Portobello's upstairs room with view

Dining Out
Karl Wells

Portobello’s
115 Duckworth St.
Ph. 579-7050

Sometimes fleeting images can be remarkably beautiful. Of course, to see them you have to be in the right place at the right time and your eyes have to be focused on the right spot. Such an image came my way recently while dining at Portobello’s. We were sitting at a window table. It was after 8 o’clock and the sky was clear black with a hint of navy. A lamppost at the harbour below was burning bright yellow.

Suddenly a massive flock of gulls, in the hundreds, like heavenly invaders flew across the harbour from the Southside Hills. Their bellies and wings, illuminated by the light from below, made them the whitest of white against the contrasting night sky. This beautiful mass of fluttering white, in an otherwise still night sky, was nothing less than magical to behold – an unexpected gift.

Windows with a view, like plates bearing delicious food, or glasses filled with luscious wine, make a significant contribution to a dining experience. Portobello’s has the best viewing windows of any restaurant in town, (with the exception of The Battery’s dining room.) In a clever move Portobello’s owners chose the restaurant’s current location specifically because it offered an exceptional view of St. John’s Harbour. It may not be as stunning as the view of the Arno in Forster’s, A Room with a View, but it has appeal.

Other attributes
Apart from the appealing view, Portobello’s does have other attributes. While the décor is similar to that of many traditional fine dining restaurants, there’s a definite retro quality about some of the design choices. You’ll find art deco influences in the patterns of the mostly opaque glass wall inserts, around the archway, separating the bar and main dining room. Even Portobello’s wine glasses, with shaped angular bowls, suggest  elegance of another era.

Tables at Portobello’s are comfortably large with enough space between them to eradicate the possibility of a neighbouring diner overhearing private conversation.
Hardwood flooring provides warmth and blends well with the restaurant’s earthy tones, gold tablecloths, and red napkins. Several large pictures, mostly prints of one type or another, fill the walls.

Portobello’s service is very good, efficient, friendly, and at par with that of other fine dining restaurants in the city. Our server was clearly experienced. I wasn’t surprised to learn that she has many years of experience in the industry. It’s rare these days to be attended by truly professional servers. But when it happens (with apologies to Ira Gershwin) “Oh ‘s wonderful, ‘s marvellous!” No one person has more control of how enjoyable your dining experience is going to be. It’s the career servers who understand that a tip must be earned, and that customers must never be taken for granted.

The meal
From the outset we drank New Harbour sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. I’m partial to the refreshing, bright, citrus aroma and taste of this wine. It went down very well while we decided what to eat. Beginnings included two specials on offer that evening – a soup and then fishcake. I tend to agree with Jamie Oliver on soups in fine dining restaurants. On BBC he recently said, “When I think of soup I think of something you’d make at home,” then added, “but not necessarily in a fine restaurant. I think people want something a little more up market when they dine out.” True enough.

However, Portobello’s tomato and Parmesan soup, while simple, was very good. Served with a floating piece of toast, topped with sugared maple bacon, it made me think of a tomato and bacon sandwich. What’s not to like?

Our second appetizer was a very well made fish cake. It was large, puck size, but thicker. It contained potato, to be sure, but also involved salmon, trout and cod. Lots of flavours there. The cake was seasoned with herbs, but could have used more spicing for umphh. To provide a pleasing taste balance the cake was served with a good dollop of tangy mayonnaise. A small salad appeared on the plate as well. Sliced fresh apple was stacked with short strips of raw carrot; all had been dressed with a creamy, rich, ranch style dressing. It made a perfect accompaniment for the fish cake with its contrast of flavour and texture.

Fanned duck breast with risotto

Mains

A special main was roulade of pork with rosemary. Beautifully cooked as well as beautifully browned on the outside, each sliced medallion was pink, succulent and oozing savoury porcine juices. The meat was strongly infused with rosemary, but, alas, a little too redolent for my palate. Lamb would have withstood the shower of needles, but pork was too tame. Less rosemary, a choice of sage, or simply salt and pepper might have worked better. A brilliant risotto accompaniment saved the day.

Anton Ego, the food critic from the movie Ratatouille said, “I don’t like food, I love it. If I don’t love it, I don’t swallow.” Ideally, that would be my credo. However, I’m sure I don’t need to paint a picture for you of how, well, slightly impractical that approach would be for an actual restaurant reviewer. Mind you, when it comes to duck, I swallow every time. I just can’t help myself. I love it. Especially Brome Lake duck. I had seared Brome Lake duck breast at Portobello’s with chilli, port wine, honey and ginger glaze. It was sensational. Utterly tender, moist, and bursting with slightly wild, herbaceous flavours.

Chocolate cake with meringue

There are six restaurants in St. John’s that do phenomenal desserts. That’s all, just six. Coincidentally, they all do them in-house and most have pastry chefs. Portobello’s is most definitely one of them. We treated ourselves to Portobello’s chocolate cake with meringue. Two rounds of rich, moist, dark chocolate cake overlapped one another. The piece laying flat was topped with a fat portion of oven-browned meringue; the other was dusted with sugar powder. The meringue was golden on top and crisp, but pillowy soft inside. This was a truly delectable dénouement to our meal.    

It’s pleasing to know that Portobello’s has improved since my last review. Especially in its presentation of dishes. The dessert, for example, was arranged with overlapping discs of cake, dusted, and topped with meringue. A circular, golden crown of candied sugar teetered over all. The surface of the plate was decorated with brilliant red raspberry coulis. C’était magnifique!
Rating:

***
Price: Dinner for two with wine, tax and gratuity – $200 (approx.)

Sound level: Moderate

Wheelchair access: Bottom floor only

*Fair **Good ***Excellent ****Exceptional

Dining Out
Karl Wells

Barsky ready for battle

Chef Barsky on winner's podium

Mike Barsky is a chef who is not comfortable blowing his own horn. He just likes to cook and let the food speak for him. I say to heck with that. If I think a chef is good then I have no problem blowing the horn for him – or her. (I’ve promoted dozens of local chefs via print and television over the past 20 years. If you’re an artist with a brilliant product then people should know about it.) So, I now climb onto my soapbox to sound the trumpet for Chef Mike Barsky of Bacalao, 65 Lemarchant Road.

Barsky accomplished something very significant this past November. Among an extremely competitive field of chefs – several award winning – he took home the gold medal at Gold Medal Plates St. John’s. That is a big deal. (Gold Medal Plates is part culinary competition and part fundraiser for the Canadian Olympic Foundation.)

Because of the win he and his Bacalao team will travel to Kelowna, British Columbia next month to represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the Canadian Culinary Championships. (I am obliged to tell you that I am a Gold Medal Plates judge and also a judge at the Canadian Culinary Championships.)

Barsky's luxe goat dish

Mike Barsky’s dish was as local as Alan Doyle’s particular Newfoundland brogue. In fact, the only ingredients that did not originate on this island were the spices, cooking oil and panko breadcrumbs. Wilson’s Newfoundland goat (various parts, including tongue and brain), locally made goat cheese (from Five Brothers), partridgeberries and Fagan’s Farm turnip all figured in Barsky’s remarkable dish. It featured seared goat loin, panko-crusted goat rillettes, pickled goat tongue, mousse aux cerveaux or goat brains, crumbled goat-cheese sablé, saffron goat milk pudding, turnip Parisienne, Brussels sprout petals, partridgeberry and Pelee Island pinot noir demi-glace.

Beautiful
In the past three Gold Medal Plates St. John’s competitions all of Chef Barsky’s dishes have been quite competitive; but this year, to use the hackneyed phrase, “he knocked it out of the park.” His dish was original, it displayed beautiful harmony, it tasted great, and was beautiful to look at. Mike Barsky set an example at the competition that’s worth highlighting here. He proved that even though a chef might compete for two, three or more years at Gold Medal Plates and not place, it is still possible that one year everything will come together and result in a gold medal – including an opportunity to compete against the best chefs in Canada at the Canadian Culinary championships. 

Chef Barsky in his kitchen

I had brunch at Bacalao this week and over a plate of fried green eggs (that’s eggs with pesto), and lamb sausage we chatted about the upcoming event in Kelowna. I asked him how he feels going up against some of the best chefs in Canada like Vancouver’s Rob Feenie and Ontario’s Jonathan Gushue.

“It’s an honour to represent Newfoundland, and we also feel some pressure because we want to be good ambassadors of Newfoundland cuisine to the rest of the country. We have an amazing culinary scene in this province and this is another opportunity to share it. We’re fans of Rob’s from his TV shows so it’ll be fun to meet him. We’re also looking forward to meeting Jonathan Gushue, the gold medallist from the Toronto competition who’s originally from Newfoundland.”

Barsky will take his gold medal plates gold winning dish to Kelowna but I was curious about the process of creating a dish for a high level competition like Gold Medal Plates.

“There’s a lot to consider. It has to be something that can be plated at essentially a makeshift kitchen and that can be plated quickly enough to serve 400 plus guests in 90 minutes – but also be a potential gold medal winner! So you have to try to compose a dish where most elements are made ahead with perhaps just one or two elements left to cook on-site. (We fried the rillettes and seared the loin on site, everything else we could warm.) It has to be beautiful; easy to eat while guests are standing and holding a glass of wine; for the judges, there has to be a “wow” factor, and of course, it has to be delicious. For Bacalao we impose another restriction on ourselves. The ingredients have to be local. Every single ingredient, with the exception of the spices, oil and panko, were local.”

Andrea Maunder, Bacalao's wine specialist

The team
Team Bacalao in Kelowna will consist of Barsky, former Gold Medal Plates gold medallist, Ivan Kyutukchiev, Matt McDonald, and Bacalao’s co-owner Andrea Maunder – who is also married to Mike Barsky. Maunder is going because she knows wine and her knowledge and experience will be critical in Kelowna. One of the challenges of the 2-day competition will be creating a dish that pairs perfectly with a mystery wine. Barsky calls Maunder his “ace-in-the-hole”.

“Her skills as a wine expert will really help us with the wine pairing competition. We’ll be given an unmarked bottle of wine to taste the first night and then have to prepare a matching dish for around 300 people the following day. I’ll have the good fortune of having a wine-expert in my hotel room!”

Sous chef Ivan Kyutukchiev

While Barsky and company will receive an allowance from Gold Medal Plates to cover the cost of 2 people, ingredients and transport; they still need to find money to pay the expenses of remaining team members. To help with that Barsky says Bacalao will host a special fund raising dinner for 75 people on Feb. 2.

“We’re calling it our “Run the Goat to Kelowna” fundraising dinner. So, if your readers would like to be part of the Newfoundland team in Kelowna, they can support us by coming to the dinner or by donating a silent auction item.”

Cost for the dinner is $125 per person (taxes in) for a seven-course menu with paired wines. To reserve a seat, call Bacalao at 579-6565.

Published in The Telegram, Jan. 21, 2012

Dining Out
Karl Wells

Lunch with the unsinkable Sheilagh

She may be small of stature, and in recent months has lost a noticeable amount of weight, but, despite her diminutive physical presence, Sheilagh Guy Murphy is someone to whom, as Arthur Miller wrote in Death of a Salesman, “Attention must be paid.” If not, she will employ any and all means to get your attention. Her chutzpah knows no bounds. Having lunch with my friend Sheilagh Guy-Murphy is not so much an opportunity to break bread and catch up, as it is improvised theatre, or, a Top Gear long-distance race without satellite navigation.  

Last week we dined together at the Pepper Mill on Water St. to talk about her upcoming and most lavish Mile One extravaganza to date, Our Divas present Disney in Concert-Tale as Old as Time (Feb. 17, 18). Occasionally, I felt like I was sitting with Swifty Lazar at Spago. (Irving Paul Lazar or “Swifty” was a powerful Hollywood talent agent. He and Sheilagh shared the same shoe size and height – about 5 feet. They also shared a penchant for big eyewear – fashionable sunglasses in Sheilagh’s case, and black, horn-rimmed spectacles in his. Big parties and big shows were also a common passion. Swifty liked to “hold court” and so does Sheilagh.)

Our waiter came and took drink orders. Sheilagh asked him his name. “Ryan,” he said. She continued cheekily with that oh so familiar glint in her eye. “Is that you’re real name, or is it a made-up name in case we don’t like the service? In which case it’ll be somebody named Ryan that gets in trouble and not you,” declared Sheilagh. “You’re right,” said Ryan, game to play along, “actually, my real name is, Mark, not Ryan.” And so the skit went. 

Salutations
While we were eating our appetizers a prominent Newfoundland businessman and former politician entered with a group. Before I could swallow my first spoonful of lobster chowder Sheilagh was receiving the gentleman’s salutations at table and letting him know she was au courant with one of his latest ventures, ending with, “I’ll be calling you soon to ask for something.” Then it was back to her mussels in beer and a spirited defence of simple food that’s not “all glommed up,” as she calls it. According to Sheilagh, restaurant reviewers like me are partial to food that’s “all glommed up.”  Who knew?

I enjoyed my cream based lobster chowder. There were plenty of small pieces of lobster in it and the rosy coloured soup was rich with seafood flavour. Seasoning was perfect. I also liked the addition of two crab claws, cracked and ready for eating. Sheilagh would have preferred her mussels cooked in wine, but Pepper Mill chef James Organ cooks his in beer. Fresh mussels have been on the small side lately; but sometimes the smaller ones are the tastiest. 

When I asked Sheilagh to describe her upcoming Mile One spectacular she got very serious. “Our Divas present Disney in Concert,” she began, “is directed by Terri Andrews and co-produced by Terri Andrews and me. It’s a multi media show with the full Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the forty voice Quintessential Vocal Ensemble, choreography, and Our Divas. The magical visuals of Disney are projected onto a large screen. Disney has sent us footage from their film archives for the show. We’re over the moon to be working with the NSO. Bill Brennan who’s been Musical Director on many Divas shows will conduct the orchestra.”

Enormous
The show is an enormous undertaking that involves about two hundred cast and crew. Music will include themes from Disney movies as well as songs from Disney musicals. Some of the best singers, musicians and dancers in the province will perform. According to Sheilagh Guy Murphy, “It’s the pure talent of this province that motivates us to keep doing these shows. There’s no doubt that our artists can take any world stage, and despite the fact that there are critics who say musical productions are not their thing, or they are a lesser art form, they do not deny the high quality and exceptional performances they see on our stages. So Terri and I will keep pushing and producing this talent, until we’re too long in the tooth to do so.”

As I watched my sprite like, yet larger-than-life lunch companion – and I know that may sound like a contradiction – I thought, “What perfect casting it was to have her play the unsinkable Molly Brown at a Titanic dinner theatre a few years back.” She’s passionate, tenacious, opinionated and won’t take no for an answer. Hell, no. When you think about the many large-scale Busby Berkeley worthy productions she and Terri Andrews have managed to pull off since their partnership began, it makes perfect sense that she is the way she is. I don’t think anybody other than Sheilagh Guy Murphy could have brought these mammoth productions to our particular burgh.

Main courses
Mains arrived quickly. I had a piece of grilled salmon topped with slices of tomato and goat cheese, served with a few grilled or roasted vegetables – gem potatoes, zucchini, asparagus and carrot. The salmon and vegetables were all cooked and seasoned properly. Sheilagh raved about her blackened halibut and tossed out a casual recommendation to the businessman-former politician who was seated nearby. (He actually did order it.) The portion of halibut rested on a shiny pile of primavera linguine in Cajun cream. Sheilagh was mostly impressed by the moistness of the halibut. It was delicious; as was a long tangly helping of linguine she generously transferred to my plate.

Before long a former theatre artistic director and others were stopping by our corner table to pay their respects to Sheilagh. I was beginning to feel a bit like Prince Phillip, Denis Thatcher, or, J.J. Brown. I was there and yet not there. It’s the inevitable fallout when dining with someone who casts a long shadow. It was a small price to pay for an opportunity to watch a true original in action. I anxiously await Our Divas present Disney in Concert – Tale as Old as Time, (Feb. 17, 18) at Mile One Centre. Tickets are available now at www.mileonecentre.com, www.admission.com or by calling 576-7657 or toll free at 1-855-790-1245.

Published in Weekend Telegram, Jan 14, 2012

Dining Out

Karl Wells 

Olympic Dreams

This column is as much about two young men – cousins actually – with a fantastic dream, as it is about food. Their story is one of those bonuses that sometimes comes my way when I’m doing the rounds of restaurants, charity dinners and other food events. Their names are Jon Ladha, 29, and Daniel Inkpen, 23. They’re sailors, incredible sailors, and you should know how very close they’ve come to achieving their dream of representing Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador at the 2012 London Olympics. For years this province has been craving more elite athletes capable of making a name on the international stage. Ladha and Inkpen are, without question, elite athletes.

The type of sailing Ladha and Inkpen do is unlike any kind of sailing you’ll see on Conception Bay, Trinity Bay or any other Newfoundland bay. They sail in the 49er class at international racing events. As young boys they participated in sailing programs at the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. Ladha is 6 years older and actually helped teach Inkpen to sail. Eventually they developed an interest in racing – and in racing as a team. Now their competitive aspirations have reached an Olympic level.

When I watched a video of them racing their 49er somewhere far from home I was struck by the amount of brute strength required to race a craft that is essentially not much more than a shallow skiff with a huge spinnaker sail. To race such a boat effectively also requires intelligence, fast thinking and lightning reflexes. It’s also dangerous, as sailing a 49er requires the 2-man team to spend most of their time hanging in various positions over the side of the craft to maintain control of its monster sail.

In simple terms they (or their combined weight) are the skiff’s ballast and together they must outweigh the craft, which is less than 300 lbs. I couldn’t help but notice a scar on Daniel Inkpen’s forehead. It was the result of a sailing accident in 2009 when that giant sail struck him in the head. Currently, to prepare physically for future regattas, Ladha and Inkpen are engaged in a gruelling exercise regimen that involves workout exercises like burpee push-ups. This means standing, squatting, throwing your feet backwards to assume a plank position, doing a push-up, returning to a squat and standing position and then doing it all over again for a total of 100 repetitions. (By the way, it takes them 13 minutes to do 100 burpee push-ups.

Regattas

In order to prepare for a shot with Team Canada and the 2012 London Olympics our Newfoundland sailors had to train in several regattas – regattas that took place all over the globe. Now they are preparing to race in Miami at the end of this month. This time it’s a qualification race that, if all goes according to plan, should see Ladha and Inkpen qualify for Team Canada. That will leave them one event away from achieving their dream to compete for Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics. After Miami it’s the London 2012 Olympics qualification regatta that will be held in Croatia in May.

We should all be very excited by the prospect of these young Newfoundlanders competing in the London Olympics. In fact, many have been supportive in the most practical way possible. A substantial amount of money needs to be raised to enable Jonathan Ladha and Daniel Inkpen to make London a reality. If they qualify in May a small amount of financial help will be forthcoming from the Canadian Olympic Foundation. But they will still require much more assistance. Corporate sponsorships are welcome.

Recently I attended a fundraising gala for them at Clovelly. Friends and members of the Ladha and Inkpen families organized the event. Party planner and auctioneer, Wayne Bartlett, was also a key member of the team. About 130 supporters showed up for an evening of delicious food, inspiring talk and entertaining auctioneering. I sat with a group of friends, a few of whom are friends of the Ladhas and Inkpens. Jon Ladha’s father, Nazir, started the event with a bang – literally. He walked into the room with a large metal pot and giant spoon from the kitchen and started banging the hell out of the pot. Then he asked people to be seated. They did. Quickly.

 First course

Our first course was a salad of mixed greens, cheese and fruit. The fruit was thin slices of pear. It made an effective counterpoint to the stronger flavoured crumbled, whiter than white goat’s cheese. A few candied pecans provided still more flavour and crunch. Very light vinaigrette helped balance the salad and tweak the palate for maximum enjoyment of the dish, and the dishes that followed. 

The fish course featured a large piece of grilled salmon fillet. The golden seafood with attractive grill marks was placed on a bed of mashed potato and green string beans.  A milky lemon and dill flavoured sauce, poured sparingly, was used to accent the salmon. I thought this course was a standout because the fish had been done perfectly, no easy task when feeding a large number of people. 

A thick piece of dark, prime rib of beef was served on a similar potato and beans base. The beef was topped with a suitably puffed up Yorkshire pudding drizzled, as was the beef, with a glossy, rich, demi glace sauce. A light dessert after such substance might have been the wiser choice but crème brûlée seemed fitting and appropriate to the occasion. (At least that’s what I told myself as I lapped up every last stain of the creamy pudding.) I offer congratulations to the chef and kitchen brigade at Clovelly. What an improvement since my last visit a few years ago!

After dinner Wayne Bartlett took to the microphone to auction off some of the best items I’ve seen at such an event. This included original art by Newfoundlanders like Brenda McClellan, David Blackwood and others, as well as some pieces by mainland artists, namely, Lynne Schumacher, whom Bartlett represents at his Ontario gallery. There was also a silent auction where equally impressive hardware, art, dinners and trips were on the charity auction block.

In the end a good sum was raised to help Jon Ladha and Daniel Inkpen achieve their goal to compete in the Olympic Games, but more will be needed. Plans are underway for more fundraising opportunities this winter and spring. If you or your company would like to help or learn more about this quest, log on to the website dedicated to the dream: http://nlforgold.com/

 Jan. 7, 2012

It’s hard to believe this is the seventh time I’ve put this list together. I guess a sign that our restaurants are improving is the fact that, for the most part, this year I really struggled with deciding which spot each restaurant should occupy on the list. But that was only after I’d determined which restaurants would actually make the list. My problem, albeit a happy one, was that this year I gave excellent ratings to far more than ten restaurants. So I wrestled with the decision on which restaurants to leave off the list. I’m confident I’ve made the right choices and for the right reasons. Please bear in mind that this list is comprised exclusively of restaurants reviewed during the past 12 months.

1.

Raymonds

95 Water St.

Ph. 579-5800

First place goes to Raymonds. It’s the only restaurant I awarded 4 stars last year. I was so impressed with Raymonds because it exceeded every criterion I set for the top accolade. Raymonds food is beautifully prepared. It’s appealing to the eye and tastes better than delicious. I also appreciate the effort Raymonds makes to acquire fresh local ingredients, everything from vegetables to game. Service is professional, attentive and not intrusive. They’re building a remarkable wine list and, more than that, this restaurant knows how to pair wine with food. Finally, you’ll not find a more beautiful looking restaurant in the city. Significant monies were spent in building Raymonds but as far as I can tell, every dollar was wisely spent. It’s not every day a restaurant like Raymonds comes along. I’m glad it’s here.

2.

Magnum and Steins

284 Duckworth Street

Ph. 576-6500

Magnum and Steins will soon be moving to a newly renovated location west of its current home. I expect I’ll be reviewing it again in 2012. However, I think the most significant change at Magnum and Steins in recent months – and the reason it’s number two – happened in the kitchen. A very talented fellow named Chris Chafe – recently awarded a silver medal at Gold Medal Plates – is now Magnum and Steins’ chef. His food is modern, innovative, attractive and a pleasure to eat.

 3.

The Gypsy Tea Room

The Murray Premises

Ph. 739-4766

The Gypsy Tea Room, since it moved from the Franklin Hotel a few years ago, has evolved to take a place in a select group of St. John’s restaurants. That’s to say it’s now big – very big – good looking and expensively furnished. Another point not to be underestimated is this; every time I’ve been there lately I’ve sensed a tremendous feel-good energy in its various rooms. For many diners that’s quite important. The restaurant’s food has also improved.

4.

The Cellar

189 Water Street

Ph. 579-8900

The Cellar still has a devoted and loyal clientele and there’s a reason for that. The Brown family – and it is a family business – knows a thing or two about running a successful restaurant. Lately the restaurant has been looking better than ever and the high service standards set by Harold Brown when he opened The Cellar have been maintained. I enjoyed an extraordinary squid stir-fry there recently, as well as excellent lamb.

5.

Bistro Sofia

320 Water Street

Ph. 738-2060

Bistro Sofia has carved out a very successful niche for itself. It’s part bistro, part coffee shop, part pastry and chocolate shop. Gregory Bersinski, Vanya Velinova and Tony Velinov must take credit. These chef owners are, individually, extremely talented and competent in savoury cooking, pastries and chocolate making. (In my view Bistro Sofia makes the best local, or, “Newfoundland” chocolates in St. John’s.) I’ve never had an unmemorable meal there.

6.

Aqua Kitchen/Bar

310 Water St.

Ph. 576-2782

From its original opening many years ago Aqua has had its ups and downs. But since chef Mark McCrowe purchased Aqua it’s been run with a steady hand and attention to details. The food at Aqua is always thoughtfully prepared and I like the fact that McCrowe is brave enough to experiment, and work with ingredients in different ways. Aqua also has bright, efficient servers and a relaxing atmosphere.

7.

Oliver’s

160 Water Street

Ph. 754-6444

Oliver’s has a new chef. His name is Chris Riche and he’s a very good cook. He appears to be part of a new generation of local chefs. They’re young dynamos that can effectively inject personal flare and artistry into their dishes. But, at the same time, these dishes are not out of an average diner’s comfort zone. Diners will still find them attractive and enjoyable. For example, I tried Riche’s salmon topped with lime avocado salsa and it was wonderful. 

8.

The Pepper Mill

178 Water St.

Ph. 726-7585

If you’re looking for a cosy, intimate restaurant The Pepper Mill is a good choice. The lighting is low and, while the restaurant is small, tables are still far enough apart to maintain intimacy. Service at The Pepper Mill is always friendly and competent. It’s also been my experience over many years that the prices are reasonable and the food, served in generous portions, is fresh and satisfying. 

9.

Mystic

Sinbad’s Hotel

Bennett Drive, Gander

Ph. (709) 651-2678

Something wonderful has happened at Sinbad’s Mystic restaurant these past many months.  It has a chef who seems genuinely interested in creating interesting food and bringing the cuisine of Gander up a notch. His name is Jason Rice. I was very impressed when I had dinner there this year. At that time Mystic was serving a beautiful dish featuring ocean scallops in a delicately scented broth, and another called cod puttanesca. Both were fine examples of seriously good food.

10.

Gracie Joe’s

123 Quidi Vidi Rd.

Ph. 738-6896

It’s small, a little off the beaten path but very, very good. That’s Gracie Joe’s, the newest venture of long-time St. John’s foodie and restaurateur, Alfred Hynes. This bright and breezy corner café serves incredibly good soups, salads, pizzas and hearty entrees. Gracie Joe’s smiling service makes it a welcoming spot. Individual dietary requirements are taken into consideration too. The coffee and desserts are first rate.

Dec. 31, 2011

Dining Out

Karl Wells

 Cheap and cheerful wine and dine

Like most people I get a tickle out of saving a few bucks. It’s not something that happens often in my restaurant dining – that, by the way, I pay for with hard earned cash – but occasionally a deal comes my way. It happened the other day when a friend told me about the regular monthly wine tasting in Piatto’s (Duckworth St.) upstairs private room. Mind you if it hadn’t been for a food component I wouldn’t have been as interested. 

You can get all the details on Piatto’s website but in short here’s the story. For $29.95 plus tax you get to taste 3 wines and 3 dishes. Since Piatto is essentially a pizza restaurant I was correct in assuming there’d be pizza in the mix. The wines may be straight from Piatto’s own wine list or they may be wines presented by a wine agency. On the night I visited the wines were from Piatto’s list but for the edification of those attending the wine’s local representative was there to tell us about what we were drinking.

A bunch of us attended. And, by the way, it’s important to make a reservation for these events since the private room only accommodates about 20 comfortably. After entering just say “wine tasting?” and someone will point a finger skyward meaning “go on up.” Upstairs we found an almost full candlelit room with attendees seated at individual tables. We sat at a high table in the corner and waited for our first taste of wine.

Personal

Before I go further let me remind you that my views on wine are personal. Everyone has his or her own personal taste in food and wine, especially wine. Some of you may disagree with my take on the wines I tasted. To be honest, that’s what makes wine tasting so interesting.

All of the wines we tasted were from the same winery and the same region in Spain – Rioja. It’s a tiny wine-producing region in northern Spain. When I heard this I was slightly disappointed because I rarely taste wine from that region that I like. I personally find Rioja wines to taste a bit rough. It may be the affect the soil of Rioja has on the tempranillo and garnacha grapes grown there, although experts would disagree. Or, maybe, I just don’t like tempranillo and garnacha wine that much.

First up was a wine that, to my surprise, our table recognized right off the bat. It’s called Campo Viejo Crianza ($17.59 at NLC) and the reason everyone knew it was because it was being sold at the NLC with extra Air Miles the other day. (An important consideration that I myself have been swayed by in the past.) It was made from a blend of the aforementioned grapes as well as some mazuelo grapes. I was unimpressed. It represented all the things I dislike in most Rioja wines. Although I could detect a faint taste of dark fruit I found it lacked character and structure. A few of my friends liked it but one said, “It tastes thin and weak” – meaning little body or weight in mouth-feel as well as flavours and aroma.

Owner

Just as the food began to arrive Piatto’s owner, Brian Vallis, joined us. He appears to be a proprietor who leaves nothing to chance. I watched as he made the rounds of the various tables chatting with guests. I think he was disappointed that 6 or 7 reservations did not show up. (By the way, if you can’t make it to a restaurant, call them and cancel the reservation. Don’t be a jerk. These guys aren’t running a charity. They need to make a living too.)

Our first course was a lovely salad dominated by beet called, barbabietola arrosita. It featured a small bouquet of fresh greens covered with overlapping slices of roasted beet and herbed goat’s cheese. Candied walnut pieces were strewn over top. The salad was dressed with a maple balsamic vinaigrette. Piatto’s kitchen followed up with very delicious corn chowder flavoured up with tiny pieces of pancetta.

Sometimes certain foods can improve the taste of a wine or vice versa depending on whether it’s a good pairing. As much as I hoped it would happen in the case of the Campo Viejo Crianza, it did not. I was very hopeful about the beet salad pairing, but, alas, nothing too enjoyable came from it. As for the corn chowder I think a robust white wine might have worked better. 

Margherita

Next, each of us was given a piece of the classic Margherita pizza. The Margherita contained Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and grana padano cheese. I lean toward pizzas that are as fresh and simple as possible so the Margherita is one I favour. The wine representative cracked a bottle of Campo Viejo Reserva this time. This wine had spent 18 months in oak, the previous only 12.

I liked this wine better. The pairing was pretty good too. When there’s tomato sauce involved with a dish I agree with the view of many wine enthusiasts that it’s best to pair with the sauce. That’s because, invariably, it is the most powerful flavour in the dish. The Reserva had more body and flavour than the previous Crianza. The fruit was much more obvious. All in all it held up well against the tomato sauce and did not retreat in any sense.

After the second bottle, things got into full swing with several different pizza platters being brought round the room. Multiple arms reached out to pull slice after slice from pies at hand. There was: Diavola, a hot red pizza with soppressatta salame, Stephanie pizza, with goat cheese, caramelized pear and prosciutto, Panna e pancetta, and a special Chorizo pizza created especially for the tasting. All were delicious but I thought the best pairing was made between the Spanish Chorizo sausage pizza and out final wine.

Best

It was the best tasting wine of the night – Campo Viejo Gran Reserva – and well it should have been as it retails at the NLC for $32.99 (that’s $11.70 more than the Reserva and $15.40 more than the Crianza. It was an impressive wine – bigger, deeper flavours (plum, smoke, chocolate) – as well as smooth and sophisticated. The Gran Reserva had spent 24 months aging in oak and 36 months in the bottle. It did an admirable job of taming the robust, spicy flavours of the Chorizo pizza. The result was an entirely satisfactory dining experience.

December 24, 2011

Dining Out

Karl Wells

Bamboo Garden

252 Duckworth St.

Ph. 726-7802

Old shoe comfortable is how I’d describe Bamboo Garden. When I’m there I feel like I’m in somebody’s home kitchen, sharing food they’ve just made for themselves. It’s also not the kind of place where you feel a need to be dressed up. Old gnarly sweaters, ball caps and jeans are welcome. Tables covered with homey patterned cloths are a comfy fit for four. Drinking Pepsi from a can is just fine.

My friend John, who happens to be crazy about Bamboo Garden, invited me there for a meal the other night. Unfortunately, I was 15 minutes late because an Ice Caps hockey game sucked up all the downtown parking. Anyhow, I got there just as everyone was flipping the tabs of their Pepsi cans.  

 “You pick”

A menu had been saved for me but I set it aside. “You pick,” I said to John. “Since you love this place I want to taste what you like here.” He looked at me as if my suggestion were some kind of test. More accurately I think he was afraid he’d pick something I didn’t like. He needn’t have been concerned. I tend to like everything as long as it’s fresh and properly cooked.

It was a cold damp night so I was happy we started with a huge steaming bowl of hot sweet and sour soup. It took pride of place at the centre of our window table. A fragrant brown broth with hints of soy, sesame, garlic and ginger held a load of crisp, colourful veggies: green onions, carrots and red cabbage. Chinese cookery involves plenty of slicing and dicing. Bamboo Garden’s soup was testament to that. Was it worth the effort? Absolutely.

Next we tried some slippery, steamed shrimp dumplings with ginger root and green onions. The faintly sauced dumplings were light and delicate and contained just enough shrimp filling to tease. As an appetizer they worked perfectly. I just wanted to keep on eating. Things got a little spicier with the mapo style tofu dish. This was a mixture of soft tofu cubes, onions, sweet peppers, bean sauce and pepper. In my opinion it’s one of the better tofu recipes. 

Poultry

We moved to poultry. I very much enjoyed a stir-fry of onions and sweet peppers that included plenty of tender, plump morsels of white chicken. It was bright and fresh. Next was a deep, dark, heavily flavoured dish of stir-fried roast pork in hoisin with slivers of onion and peppers. This dish had real smoky roast flavours.  It was also a tad peppery and sweet.

A bowl of baby bok choy was served in a buttery tasting sauce. The texture of the vegetable was perfect – cooked to hold its shape and not mushy. Finally, we enjoyed a dish that was the proverbial “meal in itself.” The meaty offering contained slices of beef intermingled with flat noodles, onions and peppers in black bean sauce. It was very filling and very good. Everything was delicious. Our Chinese feast was well worth the slight aggravation of not being able to find a parking spot earlier in the evening. Next time I’ll just take a cab.

Rating:

* * *           

Price:

Meal for two with tax and tip – $52.00 (approx.)

Sound level:

Low

Wheelchair Access:

No

* Fair  * * Good  * * * Excellent  * * * * Exceptional

Dec. 17, 2011

Dining Out

Karl Wells

 A glass of Blass

When Australian Chris Hatcher made the decision to become a winemaker he knew he’d failed as a Methodist. Methodists do not condone alcohol, gambling or immoral acts. “I passed on two of them,” he told me with a twinkle, “but failed on one.” 

The fascination with the straw and ruby hued liquids carefully trapped inside those elaborately labelled, tall bottles began when Hatcher – or “Hatch” as friends call him – was 12 years of age. His then 22-year-old sister had won a bottle of sparkling wine. The bottle sat in the family’s cellar for years. Because he’d been warned off the grape by his devout parents, the bottle’s contents became ever more intriguing to him. 

 Today Chris Hatcher is winemaker for Australia’s Wolf Blass Wines, one of the most successful brands on the planet. During his recent visit to Canada we arranged to meet and chat about Wolf Blass Wines. The venue was The Gypsy Tea Room. I thought the choice slightly ironic since for years, as a former NLC outlet, the building housed thousands of bottles of wine, including most of the Wolf Blass portfolio.

 3 wines

Hatcher had brought along 3 wines for us to sample with dishes quickly whipped up by the expert cooks at The Gypsy Tea Room. First was a brand new wine, Wolf Blass Yellow Label Sparkling. (Available here even before it’s available in Australia.)

 The Yellow Label range is one of Wolf Blass Winery’s less expensive lines. (There’s Red, Yellow, Gold and the premiums: Grey, Black and Platinum.) Yellow Label was created as a way to provide consumers with a wine featuring “quality, character and consistency” that wouldn’t break the bank for customers but would generate lots of revenue for the company. And, it certainly has. Yellow Label has been wildly successful, especially in Canada and more specifically here in Newfoundland.

Yellow Label Sparkling is a party time bubbly economically priced at below $20. You know it’s not Veuve or Moet but there is quality in the bottle, as you’ll find with many Wolf Blass wines. For pleasant quaffing at a holiday gathering I recommend it.

 A plate arrived with scallops aioli – a long narrow moat held fresh aioli into which sank a line of fat, succulent ocean scallops.  Chris Hatcher recommended I next try the Wolf Blass Gold Label 08 Riesling. He described it this way.

 “It’s quite elegant. It has a nice acid balance, not sweet and cloying. It’s dry. It’s the type of wine you can just sit around and enjoy. You don’t have to have anything with it. In Australia it would be a nice Saturday afternoon sit-around-the-pool type wine.”

Affordable

Again, I felt it had quality for an affordable (a byword at Wolf Blass) wine that should never be confused with, say, Alsace Grand Cru Riesling. I tasted a piece of scallop with the Gold Label but neither the wine nor the scallop seemed very happy with the coupling. Hatcher was right. It’s a wine for lounging and sipping.

Speaking of white wine, it is a fact that Chris Hatcher has built his considerable reputation as a maker of “white” wines. He’s also not shy about expressing his opinion that white wines are much more difficult to make successfully.

“Well, the thing is, and red wine guys don’t like me saying this, you need a lot more attention to detail when you’re making white wine. I think it’s one of those products that, particularly with something like Riesling, where you really need to express the vineyard wholly and solely. And if you get it wrong as a winemaker it really shows. Where with red wine you’ve got some other things involved like oak and the maturity of the wine. It’s probably more forgiving than white wine.

I’m very anal. I’m very sold on detail and I think that that’s an important attribute. I think white wine is more intellectual. There are certain white wines where you make a mistake and it will show, whereas, with red wine, it takes 6 months of aging. With white you’re aging in oak for maybe a month or so. In white wine the vineyard is absolute. It’s the quality of the fruit. You either get that right or wrong. If you get it wrong you can’t do anything with it. With red wine you can do a bit more through the wine making process. So white wine is more of a challenge.”

Showstopper

With the arrival of Brie en croûte and a handsome grilled chicken salad Chris Hatcher opened his satchel and pulled out a showstopper of a wine, Wolf Blass Black Label 04 Cab/Shiraz/Malbec. This iconic wine drank beautifully. I grinned from ear to ear. Hatcher smiled. My first thought was, “Chris Hatcher, you make damn good red wine too.” It was the most complex wine I tasted; rich, full bodied, chocolatety, with hints of plum and blackberry. 2004 must have been a very good year in Oz.

 As I enjoyed some of the Brie and grilled chicken with the Black Label – a delightful match by the way – Chris Hatcher took the opportunity to speak candidly about the main purpose of his visit to Canada.

 “There’s a thinking that Wolf Blass makes Yellow Label and therefore doesn’t make any premium wines. That’s one of the reasons I’m here is to show people that there are other wines in the Wolf Blass portfolio. In Australia people know the wines right across the portfolio. The success of Yellow Label here has kind of overshadowed the rest of the portfolio. Platinum and Black will sit with wines that are double the price. We benchmark our wines all the time. We actually have an external panel and they benchmark our wines for us independently. Black Label 2005 last year won the best wine exported out of Australia. There’s 70 or 80 wines exported and, if you think of all the quality labels we were up against, that in itself says it’s not a bad wine.”

No sir, not bad at all.

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