#22. Bistro 101 - February 12, 2014

I was pretty excited for Family Day weekend. That is until I came down with a hardcore strain of the west coast common cold. Nine days later, I'm still coughing like an 80-year-old chain smoker and going through Kleenex so fast I regret not buying shares of Kimberly-Clark. I had to take the Friday off of work and was sick in bed the whole 3-day weekend. We had planned to go to Science World, to the movies and of course out to dinner. All those plans were obviously scrapped, and I watched 3 seasons of Downton Abbey incapacitated on the couch instead. So that explains why I haven't posted in a few days.

Our first Valentine's Day together, Stephen took me to the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) for dinner during the "Montreal en lumière" festival. We had an amazing 7-course dinner prepared by the ITHQ students with the guidance of guest chef Jason Wilson, and it was perfectly paired with Washington wines specifically selected for the event. Culinary schools are a hidden gems that you wouldn't normally think of when picking a place for dinner or lunch. Firstly, the young and creative chefs-in-training are sure to deliver an awesome meal. Second, you'll probably pay between 50-75% less for a 3-course meal than if you ordered identical plates at an established restaurant. Thirdly, you're helping future culinary talent get practice, and then when they make it big you can say you ate their food before they were famous. Fourth, if you want to impress a date with really shishi-looking food (you'll know what I mean when you see the pictures below) culinary schools surely won't disappoint. Wherever you are, research culinary schools in your area, and give them a try.

Valentine's Day is definitely the worst day of the year to go to a restaurant. I like to people-watch when I go to restaurants and make up back-stories for all the interesting characters that I spot. Valentine's Day diners just make themselves such easy targets for this sport. Half of the female diners clutch grocery store roses that were procured at the last minute, male diners go slack jawed when they see the bottom line on the bill, and both genders order the cheapest thing on the menu and no booze because they picked a restaurant with a price point out of their comfort zone because they never go out and felt like they would treat themselves, but really end up depriving themselves of what they really did want to eat. I'm not a Valentine's Day hater, but gentlemen, take your ladies out on dates as often as your can to nice places, and give her decent flowers on random Tuesdays. Don't save it for Vday. All that to say, I had no interest in going to a restaurant on the 14th, so we went on the 12th instead.

Bistro 101 is the restaurant at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, located just outside Granville Island. Another benefit of going out for our Valentine's Day dinner on the 12th was that we could take advantage of Bistro 101's Wine Wednesdays when all bottles of wine are 50% off. It basically makes the wine the same price as you would pay at the liquor store (if not cheaper). Paired with a 3-course dinner at $26 per head, the value for your money can't be matched.

Before we received our apps, we were treated to an assortment of fresh breads and an amuse bouche. The entire meal is perfectly portioned, so I highly recommend that you indulge in a piece of each of the 6 or so different types of breads that are served. Cornbread, whole grain, poppy seed, choux...they were all delicious. The amuse bouche was a salmon mousse macaroon. The meringue was similar to a traditional macaroon, but the filling was rich and fresh. This is the second time I've had a savory macaroon. In fact, the last was at the ITHQ event (it was fois gras... and it was epic)! Kudos to the culinary student that executed these, they were fantastic and I would love to try more savory preparations.

We went on to the Sea Scallops with Crispy Cauliflower and Avocado Mousse and the appetizer of the day, a sous vide venison. I was a little worried about Stephen ordering the venison since we had terrible venison at Patrick Guilbaud, a 2-Michelin Star restaurant in Dublin, Ireland. Then again, I've never associated deer with Ireland. The sea scallops were smaller than I had expected, but they were well seared and buttery in the middle. The texture of the crispy cauliflower and radishes added the contrasting textures and flavours that scallops crave. I had high expectations of the avocado mousse, but it had little flavour and was more of a foam than a mousse. A little more density and salt would have helped. As for the venison, it was a visually stunning and complex dish. The medium-rare game-y meat was accompanied by blue cheese cream, capers, sweet chili sauce, roasted beets, arugula, caramelized onions, and flavoured coarse salt...pretty much every texture and flavour profile you could ask for. On their own, each of these elements was okay, but all together in one bite they were amazing. The students could teach Patrick Guilbaud a think or two about making a great venison dish!

My entrée was the best plate of the night: Squid Ink Pappardelle, Chorizo, Winter Squash and Prawns. I love fresh pasta. I would have happily eaten just the pasta. It was fantastic, and everything else was a welcomed bonus. The chorizo was spicy but not too hot and the squash was sweet and slightly charred around the edges. Two of my ultimate favourite textures also joined the party. First, prawns were cooked just to the point of being opaque, so they weren't chewy and rubbery. Second, the roasted grape tomatoes were intact on the plate, but burst in your mouth when you bit them. Timing is everything with these two, and having them as only 2 of many elements on a plate is tough to achieve. 

Stephen ordered the Braised Lamb Shank with Buttermilk Whipped Potatoes and Brussel Sprout Leaves. The lamb tasted like lamb. Go to the grocery store, buy some lamb, cook your lamb, and taste your lamb. Did it taste like lamb? Probably not. Did it feel like you were chewing on a piece of a Hunter of Scotland rubber boot? Probably. Lamb is so easy to screw up. Kudos to the student chefs for showing lambs' true potential. Their lamb was shredded which made it extra tender. The mashed potatoes had a great consistency and buttery taste according to Stephen (I'm still not a mashed potato fan). There were also roasted red and yellow bell peppers on the plate, which strangely were the first thing we smelled when the plate arrived. I didn't even know bell peppers had a distinct smell, but this dish proved me wrong. Overall, the braised lamb was a solid dish, but mine was definitely better.

Dessert was good, but not very memorable. I found myself eating them, but not really paying attention to what I was putting in my mouth. There weren't any "Ooooo Aaaaahh" moments. I had the Black Forest Flourless Chocolate Cake. It sort of tasted like a denser version of cake from a Betty Crocker box. The white chocolate mousse on the cake didn't really have much white chocolate flavour, and it just looked weird on the plate pipped out in a random and inelegant way. The cocoa nib ice cream was good, but it wasn't quite an ice cream. It tasted slightly watery and had partially crystallized. Stephen ordered the Mocha Verrine. The dark chocolate mousse bottom layer of the verrine was quite good, and so was the vanilla shortbread top later. However, the white chocolate mocha mousse and lemon gelée in the middle together had a panna cotta texture that didn't quite fit with the other layers. It felt confused and the presentation missed the mark. The verrine glass was far too large and the swoosh on the plate was unnecessary.

As far as service goes, it didn't quite meet my expectations. It was quite slow, and we often found ourselves talking over empty plates for 10 minutes. It took another 10 minutes after our dessert plates were taken away to be offered the bill. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy (less than half the tables were occupied), and the staff was clearly running un-dinner-service-related errands. I guess the difference between Bistro 101 and the restaurant at ITHQ is that ITHQ is also a hotel management school, and therefore there is a higher focus on service and hospitality. Still, strong service is essential for any decent restaurant, so I believe a higher emphasis should be put on it at Bistro 101 for the students' benefit.

Scrumptious fresh breads!

Salmon mousse savory macaroon. Could have used some better plating, but it was delicious.

Sea scallops with avocado mousse and roasted cauliflower nibs

Sous-vide venison, beautifully plated.

Squid-ink papardelle with chorizo and prawns. Delicious!

Braised lamb with whipped butter mashed potatoes and crisp brussel sprout leaves

Flourless de-constructed black forest cake.

Mocha verrine

THE STATS - Out of 10

Taste: 7 - The ingredients were definitely fresh, but some were better cooked and applied better than others.
Creativity: 8 - Many cooking and plating techniques are used, since the students need practice across the board. You wouldn't get all of these techniques in one visit at any other restaurant
Service: 4 - It was quite slow, mousey and unmemorable
Bang for your buck: 8 - For $26 per head for 3 services, you're definitely getting great value. I know I didn't give the most raving review, but for $26 I feel good about it. It's highly unlikely you would get a similar 3-course dinner for less than 3 times that price per head. Also, take advantage of Wine Wednesdays!
Overall experience: 7 - Considering that students are manning the kitchen and dining room, it was a nice experience.

Would I go back? Yes. The menu changes monthly, and they also have a 3-service lunch for $20. I would definitely go back.
Who would I recommend it to? Adults, any occasion, any group size. It definitely isn't suitable to young children, or even teenagers that would be intimidated by the plating and flavour combinations. It is not the best place for picky "meat and potatoes" types, but they could probably work their way around the menu to find something they like. The dinning area is small, but there is ample space between tables, so large birthday party groups wouldn't disturb the neighbouring couples having a romantic night out.
For what occasion? Valentine's Day of course, birthdays, anniversaries, "just because," etc. There are no limits!
It was better than: I don't know if we've had enough comparable sit-down experiences. For now, Bistro 101 sits on the bottom of my resto totem pole, but probably not for long
It wasn't as good as: The appetizers/dessert at Coast, l'Abattoir, Fish House in Stanley Park
Expect: Expect to eat the students' gourmet culinary experiments using seasonal ingredients, and different textures and cooking techniques than you wouldn't necessarily see in other established restaurants.

Top 50 Worthy? I don't think so. The food was good, but I find it hard to believe that there aren't 50 better restaurants in Vancouver. The student did great work, and the food was on-par with my expectations, but it probably isn't one of the Top 50.

Romer's Burger Bar - February 1, 2014

Burgers! Finally! Even though there is close access to local beef and organic local beef, surprisingly there aren't a lot of burger joints in Vancouver.

I wrote the UFE in 2012. If you're an accountant you know what that is, and if you're not an accountant, Google it. It was brutal. Stephen was actually writing it at the same time... we were a really happy couple that summer....not. About 2 weeks before the big exam, I couldn't handle studying any more. I didn't want to be within 50 feet of anything accounting related. Obviously the first of those 2 weeks was spent worrying that I was going to fail and go through a summer of hell next year. To take our minds off the UFE, during the second week Stephen and I had the brilliant idea of participating in Montreal Burger Week. Not only participate, we challenged ourselves to go to every single burger place on the docket. There was a point system in place where you earned points every time you Facebook checked-in or tweeted that you were at one of the burger restaurants or when you voted if the burger was good, and you could convert the points to prizes. After about 9 burgers in 3 days, I caved. I just couldn't handle any more beef and bun. However, we were among the top points earners. Unfortunately, despite emailing the organizers of Montreal Burger Week like crazy, they only sent us half of the prizes we earned. Still waiting on my $100 gift card for Mbrgr guys!!

Anywho, we love burgers. I'm not going to reveal too much, but our wedding menu has burgers on it! Get excited invitees!

We had heard about Romer's from a few co-workers, and decided to try it out even though it wasn't in the Top 50. These would be the first Vancouver burgers we have indulged in.

Though they had a Dine-Out Vancouver menu, we opted for à-la-carte since we didn't feel the need for 2 appetizers, 2 burgers and 2 desserts. The menu is pretty comprehensive. Besides burgers, they offer Mac & Cheese, fish & chips, street tacos, and salads (for that friend who couldn't possibly order something with red meat on a bun... oh no carbs and calories oooo... GTFO). They also have lots of interesting starters like deep fried pickles. Obviously we ordered them. I love pickles and I love deep fried, so what could go wrong? These tempura-battered wedges of pickle genius are amazing. They don't taste the way you think they would. Right now the flavour you have in your mind is swallowing a big glug of pickle juice, but its nothing like that! Trust me, they're delicious. Crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, the fried, un-salted batter tames the saltiness and vinegary tang of the pickles. The blue cheese dressing adds a much needed creamy element to the starter. We're going to have to talk to our caterer about adding these to our menu.

After much deliberation, we finally decided on the Man's Man Burger and the Magic Mushroom Burger. We had debated ordering the The Chorizodor and Romer's Righteous Rib Burger, but we asked our waitress which burgers she thought were best, and ordered what she recommended. Actually, to paraphrase her: "All our beef is organic and our buns are fresh, so you could order just the meat and bread and it would be great." We didn't go that route, but her other recommendations didn't disappoint! The Magic Mushroom had perfectly caramelized onions and portobello mushrooms that weren't drowning in oil and salt. It's surprisingly hard to get those two right. The herb Boursin cheese was the creamy and salty element, which was balanced out with much-welcomed bitter arugula. The beef was well treated and was thick, juicy and cooked perfectly medium. In terms of taste, there was nothing special about the bun. However, the bun to filling ratio is very important. A great burger shouldn't fall apart in your hands, with the filling falling out the back end. The bun should be big and spongy enough to handle all the condiments and toppings. Romer's buns kept my burger intact and my fingers clean, so it was a winner.

The Man's Man Burger was also pretty fantastic. It had ooey-gooey amber ale cheddar, amazing thick-cut applewood bacon, and crispy onion strings that put it in our Top 3 Burgers Ever list. It's up there with Montreal's Art:Brgr. Romer's makes all their own sauces (except Heinz Ketchup and Frank's Red Hot). This burger had both their whole-grain mustard and olive oil mayo. The bacon was the real star of this burger. I'd order a few pounds of it for Sunday brunch if I could. I'm not sure how many strips were in it, but every bite we took had this bacon in it. It was an awesome staple burger.

As a side, we ordered the share-able fries. They have 3 kinds: sea-salt, truffle oil and parmesan and garlic. We got half sea-salt so we could test out their basic fries, and half garlic because I'm not a huge fan of truffle oil. Real truffles or bust. Don't try to fool me with truffle oil. That shit ain't fancy. The fries were meh. They were fresh, but weren't crispy enough. They had the same texture as frozen McCain fries. I've seen and tasted more sea salt on fries at Wendy's, and thought he garlic scent was intoxicating, the fries just couldn't handle it.

I was ready to get the bill after that, but then our waitress told us about their Drunken Donuts: 10 freshly fried mini-donuts, with 3 alcoholic dipping sauces. Stephen's eye's lit up when she told us about them, so even though I'm not a huge donut fan, I couldn't say no. What arrived was a glorious tower of soft and fluffy fresh delights, drizzled with just enough glaze for a hint of sweetness. The dipping sauces, in ascending order of deliciousness were, Kahlua-Nutella, Maple-whiskey and Limoncello lemon curd. Adding alcohol to the sauces was brilliant given the sweetness that needed to be broken up a bit. These are definitely not to be missed. Keep a little space for them!

In terms of decor, the place is pretty standard red on black. It has a bar in the middle, one wall of banquettes, and a dozen or so tables of 2 or 4. Everything is clean and new, but it's nothing special. It looks like a regular sports bar. Service was quite good and quick. Our waitress told us about each burger without reading off the menu, recommended burgers, and easily sold us on dessert.

Overall, it was a solid introduction to Vancouver burgers and we're looking forward to tasting more!

View from our table of the bar

Pickles & Beer! Amazing deep fried pickles!

Magic Mushroom Burger... that cheese was sooooo yummy!

Stephen's Man Man's Burger... Monstrosity! 

Beautifully cooked.

Drunken Donuts with fantastic dipping sauces!

THE STATS - Out of 10

Taste: 8.5 - Amazing fresh ingredients with great combinations in their burgers. The fries were boring though.
Creativity: 7 - If you look at the menu overall, there are some pretty creative dishes. Some of the burgers are standard, but deep friend pickles get extra points.
Service: 7 - Friendly service, and gave us a great sales pitch on each of the burgers and dessert
Bang for your buck: 6 - The burgers are priced a little high for what they are. They are an average of $12 each, without sides. I'd like to see them up the price by $1 but include fries.
Overall experience: 8 - Great burgers and dessert, mediocre fries, good service, pretty plain decor and vibe.

Would I go back? Definitely. Just look at the menu. You can't possibly try everything you'd want to in one visit. I want to try a few more burgers and their mac & cheese. We'll see if they can maintain these stats the second time around!
Who would I recommend it to? Couples and small groups. The place isn't huge, and I didn't see any tables of more than 4, so having a big gang there might be tough. It's a good place to hang out and have a few on-tap craft beers. I wouldn't really recommend this place to families, though I did see a few small children there. This isn't Boston Pizza. Leave your kid at home.
For what occasion? This isn't a place for special occasions. It's a great Friday night go-to place. You probably wont stick around for very long after your meal if you do go with friends. They do have tv's all over the walls, so it might be a good spot to catch a game.
It was better than: Stephen says it's better than Montreal's Burger Bar, but I disagree.
It wasn't as good as: In my opinion, Montreal's Burger Bar and Art:Brgr. At least Burger Bar has decent fries.
Expect: Just a great burger. There wasn't a line at 1pm on a Saturday, but I'm not sure if you'd have to wait in the evening or for a weekday lunch. The atmosphere is very casual, so don't bring a hot date here, unless she's the pizza and beer type.

Top 50 Worthy? Nah, but we knew it wouldn't be. If there is a Top 50-worthy burger out there though, we sure would love to hear about it!