Senhor Rooster's experience

[snacky_cat]

Mamacat, Mr Cat and myself are headed to Senhor Rooster tonight for our biweekly meat feed and to replenish our piri-piri stock. If any of you are thinking of trying the place out, come out tonight and say hi. We'll be the ones with the top buttons on our pants undone.

For once we don't have anywhere we have to be immediately afterwards, so we're going to settle in the for night and get Daniel to bring out whatever he pleases.

[snacky_cat]

Another totally delicious meal at Senhor Rooster last night, and I was delighted to see that word of mouth on this place seems to be spreading - we arrived at about 5:30 as one other diner was finishing up, and within an hour or so the place had completely filled up! I overheard a lot of people saying things like "I heard about this place and just had to try it", and saw lots of satisfied customers, maws smeared with sauces, exlaiming over how good everything was.

We told Daniel to bring out whatever he felt like. We started with an amazing appetizer - a potato pancake (with somethign else in it, maybe shrimp paste and herbs?), topped with a melting wedge of brie and a sauce that was good I pretty much licked my plate clean - it wasn't a sauce I had seen there before; it was sort of a fresh tomato/cream/herb concoction.

Our entrée was caldeirada, or "Portuguese bouillabaisse". This was an incredibly flavourful tomato and herb broth, with potato, red and green pepper, mussels, clams, catfish, sardine, cod, and probably a few other fish. It lives up to its name - the heat retention properties of this dish are amazing. I think it spent about 25min on our table before we got full and couldn't stuff another bite in, and even after all that time it was STILL piping hot. Really amazing, if a bit of work to get at the small fish bones. Worth the effort though!

Finished off with a creme brulée and a mango mousse that was possibly the most intensely fruity dessert I've ever had - a veritable mango explosion.

Daniel said call ahead next time and he'll do up the salt-crusted chicken for us! Woo hoo! Anything that you have to serve tableside using a hammer is worth trying in my book.

[Ling]

Another totally delicious meal at Senhor Rooster last night, and I was delighted to see that word of mouth on this place seems to be spreading - we arrived at about 5:30 as one other diner was finishing up, and within an hour or so the place had completely filled up! I overheard a lot of people saying things like "I heard about this place and just had to try it", and saw lots of satisfied customers, maws smeared with sauces, exlaiming over how good everything was.

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I posted my photo review on another site and a bunch of people were in at Senhor Rooster's last night after reading it...and some are lurkers on Egullet too! And some of them had the lamb that I was raving about. They've already posted their comments...everyone loved the food.

Edited January 13, 2006 by Ling (log)

[snacky_cat]

Heh heh, yeah, I saw a TON of lamb going out of the kitchen. Somewhere, a field is markedly less sheep-y.

With all the visit food dorks, I think Senhor Rooster is rapidly becoming the east side equivalent of the HSG.

[makanmakan]

Daniel said call ahead next time and he'll do up the salt-crusted chicken for us! Woo hoo! Anything that you have to serve tableside using a hammer is worth trying in my book. 

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drool!

[canucklehead]

I've been back a number of times and have really enjoyed the food. It is a great neighbourhood place and Daniel is a great chef and host - it is fun watching someone who clearly enjoys cooking. The food is good - but it seems like to me the meals are best when you have one of his specials and let him guide you. This may take the cost higher then what you may have planned on based on the menu prices - but the no worries - you always get tremendous value for your dollar (I mean - a full rack of ribs for $35!).

Finally - he had the potato and cod cakes on the menu and they were crisp fresh and delicous. Perfect for mopping up the piri piri sauce leftover from the prawns.

We ate mostly off the regular menu - but I regretted it when I saw the table behind us do something really smart and order family style. They had the clams and pork, braised lamb shanks, bacalau au gratin, big plates of fries.... mmm mmm.

The table beside us hade the salt crusted stuffed chicken and it smelled heavenly. They were a family with two little ones who were so excited by the ritual of cracking open the salt crust - the clapped their hands in glee. Ah... the next generation of egulleteers. The force was particularly strong with these little tykes.

For dessert - we ordered the flambe, creme brulee, and got a bonus drink. The creme brulee comes with a very very thin crisp layer of carmelized sugar. It had a incredible lush mouthfeel with a touch of citrus.

The bonus drink was a flamed mixture of brandy, his citrus grappa, a touch of red wine, citrus peel, and coffee beans. It was not too boozy at all and was a great finish to the meal.

Daniel handled all parts of FOH and BOH and the meal takes a bit time. The place has gotten alot of lov'n from egullet and they deserve it. It looks like they are attracting a steady clietele (looked like a gathering of CBC Disc Drive listeners the night I was there). I hope that Daniel is able to juggling the increasing demands that will be placed on him as business improves. The night that we were there - his son was helping him out - but there was still a table of three that had to wait a very long time just to get their orders in as Daniel was trying to churn out food for three other large groups.

However - if you call ahead he will prepare something special for you. I asked about the seafood hot pot that Snacky Cat had and he said that if I gave him a day or two notice - he could put one together for me also. It would have whatever seafood looked fresh. I am looking forward to it...

[snacky_cat]

It looks like they are attracting a steady clietele (looked like a gathering of CBC Disc Drive listeners the night I was there). 

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Ha ha, that was totally the crowd that was there last Friday too. Lots of 40/50somethings in black turtlenecks rocking the thick-rimmed spectacles and talking about their favourite trip to the Napa Valley and how the Volvo is in the shop AGAIN!

Those potato and cod cakes look FANTASTIC! Great pics Lee!

Mamacat has an out of towner coming in next week so since we took him to the HSG last time, he gets Senhor Rooster this time. I will report back upon our next visit.

[Ducky]

Lots of 40/50somethings in black turtlenecks rocking the thick-rimmed spectacles and talking about their favourite trip to the Napa Valley and how the Volvo is in the shop AGAIN! 

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Ouch!

[Dumpling Girl]

Ah... the next generation of egulleteers.  The force was particularly strong with these little tykes.

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[mamacat]

However - if you call ahead he will prepare something special for you.  I asked about the seafood hot pot that Snacky Cat had and he said that if I gave him a day or two notice - he could put one together for me also.  It would have whatever seafood looked fresh.  I am looking forward to it...

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The one caution about this very tasty dish is the bones....much as I enjoyed the flavours, I found that having to remove small bones from my mouth on just about every bite took away from the experience. Perhaps when you have it, the day's ingredients will be less problematic.

[snacky_cat]

Lots of 40/50somethings in black turtlenecks rocking the thick-rimmed spectacles and talking about their favourite trip to the Napa Valley and how the Volvo is in the shop AGAIN! 

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Ouch!

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Heh, I can say this knowing full well that it is my destiny too.

Mamacat is right - look out for the bones in the caldeirada. My advice is to spend 5 minutes flaking all the meat off the fish before you even attempt to eat it - it will also afford a brief cooling-off period.

[snacky_cat]

Moth, meet flame. Flame, this is moth.

We were back at Senhor Rooster AGAIN tonight, this time with our best friend in tow, all the way from Ottawa. On our last visit, Daniel told us to call in advance so he could prep the salt-crusted Cornish game hen for us, so we rang up this afternoon and put in our order for that. While I ws chatting with him, Daniel also mentioned that the lamb we had also requested had become SO popular (go internet, woo!) that he has now added it to the regular menu. He also mentioned an amazing pork special - pork tenderloin stuffed with a whole chorizo sausage, so we signed ourselves up for one of those too. He managed to mention a few other dishes too, all of which sent my salivary glands into overdrive.

We popped by at 7:30 - it was fairly quiet (I think all of Vancouver is grazing at DOV establishments) so we shared the space with a couple regulars, another couple, and eventually former MP and MLA Ian Waddell. My first Senhor Rooster celebrity sighting. Maybe I'll get Iona Campagnolo next.

For an amuse, Daniel sent out some fresh cheese he had made that day with the jalapneo sauce (no avocados he said - from eyeballing the sauce it looks like he has changed the recipe- it is still sublime, I must say). There is nothing this guy can't do - meats, sauces, desserts, and cheese to boot. It was a wonderfully soft, fresh, gentle cheese that was hoovered up instantly by our party.

Appies were the pancake/Camembert conction I mentioned in my last visit's post, and a new dish he was trying out - a wild mushroom terrine served with an artfully plated palette of sauces (mango ginger, piri piri and jalapeno) and a crest of enoki mushrooms. Hoo boy, was this ever good. Take Neil's HSG delectible wild mushroom ravioli filling and put it into terrine form and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Our mains were just amazing. I apologize for the intensely crappy cameraphone photos, but we get so caught up in the excitement of going to Senhor Rooster for a meat feed that we always forget the camera...

Salt-encruted Cornish game hen:

This was OUTSTANDING. So delicately flavoured, so moist. Wow. Call ahead and order yourself this treat!

Pork tenderloin stuffed with chorizo:

Another amazing dish. Daniel brought out a squeeze bottle of a blueberry sauce he had put together - blueberry, a touch of balsamic perhaps, and a bit of a cinammon flavour. It went so beautifully with this and would complement any pork dish wonderfully.

Lamb, o infamous lamb:

I will sell my first, second, third and fourth born for this lamb. Our out of town guest, who lived here during the 80s and loved the lamb at the erstwhile Yanni's on Robson, declared that this came damn close to sheepy perfection. This is the only dish in town that brings me back to my caveman roots - I just grab it by the bone, shove it in my gaping maw, and then shear every last tendril of meat of the bone using my immense tooth power.

All of this was accompanied by a side of Emporer's rice (the really black stuff) and a plate full of roasted veg (carrot, zucchini, red pepper and potato) and red cabbage. All wonderful, espcially the rice. What a treat!

We finished off with the last order (saved for us especially by Daniel) of a secret dessert creation he came with at 1:30 in the morning - a pineapple and green peppercorn mousse. This was an incredible blend of flavours - imagine the intensity of his mango mousse but with pineapple as the main flavour, paired with a bit of a pepper kick, all with a light, foamy texture. Really an amazing creation. He says he wrote down the recipe, so call ahead and you might get yerself a batch. Here is a picture:

The mango mousse is in the background of the pic - our out-of-town pal chose that one (he's a big mango fan) and loved it. We also had the chocolate mousse - pic below - which was, as expected, delish.

You can see Mamacat's arm reaching towards the pineapple/peppercorn mousse.

All in all, another great night for an amazing price-per-head.

[canucklehead]

Here's some class for you. A group of us went out for dinner at SR and the special that night was horse scallopini.

One of our party did not like the horse and did not finish it. It was simply an issue of the meat being a little too tough (it was the cut of horse - tenderloin would have been much better - also triple the price). No complaint was raised by us and though the waiter noticed the plate - he did not make any issue of it either. Simply asked why the diner did not like it. One of those instances of where no-one did any thing wrong - just misordering.

Well, it was taken off our bill without ANY fuss or fanfare (we would not have noticed if we did not do a quick math check).

Here is a case of where comping was NOT expected or required - but was done in the spirit of generosity. Not to make up for a fuck up, or to shut us up for a hishap.

Senhor Rooster - great neigbourhood place, highly addictive sauces, and a chef/owner that takes the food seriously - but not himself.

[Dumpling Girl]

I suspected that huge group was an eGullet crowd. I was there Saturday night. My friend had the horse, and I thought the slices he had were pretty tender. But I liked my rack of lamb (yes, I ate nearly an entire rack!) more. I'm so glad I went, and I'm already looking forward to going again.

Edited February 8, 2006 by Dumpling Girl (log)

[achiu]

I went there Sunday afternoon for lunch and he made a big portion of horse tartare for us. He initially said he had the seared horse meat but we didn't feel like eating something that heavy for lunch so he offered the tartare as a lighter alternative. It was quite good and he seasoned it with a touch more heat than beef tartare I've had elsewhere but the sweetness and tenderness of the horsemeat came through. I've been there twice and have been impressed with the food both times.

Alex

[Mooshmouse]

I suspected that huge group was an eGullet crowd.  I was there Saturday night.

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It was Friday night for us, actually. Sorry we missed you!

[Daddy-A]

Add J & I as fans of this place. Daniel and his family are gracious hosts ... in fact I may bring the kids with us next time so Daniel's son & nephew have someone to play with.

We were joined by Lemon Curd & Jeffy Boy (aka Lemon Boy) so were able to sample many different dishes. I won't go into detail except to say that the sweetbreads and horse specials were spectacular.

Daniel obviously loves to cook and his passion shows in each and every dish he brings out. Service is, as has been mentioned several times already, relaxed. But that didn't bother me ... a couple glasses of vino verde and some good company? I'm fine to sit there for hours!

Only one complaint ... it's not close enough to my house. But then, I think of all you West side folk trecking your wait out to this side of town for once, and the chuckle makes it close enough indeed!

A.

[Jeffy Boy]

Only one complaint ... it's not close enough to my house.

Geez... Dont' look to me for sympathy. White Rock isn't close enough to most places worth visiting.

I agree, the dinner at Senhor Rooster's was a winner. One should always get the whole Cornish Game Hen. It provides a larger canvas on which to paint the wonderful palette of sauces. Mmmm.... Mango Ginger.

[Dumpling Girl]

I suspected that huge group was an eGullet crowd.  I was there Saturday night.

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It was Friday night for us, actually. Sorry we missed you!

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Ahh, it wasn't you all then. That makes more sense now, since that big party was busy taking pictures of each other, and not the food Hope to run into you sometime! If anyone suspects they see me at a restaurant (I try to discreet with my camera, but you can only do so much when you need the flash), please feel free to come up and say hi! I'm going to keep Senhor Rooster's on my list of possibilities for group dinners. Great food, such reasonable prices, and he seemed to have no trouble with that huge party that took up nearly the entire restaurant (except a few small tables on the side). They got big platters of meat to share.

[pissaladiere]

Based on the rave reviews on this sight I sent my mother to Senhor Rooster's for lunch (it's in her neighbourhood). I, unfortunately, have yet to try it. I mentioned some of the dishes recommended here (cornish game hens, rack of lamb, bbqed mushrooms). She and a friend ordered some ribs and a half a cornish game hen. While they enjoyed their meal, they both thought the meat was every so slightly dry and lacking in seasoning or "sauce". I was very surpised as I had mentioned to her that Daniel was known for his sauces and that she should try the piri piri. She said that both meals came without sauce and that there were no bottles of sauce on the table. I was very surprised. She says she did not ask for any sauces. (She is one of those annoyingly polite customers who thinks they are being difficult by asking for anything once there meal is served) She did mention that there appeared to be just one woman running the whole show. This was on Friday at lunch. Is the experience at Senhor Rooster very different when the infamous Daniel is not around? Anyway, she is willing to give it another try, and I think the whole family will go for an upcoming birthday. I will be able to report my own experiences then.

[Ling]

^My sister and her bf last week, and while they didn't notice whether Daniel was in the kitchen or not, she thought her cornish game hen was a little dry too. They both really liked the rack of lamb, though.

[Ducky]

Well, it was another Senhor Rooster night for us and once again the dodgy trip into the eastern nether regions of this town was well worth the time and effort.

Just three words: "Pork with Clams". What a glorious dish! A perfect mixture of land and sea in a light and subtle sauce of wine and clam juice with various herbs and spices.

Years ago I slummed around the south of Portugal (Faro) for six months or so, and I remember having this dish (or something very much like it) on more than one occasion and thinking that it was a sufficient reason to spend more time in that part of the world. It was...and I did.

If you have ever been to Faro (or Portugal generally) and your time there was even remotely memorable, you owe it to yourself to re-live those days with a bottle of vinho verde and a plate of pork and clams at Senhor Rooster.

[Daddy-A]

Well, it was another Senhor Rooster night for us and once again the dodgy trip into the eastern nether regions of this town was well worth the time and effort.

Dodgy? Unless you went into the gambling den next door for a little wager, that part of town is hardly dodgy!

I've never been to Portugal ... but am beginning to think a trip is in order.

A.

[Ducky]

Does anyone else have the impression this fine restaurant suffers from a silly name? I have recommended it to various friends, and my recommendations have been ignored - largely I think because people assume it must be some tacky Mexican KFC knock-off.

Given Vancouver's current infatuation with one word restaurant names that tell you absolutely nothing about the restaurant, the owner or the food being served (eg. Lift, Nu, Rare, West, Brix, C, Fiction etc etc) I though we might do Daniel a favour and brainstorm a trendier name for his establishment.

How about "P" (for Portugal or Pork)? Or how about "East"? Or how about "Alogna" which is Angola spelled backwards?

Any suggestions?

[*Deborah*]

P wouldn't fit the bill, somehow...