Category Archives: salumi

Nook~Quite Possibly The Best Pizza In The West End

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Nook is a place that I’ve had the pleasure of dining at more than a couple of times and is a favorite of mine if I’m looking for a solid authentic pizza or if I’m in need of great Italian comfort food and don’t want to travel out of my neighborhood to get it.

I’ve had the dueling burrata platter here~it’s how I was introduced to burrata at Nook, I don’t have a picture of it but it’s a piece of Californian burrata on a nice prosciutto topped crustini and drizzled with nice fruity evoo, there is a nice heirloom tomato salad in the middle of the plate that is lightly dressed with balsamic and more of that awesome evoo and then you get a piece of Italian burrata with the same toppings as the other crustini so it really is all about the cheese with this plate.  At $18 it’s a plate built for 2 to share but f you’re a burrata lover like myself I usually order it for my appy when I feel like indulging.

Nook is known for their thin crust Neapolitan style pizza and were making it before the craze hit Vancouver, The crust is thin and has that nice chew to it that you expect with great Italian pizza.

The classic Margherita pizza here is a solid choice and for $13 it’s a great value.  The tangy tomato sauce and creamy cheese is a pizza lovers dream and the fresh basil is one of my favorite toppings here~I really love how they put a good amount basil and having it cut like this adds to the perfect basil dispersion~it’s a pet peeve of mine when I get a Margherita pizza and there are only 2 or 3 whole leaves on my pie.

Nook’s version of the prosciutto pizza has the arugula on the bottom and the freshly sliced prosciutto is placed on right before service so for $15 it’s another good value.  This pizza definitely is a rich tasting pizza and will fill you up, they have some good chili oil that is great drizzle to help break the richness of the pizza.  On both pizza the bottom is charred nicely but still has some bend to it.

I’m happy that Nook has been able to cement its place in the neighborhood offering something that you can’t get anyplace in the West End and is a place I am happy to recommend to my friends and anyone in search of a great meal.

Nook doesn’t take reservations so its first come first served, they are also Zagat Rated and you can check out there page on the Zagat website by clicking here.

Nook on Urbanspoon

Dirty Apron Deli and Cooking School

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The Dirty Apron is one of the more unique places to grab lunch in the downtown area. Nico and Karri Schuermans~the owners of Chambar and Cafe Medina have combined a deli of fine meats and cheese’s, ready to eat freshly made sandwiches and salads, a hot carvery and a gourmet grocery store all in one but to cap it off the also have a great cooking school with a variety of classes all in one cleverly designed space.

Great meats

Killer sandwiches

Tempting baked goods

The seating is communal at long tables and the have their house made chili sambal oil for you to jazz up your food if you like to.

I went with one of the baguette sandwiches~roasted chicken, arugula and sun-dried tomatoes with grana padano Parmesan and pesto mayo.  They make their bread fresh all through out the day in small batches so whenever you get your sandwich have no worry~you bread is usually no more than an hour old.  There was two halves to this sandwich and it was wrapped up nicely in paper, the chicken was moist and tender and all the ingredients worked well together.

I also got some of their fresh salads, they sell them on a /100 gram rate that’s around $3.50 (ish).  I went split it up choice wise seeing everything was the same price so the hardest thing was choosing what to get out of the 6 different choices.

This is a Brussel sprout salad with prosciutto and broccoli.  It was a nice fresh salad and the sprouts were cooked nicely but still crisp but without that cabbage taste, one thing I wish there was more of was the prosciutto.

The Mediterranean couscous was the other salad I got, it was a brightly flavored salad with the roasted red pepper and roasted onion being a balance to the vinaigrette.

With my sandwich and salad~I bought 100 grams of each my bill was around $17 with tax, seeing it’s really fresh great quality food the price is justified and I’ll totally be back.

Dirty Apron on Urbanspoon

An Afternoon Of Eating and Drinking Notturno Paninoteca’s New Menu

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Some big things have changed since my first post about Notturno~they’ve got their liquor license now and have fully opened for lunch and dinner service with a selection of great wines, beers and a bigger menu full of delish creations from Chef Adrian.

I was invited by the owner to come by and try some of these new treats and I ended up finding one of my new favorite beers so it was a winning day of great food, awesome restaurant talk and delish beer and Italian soda’s that would make your Nonna smile!

The menu has been expanded to include salumi plates, salads, brushette and of course their great panini’s.

A wine and beer menu has also been added, it’s posted on the wall and changes periodically~the guy’s at Notturno aren’t trying to carry every choice out there booze wise and are concentrating on great drinkable wines that also wont break the bank.

This is one of my new favorite beers, it’s from Spain and would never had been on my radar, the Estrella Damm INEDIT, it’s a unique coupage of barley malt and wheat, flavored with coriander, orange peel and liquorice.  It really did compliment the dishes I had and was a pleasure to drink~I see many more bottles of this in my future.

“Inedit is the first beer specifically created to accompany food. It is born from the conviction that a beer that could be paired with the utmost respect to the best cuisine was necessary. That is its aim and its virtue, and that is what makes Inedit different, special and unique.”

It’s the only beer that I’ve heard of that suggests keeping the open bottle in an ice bucket between glass refills and also it’s best served in a wine glass, it’s on the menu here for $16 but we got 4 generous servings out of one bottle.

They also have brought in a line of premium Italian soda’s from Abbodino, there are 2 variety’s that they carry, I tried the orange flavor and it was just like drinking a carbonated orange, totally refreshing and a nice change from the San Pellegrino brand that I usually have.

This is the selection of bruschette that I had

The Crudo~fresh Albacore tuna crudo, chili aioli, cucumber and balsamic pearls.  It was like a tuna salad that mom couldn’t make!, the spice wasn’t too strong from the chili aioli and the balsamic pearls bursting in your mouth were a great touch.

The Fico~Blue cheese aioli, black olive, walnut and fresh greens.  The same ingredients that they have in the Fico panini but just in a smaller bite sized form, the blue cheese aioli and the walnuts compliment each other beautifully and the black olive added that nice salty hit.

The Tartufo Di Capra~Black truffle goat cheese, fresh greens and topped with tomato pearls.  This was one of my favorites, the predominate flavor is yummy black truffles and the goat cheese is nice and creamy~the perfect touch to the truffle and the tomato pearls add that fresh acidic touch to break up the big flavors.

The Anatra~Duck prosciutto, goat cheese and arugula.  The star of this bad boy was the duck prosciutto, it’s a nice meaty bite and was a pleasure to eat, I’ve had duck prosciutto before at a fine dining restaurant and really loved it.  If you’re not a duck fan but like prosciutto try this~it’s nice and meaty but not in a gamey way.

Since I have a love of beets I had to try their Radice Insalata, it had beets, seasonal vegetables, taleggio cheese and a walnut vinaigrette.  This was another hit and if you like beet salads this is for you!, the seasonal veg in this case was root vegetables like carrots and also yellow beets, green beans and the walnuts are ground up and put in the dressing so you get that nutty flavor in every bite.

To round things out i went with the ever so popular Calabrese Panini, it has spicy capicollo, spicy sopressata, salami, spicy pickled eggplant, provolone and goat cheese.  For $9.50 its a great value seeing all the top quality salumi, the meats weren’t too spicy tho and the goat cheese really rounded out the big flavors.

From what I got to sample I think the larger menu is going to be a hit and is already proving to be pretty popular.  Notturno is participating in the Vancouver Foodster Tasting Plates event coming up on Feb 15, 2012 along with a bunch of other great restaurants, they will be featuring the Crudo, Tartufo Di Capra and Fico brushette as their offering for the event, if you want to buy tickets to the event and see a complete line up of participating restaurants and menus please click here.

**Note of disclosure~all my food samples were provided free by Notturno and also my drinks were covered also, I was invited to try some items and wasn’t expected to write a post~I’m doing it because everything kicked butt and I wanted to spread the good food news.**

Notturno Paninoteca on Urbanspoon

Viva La Rocca Dining Experience

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The guy’s over at VANEATS.ca really are making it a Delish December and it’s not going to be one to forget. The 3rd dining experience offered up by VANEATS.ca is at the La Rocca Italian Restaurant on Commercial Drive in East Vancouver and it’s appropriately named “Viva La Rocca!”

“La Rocca, located in the heart of multi-ethnic Commercial Drive, has been providing authentic Italian Cuisine since 1986.

Discover homemade fresh taste with La Rocca’s timeless food creations. The aesthetic atmosphere is serene, with an artistic architectural design and Italian decor.”

It is with great pleasure to congratulate La Rocca on their Silver Anniversary! After 25 years in the making since 1986, La Rocca is nothing short of a classic, well prepared Italian dining experience that encourages one to “mangia mangia”! La Rocca is known as a hidden gem in the Commercial Drive area. You can expect a cozy atmosphere to share with your family or a romantic nook for an intimate date. To compliment the European decor and architectural design, a variety of live music from latin guitar to jazz is often played on weekends under candle light dinner.

This time around VANEATS.ca have put together a 4 course dining pass for 2 that includes some new menu offerings and some of La Rocca’s best classic dishes off the menu for $28, the dining pass goes on sale December 8th,2011 to January 8th,2012 and package’s are limited and sell out really fast~it’s a great price and would make a great gift with the holidays coming up.

The guy’s at VANEATS.ca hooked me up with a complementary dining pass and I was happy to get to try out this dining package before it hit the streets, I took @MaryInVancity along with me to check out this experience.

We were served complementary homemade focaccia bread with balsamic and olive oil for dipping, it was soft and flavorful and was the perfect vessel for the next course and the 1st up in the Viva La Rocca package:

We began with a delicious appetizer, Prosciutto Marinato e Arancia, Italian ham marinated in herbs, with orange and thinly sliced garlic, delicately drizzled with olive oil. What is there not to love about a thinly sliced melt in your mouth pork product!, now pair it with the citrus from the orange and delish olive oil and you have killer app- appetizer that is!, this is where the bread came in handy to deliver this to our salivating mouths.  This is one of the new dishes added by Chef Guzman to the menu.

Next up on the menu is the pasta course, Fettuccine con Gamberi, tiger prawns in a light cream sauce.  This was a good pasta, the shrimp were cooked nicely and the fettuccine was al dente.  The sauce was creamy but not cheesy so it went with the prawns really well.

The meat course is next up, Pollo Ripieno al Marsala, chicken breast stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and basil, in the famous sweet Marsala wine sauce and sided with a nice wedge of grilled Radicchio Rosso.  This was my favorite item of the night, the chicken was moist and the sauce and filling totally complimented each other, the savouriness of the sauce balanced out sweetness of the sun-dried tomato filling.  The radicchio was grilled but still maintained some of the bitterness is known for and it was drizzled with a balsamic reduction that added a sweet touch.

Lastly we ended our meal with their Homemade Tiramisu, espresso drenched cake layers with a mouth-watering Mascarpone cheese mousse, topped with a dusting of cocoa.  This was a solid tiramisu and was a generous portion for two, the creamy filling and soft cake were great yet very light.  The plate was decorated with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and chocolate covered espresso beans garnished the plate.

We had a great time checking out La Rocca and the “Viva La Rocca” dining pass from VANEATS.ca, check out the details below if you would like to win yourself a Viva La Rocca Dining Pass:

They want to hear from you! As food enthusiasts, we are always eager to hear from fellow foodies! For the VIVA LA ROCCA contest, you enter by telling them which dish appeals to you most.

How to Enter
Entering the contest is easy. Complete one of the following two options and you’re entered to win 1 of 4 VIVA LA ROCCA dining passes! Complete both options and you’re entered in the draw twice!

Option 1

1) “Like” them on Facebook – (facebook.com/VANEATS)
2) Visit the VIVA LA ROCCA Facebook Album.
3) Tag yourself in the photo with the dish (or dishes) that appealed to you the most and comment to tell them why.

Option 2

1)Follow them on Twitter (twitter.com/VANEATSca)
2)Retweet the following: Win 1 of 4 dining passes for #VIVALAROCCA! http://ow.ly/7DFIo from @VANEATSca and La Rocca #DELISHDECEMBER

That’s it! Come back every Friday and Monday between November 18 and November 28 to the VANEATS.ca blog find out if you’re a winner!, the link can be found by clicking here .

Contest draw dates: November 25, November 28, December 2nd and December 5th, 2011.

VIVA LA ROCCA dining passes are redeemable only between December 8 – January 8, 2011.

La Rocca Ristorante Italiano on Urbanspoon

Cento Notti

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Cento Notti is the new restaurant in the Opus Hotel in Yaletown, it replaces the vivid and bold 100 Nights space and the decor is equally eye catching and appropriate for the modern Italian menu.

Executive Chef Paul Marshall is really making magic in the kitchen, pretty much everything is made in house including the burrata cheese in my salad I had and sourcing form local farms your getting the freshest ingredients turned into spectacular dishes.

I stopped in at lunch time and what caught my eye outside was the $35 three course dinner menu, I asked the server if I could possible get that menu for lunch and it wasn’t a problem at all.

San Pellegrino $7.95

Burrata Salad-vine-ripened tomato, basil, olive oil.  I’m a sucker for burrata and when I see it on a menu I have to try it, usually burrata comes from Italy and it’s highly perishable so freshness is key, at Cento Notti they make theirs from scratch everyday and one of the few to do so in Vancouver.  The cheese was creamy and sweet combined with the balsamic and tomatoes it was a match made in heaven.

Porcini Risoto-fresh thyme,Grana Padano Parmesian and a balsamic port reduction.  Who can so no to risotto with porcini!, it’s traditional Italian with a modern twist with the reduction.  My bowl of risotto was rich and creamy like a great risotto should be, the mushroom flavor was earthy and meaty and the cheese melted into my dish.

Chocolate Panna Cotta-Roasted strawberry’s and a kalamata olive infused fig jam.  I was curious about how roasted strawberry’s would taste but what blew me away was the olive jam~olives with the chocolate was totally weird and at first I thought it was balsamic in the jam~I never would have thought olive, it was totally delicious, the panna cotta was rich and creamy and the strawberry’s were still firm~I thought they would turn to mush from the roasting.

I’m already looking forward to my next meal at Cento Notti and with the Taste Of Yaletown coming up I think it’s going to be on my list.

Cento Notti on Urbanspoon

Nicli Antica Pizzeria

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The Gastown area is filled with eateries that cover almost every part of the globe food type wise, some are tourist traps and some are real places that will want you to come back for more and I’m happy to say lately with the area going through its changes a lot more places that will keep you coming back are becoming the norm.

Nicli Antica Pizzeria opened this year and has been a success from the start, there doing traditional Neapolitan or Naples style pizza~thin yet chewy crust, primo ingredients and wood oven fired make it as close to Italy as you can get.  There the only place to be VPN Certified in Vancouver.

The interior is bright and beautiful and there is tons of light from the white glossy finishes in the space, pops of color come from the bar and the food that’s for sure.

The menu is pretty precise~pizzas and a couple of salads with a large Italian wine list and a cocktail selection, I went with a couple salads~there are 3 but one of them is basically a antipasto platter so I stuck with the other two they had and I also had a couple pizza’s so let’s get on to the food shall we!

Insalata $9, baby red romaine leaves with yellow tomatoes grana padano parmesan, sweet balsamic and Partanna olive oil dressing.  This was a good salad but I would have rather had a mix or just another type of tomatoes~yellow tomatoes are generally very low acid and this needed a more tart type of tomato.

Insalata Di Patate $12, green baby romaine lettuce, arugula, baby potatoes and candy cane beets, fresh corn with a creamy quince dressing.  I really enjoyed this salad a lot, it remedied me of a potato salad with sweet beets and the corn and  quince dressing gave a great sweetness and creaminess to the dish.

You get rosemary and chili oil to add to your pizza if you want, I’ve heard the chili oil packs quite the punch.

The Funghi $14, pomodoro, parmigiano, fior di latte, funghi and basil.  Mushroom pizza should all be like this!, the mix of shrooms were nice and soft yet not over powering and the fior di latte is nice and creamy.  The sauce here isn’t nearly as sweet as Verace’s pizza but one thing I’d say across the board is that more basil is needed~it adds such a nice flavor contrast.

The Bufala di Margherita $16, pomordoro, Parmesan, mozzarella di bufafa, fresh basil and drizzled with primo EVOO.  This is pizza marghertia taken to the next level, the star here is the bufala di mozzarella, it’s so rich and creamy and the richness was cut nicely with the pomodoro sauce.

Pizzeria Nicli Antica should be checked out for sure, one thing to keep in mind is that they get super busy in the evening s if you’re looking for a quick meal check them out for lunch or in the early evening and you should be in for a treat!.

Nicli Antica Pizzeria on Urbanspoon