Amuse Bouche
Defn: to tickle your palate, whet your appetite, make your mouth happy
Amuse Bouche is where we share with you the things that make our mouths happy. From recipes to wine reviews, from producer profiles to our culinary journeys - this is sightseeing for your tastebuds.
There are so many amazing food and wine events across this province. We recommend visiting Wine & Dine BC News - an excellent resource for keeping track of these events so you can plan your calendar and don't miss out. And Cityfood Magazine is a terrific site for keeping track of Vancouver's food & beverage related press releases, restaurant news, promotions and more.
Visit often - we'll be tasting, travelling and posting for you.
Cheers,
Treve Ring
Amuse Bouche Editor
Driving & Eating – an Okanagan Weekend. By Stefan Posthuma
For most, a trip to Kelowna involved the Coquihalla highway followed by the Okanagan connector. These are highways that will get you to your destination in the quickest, most efficient way possible. For some, the drive is what matters and this is where it gets very interesting. The BC interior has some superb roads to offer providing everything from twisty mountain road driving fun to stunning views and scenery. I belong to the latter category and am fortunate enough to have a little convertible sports car that I take out on adventures like these. I also like to eat well, something that can be done in the Okanagan aplenty.
I like to leave early (before 7am) to get through the Lower Mainland while the traffic is still light and to get to Hope and beyond as soon as possible. Once past Hope I usually go through Manning Park, this is where the road immediately becomes much more interesting and scenic. A breakfast stop can be had in Hope or last time I chose the Manning Park Lodge. The food here is sustenance, a large breakfast of toast, sausage, hash browns and eggs to sustain the driver for the day to come. The first town past Manning Park is Princeton, here I usually fill up the car and have a quick break before heading north on the old highway 5a towards Merritt. This one is beautiful, it snakes past lakes and meadows, providing some great driving fun until you get to Merritt where I usually take another quick break. At this point you can either head east on the connector (97c), straight to Okanagan lake or, time permitting, you can go further north on the 5a past Nicola lake towards Kamloops. The scenery only gets more beautiful as you head inland, the road will be very light with traffic and the driving will be exhilarating.
I planned for a full day of driving so I headed north on the 5a. I have a friend who lives in Westwold, which is a tiny little town between Kamloops and Vernon on highway 97. He knows a back road that leads from the 5a to the 97, Campbell Creek road to Barnhartvale road. This was the best part of the drive for me, a completely deserted middle of nowhere twisty ribbon of road through some amazing scenery, lush meadows bursting with yellow flowers and views around every bend. It was 28 degrees Celsius, the air was heavily fragrant with the flowers and grass and I truly felt like this road could go on forever. I had a break for a cold drink at my friend’s place in Westwold after which I continued on to Vernon where I took Commonage road, a windy little road past a golf resort and some prime waterfront properties that leads down to Kelowna. I plunked down my bag in a hotel room there around 4pm, ready for a shower and the eating part of this trip!
Kelowna on a sunny summer afternoon is a great place to go for a walk along the waterfront and people watch. This is exactly what I did before I found a patio where I had a pint of cold Hoegaarden to wash away the thirst of a day’s drive. I then made my way out to Sunset Drive where the Water Front Wine Bar can be found. This place has received a lot of good press so I was eager to try it out, somehow I had never made it there during my many Kelowna visits (it is technically a bar so they don’t allow minors). It lived up to its reputation, the food was delicious. I was hungry after a long day so I ordered a full meal, starting with a dish that featured chunks of pork belly braised in Backhand of God stout from Crannóg Ales. I am a huge fan of pork belly so this was a great start. This was followed by the evening’s entree special, a piece of sablefish on herbed gnocchi with fresh peas and a lemon artichoke sauce. The dessert was a combination of chocolate creations far too heavenly to fully remember, paired with a glass of Optima. I took a long walk back along the windswept lake front before heading back to the hotel.
The next morning I watched Germany eliminate England from the world cup tournament before heading out, back onto the open road. I wasn’t hungry enough for breakfast so I set my sights on lunch at Burrowing Owl Winery just outside of Osoyoos. I headed east out of Kelowna and down highway 33. I had never taken this road before and boy was I treated to a fabulous drive on a sunny morning through some spectacular scenery again. A couple of hours later I found myself sitting on the patio of the Sonora Room, overlooking the Okanagan hills and vineyards while enjoying a superb piece of duck confit with apple gnocchi, braised cabbage and bacon. After this lovely meal I headed north on Black Sage road to Oliver and back down to Osoyoos before heading west on the Crow’s Nest highway towards Princeton, Manning Park and Hope. I had one last stop in Keremeos where Dutch Mill, a roadside food stall run by a Dutch couple sells lovely boterkoek, a type of buttery almond shortbread that I had pegged for dessert. I also picked up some cherries and strawberries, the fruit season in the Okanagan just beginning. It started raining halfway down to Princeton and the last leg of the drive was very wet indeed and I was happy to get back home around 6pm.
BC is a perfect place for road trips, ranging from day drives to multi-day tours. The Okanagan is central to our province and provides weary drivers with the perfect place for some top quality food, there really isn’t a better place than a winery patio overlooking the vineyards on a beautiful summer’s day.
A Weekend in Portland – by Stefan Posthuma
It is easy to get used (and spoiled!) by Vancouver’s vibrant food scene and our ample access to fresh produce, organic meats and seafood. Let us not forget that there are other places that rival our city in various ways, Portland being one of them. The food culture in Portland is thriving and exciting with a strong focus on local, sustainable and organic products. They also have a very interesting food cart scene, clusters of them are to be found all over the city and provide some very varied and affordable fare.
We decided to spend a few days in Portland to take it all in. It is about a 6 hour drive from Vancouver so it can be done in an afternoon. We left Vancouver on a Friday afternoon around 3pm and arrived in Portland at 10pm with a good hour’s break just south of Seattle. We headed straight for a place called Potato Champion, a food cart that was rumoured to sell some amazing Dutch style French fries. A group of people were sitting on benches surrounded by various food carts located on a street corner and we joined them with a big helping of crispy fries and a small collection of sauces. I like to stay traditional, just a nice big glob of mayo but there was everything to be found from ketchup to peanut sauce. Very much like you find them in Holland.
We stayed in Hotel Monaco, a very nice boutique hotel, in the middle of downtown Portland, blocks from Pioneer Square. The next morning we were up bright and early for a bike tour from Pedal Bike Tours. We did their ‘bites by bike’ tour which involved biking around the city, stopping at various places along the way for food and drinks.
We started at a coffee shop for some wake-up drinks, headed to a cookie place called Two Tarts for a treat, then stopped at Elephants Delicatessen for a plate of bread, charcuterie, cheese and dried fruit and nuts. Next up was an organic pizzeria called Hot Lips where we were treated to some asparagus and blue cheese slices. We then spent some time at the farmer’s market which was very interesting. I counted at least four local farms selling pasture raised meat, large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables and a general sense of health and well being that was great to experience. Our last stop was my favourite, being a habitual chocoholic, a chocolate shop/café called Cacao. The selection of chocolates, chocolate drinks and other treats was truly impressive and I made a mental note to return here the next day for further indulgence.
This bike tour was a great way to get introduced to the city and its food. I think there is a great opportunity for a similar service in Vancouver!
We were entirely stuffed after the tour and decided to have a casual dinner later in the day after some shopping. We looked around a bit, Portland restaurants are busy on a Saturday evening and we ended up choosing a place called Spints Alehouse. This is a microbrew pub with an interesting and varied menu, reminiscent of the Irish Heather in Vancouver.
Sunday was busy, I was keen to try a coffee shop called Barista where they were supposed to have superb Mochas, made with Valrhona chocolate. After a lazy morning in the hotel we had brunch there, snacking on baked goods and I had the mocha. It was very good indeed. Much shopping was done that day and I ensured we circled back to Cacao for some more indulgence. It happened to be Father’s day so I was treated with plenty of chocolate!
That evening I was determined to eat at Toro Bravo, a Spanish tapas restaurant that came highly recommended. It is a popular place, does not take reservations, and it was Father’s day. This meant showing up the moment it opened up, at 5pm sharp. We got a table and started ordering off the impressive menu. The feast that followed was a sumptuous and delicious one. The menu changes daily, based on the availability of ingredients and what the chefs feel like. We had grilled dates wrapped in bacon, little meatballs in a spiced tomato sauce, their signature coppa steak, grilled asparagus with preserved lemon, tiny smoked pork shoulder sandwiches and other delights.
On Monday we had a lavish brunch at Tasty n Sons, the brunch restaurant owned by the same people that run Toro Bravo. The food was great, of the same style and quality as Toro Bravo. The two places remind me of two local favourites: Refuel and Campagnolo, they share the same philosophy and attention to detail. We went back to Elephants Deli to stock up for a picnic and started our journey home.
Vancouver can learn a few things from Portland. The local by-laws regarding street food need to relax since the food cart scene is fabulous. Patios are everywhere and not surrounded by metal fences and other walls. This allows for a great street vibe. Finally, the large and central farmer’s market was awesome, there was live music and a great selection of local products. Vancouver has its share of farmer’s markets but nothing that scales to what Portland has to offer. I for one sincerely hope that this will happen here, Vancouver’s residents would be much better off.
The Casual Gourmet – by Stefan Posthuma
When I first found out that Fuel restaurant would be closing, I was dismayed. Fuel was my number one restaurant in the city, I had many a memorable meal there and had become very friendly with the owners and staff as a result. My son Kai was also a big fan, some of the dishes are classics now, the pork belly rack confit and the dry aged Alberta ribeye steak come to mind. After speaking with Tom Doughty (one of the owners) and Katherine Manson (the manager), I found out that they would be re-branding the restaurant, embracing more of a casual concept that would lower the price point. They wanted to make the restaurant more accessible and give it more of a neighborhood bistro feel. Fuel served superb food but with white linen and formal service it didn’t attract as much clientele as they needed to keep the place afloat.
They were no stranger to the concept because earlier on, Tom and Robert Belcham (owner and chef) opened Campagnolo. This is a casual Italian bistro that serves high quality food at a very good price point and has been very successful so far. My wife Connie is Italian and Campagnolo is one of the few Italian restaurants where she will eat because the food is close to what she used to get at home. This is a compliment of the highest order 
. I eagerly awaited the opening of ReFuel and am very happy with the result. They have stayed true to their philosophy, serving great food crafted using high quality ingredients. The difference is that there is nothing over $25 on the menu and the food has a very home style feel to it that always makes for a very comfortable experience. Some favorites on the new menu are the fried chicken (previously only on Fridays for lunch, now always available), the beef burger and the selection of small plates and charcuterie that is available.
I do miss the old Fuel but a visit to ReFuel is much more casual, both from a food as well as a price perspective so it is a lot easier to just drop in and have a bite. They still serve some favorites (pork belly rack comes to mind!) if you ask beforehand and also do a great family style meal for larger groups. This is quite the experience, once you sit down, the food starts coming and doesn’t stop until you are very thoroughly satisfied.
ReFuel and Campagnolo aren’t the only places in town that serve high-end bistro style food. Right next door to Fuel used to be Gastropod. This restaurant was also higher end and suffered the same fate as Fuel. It was re-branded as a more casual Thai restaurant called Maenam that serves what I think is the best Thai food in the city. They have a very similar approach where high end food is served at a casual price point in a bistro like setting. They also do the family style dinner for larger groups.
Another very successful restaurant with a similar concept is Les Faux Bourgeois, a French bistro that serves classic French food in a casual setting that is also very reasonably priced. Like Campagnolo, it is located in a fairly unusual location (15th & Kingsway) but that doesn’t seem to keep people away, every time I have been there, the place was packed. Not surprising given the great food and ambiance and relatively low pricing.
I think this is a great trend. The recession may have hit hard but the Vancouver restaurant industry has responded with this ‘casual gourmet’ concept which is something that everyone benefits from. This has enriched our already fantastic restaurant scene in Vancouver that many people I know around the world are very jealous of!
Coffee & Chocolate – by Stefan Posthuma
Being a chocoholic in Vancouver isn’t very hard. Places like Chocolate Arts, Cocoa Nymph and Thomas Haas cater to us chocolate addicts in plenty of ways. Similarly, the city has much to offer to coffee lovers, with some top quality coffee shops to be found.
For me, the ultimate treat is something that combines coffee and chocolate: the Mocha. Given the combination of great chocolate and coffee shops, one would think that finding a good Mocha would be easy as well. Perhaps not…
Most Mochas are made with a chocolate syrup (or in some cases, hot cocoa powder) that is mixed in with a latte. Unfortunately, this results in a less than stellar, overly sweet and not very well balanced drink. The telltale syrup residue in the bottom of your cup will remind you of that. I was more or less resigned to this rather sad state of affairs until the day I walked into the Mink Chocolate Cafe. I had just moved offices to the PricewaterhouseCoopers building on the downtown waterfront and was exploring the neighbourhood in search of lunch spots. Mink was an instant hit with its great selection of house made chocolate bars and other treats. What I didn’t know was that Mink crafts its Mochas in a completely different way. They have warm molten chocolate(dark and milk) used for their various treats that they mix in with milk, then steam to form a frothy, creamy and altogether delicious hot chocolate. They then mix that in with freshly brewed Espresso from a Synesso machine to create what I still think is the best Mocha in the city. It strikes the perfect balance between foamy milk, creamy chocolate and Espresso. Mink quickly became my favourite spot for quick coffee breaks, 1-1 meetings and general afternoon treats.
Since discovering Mink, I have come across a few other places around the city that craft a Mocha worthy of Mink’s lofty bar. I have since changed jobs and am still downtown but too far away from the waterfront for a quick Mink stop. Now thoroughly addicted to high quality chocolate and coffee concoctions, I had no choice but to scour the city again for a good Mocha.
I was in luck, Medina Cafe, the sibling of Chambar, one of Vancouver’s most popular restaurants, makes a mean Mocha. They use the same chocolate sauce they put on their delectable waffles as a base for their Mochas and the result is very tasty. Given the fact that they also produce great food, Medina has quickly become my #1 lunch spot, it is only 3 blocks from my office.
There are others, Uva Wine Bar in the Moda hotel serves lunch during the day and makes the most uncompromising Mocha I know, they make it with only three ingredients. Michel Cluizel dark chocolate chips, organic milk and freshly brewed Espresso from 49th Parallel beans. When I first went there, the barista offered to add some simple syrup to sweeten the drink. I declined, wanting to try it straight up and oh boy, what a kick of strong coffee with a great note of dark chocolate! I drop by Uva every few days now for one of these hefty brews.
Chocoatl in Yaletown, the tiny chocolate shop next to the Mini dealer on Mainland, was one of my favourite spots, run by a passionate chocolatier who took great pride in his work. Sadly, the business went down and was replaced by Eataly, a small Panini and coffee spot. Themis, the original owner of Chocoatl is behind the counter and given his passion and talent for chocolate, serves up some very tasty treats (his brownies are delicious) and brews a great Mocha. He also starts with chocolate chips, melted by the hot steamed milk and mixed in with the Espresso. I am in luck again with Eataly being easy walking distance from my office. I now have three regular spots where I can get my fix and they all brew a very good Mocha.
There are a couple of others worth mentioning. 49th Parallel, the acclaimed coffee shop in Kitsilano follows the same principles, using molten chocolate mixed in with their perfect Espresso to make a very good Mocha. Then there is Thomas Haas of course, I can be found there on Saturday afternoons for lunch, enjoying his chocolate creations while enjoying a Mocha.
I do a fair bit of traveling and whenever I am abroad I look for recommended coffee shops to find Mochas. The results have been surprisingly dismal, there is some very good coffee to be found in US cities like Seattle and San Francisco, but they are still firmly in the chocolate syrup stage when it comes to Mochas. Europeans usually have no idea what a Mocha is, which led to some very interesting exchanges in Swedish coffee shops while I was in Stockholm for work. This is where I count myself fortunate to be in Vancouver, where a Mocha can be a small work of art…
A SPOT PRAWN TREAT – By Stefan Posthuma
Spot prawn season is here! These succulent and sweet treats are yet another BC delicacy that we are fortunate to enjoy here. Speaking of fortunate, I was lucky enough to get drawn for a spot at the bar at Fuel for their very first Spot Prawn Boil.
Chef Robert Belcham had been given access to some of the very first spot prawns of this season and decided to have a little fun with them. 12 people were seated around the bar that had been transformed into a giant prawn plate, the cooked prawns were simply scattered along the bar for the diners to dig into. They were cooked in a rich chorizo broth with fingerling potatoes, fresh peas and beans. A keg of R&B ale was tapped as well and the rest of the evening was spent cracking open prawns and sipping freshly poured beer. I can’t think of a better way to hail the arrival of the spot prawns!
Fuel is doing his every Saturday evening until the end of the spot prawn season about six weeks from now. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the False Creek Restoration fund. It is events like this that remind me again and again how vibrant the Vancouver culinary scene really is.
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