French Cuisine in Vancouver: The Stable House

Ahhh the leafy, tree lined streets of Fairview. I've long been a fan of the decadent, posh suburbia right across the bridge for where I'm nestled comfortably in the Downtown core. As soon as you cross the Granville Street bridge and pass the shops and restaurants that dot the road you are transported into a world of mansions and old growth Maples and Pines. Take a left or a right off of Granville before the mansions start and the apartments and heritages homes and condos peer out from behind an envelope of leafy green trees that blot out the sky. The air is fresh, the people friendly and the restaurants, oh the restaurants, are special. 

You may have passed by the Stable House Bistro before and not even noticed. Unassuming. I like my wine to be unassuming, inoffensive, I like my women to be unassuming, unpretentious, and I like my restaurants to be neighbourhood secrets. The owners originally started the Stable House as a wine club for their friends, but, after Chef James got his hands on the menu, word got out.

Charcuterie boards are unmistakably French. Pair them with a nice sparkling wine, or if you're at the Stable House actual champagne from the champagne region of France, take a bite of cheese, have a swallow of the champagne and let it melt the cheese in your mouth. Let the salty, cured meats zap your tastebuds before you bathe them again in cheesy, sparkling goodness. And repeat ad nauseum.

Before our board arrived we, as we often do, decided to test the Stable House's offering on the patent pending Jenn Chan Photography Caesar Meter. I ordered mine as they make it and JC ordered hers mild. I found mine to be tangy, spicy and very flavourful. JC loved hers as well and said she gave it a 9 on the JCP Caesar Meter, and I liked mine similarity; 9's around! Solid score Stable House crew!

The board arrived laden with a house made terrine of juniper scented pork; absolutely amazing! Also along for the ride was a delightful chicken liver paté and pickled plums. A unique and entertaining assortment and it all soon disappeared. It was paired masterfully by our server Matthew with  a full bodied Chianti from the Carpineto winery in Italy. 

Housemade Characuterie - Juniper Scented Pork Terrine and Chicken Liver Pate with pickled plums & aioli

2014 Domaine Bott-Geyl Gentil d'Alsace, Alsace France

After the board our second course came, a refreshing watermelon and radish salad with shaved fennel. It was a nice light palate cleanser and again paired perfectly with Alsace from the Domaine Bott Geyl winery in Alsace, France.  Pampering at its finest, a talented sommelier can be such an incredible addition to a meal. Matthew informed us gleefully he was heading to France the next week to undertake further wine study. Wine study in France I thought, tough job. 

Local Watermelon Radish Salad - Shaved fennel, compressed fennel stem, micro peppercress, crushed almond and balsamic cream

2013 Chianti Classico

I ordered the Confit Chicken Thighs. Chicken cooked in a duck fat reduction. Yes, it is as good an idea as it sounds. Served with local baby carrots, roasted potatoes and English snap peas it was the best chicken I have eaten in 2016 and I laboured to think of a better piece of poultry in my lifetime. Simply delicious! JC order a seared Newport Steak with a barley and black trumpet risotto and pickled enoki mushrooms. I thought they had spilled dish soap on it until I was informed politely that it was Grana Padano foam. Good save guys. Regardless the dish soap, for whatever reason, tasted great and the risotto was light and flavourful. The steak came out the perfect pink and the meat was tender and delicious! Both entrées were outstanding and both worth a visit on their own.

Maple Hill Farms Confit Chicken Thighs - Roasted new potatoes, glazed local baby carrots, english peas, snow peas & wasabi pea dust

Kettle Ridge Farms Seared Newport Steak - barley & black trumpet risotto, pickled enoki mushrooms, gran padano foam, and black garlic coulis

Dessert was an adventure all on its own! Anytime meringue is involved I am there. It reminds me of my dear granny who would make the most light, airy meringue in the world. Or so I thought. We were presented with a plate of lemon custard, chantilly cream, raspberry coulis, meringue and fresh, local raspberries. We couldn't pinpoint our favourite item, but both have the platter a 9/10. Heady scores if you're fans of our blog!

Lemon Custard - chantilly cream, raspberry coulis, hazelnut praline, merangue and BC raspberries

Looking back the Stable House is a must! Pleasant staff, an incredible wine selection and an eclectic ambience. Head over there and tell them JCP sent you and get yourself the Chef's choice and let them pick your courses and sit back and relax. Cheers!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan

French Cuisine in Vancouver: The Truffle House

Mission statements. New age, business buzzwords akin to 'synergy' or 'vertical integration'. Popular movies satirize them, memes abound and yet no one realizes that every Fortune 500 company has one. Here's the lovely owners of The Truffle House's, Fabienne and Philippe Chaber, charming, honest offering:

Our goal at The Truffle House & Café is to provide an amazing MEAL experience, and we always do our best to use the freshest, local and organic ingredients which are delivered every week. We know where our food comes from, and we avoid anything pre-made or processed including our desserts. Be assured our food is of top quality and made with care.

I believe them. After you go, and I know you will, you'll believe them too! Our experience started with Fabienne's beaming face welcoming us and giving us a look around. A wonderfully laid out, intimate space highlighted by a feature wall filled with artist Paul Ge's wonderfully whimsical photographs. A tiny downhill skier figurine descending a lovely tranche of Havarta sat directly across from me. As an art lover and a foodie these photos are a perfect fit. Give Mr. Ge a quick Google. Go ahead, I'll wait.

You know those people you meet and instantly like? Fabienne is one of those! Her genuine smile rarely left her congenial visage and her manner is light and good hearted. She recommended their special, a delicious Crab and Avacado salad, and, after she mimed a crab pinching so we could discern the word 'crab' given her heavy Parisienne accent, we all had a good laugh and ordered it and a Truffle Mac & Cheese to start. We left wine pairings up to her discretion and she expertly paired a pair of nice French Chardonnays with our appetizers. We could have left after the first course and still give The Truffle House a glowing review!

Crab & Avocado Salad

Truffle Mac and Cheese

For our main courses we order the Truffle and Wild Mushroom Risotto, divine, and the French staple Coq au Vin. The risotto was sublime, fresh and flavourful and the shaved truffle and white truffle oil accompaniment complimented it perfectly. The Coq au Vin, which translate roughly to chicken in wine though it sounds much classier en français, was the best I have ever had. Elevating the dish they use a Cornish Game Hen in lieu of chicken. There's only one bird in the world more delicious than game hen and it's rarely eaten more than once a year and tends to make you very sleepy. They laid the tender, decadent poultry on a bed of incredible asparagus and baby potatoes. If you know me well you will know that "incredible asparagus" is not a phrase I spout often, or ever really, but is absolutely apt in this instance. Fresh and fragrant and expertly prepared I devoured all of it! The baby potatoes were also far above average and the dish was deeply satisfying. Again we left the pairing up to Fabienne and she hit it out of the park yet again!

Truffle and Wild Mushroom Risotto - Wild Mushroom Ragout, fresh herbs, shaved black truffle, grated parmesan, white truffle oil

Coq Au Vin - Roasted Cornish Game Hen, baby potatoes, spring vegetables, bacon & pearl onion demi glaze

We tried to politely decline dessert. We really tried. But when freshly baked apple pie is mentioned I am powerless. I realized then, as happens often, that I am a weak, weak man. The pie came out accompanied by a luscious vanilla bean ice cream. I could have eaten the entire pie. Easily. It's worth a trip all on its own.

Apple Pie with Vanilla Bean Icecream

A jewel of Dundarave Village, a must-see, a can't-miss, a hotspot. These are just a few of the reviews you'll see online. They're all true! Do yourself a favour and head over to the Truffle House!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan

French Cuisine in Vancouver: Tableau Bar Bistro

Tableau Bar & Bistro wins awards. That's just what Tableau does; best of the city, best of Vancouver, diner's choice, reader's choice, etc, etc... I know why they win awards, do you? It'll take you all of 4 minutes to understand why once you walk through the doors. The aroma, the ambience and the bubbly staff make you feel like cozy and taken care and king for a day.

We were seated by a bright, airy window and ordered, being brunch, a couple of mimosas. The level of detail at Tableau caught my palette with the first sip. This was no $5 bottle of champagne sweeten with orange juice, this was a Blancs de Blanc Brut from the Jean-Louis Winery in the Burgundy Region of France. Simply exquisite! 

Now full disclosure: I do not care for mushrooms. I am generally not a fan of the consistency and I don't care for the flavour. In my early 20's I was delivering pizzas to put myself through university and I had a delivery to a mushroom farm and had to search through a vast warehouse of row upon row, shelves up to the ceiling, of manure growing fungus on it, aka the art of growing mushrooms, to find my customer. I don't think they tipped great either. The maitre' d suggested the mushrooms on toast, the waiter recommended the mushrooms on toast, the manager recommended it as well and Jenn remembered when Tableau was on CTV News and made, what else, mushrooms on toast. But I stuck to my guns and said 'no, thank you' with flashbacks of that awful warehouse flashing in my mind. 

Jenn, however, wanted to try it so out it came. It was accompanied by a steak tartare and French onion soup, but back to the mushrooms on toast bathed in a veal reduction sauce on bakery fresh brioche bread. It was exceptional! Poignant, well-balanced and fragrant with the wild mushrooms dominating the taste and texture. The French onion soup was rich and delicious and the melted cheese bubbled over the rim and cascaded down onto the plate. Steak tartare is not for everyone. If you were unaware, it is raw beef. Uncooked cow, but when done correctly a culinary marvel and Tableau, no big surprise here, does it right! Served with a quail egg on top that you whip I to the mixture of raw and beef and the chef's secret concoction it is the best I've tried and was devoured in record time. To go with our appetizers, we switched over to a bacon-infused vodka Caesar. A solid 7/10 on the patented JCP Caesar meter.

Mushrooms on Toast - Creamy Mushrooms on Brioche

Steak Tartare & French Onion Soup

Steak Tartare - Quail Egg, Pomme Gaufrette

Our entrees followed quick on the heels of our appetizers. Garganelli pasta with beef and pork meatballs, tomato sauce and kale. I ordered the chicken and waffles. I'll admit to being a little hesitant to do so as this is a beautiful French restaurant, but it was recommended by the waiter so Supreme be Poulet be damned! Light, fluffy perfectly prepared waffles, very crisp chicken lightly and tastefully deep fried. Add in the real maple syrup, the good stuff tapped from trees with hammers and buckets, and you have a near perfect chicken and waffles and worth a visit all on its own.

Garganelli Pasta - Beef & Pork Meatballs, Tomato Sauce, Kale

Chicken & Waffles - Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Maple Syrup & Gravy

There was no room for dessert, it couldn't physically be done, so we finished our drinks and slowly sauntered out the elegant entryway. We looked back adoringly at Tableau and the prestigious, boutique Loden Hotel beside it and looked at our calendars to plan our return trip. We'll probably see you there!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan