2010 was a busy year filled with eating and drinking and I didn’t always keep up with posting. I am going to draw on some of those experiences for a series called the Lost Posts.

First up is Kit’s Daily, which I visited in late December for dinner. I had been wanting to go because of the buzz surrounding its innovative concept: a different menu every day. Most restaurants create a menu over time. They work on dishes and refine them, and in knocking them out night after night, they strive for consistency, efficiency and quality.

What kind of chef would be crazy enough to come up with a new menu every day? Is Chef Fowke a superhero? My first thought was that the results must be wildly inconsistent. And the whispers I had heard supported that view. Still though, I was intrigued.

On a Saturday night in December I finally ended up at Kit’s Daily. At the last minute I had called almost every high end restaurant in downtown Vancouver and Kit’s Daily was the first (and only) place I could get a table. I have no idea if that is typical, but it was a bit worrying.

Tucked away off Burrard, the space was inviting and comfortable. The front-of-house staff was very friendly, our waitress had a young Scarlet Johanson thing going on, and it was all quite charming. The bread was good, and an aperitif was a bit sweet, but fun.

We were lucky to have Stephen Bonner (@sbonnerabv) as sommelier for the evening, who paid close attention to our choices, and in a couple cases he presented us with a more suitable pairing. His choices were excellent and an extra glass of wine more than made up for the fact that I ordered an $18 glass of wine without being told the cost. I didn’t ask either and to be fair, the pour was generous.

I was excited to lay my hands on the menu and then was both relieved and disappointed that it looked fairly safe. With the daily concept I thought we might be facing the avant-garde and the menu was full of comfort food.

But I will cut to the chase and say that we were served 4 daily dishes that I would not want to order again. There was an avacado puree with bacon, which for me was a challenge texturally, I didn’t understand the dish. The Steamed Savory Island Clams I ordered had a wonderful broth of champagne, peppercorns, and peppergrass (and a divine wine pairing) but unfortunately came with more grit than anything I have ever been served. The fact I did not send this back still shocks me. It was inedible (but I ate it).

As a main we had a nicely appointed roasted rack of Sloping Hill Pork. The line between perfectly cooked and overcooked can be slight and unfortunately for us, this arrived a bit late. Such a huge piece of meat, only slightly overcooked, becomes a chore. The buttermilk mashed potatoes, apple and fennel salad were all good, this dish had potential.

The tenderloin was a disaster. The meat was grainy and slightly overcooked, and the bold-sounding cheddar sauce was in small quantity, seemingly almost broken, and entirely lacking in flavor. To truly disappoint me with a piece of tenderloin is extremely difficult, but it happened.

I really wanted to love Kit’s Daily and because of the menu scheme, you will probably never try the dishes I had. Although it must be a very interesting challenge, I am not sold on the daily concept. I do not want to pay top prices to taste a good effort; I expect excellent dishes, tried and true. At least on this December night, that wasn’t the case.