Dinner at Diva at the Met

As promised, here is the menu from the "world class" meal I had at Diva at the Met located in the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver. It was magnificently cooked by Chef Hamid Salimian and orchestrated by sommelier Corey Bauldry. It was a wonderful experience!

amuse bouche

olive oil marshmallow, black olive salt, olive butter diva bacon, parsnip, maple dehydrated brioche, sturgeon caviar nitro gravlax mini pork puffs, tabasco powder, tabasco mayo beef tartare, crispy tendon puffed foie gras, quince, melba toast baked potato, winter truffles, chives frozen cucumber soda

blue mountain brut, okanagan, british columbia nv grapefruit elderflower fizz

1^st course

 sunshine coast sturgeon b.c. side striped prawn, dill ash cured scallop, salmon roe, champagne jelly william fevre petit chablis, burgundy, france 2009

2nd course

albacore tuna & dungeness crab yuzu crisp, oyster leaf, cucumber, avocado, soy vinaigrette blasted church, hatfield’s fuse, (gewurztraminer, pinot gris, pinot blanc, ehrenfelser), okanagan valley, british columbia 2010

3^rd course

 pickled winter vegetables blood pudding, bone marrow croquette, trumpets la stella, la stellina, merlot rosato, okanagan valley, british columbia 2009

 4th course

 sweetbreads salsify, pressed onion sherry jus chateau ste. michelle riesling, columbia valley washington 2009

 5^th course

 perigord truffle truffle pappardelle, 63º egg, pork belly crouton del fin del mundo, reserva pinot noir, patagonia, argentina 2009

6^th course

 sablefish tomato eggplant stew, fennel rocca della macie, sasyr, sangiovese & syrah, igt, toscana, italy 2008

 dessert

 stilton cheesecake rhubarb, port ganton & larsen prospect winery “the lost bars” vidal icewine, okanagan valley, british columbia, 2009

Diva at the Met Restaurant, 645 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC Y6C 2Y9

Photos of the Week:

Tastes of the Week

Jan. 23 through Jan. 30, 2012 A week of big, bold, beautiful, bi-coastal tastes.

Lunch at Manzo with Lidia Bastianich. Just the two of us chatting for three hours about everything:  raising children; imparting wisdom to younger women who long to be in the food business; her career path and new tv shows; my career path and new projects; food, wine, friends, our hopes for the future.  It was my first time at Manzo (located on the main floor of Eataly on 5th Avenue in NY) and it was wonderful. The best "tartare" I have ever had; voluptuous sweetbreads; a lovely unusual pasta dish of tajarin (thin egg noodles) with a roasted meat jus; a roasted ribeye with succulent sauteed cavalo nero drenched in sticky meat juices; wines from the Bastianich vineyards, and a plate of freshly-cut blood oranges for dessert. We enjoyed a brief visit from Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli and her sister. Cecilia is Arthur Schwartz's business partner in their cooking school called Cooking at Seliano in southern Italy. Espressos all around. Ciao ciao and grazie mille to Lidia.

The BEST raw yogurt and sour cream from Triangle Farm and Health Foods in Aaronsburg, PA. This was a gift from a new friend who frequents the Park Slope Co-op and cares deeply about the quality and provenance of her food sources. The sour cream was indescribable and much more like French creme fraiche than anything we are used to in the states. I encourage you to find out more about them. I know I will. Am savoring every spoonful and am enjoying it tremendously with a dab of my homemade carrot marmalade. Thank you to Anne Weisen who brought these wonderful products to me.

Many great meals in Vancouver and one of them was world-class! A superb Thai meal cooked by Angus An who worked for the revered David Thompson at Nahm in London (the only Michelin-starred Thai restaurant.) Angus' Vancouver restaurant is called Maenam:  there we had a Thai dinner party for four -- including fried oysters with "nahm jim" sauce made with green chilies (they call them scuds), garlic, coriander stem, galangal, fish sauce and lime juice; hot and sour mussel soup with holy basil; Muslim beef curry with Thai curry paste; a spicy salad of seared tuna, mint, cilantro, nuts, & chili; and of course, pad Thai (the ubiquitous noodle dish.)  Wish this restaurant existed right here in New York.

We had lunch at the sister restaurant to one of the world's most well-known Indian restaurants "Vij."  His smaller place is called Rangoli and it, too, is special.  Especially the "naan" pizza topped with roasted crickets!  I didn't touch it and neither did my daughter who ordered it. What possessed her?  But my husband thought it was awesome. He also enjoyed his lamb, chickpeas and potatoes in yogurt-date curry and our friend loved her goat and jackfruit in creamy curry with coconut cabbage salad, rice and naan. Endless glasses of credible (and authentic) chai made a chilly gray Vancouver day very welcoming.

Another meal was actually mine (!) and prepared at Vancouver's famous book store called Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks. At my cooking class with 18 wonderful students around the eating bar/open kitchen, we cooked a meal from Radically Simple:  tiny walnut-onion muffins to accompany a glass of prosecco; my jade soup with crab and dill (made with heaps of Dungeness crab from Vancouver instead of the usual lump crab I generally use -- it was fabulous); chicken ras el hanout with fresh tomato-ginger chutney sitting on a swirl of milk carrot and parsnip puree, next to a timbale of coconut-pistachio rice, a "pre-dessert" of whiskey-laced warm carrot marmalade served on silver spoons; and the "little black dress chocolate cake" strewn with fresh raspberries and dolloped with creme fraiche.  It was such an exercise in radical simplicity that the happy guests were stunned and a good time was had by all.

A lovely brunch overlooking one of Vancouver's most beautiful parks and lakes at The Boat House. Delicious eggs benedict atop a grilled cheese and lobster sandwich! Yes! A glass of terrific local BC pinot gris. 

But the most extraordinary meal of all -- perhaps the best, and most inventive I've had in years, was at Diva @ the Met (Metropolitan Hotel) in Vancouver.  More about the menu, the wine pairings and the chef later in the week.  But suffice it to say, it is deserving of at least 3 Michelin stars and the chef, Hamid Salimian is a gentle genius.

Not easy to leave Vancouver but I bring home a basket of taste memories to last a long while.

Tin Fish Gourmet

Barbara-Jo McIntosh is the owner of the beloved Books to Cooks bookstore in Vancouver, BC.  She herself has been called a national treasure of Vancouver because of her deep influence in "all things food" in that gorgeous city.   Every year, scores of distinguished chefs, authors, wine makers and celebs from all over the world wind up in her shop. They are feted by Ms. McIntosh herself with a reception in their honor.  Throughout the year, there are scores of meaningful talks, lectures, tastings and demos, too, making Books to Cooks the place to be if you have even the tiniest interest in cooking.  In addition to hand-selecting the 7,000 titles available in her store, Barbara-Jo has written three of the books she carries.  Her most recent, "Cooking for Me and Sometimes You:  A Parisienne Romance with Recipes (French Apple Press, 2010) is a joy.  You feel as though you are in a small French kitchen right alongside her, whipping up a sharp vinaigrette for the perfect Salade Nicoise, or braising a chicken leg with tomatoes and black olives. But as I'm staring at a large can of salmon this morning in my fridge (gift of my husband who did the grocery shopping yesterday), I lunge for another of her books on my shelf. Tin Fish Gourmet, whose subtitle, great seafood from cupboard to table, says it all.  This book has a way of making you feel virtuous and wise, as you hunt for your can opener.   Some months ago, my husband and I started eating canned salmon.  I don't remember why exactly.  I used to hate it as a kid, especially because of the skin and cartilage that punctuated the pretty pink flesh, but having gotten over that, I find myself, instead, enjoying the weird texture of the tiny bones.  I use it to make last-minute salmon rillettes and enjoy it smashed on a piece of black bread with fresh lemon and a dab of crème fraîche.  Maybe some chives. The Tin Fish Gourmet offers  sixteen ideas using a 15-ounce can, or two (but beware, my tin of Bumble Bee salmon is 14.75 ounces!), from which to choose.  Some are quite sophisticated, others are nifty and thrifty. I inadvertently soaked a pot of dried chickpeas last night and will try the healthy-sounding Avocado, Chick Pea and Salmon Salad.  Hmmmmm, but Corn & Salmon Fritters, Curried Salmon Loaf, Salmon and Fennel Stew, and a dreamy-sounding Asparagus, Brie & Salmon Omelette also tantalize.  But the book's most-popular recipe is an appetizer: Pecan Salmon Roll.  It's a recipe Barbara-Jo picked up from a trip to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia.   Recipe below.  You can find each of the above mentioned books at New York's beloved bookstore: Kitchen Arts & Letters, on Lexington Avenue and 93rd street. Tell Nach and Matt that Barbara-Jo sent you.

Barbara-Jo's Pecan Salmon Roll

15 ounce can (tin) salmon, drained 9 ounces cream cheese 2 tablespoons goat cheese, optional 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 scallion, finely chopped 1 tablespoon white horseradish 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, plus sprigs for garnishing

Cream together cheeses, lemon juice, scallion, horseradish and cayenne.  Add salmon and mix together.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Shape into a roll, about 8-inches by 3-inches.  Roll through the combined mixture of pecans and parsley to cover.  Place on a platter and garnish with parsley sprigs.  Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. Serves 6 to 10 as an appetizer.