alberni

Italian Kitchen by Glowbal Group Fall Menu / October 13, 2017 by Jenn Chan

There's no little old Italian lady in the back of this restaurant!

It's not that grandma's recipes aren't delicious and comforting, but they have a time and place and a trendy dinner on Alberni Street is neither of those things. The stylish setting starts right from when you walk in the double glass doors and the hostess offers to take your coat.

The dim lighting is modern and a creates a romantic balance amongst the greys and metallics found in the remaining decor. It's the perfect setting for an intimate date or birthday dinner with a group of friends.

Travel upstairs and you're transported to a slightly brighter setting with red walls and a central bar. Great for business meetings or dinner with the folks.

Our meal started early on a Wednesday night to accommodate my newly adopted older lifestyle. We sat near the floor to ceiling windows on the second floor where we could view neighbouring restaurants and the now famous Alberni Street and it's must see clientele.

First things first, you don't go for Italian food and get out of there without having a bomb ass red wine, which is exactly where we started. We shared more than a few glasses of the Campofiorin (the 50 year celebration bottle) as recommended by our lovely waitress. I've been a red wino for a while now and it's always nice to find a good bottle, with a fresh palette, and a fair price tag to boot!

Our first course was a delicious arancini with a spicy sauce. The amuse bouche was amousing. If you aren't interested in puns I'll do my best to keep them to a minimum but can't make any promises.

Round 2 of 4 was carpaccio. The complexity of flavours created a depth you don't anticipate from/thinly shaved beef. In my view the unique aspect of this dish was escalated with the crispy polenta, pickled onions, and Dijon sauce that accompanied some more standard elements of a good carpaccio. The true star of this dish was its ingenuity, too often carpaccio is served with day old crostini's which leaves a desire for creativity at the beginning of your evening. Polenta with carpaccio! It doesn't matter how fleet your resident Italian grandmother is, the only way she's serving your carpaccio with crispy fried Polenta is if the polenta's taking up space in her fridge.

Round 3. We shared two mains the Wild Salmon and a Truffled Spaghetti & Signature Meatballs. Did I mention the truffles? Not just truffle oil, but real, fresh shaved truffles!!! Topped of course with fresh shaved parmesan. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and had your waitress ask you to "say when" while referring to fresh Parmesan? On this occasion we definitely pushed the limit! Cheese like snow on top of our perfectly cooked pasta. Typically meatballs aren't my go to but these had such flavour and played perfectly with the marinara that I would definitely order it again.

I don't want to leave the salmon as second place because it deserves better than that. Served with crispy skin and accompanied by golden beats, grilled onions, and olives with a agrodolce (Italian sweet and sour) sauce. The salmon skin was perfectly executed and not oily, the onions were sweet and tasteful but not overbearing. You wouldn't think by glancing at the menu that this would be a full entree but it holds true. The portion of fish was sizeable and at the end of the shared two entrees we were full (even took some to go).

Truffle Spaghetti & Signature Meatballs | truffle cream, herbed ricotta — Truffle Spaghetti & Signature Meatballs | truffle cream, herbed ricotta

Wild Salmon | grilled onions, olives, golden beet, agrodolce, salmon caviar — Wild Salmon | grilled onions, olives, golden beet, agrodolce, salmon caviar

Dessert! Even on a bad day dessert has an opportunity to steal the show. Perhaps it's just the kid in us knowing that we shouldn't indulge but that no one can stop us. I'm happy no one stopped us this night and even happier that we didn't pick the dessert ourselves. Selected for us by Freddie the restaurant manager was the Zeppole - homemade chocolate ganache filled "mini" doughnuts. The not so miniature doughnuts were a delight to all of our senses. They looked and smelt so good the table next to us ordered theirs before we even tasted ours. The taste and fun of cutting open a powdered doughnut filled with rich chocolate ganache was far better than any cheesecake in town...I'm willing to run the comparison.

Zeppole al Cioccolato | italian style doughnuts, chocolate gianduja, vanilla crème anglaise — Zeppole al Cioccolato | italian style doughnuts, chocolate gianduja, vanilla crème anglaise

Whether you're looking for a dinner, business lunch, or a fun night our with friends Italian Kitchen has got you covered. It's upscale dining in a price range that means you can celebrate life's little moments and still afford to pay rent. I recommend a reservation and if you're going with a big group inquire about the platters. If you decide to follow my recommendations and order the Zeppole for dessert make sure you get an extra seat because I may just show up to share it!

Words: Amanda Scott
Photos: Jenn Chan

Spot Prawn Series: Coast by Glowbal Group / June 23, 2016 by Jenn Chan

Alberni Street, between Burrard and Bute, used to be known as Lil Ginza owing to the upscale, and one time predominantly Japanese, shops and restaurants. Tourists from Europe and Asia still flock to Gucci, Prada, Hermes, Tiffany's, Louis Vuitton and Versace for low priced designer goods (relative to prices in Tokyo anyway).

Though no longer Japan-centric it is still a bastion for upscale shops, such as the handful I mentioned, and incredible, world class restaurants. Glowbal Group leads the charge in that department. They own and operate 3 restaurants on Alberni a stone's throw from each other: Coast, Black & Blue and the Italian Kitchen. We were fortunate enough to enjoy a wonderful dinner at Coast one sunny June eve.

$4,800,000. That is what it cost to open Coast. $4.8 million dollars. Cash. Money. Where did all that money go? Take a visit, you'll know within 2 feet of the door; the space is modern, opulent and tasteful! We were seated on the patio, which coincidentally is about 100 feet from the front door to our condo, and greeted by Mr. Michael Moore, a part owner of the Glowbal Group and our official host for the evening. He was gracious enough to stop for a chat and give us the scoop on Coast. He could not have been more accommodating and pleasant and I have since plugged him into all my social media and consider him a friend. He stopped in on us several more times, in between brisk jogs between Coast and Black & Blue presumably to put out fires, metaphorically of course, and his warmth was genuine and his passion for his guests palpable. There's no better feeling as a customer than to feel respected and valued by a business' management. Or is there?

Shortly after Mr. Moore left to perform some managerial duties he assured us we would be well taken care of by our waiter. He did not, however, mention that Executive Chef Mark Greenfield, a culinary ninja, would be at our table a few minutes later to let us know we needn't labour over our menus and that the feast he had planned for us wasn't on it anyway... A better feeling than an attentive management team? Yup!

Our first courses, well after a couple of Coast Decked Caesars which are near perfect 9/10's on the Caesar meter, were a sublime Spot Prawn and Ahi Tuna Ceviche and equally tasty Grilled Spot Prawn and King Crab. Ahhh the Spot Prawn. If you follow our food blog here on JennChanPhotography.com you know we have been indulging in the odd Spot Prawn, but I was not prepared, no even close to prepared, for the combination of Spot Prawns and Ahi Tuna.

Spots Prawns are incredible, Ahi Tuna is marvellous and cooking things with fruit is nothing short of magical. Can someone even give me an explanation about how cooking in the ceviche style works without mentioning magic? I humbly doubt it. This was hands down the best ceviche I had ever had. The ingredients were so fresh I thought I saw a leg move at one point. And it did. It moved in a blur towards the lovely Jenn Chan's mouth. There was no stopping it. Does anyone not like crab? Do you know anyone? I can't think of a single person in my life who doesn't and I just spent 4-5 minutes pondering in hopes of ridiculing them in this forum, but to no avail. And when you're the king of anything that probably means you're really good, right? Or at least that your family stole power somehow generations ago, but that's probably a column for a different publication. King Crab is aptly named. It was delicious and served with a delicious dish of melted butter. You can tell that he met his end mere minutes prior to being presented to us; fresh, fluffy and flavourful! The grilled Spot Prawns were equally as fresh and they compliment each other brilliantly. The ceviche was paired, at our server's recommendation, with a lovely Riesling from Quail's Gate Winery in the gorgeous Okanagan Valley of BC and the King Crab a lovely Chardonnay from the Kendal Jackson Winery in California. We could have left then and still given Coast a glowing review, but we were only getting warmed up!

Chef Mark popped out to see how we enjoyed our first course and was genuinely appreciative of the adulation we bestowed on him. He is a savvy chef, but also a humble and remarkably nice man. His new wife, herself a manager at Coast, couldn't help but overhear our praise and beamed with pride at her husband. It was a magical moment and speaks to the team Coast has built and its laid back, family-like working environment.

Our main course was a Spot Prawn sashimi platter with beautiful Ahi Tuna, Salmon and Sablefish. It isn't hard to see why Coast regularity wins "Beat Seafood in Vancouver" or some other such award from some publication or another EVERY year. Seriously. Google it. It was paired masterfully with a Sauvignon Blanc from Duckhorn Vineyards in the Napa Valley of California. This wine immediately shot to the top of my list of favourite Sauvignon Blancs, it is a must-drink! After our sashimi had been consumed the waiter whisked away with the Spot Prawn heads and returned with them deep fried in a nice, light tempura batter. I generally disregard the head, but it was so incredibly crispy and delicious we devoured the whole thing!

We were given no inkling what our dessert was to be so we sipped a lovely Port from the Burrowing Owl Winery in eager anticipation. It arrived with a flair and soon dessert was also a show! A lovely platter with Coast's famous Melting Chocolate Sphere and the equally decadent Coconut Banana Butter Cake. As they pour the molten caramel over the chocolate sphere science happens and it begins to melt and the flavours mingle and cascade down onto the lush vanilla ice cream inside. Close your eyes and visualise that for a moment. All I ask is that you please finish reading this before you go because I know you're going. I know it. Not generally a fan of coconut, but knowing Chef Mark doesn't make bad food I dove into the butter cake. Simply amazing!

Dessert Platter: Melting Chocolate Sphere & Coconut Banana Butter Cake

As our dishes were cleared we both agreed this was one of the best meals we had, had in 2016 and wracked our brains and could not come up with too many that rivalled it in our lives. Coast, while not the flagship Glowbal restaurant, is still a jewel, a bright, shiny jewel, in its crown. Go for the seafood, go for the service, go for the wine, but just go! You'll thank me!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan

Top Patios in Vancouver Series: The Roof @ Black & Blue / May 5, 2016 by Jenn Chan

The Roof at Black + Blue is a beautiful space and the largest rooftop restaurant in Vancouver. To combat the occasional, extremely rare, rainfall in the city The Roof comes equipped with a gigantic awning that covers the entire space and, if you're lucky enough, as we were, to catch it at noon on a 30 degree day in early May, it retracts to showcase a lovely vantage of the Shangri-La tower and the iconic Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

One of the things that sets Black + Blue, and the entire Glowbal Group collection of restaurants, is service. As a lifestyle blogger you can become accustomed to getting more personal service, but as we were greeted by the restaurant manager, a very cordial gentleman named Matt Hawes, with champagne in hand and a lovely stuffed Yorkshire pudding we knew we were in for a lovely experience. Courtesy appetizers, we were informed by a fellow patron, aren't only reserved for food critics, but are routinely offered to guests as a thank you. Class.

If you don't know what a Josper Grill is I suggest, nay urge, you hit the Googles right now. Go on. I'll wait. Costing nearly $20,000 and using, exclusively, charcoal as its fuel source this wonderful contraption, the only one of its kind in the entire country, infuses Black & Blue's wares with an incredible, smoky flavour.

I ordered the Seafood Trio skewer, a melange of jumbo tiger prawns, scallops and lobster tail. While it is difficult to do lobster tail badly, and it was exquisite, what really impressed me were the scallops. I don't really like scallops. On occasion I have been heard to proclaim a distinct disdain for the creatures, but I could have eaten 50 of them! The smoky flavour was evident on the prawns, a triumph in my humble opinion, likewise the incredible lobster, but on the scallops it took centre stage and made them a true culinary triumph. My partner ordered the lamb salad, similarly cooked in the Josper Grill and, similarly, stunning!

Between courses, and basking happily in the sun, we partook in one of our favourite summertime cocktails; the uniquely Canadian drink, the Caesar. I requested mine with some spice and my partner requested mild and we were both very pleased with the quality of the vodka, easily apparent, and the mix. Both perfect 10's.

For dessert we split the dessert platter: lemon italian meringue, peanut butter macaron, butter cake, honeycomb, salted caramel chocolate cake with vanilla anglaise & caramel sauce. We paired it with a lovely rosé champagne and were very intrigued by the thoughtful mélange of flavours, but the consensus favourite was the lemon meringue.

As we left the space we both immediately looked at our schedules to see when we could make it back, the ultimate compliment. I would live there if they let me, The Roof is a must do!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan