. We are not the sort of folks who eat lunches like this on a regular basis. We’ve been there to celebrate (a long leisurely lunch can feel more decadent, and so celebratory, than dinner), to turn an ordinary day into a special one, or, as in today, to perk up a bad one. (The bad day actually happened last week, but we couldn’t make it to Mistral until today.)

We arrived at just after 1 pm. The staff were all occupied when we arrived, and it took a few moments before someone came over to greet us. Once noticed, a server came by on his way to a table to tell us he’d be with us in just a moment (letting us know that we’d been seen), and another immediately followed and we were given our choice of several different tables and seated. Water and menus arrived quickly. A server took a little longer (I was feeling a little ignored), but once he came by, he was very helpful and efficient.

Usually we have one of the lunch menus, which are a fabulous value. (My favorite is the Marseille, because I love the bourride.) But today we ordered off the a la carte menu. We started with the Assiette de Charcuterie to share. It’s prosciutto, duck rillettes, and duck pate, with cornichons and an onion jam. (Chris wants me to make the jam. I think I’ll need to try it a few more times to figure it out…) The proscuitto is not in the typical Parma style (nor did it seem to be San Daniele). It seems to be cured for a little less time, giving it a different texture and taste. Not bad by any means, just different.

It was a cool drizzly day, and so a stew or braise was what the day called for. The chef must have been a fortune teller, because one of the specials was a beef short rib stew. We both ordered it. Braised in veal demi-glace and red wine for 8 hours, what could be more perfect? There were mushrooms, pearl onions (and parsnips or turnips?) in the braise and some baby carrots and a ricotta concoction on top. Chick pea flour ‘cakes’ were served alongside. It was incredibly rich. Delicious, but rich. I would almost have preferred the served sauce be cut with some veal stock or a little wine. Chris thought that simply serving less of it would have worked. It was that intense. However, despite the fact that we were both thinking of ways to do something about/with the sauce, neither of us could stop eating it! Think of a really good dark chocolate mousse, the kind where a few bites is enough. Chris finished his, and I got through half and brought the rest home. (Half the meat, that is. I don’t think much of the sauce made it home.) Neither of us could eat a morsel more, so we passed on coffee and desert.

Chris’s wine selection was perfect for the meal. A 2000 Cahors, with substantial tannins and acid, that not only stood up to the meal, but really enhanced it. It was a little tight when opened so we had it decanted, which helped substantially.

At the end of the meal we chatted with the server who was very knowledgeable about local foods and wines. I asked about the prosciutto, and he told me where they get it from. He also divulged his own favorite place to procure charcuterie. (When I go, I’ll be sure to write about it.) We also got some tips on some new BC wines to try. It was a fun ending to a really lovely meal.

I must confess that I have never been to France, and so cannot really say that the food at Mistral is authentic. But they have certainly convinced me that it is. I imagine that were I to go, I would find the same dishes, hopefully prepared with the same excellence.

In sum, we love this place. The food is clearly prepared with skill and care and is always flavorful. Service is consistently good. And they can always guide you to the right wine for your meal. Although today we chose a wine without assistance (we didn’t need it), on other visits we have gotten some help from Minna. In fact, it was she who introduced us to Joie Noble blend (www.joie.ca/2005_joie_vintage_spec_sheet.htm) and first got us to start drinking BC wines again. We have been there for dinner as well (our second anniversary?), and very much enjoyed it. But it’s lunch that we go for again and again. It’s not perfect, no place is. But it more than deserves all our thumbs. I heartily suggest you go. Warning: It is not particularly veggie-friendly. It’s OK if you eat seafood, but if you don’t, this is probably not the place for you.

4 thumbs.

The Galley Patio & Grill

After a bit of a travel ‘adventure’ I finally arrived back in Vancouver yesterday afternoon. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say I was very happy to land, and even happier when my suitcase arrived. (It had been directed to Goose Bay by accident – YVR, YYR, whatever…) It was nearing 4 o’clock, and neither of us had eaten lunch, so Chris proposed that we go and grab something to eat. The suggested destination was the restaurant at Jericho beach. A fantastic idea on a beautiful Vancouver day.

The Galley (www.thegalley.ca) is the restaurant at the Jericho Sailing Centre (www.jsca.bc.ca). It is an order-at-the-counter self-serve place with plastic baskets instead of plates. The menu is pretty basic: burgers, sandwiches, salads, fries, things of that sort. They do have vegetarian options. Essentially, it’s a basic pub-style menu appropriate to the venue. It is licensed, and they have a small but decent selection of local beers and wines. [They even have the La Frenz viognier, something the winery itself if out of (www.lafrenzwinery.com)- see my earlier posts on our visit to the Naramata Bench.] But the real reason for going there is the patio. It has one of the best views out there. Not a people-watching view, a spectacular, remind-you-how-lucky-you-are-to-be-in-Vancouver sort of view. And no fancy furniture. Just plain old plastic patio chairs and tables, which, be warned, are often a little unstable. (So hold on to your beers!) It was just what I needed after my travel travails.

Although I said you don’t go there for the food, don’t take from my statement that the food isn’t worth eating. Most of it is quite good. Nothing spectacular, but better than many places with much less in the way of views. I ordered the basic Angus burger with cheese, and Chris had the Jamaican jerk chicken burger. Both come with fries and are around $10 each. We also each ordered a beer. They have 12 and a 16 oz sized beers, which I like, because 16 is too big for me. (Yesterday I forgot about the smaller size until after we already had our beers.) The angus burger was perfectly fine. Not the best burger I’ve ever had, but certainly something I’d order again. The fries were well cooked, possibly overcooked for some, but perfect for my tastes. Chris’s jerk chicken burger was disappointing. All heat and no flavor. The heat was not an issue, as he loves hot, but the lack of flavor was. There was a lot of mayo on the burgers, but I’m sure that you could order them without. (Something Chris often does but forgot about yesterday.) We usually have the buffalo burgers, which have always been good, so maybe the jerk was a little out of their wheelhouse. We’ve also had the nachos on a previous visit, which were OK. The onion rings at the next table looked amazing, and I plan to try them on our next visit.

In sum, it’s pretty much as advertised. A basic venue with a great view and more than decent food and drink. And you can feel good about supporting a great community resource (the Sailing Centre). Dress casual; it's on the beach.

3 thumbs up.

Nichol Syrah (2005)

I'm posting this one from Phoenix, AZ. What am I doing here? It's a very long story, involving a work trip to DC, a thunder storm, and about 4 different attempts to get to Vancouver, which somehow ended with me doing an overnight stint in Phoenix, and my bag possibly, but not certainly, being in Goose Bay, Nfld. No BC food or wine to report on here. But, I did receive an email from Chris with the following tasting notes on one of the wines we bought on the Bench.

Nichol 2005 Syrah (www.nicholvineyard.com)

-notably, old world in style (the tell-tale "barn-yard" / earthy nose)
-yet noticable fruit & acid on the font end
-smooth finish, but with little or no tannin (as contrasted with Syncline;
you can really appreciate what the hotter WA summers add)
-Thus, the overall impression is of something much lighter than Syrah
-actually much better the next day. Still not at all tannic, but mid-mouth flavours rounded out with a recognizable hint of tobacco

The other wine he mentions, Syncline (synclinewine.com), is one we tried on a trip to Hood River, Oregon, last summer, and which I really loved. (Unfortunately, I can’t remember which of their two syrahs it was that we bought. They are quite different as I recall.)

Chris did also comment on the price of Nichol wines. Nichol reds are often a little lower in price than many other similar quality BC reds, and so relatively a better value.

Baru Latino

Yesterday, I was having a bit of a bad day (work), and to cheer me up, Chris suggested we go out for a drink later. (We’ve both been working well into the evening most days lately.) Then we found out we had a new nephew, and so had something to celebrate! We decided that bubbles were definitely in order for the evening. Nothing elaborate, just a quick pre-dinner drink and maybe a nibble or two. (Dinner was already in the works - Malaysian-style short ribs.)

Baru Latino (www.baru.ca/index2.php) was selected as the destination. It’s close by so an easy place to pop in and out of. We were immediately greeted at the door, and selected our own seats at the bar. (I’m happy to say that they have different seats at the bar than they used to. Before they looked good, but were hard to sit in for long. Much improved!) We pretty much knew what we wanted and so were ready to order quite quickly. The server was right on top of things, and was there to take our order very promtly. The host/server/bartender was alone that evening, but very efficient (at least we found him so) despite doing everything himself.

I’ve always found their wine list to be a little lackluster, but they did have what we wanted this time. We each had a glass of cava (Spanish bubbly), and shared an order of the Hunduarian Coconut Ceviche. I am not a cava connoisseur and so can’t say whether the cava on their list is a good one or not. (Cava connoisseurs are out there - just ask my friend Craig.) But we were perfectly happy with it; it was exactly what we wanted that evening.

The Hunduarian Coconut Ceviche is not what one typically thinks of when one thinks of ceviche. It’s a little creamy and lacking the typical acid-cooked aspect of many ceviches. We knew this, having ordered it before. I did think that it needed a pinch more salt and a bit more acid this time, although Chris disagrees. (This may have been a result of my long run that evening, leaving me a little dehydrated and so craving salt.) In general, the ceviches are our favorite items on the menu. They are always good. (The others are more familiar in style.) The fish is always really high quality and fresh. I like the Latin Chips too. The rest of the menu has highs and lows, or more accurately, good days and bad (i.e. it is inconsistent). Again, the ingredients are always fresh, but sometimes the combinations are not quite as good as they could or should be. Although Chris says it has improved recently. (He sometimes eats there when I’m away.)

Summary: Great place for ceviche, OK place for dinner. I wouldn’t cross town for dinner here, but if you’re nearby, or just want an evening of drinks and nibbles, then it’s a fine place. (Clearly we like it enough that we've been more than once.)

2 thumbs.

FYI: They have live music on Tuesdays, something we hadn’t realized before going. It made selecting a seat tricky. One end of the bar was too close to the door, which was open with a little bit of a draft, and the other was too close to the musician, which made it a little loud (there was already someone in the middle of the bar). We went with loud, which turned out to be fine. The guy who played the third set of the evening (the second we saw) was actually quite pleasant to listen to.

Fraser Valley Berries

Today’s post is not about a restaurant, a wine, a meal, or a store. It’s about a season – berry season. On Saturday I drove out to visit some family in Hope, which entails driving through the beautiful, if often somewhat smelly, Fraser Valley. (It is agricultural, after all.) My mother wanted to stop at one of the local berry farms, something I was more than happy to do. When we opened the car doors we were almost overwhelmed by the scent of strawberries. I’d never smelled anything like it! It was really incredible. It also meant that we had lucked out. The place we stopped at had blueberries and raspberries (as did others), but unlike most others, still had some strawberries.

I was a little too inspired, buying a flat of blueberries, 2 large baskets of strawberries, and a small one of raspberries. The raspberries were for eating, but I had big plans for the others. Yesterday, while rocking out to Miss Kitin and The National I made a batch of strawberry-fig preserves, a batch of my tea-time strawberry preserves (secret recipe, excellent on scones), and a batch of spiced pickled blueberries (an excellent accompaniment to charcuterie, maybe I’ll go pick up some more of that wild boar terrine). Today I made blueberry-orange preserves (it was Belle and Sebastian and Of Montreal playing today). I’ll finish up with a blueberry pie this evening. I love making preserves, they are such a wonderful use of the fresh bounty of the season. And my friends and family love my making preserves too: They benefit from my efforts at Christmas.

What a wonderful time of year! Go out and take advantage of what is fresh wherever you are.

The Noodle Box - Kitsilano

We went and grabbed a quick lunch at the Noodle Box (www.thenoodlebox.net/) the other day. Both Chris and I ordered the daily special: BBQ duck and prawns with veggies and some sort of sauce on thick egg noodles. I ordered it mild, he got it spicy. It was very tasty, something I’ve found to be true the two previous times we’ve been. However, the spicing has always been somewhat of a mystery to me. Mild seems to mean anything from 'burn-your-mouth' to no spice at all. And hot varies likewise. On this visit, there was no heat whatsoever in mine, which was perfectly fine; they have three different condiments you can add at your table to add spiciness, allowing you to control it exactly. (I added lots.) The hot was perfect for Chris this time. He was left with little beads of sweat on his brow, just like he likes it. So we were both quite happy with the spicing, but be warned, this is not always the case.

They seem to be a green business, encouraging composting in addition to the more usual recycling. Despite this, the first time we went, which was in the winter, they felt compelled to heat the outdoors. I guess the cooks were hot, because the front door was propped open. The patrons, however, were not (hot that is); most of us were eating with our coats on! All this, and the heat was on. (Very Vancouver, doors open and heat on in the middle of February.) Apparently, the irony was not as apparent to the staff as it was to us.

Summary: tasty food, inconsistent spicing, but a pretty good deal for a quick lunch. We’ve been multiple times and we will go back.

2 thumbs (1 each).

Petales D'Osoyoos

Another successful pairing to report. Last night (at home) we had buffalo flat iron steak marinated in red wine, garlic, topped with bacon, onions, and mushrooms, served with mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, spinach topped with crumbled blue cheese, and a salad of cucumber and fresh fava beans with a cream mint dressing. The wine, Osoyoos Larose Petales D’Osoyoos. Was it the absolute best wine we could have paired with the meal? I don't know. We have several good bottles of French and a lot of BIG California cabs in the cellar, any of which probably would have been fantastic with the meal. The real question is whether or not it was a good meal for the wine, the answer: it was. It had more than enough tannins (and acid) to stand up to the meal very nicely. All without making us focus only on the wine. Instead, we enjoyed how the food and wine interacted, nothing playing a clearly staring role, instead, working in concert with each other to make beautiful music. (Don’t get me wrong, the wine is quite lovely to drink by itself too, as previous posts attest to.)

A plug for fresh fava beans: They are a hassle, requiring shelling and then peeling, but when they are in season, they are totally worth the effort!

I purchased the buffalo at my neighborhood butcher shop, called simply, The Butcher. They have very high quality meat, and great service, all without a trip to the craziness that is Granville Island. Check it out. (www.thebutcher.ca).