Serendipity in the form of Tapas - Portland Variety Café

Brandade - Portland Vareity Cafe - Toronto

We don't get out to nicer places as we used to.  In Vancouver we were out upto 4x a week. With two kids under 3, it's alot to ask of a grannie nou nou.  In any case, when opportunity comes knocking, we make it happen.  We got Gala tickets to TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) this past weekend so I decided to make us dinner reservations at a Susur Lee restaurant too.  Madness I know.   What restaurant even remotely near TIFF would have tables available on a Saturday night right?  Well, not many.  So I booked at Bent, the sons' restaurant a bit further away.  We love the food there.  That said they had changed the menu and D was disappointed when I told him.  But in the end it didn't matter because our Movie ran longer than we had anticipated with the speeches from TIFF, the director and the primary actors.  We stood out on the busy King Street TIFF zone at a loss of what to do.  We wandered over to Lee, hoping for bar seats.  They were full for another half hour even at the bar so we decided that we'd try the other restaurants on that intersection and if nothing, we'd head home to a west end place.  Valdez was full and Buca had already gone too bar-ey.  We stumbled into Portland Variety because it looked the least busy.  That said they were packed but the least packed.   I was unarmed with reviews or writeups.  In fact, when the hostess sat us at a last minute, early departure, and she asked how we heard of them, I said, honestly, we stumbled out of TIFF without a plan.

Garlic Shrimp in Pil Pil - Portland Variety Cafe - Toronto

We took a peak at the menu before being seated in case it was an all steak or charcuterie place that I would not stay for.  It was tapas.  Now, if you're a regular reader, you'll know a couple of things about me and Tapas.  1. I lived in Spain for over 2 years so I know a thing or two about Tapas. 2. I am annoyed by Western restaurants over charging for small plates under the hospices of Tapas.  The second is particularly irksome because it goes against the very spirit of Tapas.  Yes you can get expensive food in Spain but it is very high end and usual the size of a substantial main and you aren't paying for Pan con Tomate.  But when you charge high end prices for what should be casual fare.. booo and then list yourself as moderately priced because each dish is less than a 'real' main, I'm going to be bothered.  I call it 'Tapa' fatigue.  That said, it wasn't a charcuterie so we stayed because I was starving.  Glad we did.  I stayed when I saw Cassava fries on the menu.

Cassava (Yucca) Fries - Portland Variety Cafe - Toronto

More South Am than spanish, but we honeymooned in Ecuador and Cassava or Yucca was everywhere next to corn so Yummo!  We sped ordered, the guy came over to say hello and I shot four orders at him.  It was so busy that I thought it was the best thing to do.  Yucca came first.  It was piping hot, a tad on the dry side and there was no dipping sauce. Still overall, good but could have done with an Aioli or something.  Next came the grilled Artichokes which I have not seen done properly since Barcelona and still haven't.  They were the size of halve ping pong balls and under seasoned.  Served hot, which I'm always happy about in a place where I'm worried that because of the crowds, things may sit too long at the pass.  They did not.  Still, it was a meagre plate, so I started to worry.  Then came the Garlic Shrimp in Pil Pil sauce.  OUTSTANDING.  I mean OUTSTANDING.  I have not been that please with a dish in a restaurant for years.  The flavours, the spice were great and the Shrimp where cooked perfectly.  We were sopping up the oil with the bread, which we had to go out of our way to ask for.  D had half a Cornish Hen with Piri Piri sauce.  He dipped his fork in the sauce and smiled.  We'd recently had some bad store bought Piri Piri and this was miles above.  We will never touch that jar again.  As his Hen arrived I noted the table nearby received their Marrow.  Now I am not a fan by any stretch of the imagination but D is and he rarely gets to have it.  It was a nice portion cut along the length and I told D he should order it but thankfully, our server did say it would take a while and knowing we had not alot of time, we decided to wait for next time.  Our last dish was the Brandade which we make very well from scratch at home.  We scraped every molecule from the bowl.  It was very good.  It wasn't overly Potatoey, which lots of restaurants do to 'stretch' the saltcod.  It was piping hot.  Our meal was eaten with a decent Garnacha.  They ran out of glasses so we did wait abit.  That said, they had only opened a few months ago so perhaps a bit ill prepared for the TIFF onslaught.  I saw a table outside had ordered the Patatas Bravas and they looked delicious.  I know already, what I'll be ordereding next time.

Cornish Hen with Piri Piri - Portland Variety Cafe - Toronto

Now, I have no idea why this place is called Portland Variety except for the 1890s style aprons and bowties on the servers.  But the food was excellent, service congenial and we'll be back.  I enjoyed the Tapas here more than Patria which we visited a few months ago.

Empty Brandade - Portland Variety Cafe - Toronto

Food: Fantastic
Price: $$$-$$$$ (higher if you order a proper main)
Ambiance: modernised deli upfront and typical King West buzzy in back.
Wine: Decent selection, could use more by glass variety since tapas
Service: kind, helpful, happy to help
Family friendly: maybe during the day, tables far too close together but bathrooms are on ground level!!!

Portland Variety Café
416-368-5151
King West
587 King St W
Toronto, ON M5V1M5

Friday, March 25th - Mis Trucos - Creative yet Autentico Tapas

Polenta Fries with Cheese Fondata Dip

I have passed this place numerous times and never tried it.  It is in a very unlikely situation despite being right on Davie off Thurlow.  It is actually a bit off Davie as well.  I'm sure if you've been strolling down Davie you'd have 'missed' it too.  It is in what appears to be a lonely 'heritage' house that has been converted into storefronts.  The restaurant is up the stairs behind the shops as if in the second floor of the house.  In the summer they sprawl out on to a roof top patio as well.

As we're somewhat chained to the St. Paul's hospital area for a few weeks, we asked some colleagues of D for recommendations for places to eat.  Mis Trucos came quite well recommended.  And as I have a bias to lovely Spanish food, I stopped listening to the rest of the list :)

It is a small, dainty place that could easily be the size of a small studio apartment.  I would say it's a well hidden gem for the area if not for the full house of patrons who would tell me that I'm quite late to the party.  We ate at the bar since we had to be back at St. Paul's in little more than an hour.  Well, normally, bar service is faster since you can grab the attention of the servers but not so here.  The slow service was probably my only disappointment.

Ash Covered Cheese Plate

There was a decent selection of classic and spins on classic Tapas (small plates) and Pinxos (pinchos - single bites).  Having lived in Barcelona for a few years, I tend to have fussy expectations of dishes people like to randomly call Tapas so they can charge full price for small plates.  If it is just a small plate, just call it a small plate and don't give it the spanish monicher of Tapa.  Well, Mis Trucos managed to hit a decent authenticity even though playing on the theme which was awesome. 

Crispy Bread covered Prawn with Aioli

As a minor digression, you should know that most reviews and listings for restaurants will list average 'dish prices' when categorising the cost level of the place.  So if a place features 'Tapas' then you may see them listed in a modest cost level but really the per person cost for the dinner is not because you will order several.  I give the price range based on what you will actually eat and not the per dish cost.

Bacalao Bunelos with Smoked Paprika Aioli

We started with the Polenta Fries with Cheese Fondata.   They were cooked perfectly and managed to have a nice balance of lightness and substance.  That was followed but something quite unusual that D's colleague raved about, Prawns wrapped in very thinly sliced Bread with Aioli.  This was so simple yet absolutely delicious.  We also had the Ash covered Cheese plate and Braised Octopus which were yummy.  The Octopus was tender and well seasoned.  I think my favourite Tapa for the night was a toss up between the Polenta fries and the Bunuelos, Salt Cod Fritters with Smoked Paprika Aioli. The Bunelo is a small fritter with out the Potato filler like the other popular Spanish tapa called the Croqueta. 

Braised Octopus in Tomato Foam  with Ham Chip

The price range was much more appropriate for Tapas than similarly themed restaurants in town.  The service was on the casual slow side but nothing as painful as our night at Bin 941 a couple of nights ago.  In fact, I made a point of complaining at Bin 941 that we had been waiting excructiatingly long, nearly 40 minutes for our last dish despite the server telling us that it was being plated as we spoke.  Well, the other server we managed to flag down refused to apologise and said she wanted to check the pos first.  Nice.  Shockingly rude and terribly slow service that night at Bin 941.  If I'm in the mood for tapas next time, I think I'll find my way a few blocks west at Mis Trucos instead.

Ambiance: slick yet cosy
Service: casual yet friendly
Cost: $$

Mis Trucos

Robson Street/West End
1141 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC V6E
www.mistrucos.ca
(604) 566-3960

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Wednesday, Aug 25th - Early Supper at Bin 941

Pommes Frites with Balsamic Reducition - Bin 941

One of Vancouver's gems come crowded hotspots is Bin 941.  It is so popular that Gord Martin opened a second one, Bin 942 across the bridge on Granville and Broadway.  While the first one could genuinely be the eclectic cave it is with mis matched tables and chairs, random artwork on the walls and bits of bar detritus if not for the fact that it was twinned in the second.  It makes both feel a bit like an out of the box set up.  There are loads of out of box Pubs in England.  They're mostly owned by the major brewers and identical from pub to pub down to the same cricket photos or old coasters on the exact same wooden pillars.  Well, Gord is a local boy so I try to pretend the twin doesn't exist when I'm in the other.

Whichever twin you chose to go to, they are both equally cozy.  That coupled with the popularity means you will wait.  Oh, to up that situation yet equalling the playing field, they do not take reservations.  It is first come first serve.  They open at five and that will be the only time you will not wait.  We've waited upto an hour.  There are about 4 stools in the small hallway in the back near the bathroom so we prefer to go up the road for a drink until they ring us.

Today however, we were both able to leave work early enough to beat the rush but just. We met there for quarter to six and got the last table.  Yay!

Bin 941's concept is tapas but more accurately, small plates and on the small side as well.  I used to live in Spain and feel that word is used rather fast and loose in North American fusion restaurants.  Their menu has several of these small plates, as well as well as Mussels served with gorgeous toasted baguette, and Salads.  The mussels and salads are more substantial but still small plate sized.  I was not in a Mussel mood so we ordered three hot small plates, the Spinach Salad and Pommes Frites.

We ordered one Small plate each and shared one.  D was in the mood for Lamb.  So I ordered the Fresh Pacific Halibut, pan seared on a bed of greens in a  thai curry coconut sauce with a side of Mango and Prawn Sunomono salad. D ordered the Grilled Lamb Chops with a lemon roast potato and sides of a Spanakopita on Tzatziki, Minced Greek Salad on Feta and a fried Olive. Our third hot plate was the Crab Cakes with burnt Orange sauce, Bok Choy with chipotle Oil, minced Cucumber salsa.  We shared the Spinach Salad with Baby Golden and Red Beets and Fried Saganaki (cheese) nuggets in a Sherry Vinagrette and their signature shoe string Pommes Frites tossed in Pepper and drizzled in Balsamic reduction.

Now to start with the Pommes Frites.  They are an item of great debate from posts I have seen so let me chime in.  It depends.  Yup. There's definitive for you.  What I mean is they are messy, no doubt. The yummy Balsamic Reduction which is thankfully drizzled throughout and not just on top, is sticky and gooey.  It comes in a heaping, glorious mound.  So, if I were on an early stage date, I would not recommend you order these.  You will be too self conscious and not fully enjoy them.  As well, you'll be chatting very carefully and daintily eating slowly so they may may get cold.  I love them.  I ate them with my clean fingers, one at a time in rapid succession while D took them by hunky forkfulls while we comfortably talked.  They were wonderfully dressed and piping hot throughout.

Spinach and Baby Beet Salad

The Spinach Salad was delicious.  It was the first time we ordered a salad there.  We have ordered may of their other Bruscetta in that part of the menu but never a salad.  The Beets were sweet and tender. The mushrooms added nice depth and meatiness.  The dressing was very well balanced and the greens well dressed.  The four little bites of fried Cheese made the Salad feel a teeny weeny bit indulgent.  I will have this again.

Crab Cakes with Burnt Orange Sauce and Chipotle Oil

The Crab Cakes were great but we had mixed reviews on this.  D said his was dry.  Granted, they come stacked on the plate and he took the top one so I had the one sat in the Orange Sauce so I did not find them dry.  They were incredibly piping hot.  I was so pleased about that.  I did not care for the Burnt Orange sauce.  It was more or less like runny Marmalade.  The dish was served on a long plate and the Orange sauce was on one end and the Chipotle Oil on the Bok Choy was on the other.  It seemed unnecessary to have two, particularly since the Chipotle oil was so fantastic and did not play well with the orange marmalade.  The Cucumber salad bore a startling resemblance to the Greek Salad that D got later with his Lamb.  Maybe because it was the same salad.  I did not see any Tobiko as stated on the menu.  I did not miss it.  The Cucumber Salad had a fine fine mince which gave it a nice texture.

Halibut in Curry Coconut Sauce

The only annoying thing about the concept is that they assume you are sharing all your plates and assume that the people at the table, even if there are only two, both eat meat.  Though we made it clear, though did not explicitly state it, that the lamb was for D and the Halibut for me, D had to sit and watch me eat my Halibut.  The attentive servers came by a couple of times and had to have noticed that D was not partaking and waiting.  The Halibut was cooked perfectly and the Greens were nice but the sauce was quite under seasoned and for such a vibrant style as the Coconut Curry, it was rather mild, near bland.  Temperature was great. Hard to hit without overcooking the Halibut.  The Sunomono was a miss for me too.  The noodles were too al dente and there was not enough Mango which was what I thought would be the highlight of the dish.  I do not think I would order this again. It was fairly blah.

Lamb Chops with Spanakopita and Greek Salad

D's Lamb Chop dish was aesthetically pleasing well except for the Spanakopita sat in a puddle of Tsatziki.  Don't mistake me, it was a nice Spanakopita and the sauce was good but it seemed out of place on that plate.  As I've said, the Greek Salad that came with the dish was actually the Cucumber Salsa we had with the Crab Cakes or alot like it, pressed on to some feta.  It was yum.  D thought the lamb chops were under seasoned and under flavoured, given the theme of the plate, they were surprisingly plain.  They were cooked wonderfully rare and had a great texture but, as D put it, unusually unlamby.  I guess that is a bad thing.  He said it was.  The lambiness is why your order Lamb.

Their Wine list has great variety and I believe everything is available by the glass so instead we ordered a few glasses rather than a bottle.  I especially enjoyed the Briccotondo Barbera. ♥♥♥♥♥

Cost: $$$-$$$$ (for small plates)
Service: Friendly and attentive without stalking
Wine list: Lots of by the glass options

Bin 941 Tapas Parlour

941 Davie St
Vancouver, BC V6Z
www.bin941.com
(604) 683-1246

Food

Service

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Feb 5th - Hapa Izakaya - Yaletown - Vancouver

Tuna and Feta

Chan Chan Ishi-Yaki

Burinegimayaki

Daily Special Yakisakana - Qualicalicum Scallop Gratin

I'm a member of the Vancouver Art Gallery. I really only bought the membership because every month or so, they have an all night event on Fridays called FUSE. They open up the gallery in the evening with live shows and performance art. They have a cocktail bar and a patio open. All the hipsters and who want to show off their Mount Pleasant couture finds show up. That's not why I go. I like the concept of art and evening entertainment. That said the aforementioned group show up in droves as well as a good portion of the membership. See the members don't have to wait in the massive line that serpentines around the block nor pay for the entrance. That's why I bought the membership. Hey, I'm being honest. I don't like lines nor big crowds.

Last night they had a showing of the new Leonardo da Vinci sketches. We decided to eat downtown and head over for the 8pm opening. After 10 minutes in that throng, we took a look at half a dozen sketches as we waited behind a dozen people to creep slowly up to the small letter sized drawings of anatomy by the Master himself. 200 years old. Really moving. BUT not moving enough to keep me shoulder to shoulder to get that glimpse. Funny thing is after dinner we were just in time to avoid standing in line though there was already a huge crowd in side. When we decided to leave, there was indeed at Fuse-esque line around the corner. See the other beauty of being a member is that I can come back during the day and see the sketches in a calmer environment. I just work up the street.

Oh well, the event gave us a reason to eat downtown and see a bit of the Olympic energy. We had dinner at the new Hapa Izakaya in Yaletown. It is a popular chain of Japanese Fusion TAPAS in Vancouver with 3 or 4 other locations. We've eaten at the one in Gastown and stood unsuccessfully in line at the one on the West End of Robson. So I wasn't surprised that though you could probably still smell the new car newness, that the place was already packed with a line. They don't take reservations they'll insist but BUT they will take call aheads. Well the one in Gastown does, I found out, unimpressed. Anyhoo. This one is definitely the sleekest of them all and I'm sure that is not just the impression given it's yuppie locale. The perception may be accentuated by the narrowness of the restaurant which is dominated by a long low lit bar which ends with their open concept kitchen. There is seating all along the bar as well as the tables. D got there a 10 minutes before me and just like the Gallery, he got there just in time to grab the last two free seats at the bar. By the time I arrived there was a line out the door. If you see bar, seats, don't fight it. Take em. They are comfortable, and still conducive to talking and people watching.

The food was also the best I've had at the Hapa's. The fusion is in full force here, to a point I was rather surprised at some of the dishes even being on the menu. That isn't to say it wasn't delicious. Everything was piping hot, made on the spot and seasoned very well.

We had: Tuna and Feta in Sesame dressing, Pork Belly lettuce wraps (well D did), Burinegat??? aka Yellowtail skewers, Qualicum Scallops with creamy celeriac sauce, Chan Chan Ishi-Yaki.

The first dish was waiting for me when I got there. I was a bit surprised by the sound of the combo. Tuna sashimi with Feta?? in Sesame dressing?? I couldn't have been more wrong. The dish was a small bowl with Green Beans tossed with crumbled Feta and Tuna. It was delicious. If no one was looking, I would have tipped the bowl into my mouth for the last bit of the dressing. The tuna melted in my mouth and the green beans were thankfully cut into bit sized pieces and were blanched perfectly so they were still crispy.

The second dish was all D. A cute little plate came with about 10 medallions of grilled porkbelly, a half dozen boston lettuce leaves, crispy wonton ribbons and pickled onions and a wonderful wasabi mayo. You build your own wraps as you go. D said the pork was cooked really well, sweet crispy. I made one veggie one with just the mayo, cripy wontons and onions and that itself was very good.

The third was the Buri Negimayaki - Yellowtail skewers. Most of the dishes were off the daily specials. They're variation of their menu and classics. The dish was two skewers with two pieces of yellow tail alternated with the whites of scallions served with a small bowl of grated radish and a sour pepper that looked like wasabi. This was my least favourite dish but it was still nice. The yellowtail was a tad over cooked and dry. The pepper mash that I thought was wasabi was too sour. I did like the grilled scallions with the fish but the pieces were about 2 inches wide so you couldn't get them both in your mouth at the same time. I'd pass on this next time.

The fourth was the Scallop Dish which basically looked like a high end coquille St. Jacques. Actually, except for the lack of baby shrimp, that's what it was. Still it was fabulous. The celery root and small bits of mushroom lay on the bottom of a large scallop shell topped with crispy fried large scallops. No need for additional seasoning. It was very nice but oddly not at all asian in my view.

The last was a Korean spun dish, Chan Chan Ishi-Yaki A stone bowl rice dish. Served hot and sizzling at your table, the server tosses all the ingredients in front of you while mashing it against the size of the hot stone to crisp up the rice and the veg. It was AMAZING. Luckily they had a salmon one on the special because the standard Ishi Yaki on the menu was a pork one. This dish had a lovely lightly cooked salmon fillet with lots and lots of mushrooms and a nice delicate and barely there but perfectly there, miso dressing. Wonderful!

As well, they had a nicely balanced wine list. I had a Dr. Pauly Riesling and D had a Quintay Clava Sauvignon Blanc and a Beer to start.

Next time I'm having dessert. They had a Matcha Brulee that peaked my interest.

The servers and the bartenders were really friendly and not at all over the top about it. It was an asian version of Earls. Those in BC and AB will know what I mean. All attractive, tightly clad in black, ladies and gents. But the servers here were not off putting about it though like you're putting them out by asking to place an order. I liked that the service was seamless. We saw at least four servers bring or clear with no confusion and that included the bartender. The only annoyance was that one of them forgot to bring the fork I asked for since I am hopeless with chopsticks and I had to ask for it twice. I usually will mentally tally that up in my tip but didn't this time.

I'm not sure why the two large screen TV's over the bar were on Curling though. Really odd.

Food: fresh, well seasoned, delicious

Cost: $$ (~10$/tapa)

Cleanliness: New, spotless, slick but not intimidating

Wine list: balanced variety won't leave you hanging with the cheap end of the Mission Hills with cocktails, sake and beer as well.

Ambience: a bit loud but no need to raise voices.

Hapa Izakaya - Yaletown
1193 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 681-4272