Watch Chef Dan Barber’s TED talk on how a chef can keep fish on a menu at the same time as being responsible about sustainability.

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I recently cooked this Vegetable Tian for a family dinner and it was delicious!  Be careful to keep the potato slices very thin, it can take a long time to bake them thoroughly otherwise, and you dont want to burn the cheese. I did not bother measuring anything for this recipe, and I suggest you don’t either.

Vegetable Tian
From Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten

SERVES 8 (change servings and units)

Ingredients

* olive oil
* 2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 lb medium round potato, unpeeled
* 3/4 lb zucchini
* 1 1/4 lbs medium tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leave, plus extra
* fresh thyme sprig
* 2 ounces gruyere cheese, grated (if you measure you are silly)

Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2 Brush a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with olive oil.
3 In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent.
4 Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.
5 Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4-inch thick slices.
6 Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only 1 layer.
7 Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and thyme sprigs and drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil.
8 Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
9 Uncover the dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for another 30 minutes until browned.
10 Serve warm.

The Vancouver underground restaurant scene now boasts 4 restaurants: 12B, Secret Supper, Swallow Tail Supper Club, and the newest entry, NFA.

Chef Steve of NFA invited me to review his food and I brought along 11 other Vancouver food bloggers to sample his 6 course feast. Being the nice fellow that he is, he gave us a discount, but the regular price of $50 is very reasonable.

The NFA is hosted out of Steve’s apartment, which offers a surprisingly spacious and comfortable dining room for 10-12. A central chalk board outlines the 6 courses in store for you, which typically revolve around the house specialty, pork belly. This is a not a meal for vegetarians.

The location, of course, is a closely guarded secret, but I can tell you it is in the heart of kits. Due to noise complaints from the neighbors, NFA is seeking a new location, and dinners need to wind down by a decent hour (11ish). Maybe it is part of the mystery of the underground restaurant, but piecing together all the dinner details via email was a bit of an effort and a pre-written FAQ would go a long way.

Steve serves very high-end and bold cuisine and it was shocking that it all comes out of his small kitchen. We also found it amazing that all his cooking efforts did not overpower the room; I have no idea how he is ventilating the place, but it is working. Being a home-based service, the only real difference that bothered me a bit was holding onto our cutlery through 6 courses, but I cannot really blame him for that. Otherwise it is like restaurant service with the intimacy and privacy of a dinner party. If you aren’t having fun, you brought the wrong people.

Like all of the underground restaurants, you bring your own wine and there is no corkage fee. A large bucket of ice is provided for the whites. Guidance on what vintage to bring though, is slight. We all ended up bringing Bordeaux and mostly reds, which seemed a good match to me.

We started with a delicious and generous portion of thai beef salad, one of the best I have ever had. If i could get this as take-out, I would be eating it all the time. Up second was a trio of scallops: a delicious carpacio, a seared scallop with miso, leek and apple. And a third with a caper and raisin emulsion and delicious caramelized cauliflower.

Next was the main event, the slow-cooked fennel pork belly. This dish was of great anticipation, and I admit a tiny bit of fear, as it was my first pork belly -  if you do not count top chef viewing. Pork belly is a lot more layered and has a lot more meat than I anticipated, and I found it delicious. It is of course rich and the top layer was deliciously chewey and I had no trouble enjoying it thoroughly. It was served over a bed of a coarse mashed potato, with endives, prosciutto and roasted garlic.

We followed with a grapefruit sorbet course to cleanse our pallets, with candied ginger and campari. This was delicious, but I found the grapefruit and the ginger very strong for a cleanser.

Sablefish was up next, with an intense Cantonese vegetable sauce, and bok choy and croquette. I enjoyed this, but there was some discussion about its texture, and Steve informed us that sometimes Sable fish can be mushy from enzymes, as in this case. But I did not find this to be as big an issue as some at our table did, but then I was nearing food coma and not feeling very critical. The croquette however was heavy and huge and not what I needed at this point in the meal.

Finally, just when I thought I might pass out, we finished with a dark chocolate mouse with raspberry coulis and hazelnut. This was rich and delicious and huge. A knock-out punch. I would like to meet this as a midnight snack one day. After the other courses I could barely do it justice.

In summary, Steve’s menu is a serious menu, it has gravity. And this was my main criticism, the meal was too heavy. There were too many strong components, heavy sauces and bitter vegetables. Even the sorbet refresher was very bold. The meal would have been a lot better with a more delicate touch and slightly smaller portions. That said, it was a delight, enjoyed by all. Steve and his sous chef were extremely friendly, while at the same time leaving us to enjoy our dinner. I would not hesitate to book another dinner at NFA, and I recommend it to any hungry, meat-eating group curious about the underground scene.

Other reviews, with more photos:

Victoria’s Food Secrets

NFA

Secret Location

Reservations: nfa.reservations@gmail.com

Kingyo occupies the higher end of the Vancouver izakaya scene and its chef has almost rock star status, known for wearing a playful face mask while cooking for a crowd. The interior has a lot of quirky detail, bamboo and textures. I don’t know why it took me so long to try it, but once I did, I had to go back almost right away. I went with a couple of hungry mad people and we ate almost the entire menu and took good advantage of the reasonably priced hot sake. The dishes overall stand apart from guu or hapa. The menu lists their “special ingredients,” describing the Yuzu, Shiso, Ponzu, Miso and Salt choices, an informative and appetizing touch.  The Sizzling Kinoko Tofu is deep fried tofu with mushrooms, dried scallop and okra, served in a sizzling hot stone bowl, both memorable and delicious. The soft shell crab salad is crunchy goodness and I am particularly fond of the stone-grilled Kobe (cooked at the table), which is sold at a well-deserved premium. The tako-wasabi dish offers raw, cooked or half and half wasabe marinated octopus, and the latter was fabulous. Carpaccio, mixed sashimis, sushi and rolls are all mostly great, but the hot dishes stand out a lot more from the competition. We tried a special that was deep fried Roe with sliced duck in a hot rice bowl and it was amazingly good (and surprisingly so). And of course to finish, frozen grapes, although their deserts look interesting. Kingyo is busy, reservations are a must, and they enforce their table time limits. So enough talking, you better get eating!

Kingyo

www.kingyo-izakaya.com

871 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 2L9
(604) 608-1677

Legendary chef Susur Lee does a QA session with the NYT on traveling and his troubles transporting special ingredients into the US. Customs trashed his ingredients and took his stock and then asked to pose for photos. Susur still blames them for his Iron Chef tie with Bobby Flay.

via NYT

photo credit: Greig Reekie et Dominic Gauthier

Avid reader Philip sent in this blackberry photo from Oaxaca featuring grasshopper bar snacks, with avocado. Yum!

A few weeks ago I was invited to spend an evening at the new Dirty Apron Cooking School tasting Australia’s best-selling Cobram Estate olive oil. I do not automatically associate Australia with olive oil, but if you think of its wine exports and climate, it makes a lot of sense. And some research has shown that in recent decades Australia has emerged as a major producer of olive oil, with many growers boasting more than a million trees and modern production methods creating very high quality olive oil.

The tasting was hosted by the cheerful Australian cook book author and food host Sally James, who led us through a tasting of 3 olive oils and then demonstrated cooking 4 dishes heavily featuring said olive oil.

Along the way we discussed the characteristics of olive oil, such as the basics.  Olive oil ages badly and should not be exposed to air or light more than necessary. The best oil is made from young olives, and the French concept of terrior, describing the interaction between the plant and its environment, is just as relevant as with wine.

We also learned that olive oil is jokingly rated according to how many times it makes you cough, such as, “this is a cough-2 oil.” Definitely some oils will make you cough and there were some in our group that found this a bit overwhelming.

Tasting olive oil is best done without bread. Warming the olive oil cup in your hand,  put a bit on your tongue and let it roll down your throat, taking air in through clenched teeth and out through your nose. It is best to let the olive oil sit on your tongue for up to 20 seconds.

Like wine, there are a number of common words you can use to describe the characteristics of olive oil, such as grassy, fruity, apple, green leaves.  And like wine, I have trouble remembering or caring about these. But what I did  find amazing is how complex the flavors can be, especially when you taste them correctly.

The experience – and the lovely gift bag with 4 bottles of oil – has led me to start hosting mini-tastings at home with friends and family. And it has motivated me to splurge on growing my collection of olive oils from different countries.

The Cobram estate olive oil is rich and flavorful with very low acidity. I am not a fan of flavored oils (save truffle) and the lemon infused oil was far too strong for me. My favorite was the rich and robust oil, which is a spicey (cough-2) oil and great for drizzling. But the light and delicate has been the one to run out most quickly because I find it perfect for marinating red meats. And the fresh and fruity has become by go-to for sauteing vegetables, such as shitake mushrooms.

The bigger question is where Australian olive oil sits relative to the oil you already know and love. The well-known flavors of Italy, Greece and Spain are the ones I typically crave and I do not see that changing. However, the Australian oil brings a new and bold flavor to the table and I think it deserves a place in any olive oil collection.

The night also featured a group of white and red wines from the Yarra Valley, which were delightful as you would expect.

Lemon Tapenade with Pasta and Ricotta

Olive Oil Poached Kingfish with Pumpkin Puree, Lemon-Dressed Fennel and Rocket Chiffonade

Olive Oil Marinated Australian Lamb Loin with Salsa Verde

This olive oil and sticky wine cake with galzed pears blew me away. I do not typically like cake, and I still think about this one weeks later.  Email me if you want the recipe, I plan to make it and post the recipe at a later date.

Cobram Estate Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

www.cobramestate.com.au

hollyhansenpr.com

Dirty Apron Cooking School

The Crane Building

540 Beatty Street

Vancouver

Foursquare is augmented reality crossed with social networking in the form of a game. And at the end of the day, what you get is a pretty cool user-contributed city guide, lost somewhere beneath a childish and enthusiastic mobile app.

Zagat has now thrown in with the Foursquare guys in their quest to stay relevant in modern times.

Is there anything you want to see less in your favorite neighborhood bistro than some guy gripping his iphone, proclaiming with excitement that he is now the mayor of the restaurant? I know Zagat is struggling, but partnering with Foursquare is misplaced enthusiasm.

Via NYT blogs

If you follow Ferran Adrià, arguably Spain’s most famous and controversial chef, it will not be entirely surprising that he has decided to permanently shut down his world-famous restaurant El Bulli to build a culinary school in its place. The announcement comes after an initial decision to shut down for two years, the move is now said to be permanent.  For a restaurant so sought after that it claims to take 2,000,000 reservation requests per year for only 8,000 spots, and a team so ambitious that half the year is spent in research and learning, it is obvious that 3 Michelin stars and unrivaled fame is simply not enough. And indeed, there are now revelations that El Bulli has been losing half a million euros a year.  If you are like me and have long dreamed of dining at El Bulli, this news will no doubt come as a great disappointment.  One simply has to trust that Ferran still has a long way to go and with some luck one might be able to sample his cuisine otherwise. Failing that, I can always snuggle up with my copy of the 500+ page book, “A Day at el Bulli,” which chronicles the incredible efforts that went into El Bulli’s reign.

Via NYT

Photo credit: Peter Foley

First we had camel chocolate. Now, camel burgers. Why not? Camel is a lean and healthy meat, and properly tenderized it might make a delicious burger! So where can you get one? Dubai restaurant Local House is serving a quarter pound camel burger, with cheese and “burger sauce,” taking bragging rights as the first known camel burger in the UAE.

And then there is McDonalds, always trying to find new ways to market what they serve as “food,” they have recently partnered with the Italian government to produce a burger that has all national ingredients, offers a choice between artichoke spread and Asiago cheese or onion, lettuce and smoked pancetta. The ingredients supposedly even show off the Italian national colors.

One can understand why McDonalds would want to be associated with Italian cuisine, but why would Italians want their cuisine destroyed by McDonalds? I’m guessing they really don’t.

Camel Burgers Via Reuters, McDonalds via Reuters

Photo Credit: by jslander on Flickr CC-BY