Far and Away...

It’s been a while since the last time I posted, for good reason too. I was on a little trip to the Pacific Northwest, for no reason other than to enjoy great food, beautiful scenery, and fun on a farm! My beau J. and I made stops in Vancouver, Victoria, and Whistler British Colombia as well as some places in the States (Rochester, WA…Seattle, WA…Portland, OR…Port Angeles, WA…Forks, WA…oh boy are my feet are tired)! Needless to say our vacation wasn’t for rest and relaxation. The two of us are a couple of jetsetters taking all modes of transportation (think Planes, Trains, and Automobiles…and throw in a couple of ferries for good measure). But all that traveling was well worth it and I’ll tell you why.

We enjoyed an abundance of scrumptious food including fresh produce, the best mussels I’ve ever had, and curry from the place Mark Bittman reviewed as “easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world.” By far the most memorable meal of all was consumed not in a five star restaurant or prepared by a Michelin star recipient. It was a meal I ate at a farmhouse owned by my friends Tom and Annie and was made from the fresh produce picked that evening on their farm. How cool is that!

The best restaurant prepared meal, however, would have to be the last meal we had in Vancouver at a restaurant called Chambar. They specialize in Belgian cuisine and beer but their menu is quite eclectic. For a starter J. and I shared the seared scallops, smoked kurobuta pork cheek, pickled green beans & horseradish vinaigrette. This dish definitely made us ready for more delicious food! The combination of tastes on that plate were so perfect, the lushness of the scallops combined with the salty pork and tangy horseradish and green beans. My mouth is watering as I’m writing this, just FYI. For the main course I had the mussels cooked in white wine butter, braised celery and leeks served with pomme frites. I wish I could go back in time so I could savor those wonderful shellfish again and again; they were perfectly cooked and plump and flavorful, absolutely unforgettable! (But since I’m not H. G. Wells I’ll have to recount my meal from memory only, boo!) And the broth was so lovely I could have picked up the “caldron-esque” serving dish the mussels arrived in and devour the broth’s richness in one gulp. Unfortunately, we chose not to get dessert (our stomachs were at their limit) but I would have to say that’s my one and only regret, I could kick myself for not indulging further. Oh well, C'est la vie!

I have had some pretty wonderful meals but I made sure to prepare myself for the best Indian experience of my life. Locals and tourist alike will wait in line for hours and hours, enduring rain, sleet, and snow for a seat at Vij’s, the world-famous Indian restaurant. I think that’s why my disappointment resonated so copiously. Don’t misunderstand, the food was delicious but I think I built up the meal so much in my head that I was expecting fireworks or something. J.’s dish was stellar and well worth our 5-minute wait (hint: we walked in for a late dinner at 9:30 pm and didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes…good plan!). He ordered the lamb popsicles in a yellow curry sauce that was really tasty. I on the other hand ordered the spot prawns in a coconut-lemon curry and I felt like it was missing something, it wasn’t as flavorful as the lamb and my shrimp were really salty. Perhaps I ordered the wrong dish or maybe the chef was having an off day, whatever the reason Vij’s is still worth a try and I’ll be going back for seconds!