the dining diva

berkshire pork belly

It had been a while since my friend, Melanie, and I had hung out. So I proposed a night of good food, great wine, and some good old fashioned gossip. Since visiting Purple Café and Wine Bar in Seattle, I had flights of wine on the brain. So when I read that r.tl (Regional Tasting Lounge) in Yaletown was doing just that, I knew it would be the perfect venue for my wine-loving friend and I.

I think I’m personally beginning to finally see the effects of the economy on Vancouver restaurants. We had made a reso for seven, and when I met Melanie (late because of the stupid last Friday of the month bike ride), there were only two other tables full.

No matter. Mel and I had a lot of food and wine to get through. Here’s the concept of r.tl: change the regional focus of the menu every three months or so – two different international regions and the third is always BC. When we went, it was Portugal and France.

It was definitely difficult to choose our small plates (no entrees on their menu), as it really all looked so good. We finally settled on oak barrel smoked breast of magret duck, pork alentejana and papas Portuguese.

That seemed to be the easy part. Then there were the wines to choose. After starring blindly at the menu, we called over sommelier and operations manager, Alain Canuel.

wine flight

We told him what we were having and he suggested three wines to go with the dishes: a pinot gris from Kettle Valley in BC to start, Vinzelo Tinto from Portugal to go with the duck and a cabernet sauvignon from Blackwood Lane in BC to go with the pork alentejana.

The pinot was a nice way to start off the meal: crisp and refreshing on a warm night. Soon enough, the duck breast arrived. I think I expected it to be warm, but instead it was cold. Nonetheless, it was delicious. The duck is smoked in-house and served with a small, three-grape salad and crunchy walnuts.

Then, bad news: they were out of the pork alentejana. We decided to try their fresh steamed mussels, which were served that day in a spinach cream sauce. Alain was kind enough to bring us another taster of wine to go with that dish: Director’s Cut Chardonnay from Francis Ford Coppola winery (buttery smooth with hints of vanilla).

The mussels were a bit of a surprise. I don’t think it really mattered what they were served with, as we are both huge fans of mussels (as I’ve mentioned before). The mussels were fresh and juicy (and all of them were open – a huge pet peeve of mine when they’re not. Why serve me mussels that I can’t eat?). The spinach sauce was definitely different – not in a bad way – I’d just never had mussels like that before. The whole thing was finished with a sprinkling of basil, which complimented the sweetness of the plump mussels.

papas Portuguese

I know it’s bad to say one of our favourite dishes was the papas Portuguese, but I really think potatoes are an unsung food. A staple in any kitchen and can be done up any way imaginable, but when done right, potatoes are sometimes just the thing the soul needs. I can imagine coming in for a plate of these and a glass of the Coppola Chardonnay after a day of shopping, a prelude to a night out or after a night of dancing and dining. These were crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and paired with the sweet smoked paprika aioli, they resembled French fries gone gourmet.

We were still a bit hungry and we still had a glass of wine left – the Blackwood Lane cabernet sauvignon. We decided to do things a bit backwards and called Alain over to suggest a dish to go with the wine. He suggested the Berkshire pork belly – which we had been eyeing anyhow.

mussels

The pork was served with hibiscus braised purple cabbage, cipollini onions and a braeburn apple compote. The skin of the pork was crispy and combined with the sweet onions, gave a nice textural contrast to the velvety-smooth meat. I’m telling you – this was the best thing we had all night (and as Alain confirmed later – the most popular). The purple cabbage (which, in my opinion, should only ever be served cooked), finished the dish off to make it a bit sweet and sour. And just as Alain suggested, the Blackwood Lane cabernet sauvignon was a great compliment to the pork.

r.tl is a typically gorgeous Yaletown room, and small enough for the servers to have their eyes on you at all times. Our server was never intrusive, despite the fact that she probably didn’t have too much to do, as the restaurant wasn’t too busy. And I liked that the staff presented each dish when it arrived and gave you a chance to ask questions.

But for Melanie and I, the service highlight was definitely Alain. You could tell he personally carefully selected each wine with the menu in mind. And we appreciated his choices – he didn’t automatically jump to the most expensive on the menu (although most glasses by the flight are around the same price).

I was relieved to see the restaurant was filling out by the time we left (seriously – does no one in this town eat before nine these days?), and it’s a shame we were too stuffed for desert.

smoked breast of magret duck

But no matter – r.tl is a restaurant you could easily visit every few months and never be bored. I just hope this hidden gem doesn’t end up another unfortunate victim of this terrible economy. Because great service, food and value like r.tl’s are somewhat of an anomaly these days…

Regional Tasting Lounge
1130 Mainland Street
Vancouver | BC
604.638.1550
r.tl