Lima Peru

July 2nd, 2009
Mariel Hotel, Mira Flores District.

A friend of mine called Lima the “Armpit of South America”. A bit harsh? Let me explain. Lima is a desert city on the Pacific Coast. It never rains. The mist from the ocean and the pollution of the city form a layer of cloud cover that almost never leaves. Sunshine - almost never. So the Armpit of South America, certainly not an indication of the people, architecture or the food, but rather just a general gloom that exists because of the lack of sun. I’m also told that Lima has the dubious distinction of highest per capita suicides in all of South America. I don’t know? To me, it’s on the coast. Show me the ocean and I’m happy.

Lima is home to 9 million people, a third of the population of Peru, a giant sprawling maze. The buildings are a mixture of modern and colonial Spanish architecture. The traffic and the thought of actually driving in this city - brutal. And yet, there seems to be this casual calm atmosphere. Consider our bus driver, who thinks nothing of taking a right hand turn from the centre lane (3 lanes in). No stress, on his part anyway, I along with the other non locals in the bus were a wee bit anxious. To him it’s just another day in traffic. Even the other drivers in cars all around us were totally calm. This must happen all the time. And there you have the general feel of the city, laid back, casual. Man, if I drove like that back in Vancouver there would be major fallout.

A Small tour of the city:

First stop, Parkue de Amor, “Lovers Park “situated on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the park is dedicated to the old Peruvian custom of courting in public gardens. Lovers Park has a statue of a “kissing couple” by sculptor Victor Delfin. If I lived in Lima I would come here to hang out, look at the phenomenal views of the ocean, sit on the Guadi inspired mosaic benches, and take in the atmosphere. It’s a nice place except, that really, it’s a tourist trap. Bus after bus pull up, tourist stream out, walk around the small park, take pictures of the “kissing couple” and the mosaic benches, look at the pacific and then get back into their buses and drive away, just to make room for the next bus. I know, I was one of those tourists. Still, a very nice place.
Plaza Major

This is the spot where Lima was founded. Currently the oldest feature in the plaza is the bronze fountain in the centre dating to 1651. At one end of the Plaza is the “Palacio de Gabierro” the president’s palace. Someone important lives there, I can tell, by the military presence.

Kitty corner to the presidents’ palace is the Palcio Arzdsispal, (great Moorish styled carved balconies) home of the Archbishop of Lima. Nice to see church and state are separated by at least a road.

A few blocks from the Palaza Major is the Church and Convent of San Francisco. I’ve visited a ton of churches in my travels. It’s almost always the same thing, over the top design and decoration, overt decadence. They really tend to go for the wow factor and back in the day guess who had all the money? This place had a lot of that as well but it also had some truly unique and interesting things:

I loved the Guinea Pig Last Supper painting by Marcos Zapata, 1656. (sorry I couldn't sneak a picture).This is a take on the Da Vinci Last Supper with a few local alterations. Inca cups on the table for Chicha (Inca corn beer) and for the main course; a cuy chatactado (roast guinea pig – the local delicacy). Also for dinner, papaya and hot peppers. The original last supper painting, you may remember, is a portrait of Jesus and the apostles sitting at a long table. Here, Marcos has added a few people. It seems that in order to curry favour with the church, to make sure you gain access to heaven, it was advisable to fund religious works such as this. However, since I’m funding the thing, I might as well be in it as well - right? Hey Marcos, my left side is my good side. Priceless.

The Catacombs. Under the church there are mazes of interconnecting Catacombs. Used as a cemetery during colonial times it is unknown how many people have actually been buried down here. Somebody, well probably a few people, tried to count and that’s why the majority of bones are separated a stacked. Femurs, tibias, skulls all neatly pilled high. The best estimate so far is 70 000 corpses lay buried here. Check out the artistic design on the round sinkhole, 60 meters deep. How’s that for the wow factor.

The Covenant Library dating from the 17th century, houses 20 000 rare books from the 15th to 18th century. This place was gorgeous. (Sorry I could not sneak a photo). This library makes me think though. Yes, I want a beautiful place for all of my books, but you know what? I think I’ll go out a burn all the Inca ones. Yup, that makes sense.

The food in Lima is world renowned especially the seafood.
The best part of traveling for me is often the local cuisine. The problem on tours like the one I was on is that you never know if you are going somewhere good or somewhere were the guide gets a kickback. The answer to this question, although not answered today, was none the less all good.
Lunch: Las Tegas.
Just a small local restaurant serving fresh local food. I love that.

Cebiche de Pescado (Fish ceviche): Phenomenal. Looking back, I don’t think I had a bad Cebiche anywhere in Peru and I ordered it anytime I saw it on the menu.
Chupe de Camarones, river shellfish in a deep seafood broth. Totally great.
Check out a review of Las Tegas on the Fodors website:

www.fodors.com/world/south-america/peru/lima/review-144193.html

Dinner: Café Café at Marina del Larco
This place feels like a chain restaurant. Maybe it was the local or the Tony Romas and Hooters in the same complex. No worries though the food quality was far from chain restaurant crap. The food here, or at least what I had, was outstanding and worthy of any high end seafood restaurant I’ve visited.

Grilled Octopus with roasted potatoes. The octopus was a bit chewy, but the sauce made up for it, heat from chili’s and a citrus twang.
Mixed Seafood Cebiche: Like I mentioned before, the Cebiche rocks, great heat from the Chilis and just enough acid from the citrus. I can never replicate Cebiche at home. It never has the depth of flavor I’ve experienced here.
I purchased a Peruvian cookbook: The Art of Peruvian Cuisine. This is an outstanding cookbook.
Visit: http://www.artperucuisine.com/ all the recipes are online.

How to make a pisco sour, (from the Art of Peruvian Cuisine), we drank a ton of these :

Ingredients:
To make the sugar syrup:
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp water
For the drink:
• 7 ½ oz (225 ml) Pisco
• 2 ½ oz (75 ml) key lime juice
• 1 egg white
• Ice
To serve:
Angostura Bitters


Preparation
To prepare the sugar syrup:
Put ½ cup of sugar in a small saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water, just enough to moisten the sugar. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and while stirring, cook until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

To make the sour:
Pour the key lime juice and the Pisco into the warm sugar syrup and stir thoroughly to blend the ingredients completely. Pour the mix into a blender jar and add just enough ice to double the volume of liquid in the glass. Blend on high for an additional 30 seconds to crush the ice. Add one egg white and blend on high for one minute. Transfer to a pitcher and serve immediately in either old-fashioned or white wine glasses. Traditionally, a drop of Angostura Bitters is placed in the middle of the foam in each glass.

The essential mix is 3 parts Pisco to 1 part key lime juice and 1 part sugar syrup: you can use this proportion to increase the recipe to produce any number of drinks.

Tip: A fourth measure of pisco may be added for a stronger drink. If you like, the “edge” can be taken off this stronger version by adding a touch more sugar syrup.

That’s it from Lima. Off to Cuzco.

Blue Water Café and Raw Bar, Vancouver. BC



I bought the Blue Water Café cookbook at Costco for a couple of reasons; I like the restaurant and I like cookbooks with pictures. Start the peanut gallery comments but I like to see the finished dish before I start to cook it. The photos and food looked outstanding and it became pretty darn obvious pretty darn fast that I had to go back and eat there.
Blue Water Café is one of the best, upscale Vancouver restaurants. A huge space, a bar where you come just to be seen and were the beautiful people hang out. OK, no more peanut gallery comments about what I was doing there.
And a much talked about (read expensive) sushi bar headed by cut master Yoshi Tabo . I didn’t have any sushi, but it sure looked good coming out to other tables.
The overhead for this place must be huge and that often worries me sometime on the price side. And yes, this place is expensive but they deliver. I haven’t had a bad meal or for that matter a mediocre meal here yet.
There a re few things I tend to order 90% of the time when I see them on the menu. One is ceviche.
Here the Mixed Ceviche, cucumber, grapefruit, ginger, fresh coriander was outstanding. In fact I just saw it on a list in Vancouver Magazines 101 things to eat in Vancouver before you die. I have to agree on this dish. There were some other questionable choices in the mag. Nobody ever asks me.

I’m waffling between a B+ and an A- primarily, because the main dish, the Big Eye Tuna
braised fennel, artichokes and green olives, veal jus with roasted garlic and anchovy did not blow me away. Not to say that it was mediocre, but you sometimes expect a bit more from a place like this. Sorry.
Overall the BLue Water Café is the Type of place that I wouldn’t hesitate recommending and visiting often.
Check them out at: www.bluewatercafe.net

Au Pied du Cochon

Au pied de Cochon, Montreal, Quebec

Oh My God, this was the richest, biggest most decadent restaurant meal I have ever had. This place believes in “everything in excess”. I must have had 10 000 calories in my meal and I loved every single one of them. I asked the waitress for a nutritional breakdown of the menu and she laughed at me. I smiled back. This is not the restaurant to ask foolish questions like this. Do not come here if you are on a diet. Come here if you want blow your head off, not to mention your belt buckle, good food. I mean, what restaurant serves “pig head for two”? That’s right; a big honking roasted pigs head served on a platter and brought to your table so you can pick at all the good chunks of head meat. I hear the cheeks are good. This is not a place for the squeamish.
I had to of the restaurants signature dishes. Both highly recommended:
Poutine with Foie Gras. Poutine is a Quebec specialty. Fries, cheese curds and gravy. Done right this is stick to your ribs good food. Sticking to its “excess is best” policy here we add foie gras. Like I said, OMG, just shoot me know because I’m going to have a coronary shortly anyway. This place should have emergency resuscitation paddles at every table. For those experiencing dizziness, nausea and shortness of breath, just reach under your chair for the paddles.
Duck in a Can: Once again rich beyond explaination. Winner of best canned anything I’ve ever had. This is what they do. Take a regular tin can, stuff it with cabbage, bacon, duck, foie gras, herbs and spices, seal it tight, and put it in the oven. Bring it to the table, open it with a can opener and then just dump it, with a big glug, on a mound of mashed potatoes and toast. Never mind, just watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KItyF7XyfFQ

A most outstanding recommendation for Pied du Cochon. A must visit when in Montreal.
www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca

Crave Restaurant, Vancouver. BC.
Main Street Vancouver, from roughly Broadway to the north and 33rd Ave to the south, has morphed over the years into an eclectic trendy strip of shops and restaurants. No Cactus Club just yet. I can’t be too critical, I must admit, I do eat a Cactus Club on occasion. BTW, does Rob Fennie really spend any time in the kitchen? But I digress. Back to Main Street and my current favorite main street eatery, Crave.
Crave is one of those restaurants that just get’s it. And by that I mean, great food, good prices, good service and just a really cool feel. It’s one of those ”It” things either you have it or you don’t. Crave does.
I was there with 3 friends, hanging out on the back deck, enjoying a hot Vancouver summer evening and a couple of bottles of pink Kettle Valley Pinot Gris.
We shared a whole bunch of Appies. Most definitely the restaurants signature dish; short rib poutine parmesan truffle fries, short rib jus. Talk about rich, shredded beef short ribs covered in sauce on top of house fries. If you like fries, this is the restaurant for you. Not your usual processed McCains frozen crap. Fresh cut in-house and awesome. Add, popcorn shrimp, lightly battered with sweet chili mayo. I could in fact eat these like popcorn.
I had the organic beef crave burger with bacon and cheddar as my main. More fries. Nice. The burger tasted great. My only knock on the whole thing was a square focosia as the bun. As a burger traditionalist, what the hell? Just use a really good round bun and don’t serve the burger open. I don’t get that either. It’s funny how you can be nitpicky on certain things. The result of course is a demerit to an A-, even though I still can’t get those fries out of my mind.
Check them out at www.craveresaurants.com
They just opened a new location in West Van. I look forward to the trip.

Go Fish

Go Fish, Vancouver BC

Is it really worth the line-up? Expect ½ hour waits on a slow day, just to get to the order window. That’s what my wait turned out to be and then another 10-15 min to pick up my order. So is it worth the wait? Yes. I know that because I’m really looking forward to going back wait and all. Go Fish is a trailer like take out joint at the Granville Island marina just west of Granville Island along the seawall. Although to be fair they do have a small deck area for eating in. Well, eating out actually because that’s were you are. Most people grab their order to go and sit out on the sea wall. Fabulous location. So maybe the appeal is combination location and eats. Digging into great fish and chips on the Vancouver waterfront is not a bad thing.
I had the Halibut and Chips. The fish was fresh. All of their fish is fresh, never frozen, major kudos. The batter was good, not great. The fish was good. Up there with the best fish and chips I’ve had. The real star for me, were the chips and tartar sauce. The tartar sauce was fantastic. It had a flavour I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It drove me mental. I’m still thinking about it. Fantastic. The fries were fresh cut, crispy, hot and just a bit greasy. I love that. And I love Go Fish.

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Kangaroo Burger Mate
Waterstone Grill. Langley, BC Canada.

I’ve never had kangaroo before. And kangaroo is certainly something you don’t come across often (never before for me) here in Canada. So when the waitress told us it was the special, I was all over it. I have to say the burger tasted great. I give this burger a solid 8.5/10. On the novelty kangarooy side the burger had a gamely taste. I like that. Sort of like a kicked up lamb burger. On the it’s a burger side, very good as well, fresh bun, good sauce, tasty salad. Why did I have salad? I should have had the fries. I must have been feverish. My apologies to those out there that think kangaroo are cute and should not be hambergerized. I’ve had a few occasions since to gage people reactions to the whole kangaroo thing. Apparently kangaroo are too cute to eat. I will endeavour to only eat ugly animals in the future. Although I must say I had negative reactions to eating guinea pig in Peru as well. I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
I haven’t been back to the Waterstone Grill since so I don’t know if it’s still on the menu, but I would definitely order it again if it is.
http://waterstonetaphouse.com

Fat on a Stick Report.
My addiction to chicken wings.

Milestones, Langley BC. Canada

Spicy Thai Chicken DrummettesToasted sesame-cucumber mayonnaise, peanut sauce

Rating: 8.5/10

These would have been 9/10 but a bit on the salty side. Milestones have been serving these wings for ever. And rightfully so. Why change something that works. Great flavours. Big juicy drummettes. The toasted sesame-cucumber dipping sauce is a great cooling balance to the spicy wings. Awesome. I usually order hot wings at bars and restaurants. Becouse, usually when a restaurant try’s to get fancy with wings it doesn’t work. The Lure Bar in Victoria is a good example (on the blog May 25th). Here it works and it works in spades. I hope they never take it off the menu.

http://www.milestonesrestaurants.com

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Cactus Club Café. Nanaimo. BC Canada
Bacon Cheeseburger 7/10

One of the best burgers in town (Vancouver BC, Canada) was at the now defunct Feenies. Feenies was the casual dining establishment of iron chef Rob Feenie (yes he did beat Morimoto). Now that Feenie is the food consultant, guru or whatever you call him at Cactus Club, I expected a pretty awesome burger coming my way. What came my way was a pretty average burger. The beef was tasteless. The red pepper relish had potential but it was spread too thin to be a player.
Hey Rob, take this off your signature list. I had a burger a few days later at Milestones. It was on nobody’s signature list and it kicked ass. Sorry.

And also, sorry to say this burger did not meet expectations.

http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/

Vij's Restaurant Vancouver, BC

Vij’s Restaurant.

Vancouver BC
Rating: A

I’ve heard a lot about Vij’s. Mostly glowing reviews, some calling Vij’s the best East Indian restaurant in North America. I’m always a bit sceptical of the “best” designation. How does one judge something like this? None the less glowing reviews always peaks my interest so I must visit.

Right of the top, let me say that I am not an expert on East Indian cuisine. I like it. I’ve been to many East Indian restaurants. I cook East Indian at home occasionally with varying success. East Indian food is something that is not innate to my senses.
Unlike Mediterranean or North American cuisine, were I can pretty much imagine what something should taste like given the spices herbs and other ingredients. I do not have this ability with Indian Cuisine.

This was our menu for the evening:
(There were four of us and we all decided to share. Highly recommended)
Sounds great, even if I have no idea what the taste will be like.
Mutton Kabob with Bengali Style Curry
Punjabi Heart Attack (Spicy cashews, raw sugar, panear and ghe) chased with quinoa salad in lemon dressing.
Garam Masala sautéed Portobello mushrooms in porchini cream curry
Coconut curried vegetables with Cholia rice pilaf
Grilled pork tenderloin (naturally raised) with pistachio, dates and glazed orange split pea, spinach and garlic mash.
Beef Short Ribs in Cinnamon and red wine curry with warm greens
Lamb marinated popsicles in fenugreek cream curry on turmeric spinach potatoes.

I may not know what everything should taste like. But I do know this.
I liked it. I like it a lot.

The standout for me was the Mutton Kabob. Soft, moist, loaded with good old lamby goodness. I would just go back have that as a snack with a cold beer. Oh my. In fact, talk about perfect bar food. I would skip the chicken wings for this. And that’s a hell of a statement from somebody that has never skipped chicken wings in his life.

The food at Vij’s is all about the sauce. And the sauces are absolutely outstanding. Deeply layered flavours, nothing overpowering, just layer upon layer of flavour. It seems strange, but the best way to describe it is to compare the food to a deeply layered full bodied red wine. In both cases the flavours hit your taste buds like a brick and then linger and develop over time.
To me, this is the biggest difference between Vij’s and other East Indian restaurants. Others overpower with heat and curry. Here the flavours are intense yet subtle. I know it sounds contradictory, but try it you’ll see.

So the question then, what is real East Indian cuisine? Are other East Indian restaurants tweaked to North American tastes? Or is Vij’s really authentic East Indian cuisine. I suspect that Vij’s is really an East Indian fusion restaurant. OK, more East Indian less fusion. But tell me, were in India do they make a “red wine curry? I don’t know. In the big scheme of things it doesn’t really matter. The taste was outstanding.

Aside from the food, the feel of the restaurant was laid back, unpretentious. I like that staff bring around trays of appetizers for you to try while you are waiting for a table or waiting for your meal to arrive. Very homey. I love that Vikram Vij was actually there greeting guests. Let’s be clear, he probably doesn’t have to be. When was the last time anyone saw Bobby Flay in a kitchen restaurant? Sorry to pick on you Bobby. But as a celebrity chef/owner you almost don’t expect the star to be there. The fact that he is and is present regularly from what I understand, scores big points with me.

Fantastic food. Great restaurant. I’ll be back. But why do they not take reservations?

Wesite: www.vijs.ca

Minnoz Nanaimo BC

Minnoz – Nanaimo BC
BC Mussels in orange curry sauce

It looked good. It wasn’t. The mussels were old and smelly. Even the beer was served uncold. (Not exactly warm but then not cold either.)
So much potential for this restaurant. Great décor and great location overlooking the Nanaimo harbour. This was my second disappointing experience here. No more.
Although, there is a nice bar with a HD flat screen TV. Never say never. But then again, no chicken wings on the menu. Maybe never.

www.minnoz.com

Joeys Mediterranean Grill Coquitlam BC

The 2abpsSlcpoOasSb Report

Joeys Mediterranean Grill Coquitlam BC
Bacon Cheddar Cheese Burger
Rating 7/10

Yes it’s a burger. It’s an OK burger. Not great. Not bad. It’s just a middle of the road burger. The bacon was good. The bun was a bit dry. The fries, which are usually really good here, were cold. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day?
A question for the kitchen: What is up with the pickle on top of the burger? Is this a garnish? I eat it. I don’t open up the burger and put the pickle inside. How many people do? Now there is a 6 figure Canadian government education grant waiting to happen. This could be import.
Coming soon, my musings, on what to do with the orange wedge on the rim of your cocktail glass.
www.joeysmedgrill.com

Fuel Restaurant Vancouver BC

Fuel, Vancouver, BC
Rating: A

A quick bite at Feul. A seat at the bar in view of the open concept kitchen. Outside of a sushi restaurant, this is new to me. It was quite inspiring watching the cooks do their thing. There was calm. A way they moved. A sense of purpose. A sense that everyone knew exactly what they needed to do and they did it. No tension. No screaming. Did you hear that Mr. Gordon Ramsey? No screaming.
This professionalism translated into my appreciation what I ordered. In fact, I think, added to the whole feel of the restaurant.
Fuel describes itself as upscale regional fair. Chef Robert Belcham emphasises local, fresh seasonal foods. He also subscribes to the sustainable cooking model. I like this a lot. Chef Becham’s speciality is pork and he uses the whole animal nothing goes to waste. In fact in 2007, Vancouver magazine asked all of the local food writers and foodies what there most memorable plate was (they must have lost my number). The winner: Fuel with “Crispy Pig’s Brain”. I’m not entirely sure if I find that appealing. But I’d give it a try. You can read more about it here: http://www.vanmag.com/Restaurants/Best_Plates_of_2007

Back to the food. I was in just for a quick meal, a couple of appetizers and a couple of glasses of wine.

Terrine of Fous Gras with Duck
Awesome. Smooth velvety texture. Huge flavour. The greens and the onion chutney were OK, but this dish is all about the terrine. I will remember this flavour for quite some time. Outstanding. Paired nicely with a Selbach-Oster Reisling 06 from Germany.

The Cures Charcuterie, house preserves, dijon mustard, rye toast
Let’s face it. Anyone can chop up sausage, chorizo, and prosciutto, throw it on a plate. And generally speaking I’m happy. I’m pretty easy to please that way. The kicker at Fuel is that all of the meats are prepared in house from scratch. And it shows in the flavour. Everything was excellent but the standout on this plate was the lardon. Thinly sliced pieces of fat. I rapped the fat around the small crunchy rye toast. Fat never tasted so good. That’s right, it’s just fat and I loved it. Is that wrong? Paired nicely with the Montagu Cellars “Three Barrel” Merlot 05 from Naramata. Montagu Cellars is owned by Tom Doughty, the Fuel’s sommelier. That’s another thing I really appreciate. You make the food. You grow the grapes. You make the wine. It’s a nice circle. The next logical step would be to grow your own food, both vegetable and animal. Now that would be outstanding.

I can’t wait to go back for dinner. Or lunch on Fridays, rumour has it that they do a buttermilk fried chicken with biscuits and gravy. And not just any chickens. Redbro chickens from France, raised organically in Chilliwack.
More on Redbro Chickens: http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20090225/wlchicken25.html
Fuel: http://www.fuelrestaurant.ca/

Fat on a Stick Report.
My addiction to chicken wings.

Lure Bar – Victoria BC
Sesame Breaded Chicken Drummettes, Teriyaki Sweet Chilli Sauce
Rating: 6/10

Wings trying to go upscale. Big fresh drummettes. Good. Nicely breaded not overdone. Also good. In this case, the sauce was the issue. Just a generic, off the shelf, somewhat watery sweet chilli sauce. It really lacked a whole lot of flavour. A note to Lure, come up with your own in house, big flavour sauce and I think you have a winner. Also, there was no dipping sauce. What is up with that? Come up with a unique dip that compliments the sauce on the wings and you have an even bigger hit. This consultation is free of charge.
Check out Lure at: http://www.lurevictoria.com/

Market by Jean George is the newest trendy restaurant to hit Vancouver.

According to the restaurant web site.

“Internationally acclaimed, three-star Michelin chef, entrepreneur and author of numerous cookbooks, Jean-Georges Vongerichten will bring his 'vibrant cuisine' approach to MARKET by Jean-Georges.”

OK, I’ve heard the name. I’ve, seen him on the food network. I know he’s the guy that invented the molten chocolate lava cake. Although to be honest, do you think it was him or his pastry chef? Doesn’t matter, he’s famous. I’m going for lunch.

I love web site marketing.

“MARKET by Jean-Georges is a "destination" restaurant with four distinct dining experiences; a cozy and casual bistro with fireplace; a heated outdoor terrace with city views; an enticing bar complete with raw bar; and a sophisticated fine-dining room featuring two private rooms, one for 10 and the other 12. The culinary focus of this Jean-Georges restaurant will be on seasonal, regional ingredients with particular emphasis on fresh, local seafood.”

By the way what makes a destination restaurant? If I lived in San Francisco, would I come up to Vancouver just to eat at Market. I’m thinking no. This is not by any means a slight on the food and the restaurant. But come on, a destination?
The place does look great. As with most new trendy restaurant now a day they must cost a fortune to get up and running. Also standard, tons of good looking staff running around. The clientele is also, shall we say, very well kept. I wore a clean blue shirt I was ok. Until my dining friend told me I “dripted” and then it was game over.

OK, to the food. There was three of us we all shared. We got a pretty good idea of the food. Right off the bat I would give the meal a solid B+. Not great great, but really good. So,back to the destination dining thing. Maybe if you live, let’s say driving distance away, you may want to come in for a pretty good meal.

Appetizers:
Tuna Tartare, Spicy Radish, Ginger Dressing
Dungeness Crab Cake, Ginger – Lime jus, Marinated Cucumber
Black Truffle Pizza, Fontina Cheese
The standouts were the Pizza and the Tuna Tartare. The Pizza crust was a bit soggy but it had great potential. The Tuna, light, very subtle flavours. Usually with tuna tartar, chefs go a bit overboard with the sesame oil. Not here, really nice a delicate.

Mains:

Sablefish, Nut and Seed Crust, Sweet and Sour Broth.
Pacific Halibut, Snow Peas, Almond Broth Chili Oil
Soy Glazed Short Ribs, Apple-Jalapeno Puree,Rosemary Crumbs

The Glazed Short Ribs were really good. Decedent, big rich flavours. But I pretty much expect that. It seems that every restaurant in the city does short ribs and most of them do it pretty good. As good as these were, they really didn’t stand out from many of the others I’ve had around town. The rosemary crumbs were really good. Rosemary crumbs with the sauce and dipping bread and I’m happy. Maybe just a bit of red wine as well. And since I’m on that topic, the pre dinner bread service was outstanding. The bread was super fresh and tasted great. I forgot to ask if they baked the rolls in house.

The Pacific Halibut was I hate to say it just that. Halibut. Well prepared. Maybe if you are within walking distance it is now a “destination restaurant”. The sauce was kind of interesting. A hint of cheese. Nice.

The Sablefish had an awesome sauce. 99.9 % butter. Awesome. My friend just wanted a bowl of sauce and a crusty roll. I admit, that was one of the best sauces I’ve ever tasted. OK, the “destination restaurant” just got promoted to driving distance.

Dessert:
No Lava chocolate cake. For dinner service only. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to go back for dinner.

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/vancouver/shangrila/dining/restaurant/market