Menu’s chicken is a confit with pomegranate syrup and summer cassoulet, while halibut is all about a wonderful piece of fish
Mia Stainsby
Sun
On False Creek the sailboat halyards are slapping, the sweet sun is making its slow descent to the horizon. It’s a glorious Vancouver moment. Then I notice some weird Hitchcockian thing.
Murders of crows, flying in one direction. This odyssey of masses of the black birds continues for the duration of my meal. Curious, I go online afterwards. Crows, it seems, sleep communally and, at dusk, up to 10,000 of them, scattered during the day, head to their roost in Burnaby, near Willingdon and the freeway exit, where they blacken the sky as they prepare to hit the sack.
I spent a good part of one of my meals at this lovely little bistro in awe, with head tilted skyward, witnessing this amazing daily journey, reflecting on how little I know of bird life, except that the crows that have been awakening me at 5 a.m. recently, with their raucous cawing outside the house.
Back on the ground, I was noticing something, too. Ocean 6 Seventeen recently regrouped, with Sean Cousins becoming part owner and chef. It is now a perfect little neighbourhood bistro, only the ‘hood in this case will stretch far and wide with Cousins taking charge.
He is former chef at Raincity Grill and sous chef at C and, most recently, chef at the Vancouver Club. His menu imparts clues. It says he’s accomplished, beyond needing to prove himself, and he cuts to the chase — great ingredients, nurtured to be at their best. There’s no verbal flamboyance. The menu reads: Chicken. Halibut. Salmon. Tuna. Beef. Pasta. And so on. Underneath, there’s a brief description of ingredients.
He calls it bistro food, which it is and it isn’t. Bistro cooking doesn’t have such clean edges or tastes or refined techniques. But Cousins’ food is certainly accessible and affordable, with dinner mains costing $17 to $27.
The fact that some regulars come in for lunch and dinner on the same day would attest to that.
“Scallop” is a tidy assemblage — a disc of baby potato salad crowned with slices of scallop ceviche, the plate dotted with tiny cubes of pancetta. Crab comes up as a dynamite roll, lightly battered and lightly deepfried. Squid, battered and deepfried, looks like origami. Boar is encased in wuntun and served in a broth — maybe better suited for cold weather.
Chicken (organic) is a confit with pomegranate syrup and a summer cassoulet. The trout is fileted, and served atop a delicious shrimp risotto. Halibut was served with some pan-fried veggies, very pristine. It was all about a wonderful piece of halibut. Pork is served two ways — a paprika-crusted loin and a pulled shoulder, handled so well that it’s as light as down.
Desserts are worth trying — and there’s a cheese selection, if one prefers. Pastry chef Virginia Jensen’s special one day, a peach crumble, paid homage to a simple dessert with delicious peaches. A chocolate trio wasn’t completely successful — s’mores, I think, are better left at the campfire; they just don’t reconfigure, translate, deconstruct into anything quite like the real thing. The pot au creme, with salmon berries atop, was too dense, approaching truffle-like consistency; but the chocolate flake sorbet was good.
Service depends on who you get. While one was cheerful, helpful, very well-informed and keen about wine, another wasn’t particularly welcoming or responsive.
The patio is the place to be, with seawall, marina and condos surrounding you, although it intersects with the stairway from Stamp’s Landing pub, so you occasionally get customers drifting through as they leave.
All in all, Ocean 6 Seventeen is a place to steal away to, a little off the beaten track. A gem.
– OCEAN 6 SEVENTEEN
Overall Rating 4
Food Rating 4 1/2
Ambience Rating 3 1/2
Service Rating 3 1/2
Price $$
617 Stamps Landing. 604-879-6178. Open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner and week-end brunch.