the dining diva

grilled jerk chicken

Catching up with friends over dinner is probably my favourite thing to do. And luckily, I have friends who are not afraid to try new restaurants. So when Candace and I scheduled a catch-up over dinner, I immediately began scouring my mental list of places I wanted to try.

A few friends had been to Revel in Gastown, and aside from knowing they’re the place that serves hot-out-of-the-oven cookies at closing time, I hadn’t heard much about them. I quickly scanned their menu online and it seemed like a good locale for Candace and I.

Revel is located in the heart of Gastown, which seems to be the hottest spot to open a restaurant these days. They’ve been around for over a year now and seem to be a popular spot for a late-night bite, as their kitchen is open until 1:30 a.m. But seeing that Candace and I were meeting at 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, we obviously didn’t get a chance to experience that scene.

The space is an eclectic mix of modern and retro – and the music reflects that. I think the music went from rock to electronic to indie all in the course of one night.

It was pretty quiet when we arrived, but I suppose that’s to be expected on a rainy Tuesday in November after work. We may have took a while to decide on a wine, but our server was not afraid to jump in every few minutes to see if we had made a decision. We finally decided on a bottle of wine, only to be told minutes later that they had run out. What is with my bad luck of ordering bottles of sold-out wine these days?

Our second choice, the Adobe Sauvignon Blanc, arrived without incident. It was probably a little too fruity for my taste, but maybe that was also because it was cold and dreary outside.

As we decided that we were both going to order mains, we chose the Spanish Merienda to start, which is marinated olives, cheese, spiced nuts, and sliced baguette.

During this time, we alternated between two servers who were either bored or not communicating to whom we belonged to. Each time one of them showed up at our table, they seemed confused that the other had already been there. Better than no service at all, I suppose.

spanish merienda

A merienda is a midday meal had in Spain to fill in the meal gap between lunch and dinner. I liked the concept. Besides, any time you can incorporate cheese, nuts and olives into your meal, it’s good to me.

The plate arrived with two small pieces of baguette, one small piece of cheese, six olives and a bunch of nuts – spicy almonds, roasted chickpeas and seasoned hazelnuts. The olives were delicious and cured in-house. But I only had three of them. The cheese was tasty, but that was also maybe two bites. So I filled up on the nuts.

The hazelnuts were basically tasteless, while the chickpeas burst when you bit them and had the consistency of sawdust. I only ate them because I was so hungry. The spicy almonds were good and definitely had a subtle kick to them.

We both decided that we needed something substantial for our main, and both ordered the grilled jerk chicken, which came with coconut rice and beans, coleslaw, and was topped with a mango puree.

The chicken was delicious. The spice wasn’t overpowering and the mango puree added a nice sweetness to the dish. The coconut rice and beans was also sweet, but packed with coconut flavour. The “coleslaw” was just shredded cabbage and onions. I only ate it because I was so hungry.

Was I impressed with the food at Revel? Not particularly. But would I go again for drinks or a late-night bite? Probably.

Revel has a casual feel to it that seems to be more appropriate for hanging out after the movies or getting together with a bunch of friends. But given the amazing selection of restaurants in Gastown, I’d choose to spend my money on dinner somewhere else. Somewhere where I didn’t have to eat something just because I was so hungry.

Revel
238 Abbott Street
Vancouver | BC
604.687.4088
revelroom.ca

mussels and clams

There’s a reason Seattle is included as a chapter in Douglas Copeland’s City of Glass. Trips to Seattle are as much a part of being a Vancouverite as loving sushi and yogawear. So when my friend, Pat, and I felt restless and hungry for a little getaway, Seattle was the obvious choice.

The day started with another mecca for Vancouverites: the Seattle Premium Outlets. And after a morning of power shopping on a gorgeous, sunny day, we were ready for some beer and food.

We checked into our hotel, the lovely Sheraton Seattle – thanks to a fabulous deal on Priceline – and headed down to Pike Place Market.

I had only been to Seattle once before, so maybe my memory of the market was skewed, but I was sure there were some restaurants or pubs with a water view, a la Granville Island. Nope. There wasn’t. If you know of any, please let me know, ‘cause we certainly couldn’t find any.

What we did find was Copacabana Café, which essentially looks over the market and has some water views from the patio – and was voted by Seattle Weekly as Best Irresistible Outdoor Seating.

It was a little bit difficult to find an appetizer on the menu that wasn’t soup or a salad, so we settled on the mussels and clams – and a couple of Dos Equis for good measure.

I’ve had my fair share of good mussels – the best, of course, being in Spain. But being one of my favourite foods, it actually doesn’t take much to impress me when it comes to mussels.

I wasn’t impressed. The broth is the key to good mussels, and this broth had little flavour to it. I think it was supposed to be white wine and butter, but it tasted more like diluted chicken broth. Some of the mussels didn’t open – which is a huge pet peeve of mine. The clams were okay, but nothing special. And there were only four little pieces of white baguette to sop up the juices – but hey – I wasn’t all that interested in the flavourless broth anyhow.

With tax and tip, our bill came to about $40 CAD – and for two bottles of beer and some mediocre mussels and clams, I’d say forget the view and find somewhere with at least good tasting food.

Copacabana Cafe
1520 1/2 Pike Place
Seattle | WA
206.622.6359