Breakfast was an Urban Fare muffin. Very filling. I think if I had them more regularly I'd be sick of them but as I only have them once a month or two, they're still a treat. They're about 3 bucks and quite large. Their Morning Glory is wonderfully chock full of fruit and nuts. D had an early morning errand but he left me some steamed milk and two shots of expresso for my capp. The whole day was a bunch of annoying errands actually. It's really hard to commit to that on such a nice day as well. That of course, is why they're not done. So we had to buckle down and get them done.
Dinner was at Pied-à-Terre on Cambie. Our friend J has wanted to try it out for ages. As she's currently in culinary school, she seems to have a constant pulse on the places to try. Course Pied-à-Terre recently won an award in Vancouver Magazine for best casual French and now it's booked all the time. We could only get a table at 6pm if we promised to leave at 8pm. That was fine. We were headed to K's CMA finally done party anyway.
The menu is simple and reminded me of a pretty authentic French bistro... except for the decor. I thought it was a bit to frou frou, all white with black acrylic chandelier. I like warmer and cozier for bistros.
They have a Table d'Hote with three courses for 36 bucks or so. Pretty good price given the contents but each of us wanted something on the special menu. As well, you could order all the sides as well, separately. I was tempted by the frites. People raved about them on Twitter. I decided to be more sensible.
I had the Brandade Fishcake with greens, D had Roased Cepes with greens and J had Foie Gras. They were all very nice. The Brandade wasn't at all salty and well held together. The breaded coating looked a little manufactured but I guess the cook is THAT good. D's salad looked fairly generic. He said it was nice but nothing to write home about. The Fois Gras looked alright, J and D liked it quite alot. I'm not a fan but I was told it was good. It was encased in what looked like white chocolate but I think it was rendered fat...hmm. and topped with aspic or other jelly.
I would recommend the Brandade though but next time I'll try the mussels. The table next to us ordered them and they came in a ol style crockery, quite large.
As a main I had the Halibut with mash and tapenade. It was very very nice. The portion was very healthy and it was seared perfectly. It was a tad salty. Given there was tapenade, I wouldn't have salted the fish at all. The tapenade was salty on it's own, so I expected it.
D had the Pork Chop in support of the Canadian pork industry. He's been trying to keep organic but when he doesn't have the option he justifies his predeliction for pork chops that way. surprisingly, Pied-à-Terre didn't have much organic meat, just the poultry. But on top of that, they seemed affronted by the question. I detected the repressed urge to roll their eyes. The porkchop came with spatzel and cabbage. That was YUUUUMMMMM, I must learn how to make spatzel.
J had the short ribs. It beat her though. She really wanted to have dessert so she left a whole rib. It looked delectable. I didn't photograph her food though, sorry.
Dessert was BC strawberries and sabayon. (an italian sort of creme brulee that isn't brulee'd :-P)
We had a nice bottle of Buxynoise Givry Premier Cru Bourgogne, Pinot Noir. It's the easiest choice when you have three different meats, Pinot Noir is the best compromise.
Pied-à-Terre
http://www.pied-a-terre-bistro.ca/
3369 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 873-3131
(5.5 maples really)
Dinner was at Pied-à-Terre on Cambie. Our friend J has wanted to try it out for ages. As she's currently in culinary school, she seems to have a constant pulse on the places to try. Course Pied-à-Terre recently won an award in Vancouver Magazine for best casual French and now it's booked all the time. We could only get a table at 6pm if we promised to leave at 8pm. That was fine. We were headed to K's CMA finally done party anyway.
The menu is simple and reminded me of a pretty authentic French bistro... except for the decor. I thought it was a bit to frou frou, all white with black acrylic chandelier. I like warmer and cozier for bistros.
They have a Table d'Hote with three courses for 36 bucks or so. Pretty good price given the contents but each of us wanted something on the special menu. As well, you could order all the sides as well, separately. I was tempted by the frites. People raved about them on Twitter. I decided to be more sensible.
I had the Brandade Fishcake with greens, D had Roased Cepes with greens and J had Foie Gras. They were all very nice. The Brandade wasn't at all salty and well held together. The breaded coating looked a little manufactured but I guess the cook is THAT good. D's salad looked fairly generic. He said it was nice but nothing to write home about. The Fois Gras looked alright, J and D liked it quite alot. I'm not a fan but I was told it was good. It was encased in what looked like white chocolate but I think it was rendered fat...hmm. and topped with aspic or other jelly.
I would recommend the Brandade though but next time I'll try the mussels. The table next to us ordered them and they came in a ol style crockery, quite large.
As a main I had the Halibut with mash and tapenade. It was very very nice. The portion was very healthy and it was seared perfectly. It was a tad salty. Given there was tapenade, I wouldn't have salted the fish at all. The tapenade was salty on it's own, so I expected it.
D had the Pork Chop in support of the Canadian pork industry. He's been trying to keep organic but when he doesn't have the option he justifies his predeliction for pork chops that way. surprisingly, Pied-à-Terre didn't have much organic meat, just the poultry. But on top of that, they seemed affronted by the question. I detected the repressed urge to roll their eyes. The porkchop came with spatzel and cabbage. That was YUUUUMMMMM, I must learn how to make spatzel.
J had the short ribs. It beat her though. She really wanted to have dessert so she left a whole rib. It looked delectable. I didn't photograph her food though, sorry.
Dessert was BC strawberries and sabayon. (an italian sort of creme brulee that isn't brulee'd :-P)
We had a nice bottle of Buxynoise Givry Premier Cru Bourgogne, Pinot Noir. It's the easiest choice when you have three different meats, Pinot Noir is the best compromise.
Pied-à-Terre
http://www.pied-a-terre-bistro.ca/
3369 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 873-3131
(5.5 maples really)
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