Eating the Northwest

[Johnathon]

Day One was supposed to begin with a drive to Whistler from Vancouver to enjoy a dinner at Araxi. But I would be doing Vancouver a great injustice by not mentioning the Saturday evening beforehand spent with a couple of business colleagues at Le Crocodile for a late dinner. So Day One becomes an evening of French cuisine.

Le Crocodile has been an Alsatian favorite for twenty years. The restaurant was originally located on Thurlow Street before moving to the current location on Smythe Street. (The address is listed as 909 Burrard Street, but the entrance is actually on Smythe Street a half block North of Burrard Street).

Le Crocodile and it’s chef/owner Michel Jacob has been going strong since 1983 and celebrated this Twentieth Anniversary with a dinner like no other by having Chef Emile Jung from the celebrated Au Crocodile restaurant in Michel’s hometown of Strasbourg, to visit and prepare a menu of Alsatian excellence in Michel’s kitchen for three evenings of wonderful food. I attended this dinner and had the honor of having lunch with Emile Jung on two occasions before and after the Anniversary celebration to talk about the food, philosophy and everything in between. A separate thread for this special dinner is to follow.

The dishes for the Saturday evening were staples of Michel Jacob’s current menu at Le Crocodile. The restaurant embodies a comfortable escape from some of the quicker paced moments of the downtown core just inches from the front door of the restaurant and has been known as a power lunch haven for the executive lunch set. The room is warm and inviting with tones of honey-mustard and velvety burgundy jewel tones. A dark wood bar, accents and furnishings finish the look of the room as white linen and plate ware adorn the tables. Le Crocodile is uncharacteristically a bright dining room compared to most. The lighting is usually consistent from day to night with the room lights adding the ambient finish to the tabletop lamps at each and every table. With Michel’s food, the presentation thereof and the particular care given to the table setting, there is nothing to hide and this bright room let’s you see all of the careful attention to detail.

The evening began with a 2000 vintage bottle of Trimbach “Reserve” Pinot Gris. A lovely Alsatian wine which pairs very well with so many of Le Crocodile’s entrees.

First entrée was a Wild Salmon Tartare, which was perfectly cool and delicious with a simple topping of Crème Sure and Salmon Roe. Beautifully presented and simple in it’s respect to enjoying the flavor of the salmon.

Second entrée was Grilled Asparagus with Arugula and Truffle Oil Dressing and shaved parmesan (Asperges Vertes Grillées, Arugula, Vinaigrette aux Truffles et Parmesan). Once again a respect to excellent and fresh ingredients prepared perfectly to enjoy the flavors of the individual elements as well as the combination of texture and taste on the palate.

Main Dish was a Rack of Lamb (Carré d'Agneau Roti, Jus de Thym et sabayon à la Moutarde), a dish I will continue to have countless times at le Crocodile. The subtlety in the mustard sabayon with the lamb is an exquisite compliment to the tender meat of the lamb.

The shining star and the heart and soul of Michel’s cuisine is in his sauces. There is a care given to each and every one of his sauces that always just kisses the ingredients with compliments and never overpowers or sits as a liquid on the bottom of the plate. Michel invited me one evening to spend a couple of hours in the kitchen with him on a busy Friday night. I love to cook, but I am by no means adept in a busy kitchen nor do I consider myself to be chef material, but I do love food and the care that chefs put into their dishes. So it was a privilege and a delight to stand off in the sidelines with a cool glass of Riesling as the brigade in the kitchen was working fast and furious around the hot kitchen. At different times throughout this witness to the kitchen, I was attended to by many of the staff who would offer their accounting of what they do and the philosophy of the kitchen as a whole. I have seen many kitchen teams work in choreographed precision before but this team did it all with a grace and calm rarely encountered in the heat of the kitchen.

But, the sauces… The sauces. I watched as Michel had at any given time, no less than twenty-four sauces on the go. Constantly tending to them, tasting them, seasoning on the fly as they were reduced, replenished and refreshed. I was told by one of the kitchen staff that twenty to thirty sauces on any given night is perfectly normal for Michel. The fact that every one of them complimented the ingredients of the day with such delicate care keeps me in awe of what he does for his guests each and every day and evening of wonderful French food with an Alsatian drive behind the cuisine.

[Explorer]

Great report Johnathon on Crocodile. Actually, being regulars at his place, we also did the 2 hours in the kitchen with him and his staff last July. You have described it perfectly well; it was all calm and organized throughout a busy Saturday evening, then we had dinner later with Michel and his sous. Isn't Michel such a gracious and genuine host?

Have you had game there? His elk, venisson, duck are just amazing. I love those sauces...but not for everyday!

[Johnathon]

Michel Jacob of Le Crocodile is indeed one of the most generous, humble and genuine chefs to be found in French cuisine in Vancouver. So many of the city's better chefs and kitchen staff have been highly influenced by his training and sharing of knowledge and are hopefully continuing this tradition of passing on such sage advice from an Alsatian master.

I know that Chefs Rob Feenie and David Hawksworth both refer back to their times with Michel with fond recollections and sincere gratitude for being able to have learned with him.

The game is indeed excellent in the hands of this chef and I would never discount the Sole he prepares which is deboned tableside for you either.

[Explorer]

Great. I think we both belong the Crocodile admirers club.

I have been to his place at least 15 times, starting with when he was on Thurlow, and the first dish I had was the sole indeed which has been his signature. It came with 2 sauces at the time. (we're back there in Oct.)

[Coop]

My wife and I used to dine regularly at the old location back in the 80's. It was a very cozy room on Thurlow just south of Robson. The food in those days seemed to be more Bistro/Parisiene then from Chef Jacob's native Alsace. We tried to go to the new location one day for lunch but were turned away because they just didn't want to seat us for a late lunch, it was around 2 pm. We just thought that was a bit off putting so we never went back (we had also had a terrible dinner in the old dlocation just before they moved). I geuss it is time to forgive.

[Explorer]

Coop- I am sure that must have turned you off. His front staff isn't very smooth, you're correct.

Did you have a reservation then? We were once in about 10 to 2, and we stayed til 3:30pm!

Anyways- if you decide to go back there, let us know how they do for you.

[Johnathon]

Any time you are turned away from a restaurant you have been looking forward to visiting will set you aback. I would be very put off by this as well. Interesting aspect to the posts was the reference to front of the house and what Vancouver dining has to offer in this regard. I have had some pretty heated and enlightening conversations with hosts, sommeliers, chefs and restaurateurs in the last few weeks on this subject and feel that it is indeed difficult to find that perfect persona who is all things to all people when called upon.

Coop, I would definitely give Le Crocodile another go. New menu should be out in a week or so and should be quite interesting. We could compare notes with Explorer by the end of October.