Friday, January 26, 2007

High on the hill with the lonely goatherd

I like Gwen Stefani. Don't judge.

Yesterday the hubs and I enjoyed a night out for the first time in a long time. Or at least that is how it feels. We went to this delicious restaurant as part of the whole Dine Out Vancouver tourism event. (Be a tourist in your own city, as they say.) We rarely eat at fancy restaurants and really, it is because, as previously mentioned, we are not fancy people. Dine Out is therefore perfect, it allows for a cheapskate like me to enjoy a pretty chichi kind of meal for an affordable price.

We both enjoyed the atmosphere and food last night. It's pretty unpretentious, as fancy restaurants go, and the food wasn't your standard fare. Since I forgot to take pictures, you'll have to settle for my descriptions of the food.

My appetizer was a watercress salad with pecans, endives, and a gorgonzola dressing. (I think.) Hubby had a skewer of spicy grilled shrimp with a watercress and soba noodle "side". (Okay - I'm actually kinda guessing rather than just going back to the menu to see what we really had.) (Also - I'm not sure why watercress appeared in several dishes. Perhaps it is in abundance at this time of year.) We also shared a "poutine a la belge", which appears to modify poutine by replacing the cheese curds with blue cheese and green onions. Quebecers everywhere are having fits. Anyway the appies went over quite well although I'm not always a big fan of blue cheese and its relatives. I am smell-sensitive, after all.

For entrees, I chose the trout and hubby had the beef short rib. Mine was a fillet of trout covered in some kind of almond/herb butter. On the side was a small portion of "sweet black rice" - which tasted like the red bean soup my brother never liked after a Chinese dinner - and one sprig (?) of gai lan with a neat sauce. The trout was awesome. Actually, I haven't had trout in so long that I didn't even realize it isn't white when cooked. The beef short rib was similarly delicious, although I think hubs felt it was a little too tender. It was stacked (I don't know why food is always stacked these days - such a trend) on top of some mashed potatoes, which were good, but then, I am a starch queen.

Finally, for dessert, I had the Belgian waffle with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce drizzled over it. It was petite, and good thing as I was super full by this point... anyway, it was faboo, I love Belgian chocolate. The hubby had a pineapple and lemon sorbet with "citrus scented chips" that resembled deep fried wonton wrappers. I liked both desserts, but preferred mine because of the chocolate. On the other hand, hubs liked his more because it wasn't too rich or chocolatey. We're terribly opposite in nature sometimes.

Even more than the food, I enjoyed the conversation and time alone with my husband. Lately we have both been quite busy and so it was very relaxing just to sit and enjoy dinner together (without him having to cook and me having to clean) and to have actual things to say to one another. One day we'll probably become slave drivers supreme lords parents and likely we'll have even less alone time and I'll look back fondly on last night's dinner and wonder where the days went.

2 comments:

vespertine said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed your time at Chambar! It is just so fabulous...definitely one of my most memorable dining experiences ever=)

They are actually quite affordable even when it's not Dineout, so a second visit for a special event wouldn't be ridiculously expensive! Their mussels are so delicious.

Anonymous said...

For the record, I now like red bean soup under certain circumstances: either when the weather is extremely cold out, or otherwise when the soup itself is served chilled. And made with coconut milk. And tapioca.