The Calm After The Storm

Now that December is over it gets pretty quiet for yours truly. Plus the weather still -- what's the word to describe -- sucks! Sheesh, I can't remember a winter in Vancouver being so intolerable. Anyhoo, there hasn't been much to report. Except ...

I started the next level of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) course -- I am taking Level III Advanced Part 1 with our friend Scotty. This is a pretty intensive course, last Wednesday's class was dedicated to what happens in the vineyard (viticulture) -- how the wine is affected by the soil, climate, weather conditions, pruning, propogation, pests, etc. Next week is all about what happens in the winery (vinification). Pretty facinating stuff, it's quite the science. Every class we try six wines -- this week the standout was a Calera Viognier from California -- a beautiful silky white.

Last night, before the hockey game (Sundin scored his first goal as a Canuck, and a beauty) the Boy and I had a lovely dinner at Chambar on Beatty. Chambar has been around for a number of years and has long been a favourite of mine. Very innovative menu and bar. I was in the mood for a fancy cocktail so they whipped me up a Lucky's Fix -- a cocktail comprised of Earl Grey infused bourbon, Lillet Blonde, orange blossom water and tangerine, shaken frothy with egg white and served up in martini glass. Very good and easy drinking -- probably too easy drinking if ya know what I mean *grin*. For dinner we shared grilled baby octopus served with charred tomato and cilantro salsa, and avocado puree; a braised rabbit cannelloni with morrel jus; and a spiced foie gras terrine with Port reduction and truffled brioche french toast. We followed that up with Chambar's famous mussels in a bacon white wine sauce and pomme frites with mayo of course. And for dessert (ya know I gotta have dessert), we enjoyed a sublime sour cherry and thyme tart with lemon buttermilk sorbet and black pepper creme anglaise. Mmmm-mmh! That lemon buttermilk sorbet was the perfect end to a perfect dinner. The room is funky, always busy, service is excellent AND they have a really good tap with a good selection of Belgian beers. One of the top restaurants in Vancouver if you ask me.

Chambar is also one of the many great Vancouver restaurants that joins the annual Dine Out Vancouver event -- Vancouver's delicious celebration of BC food and wine. Each participating restaurant offers a three-course dinner for either $18, $28 or $38 per person, complemented by BC VQA wine pairing suggestions. This year's Dine Out runs from January 14th to February 1st -- we hope to check out a couple restaurants that we haven't been to yet. Stay tuned ...