Don Genova's Blog

Okay, I know you’re wondering, why does Janet Jackson’s breast have any business being on the Pacific Palate blog? Personally, I found this whole breast thing overblown, while at the same time providing a valuable insight into the psyche of the twisted morality of the North American public. I have no doubt that Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake are directly responsible for future episodes of Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry being broadcast with a seven-second tape delay. As a broadcaster, I know how those delays work, and I also know how difficult it would be to censor something Grapes says with only seven seconds to react. But I digress.

Just when I thought I wouldn’t have to think about Janet and the whole breast thing again, in the course of some legitimate research into this week’s columns, I stumbled across this site called The Amateur Gourmet. The zeal with which the AG flung himself into a Janet Jackson challenge was quite impressive and humorous, and I thought I must share it with you. Click here to see the sweet details of what I’m talking about. WARNING! You will have to see the infamous boob again as you scroll through the details of the Amateur Gourmet’s Janet Jackson Cupcake Challenge.

Rant – Today it’s snowing in the Cowichan Valley, big, fluffy flakes this morning, now smaller, wet missiles that are threatening to collect on the road again, creating a slippery, slushy mess. Tomorrow I have to fly to Toronto, where snowmobile boots are currently de rigeur. Apparently it’s warming up, which makes me remember my least favourite Toronto days…trying to cross the streets lined with knee-high piles of slush interspersed with muddy pools of icy water of an unknown depth.

Back in Vancouver, last weekend was a mix of crisp sunshine and frigid, pelting rain…just like normal.
Dine Out Vancouver was in full-swing, and many Vancouver restaurants reported brisk business for their special $15 and $25 3-course menus. Some tables were dotted with bottled water instead of bottled wine, as the real bargain hunters tried not to add more dollars to their final bill.

However, other diners decided that since they were getting such a deal on their meals, they might as well pad the tab with a nice bottle of wine. No doubt by the end of the promotion some restaurateurs may be griping, but others will be thankful for extra business of any sort this time of year.

Rave – Lumiere

I was lucky enough to meet Rob Feenie about seven or eight years ago, just after Lumiere opened. Since then I’ve never failed to be impressed by his food, and as the years go by, I sense a real maturation of his style, while he moves forward with his ingredients, simplifying presentation while intensifying the flavours.

Saturday night was a prime example of his skill, in a menu that excited my taste buds with every course. Even his amuse-bouches were special, including a cornet of citrus wild sockeye salmon tartar, and a potato blini topped with yellowfin tuna tartar and a dollop of caviar.

Sometimes the accompanying condiments on a dish stood out just as much as the main ingredients. This was true with the Atlantic lobster carpaccio, which was topped with beet jelly, lemon oil and the best part, a golden beet sorbet. The tiny mouthfuls of yellow ice tasted exactly like beet, the intense flavour complementing the relatively clean taste of the lobster.

Another course highlight was the trio of Rob’s Raviolis. I couldn’t make up my mind which one I liked most, the rawmilk ricotta, the braised short rib or the butternut squash/mascarpone cheese. I think the ricotta won out.

And instead of the somewhat overly artistic renditions dessert can cause on the plate, I was perfectly happy with a real comfort dessert…a sticky toffee pudding, complete with caramel sauce, cinnamon cream and pear compote, the pear cut into tiny, perfect squares.

This Just In – …heard from Rob Feenie’s publicist about a couple of more feathers in his cap. Rob has been asked to be the chef for the Canada Day events at the Canadian Consulate in New York on July 1st and Sandi Renaldo from CTV News is flying in to do a Canadian success story profile on Rob. As long as they don’t ask him to do any more ads for Zantac….

Rant – Improper Table Manners

Who was the ‘important Vancouver food journalist’ who left his date languishing at a Lumiere table while he schmoozed with the restaurant staff and other guests? Use it or lose it, I say. (I mean the table)

Shameless Plugging –

This month I have a feature article in Northwest Palate magazine on Sean Cousins, the executive chef at Raincity Grill in Vancouver. I think you’ll enjoy this profile of one of the most inventive young chefs of the city. Go to the Northwest Palate website to find a list of retailers selling the mag.

This is the time of year I call the silly season for food journalists in Vancouver. There are two themes running through the silly season. One is Dine Out Vancouver, January 23rd to February 5th. This is a great deal for people who don’t like the idea of forking out (pardon the pun) a lot of money to eat at a fine dining establishment. With Dine Out Vancouver, some of the city’s top restaurants put on 3 course menus for the princely sum of $25. Some of the more mid-range establishments offer a menu at $15. For more info visit the Tourism Vancouver website.

This year Tourism Vancouver saw fit to offer three media opportunities to get Dine Out Vancouver promoted. The promotion was wildly popular last year…so some might consider this year’s media events overkill. However, I chose to attend what is usually the most fun of the three, a mini-dine around. Vancouver and out-of-town journalists were split into groups of 5 or 6, and along with a Tourism Vancouver ‘chaperone’ and one of those humongous SUV/limo clones, complete with DVD player, off we went to various neighbourhoods for visits at two restaurants, with the whole gang meeting up again at Diva at the Met for delicious desserts by Thomas Haas, one of the best pastry chefs and chocolatiers in the whole country.

The Dining

Our group drew Yaletown ‘B’ out of the hat, and off we went, first to Capones, a pizza/pasta/jazz joint…and we loved it! It outdid expectations, as we gobbled down Pan-Seared Sambuca Prawns, Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Porcini Gorgonzola Risotto, and Maple Grilled Quail with a Pistachio Risotto Cake, among others. Unfortunately we had to leave just before the music started. The next stop, just down the street (we took the limousine ‘cause it costs more) was Glowbal. While Glowbal is a beautiful scene, a real New York-trendy-be seen feel to it, the food was a little lacking. The satay platter was dull, except for the mushroom tempura, and the proffered tasting of Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque was too sweet. Grilled salmon was overcooked, as was the pan seared chicken saltimbocca. The Wild Mushroom Risotto (which didn’t really have wild mushrooms in it) was passable, as was the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, although the beef at Capones was far more tender.

Conversations were lively, however, and we kept ourselves going through all the food knowing we would have a great payoff in our dessert course at Diva at the Met. We all shared our plates so we could each have a taste of each Thomas Haas delight. Are you ready for this? Caramelized and Citrus Poached Pear with a Vanilla Riesling Sabayon. A Mango Martini topped with mint and a Lime Meringue. Chocolate Caramel Tart, with a surprising sprinkling of Fleur de Sel on top. (a trend you will see more of in the future, chocolate and salt!) A warm upside down Chocolate Soufflé, with pistachio ice cream, followed by petit fours and Thomas Haas handmade chocolates. We rolled away from the tables…and I vowed to not overindulge myself in the next part of the silly season, the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.

My Rant

Right about now, a couple of dozen Vancouver food types are furrowing their brows as they run through their ballots for this year’s Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Somehow this particular popularity contest has made it to the top of the ‘must-win’ list for city restaurants, apparently because a Critic’s Panel gold medal in the affair is worth about $50,000 in sales over the next year and a splash in the Awards issue of the mag. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at, but the whole thing has turned into a situation I couldn’t really feel ethical in taking part in anymore.

Last year I hung up my hat as one of the ‘chosen few’, determined by the magazine’s editorial staff as having what it takes to choose the best restaurants in the city in a somewhat dizzying array of categories. Don’t worry, judges are reassured, if you don’t get out that much, there’s a convenient list you can choose from in each category to spur your memory, even if you haven’t eaten there in the past year, or ever. Judges are also free to write in a restaurant that doesn’t appear on the list, but write-ins are about as likely to win a medal as a private member’s bill getting passed in the Legislature. Hmmm, unless you band together as a voting group, which has happened in the past. Judges have been known to share their picks with each other and kibitz on their votes. To be fair, you are encouraged to NOT vote in categories in which you don’t feel comfortable.

The reason that this contest makes it part of the Silly Season for Vancouver food journalists (as well as other voters who don’t make a living from being a restaurant critic), is that every restaurant that has a publicist wants you to come to dinner over the next couple of weeks to ‘remind’ you how great they are. If I wanted to, I could spend every night this week going to a different restaurant that has invited me to check it out. Most of them never even mention the Restaurant Awards, but both parties know why you’re there at this time of year. They’re just doing their jobs, and we are lucky enough in this city to have some excellent publicists who I can count on for co-operation and great ideas when I’m searching for stories for my shows.

I quit for two reasons: One, I’m not a restaurant reviewer, and as such, I don’t go to the number of Vancouver restaurants I feel is necessary to give an educated, well-rounded opinion. Two, I didn’t want to have my vote influenced, even subconsciously, by the restaurants that have the budget to invite me to dinner from time to time. We have some amazing restaurants in Vancouver in all price ranges, and I’m concerned the critics portion of the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards may be a case of awarding restaurants that do just as good a job of marketing as they do cooking fine food.

The people who are included on the judges list are in a tough spot. Having your profile in the roster of critics can be an important marketing and connections plug, especially for those who make their living writing about food and drink. I know they do their best to be fair and unbiased, but I know from past experience, that if a restaurant is not as intense about marketing to the judges from year to year, it somehow drops off the radar when the final results are announced.

And to the horrified publicists reading this, some of whom I count as my friends, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the invitations, but when I do accept an invitation, it doesn’t mean I’m going to do a story about the restaurant, or vote for it on some sort of ballot, but it might give me some good ideas for a story someday.

Le Gavroche

For example, one of the invitations I decided to accept last week was Le Gavroche, on Alberni Street in the city’s West End. Manuel Ferreira, the owner, has been working on bringing back some of the old-fashioned, elegant table service that has all but disappeared from fine dining establishments. So, Manny or one of his staff will shave prosciutto from the whole ham at tableside, make you a Caesar salad, carve the rack of lamb or venison, and make a sabayon for dessert. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and you know the food hasn’t been sitting around in the kitchen waiting for the waiter to pick it up! Anyway, the meal was good fodder for a future story on tableside service.

Mad About Food

Mad About Food is for sale! After four years of catering, and opening this neat gourmet food store on West Fourth Avenue in fall of 2002, owner Allyson Nelson has decided to move on to other opportunities in the food business. My thanks to Allyson as one of our first retailers of Duqqa in Vancouver, and also for bringing my attention to some decadently-expensive, but to die for, semi-sun-dried tomatoes…which she has finally been able to bring in again. So if running a gourmet food shop and catering company has always been a dream of yours, give her a call!

For some photos of my Dine Out Vancouver and Le Gavroche experiences, click here. And I’d love to know what you think about restaurant awards in general. What’s better, people’s choice, or critic’s choice? Is there a restaurant guidebook you have grown to trust and rely on? Inquiring minds want to know…scroll to the bottom of the page to make a comment.

Happy New Year, everyone! I had promised to put some photos of our Christmas dinner on the blog…but I have to admit, the results were less than spectacular! Just a mismatch of flavours and some bungled cooking technique. We had a good laugh about it and moved on…to New Year’s Eve!

Sooke Harbour House, was putting on a special meal and even a mini-fireworks show at midnight. If you’ve never been there, it’s worth a trip, even if it’s just for dinner and a stroll around the remarkable gardens on the property, which all yield edible plants used in the kitchen by talented chef Edward Tuson.

New Year’s Eve featured a ten-course sampling menu which left us full, but not bursting, in a well-paced meal with many tasty BC wines and excellent service led by Benjamin Philip, son of owners Sinclair and Frederique Philip.

Are you ready for this? (check out the Happy New Year Photo Gallery to see what these all looked like!)

1. Burdock and bok choy-stuffed sablefish, with edamame(soy beans) and manila clams, surrounded by an broth infused with spiced BC spot prawns and lemon eucalyptus.

2. A ravioli made with giant neon flying squid and stuffed with Dungeness crab, lemon thyme and celery, surrounded by horseradish foam and carrot oil.

3. Albacore tuna served on a hot beach stone with a ginger emulsion, pickled nasturtium tubers and a frozen sweet cicely root and parsnip parfait. (this dish was remarkable, in that the beach stones with incredibly hot, and arrived with the tuna sizzling on top. You let it sizzle until the tuna reached the desired doneness.)

4. Smoked salmon pasta, potato, blue cheese and leek roll with a Bosc pear, leek and Grand Fir puree, garnished with chickweed.

5. Garden Kale and garlic-crusted scallop with braised, smoked pork belly, a pickled egg sauce and creeping rosemary oil.

6. Cedar Glenn Farm capon leg and smoked goose breast terrine with a scented geranium and black currant jelly, scallion-cilantro puree and a Jerusalem artichoke croquette. (affectionately referred to by Edward as a ‘tater tot’)

7. Maple Wood Farm Lamb Loin and pine mushroom patty, with a turnip-wrapped butternut squash flan, a savoury herb fritter, meat stock and red wine reduction, pumpkin see and marjoram puree, and a beet and balsamic vinegar syrup.

8. Sooke Harbour House edible greens and blossoms tossed in a red gooseberry and lavender vinaigrette.

9. Green apple, Japanese plum wine and wild rose petal sorbet. (the flavour of the wild rose petals, collected and dried over the summer, was as fragrant and fresh as if you stuck your nose in a living rosebud.)

10. Finally, dessert. A bittersweet chocolate terrine rolled in crushed meringue, with walnut praline, chilled blueberry and sweet bay leaf foam, along with a pear and lemon eucalyptus puree.

The wines we enjoyed the most were the Cedar Creek 2002 Ehrenfelser, Quail’s Gate Family Reserve 2002 Fume Blanc, and a Mission Hill 2001 Shiraz. Not all of these wines are available through the BC Liquor Stores, you might try some of the private wine shops, especially the VQA shops, or contact the wineries directly.

The next day Sinclair Philip was off to Vancouver to buy more wine for his 30 thousand bottle cellar, but his wife Frederique did her usual Polar Bear dip the next day, joined by dozens of others at Whiffin Spit, just below Sooke Harbour House. Thanks to Sinclair, Frederique and Edward for making our stay at Sooke one of our most memorable New Year’s!

Over the weekend we also had our first substantial snowfall of the year in Cobble Hill, and while I was waiting for the plows to go by so I can get out and grab my Saturday edition of the Globe and Mail, I snapped a couple of shots of how wonderful our trees look with a blanketing of snow. The birds on our feeders were especially active today, and we put out extra peanuts so they wouldn’t have to scrabble in the snow. In addition to our regular juncos, nuthatches and chickadees, we’ve been delighting in the visits from varied thrushes, woodpeckers, flickers, blue jays and towhees.

We are NOT delighting in the visits from our very fat and greedy squirrels, who busted open the suet cage a few times before I smartened up and used extra fasteners to keep it closed. They also gobble up as many of the peanuts as they can, seeming undisturbed by the cayenne pepper I liberally spread over the peanuts. I read somewhere that birds lack the receptors necessary to feel the heat in cayenne. Our squirrels apparently are lacking the receptors as well! If anyone has any surefire methods of keeping squirrels away from feeders, I’d love to hear them.

I wonder what squirrel tastes like, anyway?

Thanks to everyone who entered the first annual PacificPalate.com Christmas Cookbook Contest. All of the entries were a delight to read, and really gave me a good idea of the passion Canadians have for cooking and the pursuit of things good to eat! The winners are Karen Lerner of Calgary and Lucie Girard of Quebec City. You can click on the other contest pages to read their entries and all the others.

Special thanks to Barbara-jo’s Books to Cooks for helping to arrange some of the prizes, and to the other publisher representatives that helped out with the prize package.

Watch my blog and PacificPalate.com for more contests in the New Year.

Happy Holidays,

Don

Thanks to all of you who entered the contest. Entries are now closed, but please feel free to scroll through the comments on this page, and ‘Page One’ of the contest for some interesting reading on our Canadian cookbook preferences.