Vancouver Cultural Centers

[tarteausucre]

I would second the moules frites recommendation!! I love how they only offer you mayo (homemade) ... perish the thought of dipping those fries into ketchup!

[BCinBC]

^ VanLee, I haven't been since they got a new chef but previous to that, they had some of my favourite frites in town (shoestring kind). On the old menu staples, I'd 3rd the mussels for a starter, then the duck breast or ribeye.

Curious to hear about how it's changed, if at all. Also very curious to hear what the status is with their wine program...

[Vancouver Lee]

I dined at Salade des Fruits last night with my regular monthly Supper Club. This group gets together once a month specifically to try restaurants that are a) somewhat under the radar (i.e. none of us have been to Lumiere, but that's too high profile for the group), and b) that no one in the group has been to before. Salade des Fruits qualified on both counts.

The restaurant is very small - less than 10 tables all squeezed into a very small space. The FOH manager is quite a joker, and kept us laughing from arrival to departure. We were tempted to return the favour by asking if the kitchen had any recently dropped rifles, but managed to restrain ourselves.

The room is quintessential French bistro and has a nice vibe. We were seated right beside the kitchen, and the close quarters meant I was able to observe the chefs at work all evening.

One of the nice things about this group I dine with is that everyone tries to order something different. We get a wide-angle view of the menu that way. Last night was no exception. We ate the following (names anglicized):

1) Wild Boar Spring Rolls

2) Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Kalamata Olive Tapenade Croutons

3) Onion Soup

4) Rib-eye Steak & Frites

5) Rack of Lamb

6) Duck Confit with cassis sauce

7) Mussels

8) Wild Salmon

I didn't sample the spring rolls - they disappeared too fast. The salads were huge, and came with a great sweet balsamic vinagrette, albeit dressed a little too heavily for my taste. The goat cheese and tapenade came on little pieces of french bread that had been put under the broiler for a few seconds to toast them. They promised more than they delivered - flat, bland tapenade and meh goat cheese. The biggest disappointment was the onion soup. It looked fabulous - tons of golden onions in a steamy broth, but there was absolutely no depth to the flavours. It tasted like it was thrown together about 10 minutes before serving. How sad.

The rib-eye steak was excellent, and so tender it could be cut with the side of my fork. The frites were, as mentioned above, wonderful. Ultra-thin and slightly crispy (although lacking is salt but that was easily rectified). The duck confit was a little dry but still tender, and the skin was wonderfully flavourful and crispy (which struck me as a bit odd - I thought confit was essentially stewing and thus meant non-crispy skin...?). I only sampled a single mussel, but it was very good, if not overly large. I did not sample the rack of lamb or the salmon.

Dessert was an excellent sampling of sorbets - cassis, pear and mango that had been combined into a loaf of sorts and presented as slices. Very good. My companions enjoyed creme brule, chocolate mouse, and an excellent apple tarte.

As far as wine goes, they only offer a house red and white. The house red was something French (who'd have expected that?) that I can't remember but was pretty decent for $13 a bottle. The house white was either a Jackson-Triggs Chardonnay or a BC Sauvignon Blanc that we did not try.

Including wine, tax and tip, cost was $45/person.

Overall, we were impressed. The food was good (though not great), the room was warm and inviting, and we felt it was good value for the money.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Vancouver Lee (log)

[Zucchini Mama]

^Interesting report Lee, as I and another eGulleter had lunch at Salade des Fruits yesterday. I had a very mediocre lunch (not much luck with mushroom crêpes this year, I'm afraid) and I've had better lunch there before. (Note to self: order the Moules et Frîtes next time). We didn't sit in the cosy part . We sat in the community center foyer part, which is fine since it reminds one that this is a community centre and if you think of it as such, then yes, you are getting a fair value for your meal. Plus you get harried waiters with dark clouds of existentialist angst floating above their curly Gallic coifs. You also get to sit on plastic patio furniture which nearly caused a South Granville Madame near us to have a "crise de coeur." The non alcoholic bubbling cider from Paris is nice.

It's cheap. It's quick. It's not a Brasserie de Lyon, but what the heck.

Zuke

Edited November 27, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[Ling]

The duck confit was a little dry but still tender, and the skin was wonderfully flavourful and crispy (which struck me as a bit odd - I thought confit was essentially stewing and thus meant non-crispy skin...?).

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The duck skin is usually crisped in the pan when it's warmed before serving.

Rib-eye you can cut WITH A FORK?!!

Thanks for the report...I love going out to dinner with a big group of people so I can sample most of the menu too!

[annanstee]

The Italian Cultural Centre seems to be a recurring theme here. They do spaghetti dinners on Bingo nights : )

[canucklehead]

If anyone is curious - I think that the Ukranian Church is doing their dinner this Friday (Dec 02). Worth going early and getting some good neighbourhood vibes.

[Zucchini Mama]

I just noticed that Salade de Fruits has a series of weekly Table d'Hotes. The one for the week of Christmas is "Agneau Rotie Petit Jésus." Hmmm, would that be the sacrificial lamb wrapped in swaddling pastry?

Joyeux Noël et Bon Appetit!

Zuke

Edited December 1, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[~cayenne~]

If anyone is curious - I think that the Ukranian Church is doing their dinner this Friday (Dec 02).  Worth going early and getting some good neighbourhood vibes.

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After rereading your post of the November event, our curiousity is peaked indeed.

All kidding aside, thanks for the reminder.