HUNGRY GERALD

A dosa is a delicious food staple from South India. Basically, it is big, round crepe-like lentil and rice flour pancake. It is freshly cooked on an oiled griddle and served plain or rolled around a variety of fillings–fish, meat, chicken or vegetables. The dosa is dipped into “sambar,” a rich, soupy dip and accompanied by a variety of chutneys. HG’s favorite brunch when HG lived in Vancouver, B.C., was a dosa at Chutney Villa in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. The restaurant, run by a warm and friendly Indian woman, was a hundred yards from HG/BSK’s loft (best views in Vancouver). Few things were more delightful on a rainy (very frequent) Vancouver morning, than eating dosa, sipping chai and reading the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper. HG revived these memories with a Sunday brunch at Dosa Royale on Court Street in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. Tucked at a comfortable round table overlooking the colorful street scene and attended by a gentle young waitperson, HG devoured a very large, crisp edged dosa rolled around a filling of spinach and paneer (a white Indian cheese). Very good sambar and chutneys. HG sipped chai, read the Sunday New York Times, people watched. Many young Moms and Dads with their babies. Lots of beards. HG strolled along lively Court Street and then veered over to Smith, anther street lined with shops and restaurants. Bars were crowded on this grey Sunday with loud fans watching pro football games on TV. Much elation over victories by the Jets and Eagles.

One of the joys of HG/BSK’s years in the magical Canadian city of Vancouver was companionship with Jamie S., a charming young man who shared HG/BSK’s love of the good life. When Jamie was a neighbor (he in an extraordinary multi-level condo with a rooftop deck enhanced by skyscraper and mountain views; HG/BSK in an adjacent cutting edge steel and glass townhouse), Jamie was often HG/BSK’s Friday night at home dinner companion. BSK would prepare an extraordinary spatchcocked chicken or Berkshire pork chops. Jamie would bring wine and his selection was always flawless. In recent years, Jamie had the good luck to find an ideal partner, the very chic and graceful Karen. HG dined happily with Jamie and Karen during a visit to Vancouver last year (Karen prepared a very delicious and original meal at her home. Topped the very good meals we had in some new Vancouver restaurants). Good news this week. Jamie and Karen were in Phoenix for a business show and drove to New Mexico for a two day visit. Food highlight of the joyous reunion was dinner at Santa Fe’s Compound Restaurant. The quartet of gourmands decided upon a variety of small plates ordered from the bar menu. These were the dishes: Tuna tartare; Seared sea scallops with Brussels sprouts and crisp apple slices; Fettucine lobster carbonara; Wild mushrooms and stone ground polenta; Buttermilk fried onion rings; Butter sautéed Chantarelle mushrooms. Jamie selected a chilled Gruet sparkling wine and a flavorful Chianti. Desserts were olive oil cake and pear tart with lush house-made ice creams. An evening of fun. Made HG/BSK eager for another reunion in Vancouver this spring.

Food Island Day takes place on Prince Edward Island this week, a one-day symposium bringing together PEI growers, food processors, exporters, product developers, etc.. The aim is to share knowledge of emerging food and dining trends plus changing agricultural practices. The keynote speech will be given by Vikram Vij: “From the Kitchen to the Boardroom: Business Entrepreneurship and Cooking with Love.” Of course, daughter Victoria and husband Marc. M. (New York’s Rosie’s, Cookshop, Hundred Acres and Vic’s) are HG/BSK’s favorite restaurateurs, but right after them comes warm, engaging Vikram Vij. He is the owner of Vij’s, the renowned Indian fusion restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. During the ten years HG/BSK maintained part time homes (first a loft and then a modernist town home) in that enchanting city, the duo often dined at Vij’s. No reservations. Madly (and deservedly) popular. You had to join the lineup to get seated when the restaurant opened at 5:30. Filled immediately. And, never an empty seat thereafter. Warm greeting from Vij. Gracious service from a waitstaff of lovely young women. The food was consistently innovative and delicious. Surprising combinations of the very freshest ingredients. Splendidly curated selection of appropriate wines and beers. The New York Times called Vij’s: “Easily one of the finest Indian restaurants in the world.” While HG/BSK, were residents in Vancouver, Vij opened Rangoli, a casual neighboring restaurant that also offered frozen dishes for home consumption. Since then, HG has learned, Vij has opened My Shanti restaurant in the B.C. city of Surrey and has inaugurated a popular Vij’s food truck that roams Vancouver avenues. Vij frozen foods appear in the frozen foods section of a number of Canadian grocers. A new Vij flagship restaurant will open on Vancouver’s busy Cambie Street. Best of all, according to HG’s point of view, Vij and his wife, Meeru Dhalwala (she’s the genius behind all of the Vij kitchens) have authored two cookbooks: “Vij’s: Elegant and Inspired Indian food” and “Vij’s At Home: Relax, Honey.” The recipes are flawless. Last night, HG/BSK supped happily on two dishes from “Vij’s At Home”: Cauliflower “Steaks” and a curry of red kidney beans served over rice. (The Vij “family” chicken curry is a favorite of HG/BSK’s family and friends). When you are in a particularly festive mood and have a good bottle of California Cabernet at hand, cook Vij’s lamb “popsicles,” an HG favorite.

HG first tasted an appetizer of Chinese sesame noodles at Shun Lee, a good Chinese restaurant near New York’s Lincoln Center. A pleasantly suave dish, it made a nice accompaniment to pork dumplings and spring rolls. HG would make the noodles more lively by judicious applications of hot chili oil. These were timid noodles compared to the Tan Tan noodles served at Chongquing Szechuan Restaurant on Vancouver, B.C.’s gritty Commercial Drive. When HG/BSK were part time residents of Vancouver, HG always had the noodles as part of an exemplary dim sum brunch. The noodles were bowls of fire, the ingredients swimming in a sea of chile enriched sesame oil, properly named “fire oil.” HG’s palate was cooled by numerous cups of tea. HG encountered similar fiery noodles at Talin, an international foods supermarket in Santa Fe. The market has a ramen bar. A Monday pop up offers dumplings, soup, pork belly wraps and Dan Dan noodles. (On Fridays and Saturdays Vietnamese spring rolls are served at the ramen bar.) HG, a dedicated consumer of Asiatic (as well as Italian) noodles, often varies his consumption of Saigon Cafe’s pho with Talin’s Dan Dan variety. The other week, HG got a surprise. Expecting a mouthful of flames, HG ordered Talin’s Dan Dan noodles. Though described as Dan Dan noodles, the dish was really noodles in a variant of Mo Po Tofu sauce. The sauce contained ground pork, tiny cubes of tofu and shavings of scallion. Topped with slices of cucumber. No complaints from HG.Managed to knock off a generous bowl. Of the many variants of Dan Dan noodles, HG prefers the version HG/BSK learned years ago at the Upper West Side cooking classes conducted by Karen Lee. There’s a full account of the dish on a previous HG post: KAREN LEE COOKING CLASSES.

Last day in Vancouver. Wistful HG/BSK derived comfort from knowing there would be a return. Strolled and drove through many Vancouver neighborhoods including Point Grey (spectacular views, posh homes); Jericho Beach (salt air and sand beneath the toes); Mt. Pleasant (hipster heaven); Commercial Drive (the 60’s are still alive); East Side bordering Chinatown (still a tragic cesspool of drug addict horror). Walked through Stanley Park, most beautiful of all urban parks replete with delightful beaches, bike paths (stirring views), a cricket ground, a world class aquarium,a giant swimming pool, totem poles and other attractions. Visited Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings Street, the wonderland of housewares, spices, pasta, grocery items and more…much more. Sampled a lovely variety of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Bought Aleppo pepper, Slap Yo Mama Creole Mix, Feridies Salted Peanuts (the best) and sundry other useful and tasty items. Dinner at bustling, reliable Congee Noodle House (located across the street from HG/BSK’s former Vancouver loft). Sliced pork with red peppers, green peppers, onions and black beans; spicy minced pork with silky tofu; fried squid (alas, a limp loser this time); fluffy rice and Tsing Tao beer. HG will miss CNH’s “Chef’s Special Chicken”, rice crepes stuffed with pork; wontons, shrimp dumplings, roast duck, fried minnows and smelts; all of the scrambled egg dishes. Plus, of course, the incomparable congee (some 40 varieties). And, a big bill is as rare as a CNH waitperson smile.

Another sunny morning (Hey!! Vancouver is going to lose its rep for incessant moisture). Heartened by the rays, HG/BSK drove to the University of British Columbia Botanical Gardens. Founded in 1916, the Gardens cover 110 acres and contain some 12,000 plants. Only a few of the rhododendron were in bloom but HG/BSK gloried in the magnificent magnolias (largest blossoms the duo had ever encountered). Strolled through a forest of soaring (almost skyscraper heights) trees from British Columbia as well as exotic trees from Eastern United States and Asia. The forest floor was carpeted with lush ferns and the sun dappled greenery revealed new visual wonders at every turn. Sun disappeared. Misty rain appeared. HG/BSK spent the afternoon in a Mt. Pleasant coffee shop taking care of various chores on HG/BSK’s laptops. Dinner with Jamie S. and ever-elegant Karen St. John at Pidgin, an inventive restaurant in the Gastown neighborhood (still edgy on its fringes but now a center for trendy fashion and dining). Had some daring (but delicious) things like kohlrabi “dan dan” noodle salad with tofu and almonds; raw scallops with “piquant” radish; pork belly rice bowl with Asian pear kimchi and quail eggs. Only loser was the salmon with apple pistachio puree. The “sous vide” cooking method reduced the salmon to mush, giving it a strong resemblance to Gerber’s Baby Food. But, the misdemeanor was forgotten as the table dipped into a creative dessert of crisp pastry, fruit and sorbet. Atmosphere and service were pleasant with very attractive lighting. (Postscript: In a previous post about Annalena Restaurant, HG noted–with a question mark–the word “panagrattato” as an ingredient in a dish. Bilingual daughter Lesley R. pointed out the word means “breadcrumbs” in Italian. A pretentious flourish by the Annalena menu writer).

The University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver is, in HG’s opinion, the most beautiful museum in the world. At the risk of being precious, HG would describe the building as a work of visual poetry expressed in concrete. It is a masterpiece by the great Canadian architect, Arthur Erickson. HG/BSK have visited many times and are always astonished. So, on this rare sunny day HG/BSK motored around the beautiful campus and the striking residential areas before arriving at the museum for another visit. The Great Hall has an imposing collection of lofty totem poles from the First Nation villages along British Columbia’s coast. There are also giant hand carved canoes for passage in the seas and rivers as well as giant bowls, spoons and ladles (all fashioned from wood) for use in potlatch feasts. A special rotunda houses a virtuoso example of wood sculpture, “The Raven and the First Men” by First Nations artist Bill Reid. The museum is not devoted solely to the First Nations. There are major collections of South Pacific, African and Chinese art and artifacts. The museum is mind expanding. Of course, this honed HG/BSK’s appetites so the duo had a late lunch at Rodney’s Oyster House in the Yaletown neighborhood. Some two dozen oysters from the British Columbia and Washington coastlines. Wonderful variety of tastes and textures. HG/BSK’s favorites were the deep shelled Kusshi oysters, a new taste discovery for HG/BSK. When asked for the provenance of the Kusshi oysters, the obliging shucker wrote: “Deep Bay Bowser, Baynes Sound, Vancouver Island.” HG/BSK judged the Kusshi as being a worthy competitor of Johnny Flynn’s Colville Bay (Prince Edward Island) wonders for the title “World’s Best Oyster” Tonight, HG/BSK supped in their loaned condo: Pan fried Weisswurst, sauerkraut, wee boiled potatoes, Cornichons, Sweet mustard. Cold Canadian ale. Followed by cheeses and buttered baguette plus a few glasses of red wine. Butter tarts for dessert and (for HG) a snifter of brandy. Finale of a stimulating day.

Off to that wondrous gem of Vancouver, The Public Market on Granville Island. This is one of the great markets of the world–bustling, colorful, well organized. Counters of fresh fish–salmon (incomparable), sole, halibut, etc. Plus specialties like spiny sea urchins (a delight for Uni lovers), salmon caviar, wood smoked salmon (in a separate building about 50 yards away is The Lobster Man for lobster, mussels and oysters). Two large shops offer superb meat. There’s a chicken shop, stall after stall offering flowers, fruit and vegetables from nearby farms. Terra bakes superb baguettes and scones. A tiny shop stocks a variety of milk products—milk, sour cream, yogurt and butter. There are two large operations that sell cheese, fresh pasta, olives, olive oil and everything else necessary for Italian cuisine. A score of shops that sell specialties–Indian spices, Chinese herbs, nuts, chocolate, Canadian wines, pastries (including that Canadian specialty, butter tarts, unavailable in the USA), etc.,etc., ad infinitum. HG/BSK purchased yogurt and fruit (for breakfast), crisp salad greens, tiny potatoes. Baguette from Terra. Thus provisioned, HG/BSK arrived at their favorite shop—-Oyama. The name is Japanese but this is a French-Canadian place that stocks every conceivable variety of sausage, ham, bacon, mustard, pate, terrine, rillette, etc…Plus, three dozen beautifully curated and aged cheeses. It is charcuterie heaven. BSK’s favorite is the delicious pheasant pate while HG relishes the garlic head cheese. Both love the suave duck pate and the perfectly sliced prosciutto (from Parma). Cornichons, sweet mustard, duck and pork rillettes; Bavarian Weisswurst, sauerkraut were added to their order plus camembert and cumin gouda cheese. Lunched at Stockpot, purveyor of great soups. HG had old fashioned chicken noodle while BSK opted for vegetable. Tonight HG/BSK will devour the Oyama charcuterie and cheeses with a big green salad, crusty bread and plenty of red wine. Weisswurst, sauerkraut, little boiled potatoes, cornichons and sweet mustard are scheduled for tomorrow night.

Misty day. Shopping excursion to Lululemon Lab on Broadway near Cambie. Spacious store that is divided into a retail area and a sample making factory. The clothing, in price and style, soars above Lululemon’s wares in their usual shops. HG/BSK discovered Vancouver based Lululemon when the company had one store (in the Kitsilano neighborhood) and concentrated on Yoga apparel. Since then, Lululemon has become a public company and an international brand. With a few missteps from time to time, it continues to create comfortable and durable clothing. Lululemon Lab was having a sale and the combination of markdowns and the strengthening US dollar vis a vis the “Loonie” (Canadian dollar) revealed some bargains. BSK bought some great duds and HG scored a tee shirt and sweatshirt, both very stylish. Lots of pleasant strolling and window shopping. Perfect meal at Maenam, a beautifully designed restaurant on Fourth Avenue in Kitsilano. Hoi malaeng puu bai horapha. Translation: Steamed mussels with lemongrass and Thai basil served with pungent sauce. Som tam. Translation: Green papaya salad with long beans, carrots, garlic, roasted peanuts, chiles. Super crunchy. Pad ga pao neua. Translation: Minced stir fried hanger steak mixed with chiles, garlic and rice. Topped with a fried egg. Dishes were light and full of flavor. Not mouth numbing Thai firebombs.

A rare sunny day in Vancouver. Breakfasted on cafe latte, fruit and yogurt. Did some necessary online and household chores. Breathed the salt and pine air and delighted in the sweeping mountain, water and skyscraper views from Jamie S.’s rooftop terrace. Lunched at Thai Son (on Broadway in Mt. Pleasant neighborhood), a very good Vietnamese eatery. Yes, HG recently wrote some enthusiastic prose concerning the pho at Santa Fe’s Saigon Cafe. Possibly, HG overstated (that can happen when HG suffers from pho deprivation.) In any case, the beef pho at Thai Son was a revelation. Abundant and savory. The real deal. Taking advantage of the weather, HG/BSK strolled the parks and beaches that rim English Bay. Sea views, sun glimmering off steel and glass skyscrapers, towering trees–this is one of the great urban walks. Evening meal was at Chicha, a lively little Peruvian restaurant near the corner of Main Street and Broadway in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. HG/BSK’s dinner companions were the brilliant young Colombian architect Pablo Rojas and his sparkling wife Monika, international lawyer and busy mother of two youngsters. Animated conversation on the joys, dreads, exhaustion and exhilaration connected with the life changing event of becoming a parent. Food was splendid. Ceviche with fish, mussels, squid, sweet potato and corn on the cob; crisp empanadas; quinoa salad; Causa, a whipped and chilled potato topped with seafood (unusual and extraordinary); chile dusted fried potatoes; a skewer of broiled octopus and chorizo sausage. An inventive chocolate dessert and, of course, plenty of perfectly crafted Pisco Sour cocktails. HG/BSK love Peruvian cuisine. Only enjoy it once a year when visiting Providence, RI. Glad to discover another source in Vancouver.