Eastern European restaurant moves into a larger space, offering traditional, home-style cooking with Old World charm
Katya Holloway
Sun
Owner Nick Cruciat (left) and brother-in-law Ciprian Sebastian Hortopet serve a dish of Chicken Paprikash at Transylvania Flavour Restaurant on West Broadway. Photograph by : Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun
This story begins far, far away in the mystical land of Transylvania. However, unlike Bram Stoker’s fictional fable, Dracula, this heart-warming tale doesn’t involve pale-skinned vampires in velvet capes.
Picture modern-day Romania. High school sweethearts Joanna and Nick are your average teenagers, plugging away at their homework and dreaming of a bright future.
The couple gets married, and at age 28, the Cruciats decide to leave Transylvania for a new life in Canada.
The family settled in Vancouver 11 years ago with the goal of starting their own restaurant, with culinary help from Joanna’s parents. After working away to set aside enough money, they opened a tiny eatery in Gastown three years ago called Transylvania Flavour Restaurant.
“It was our dream to open a restaurant,” says Joanna. “My father is a chef of 41 years and my mom is a pastry chef.
“Cooking has always been a big part of my family. If you ask any Eastern European, the solution to many problems is, ‘Eat something.’ “
Food is medicine, according to her culture, and the family has brought their traditional, home-style comfort food to their new location on West Broadway, which opened in June.
While the name Transylvania speaks of bloody fangs, garlic and Dracula-esque castles, this establishment has purposefully steered clear of kitsch vampire decorations, opting for a tasteful, sophisticated decor with an Old World feel. Think subtle elegance with red velvet drapery set against yellow walls, a deep red ceiling and gold-coloured picture frames.
“I didn’t want people to concentrate on the [Dracula] story but on the food,” Joanna explained later, jokingly adding: “We don’t cook with blood.”
Maybe not, but carnivores would be in their element here. The menu focuses on homemade cuisine passed down through the ages. It’s heavy on red meat-and-potatoes fare, with a vegetarian, trout and various chicken options also available.
Dishes include family recipes (cabbage rolls, sausages and borscht) and popular European dishes, such as chicken or pork schnitzels.
Given my mom’s Doukhobor background, perogies (vereniki to me) are a personal all-time favourite. I pounced on the Homemade Perogy Pillows appetizer ($10), which were filled with yam and cheese, topped with bacon bits, sour cream and a roasted red pepper-sauce drizzle. It was enough to stop my heart, but I happily munched on. The yam filling is a nice touch (as opposed to potato), although I would have liked more cheese in the filling. My dining partner, on the other hand, declared the pillows “perfect.”
We also ordered the Mini Meatballs ($8) with spiked Dijon & horseradish barbecue sauce. The homemade sauce was lovely and the meatballs weighty. Another popular dish here are the Mititei (Transylvanian sausages, $9), served with fries.
As for mains, the duck breast in apricot jus on potato-leek latke with glazed beets ($22) came highly recommended, and I’d order this again. The apricot reduction added a burst of tang to the baked duck, topped with the added texture of fried onions. The latke was delicious and although slightly greasy, wasn’t overly stodgy.
The grilled lamb chops in port infused demi-glace with mashed potatoes and seared fennel ($22) was cooked to perfection. Both mains came with the same pairing of veggies: carrots, asparagus, beets and green beans.
For dessert, try the flourless chocolate cake ($7), which packs a huge flavour punch in a rich, dense slice. Another curious option is the Transylvanian doughnuts called Papanash, which come with sour cream and house berry jam ($7).
The drinks menu includes cocktails, draft and imported beer (mostly $5) and a selection of Hungarian, German and French wines.
Transylvania Flavour Restaurant brings new blood to this corner of West Broadway and Arbutus. Stick your neck out and give it a try — if you dare.
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TRANSYLVANIA FLAVOUR RESTAURANT
2120 W. Broadway, 604-730-0880
Open Tuesday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.; closed Mondays, www.transylvaniaflavour.com
Overall: 3 1/2
Food: 4
Ambience: 3 1/2
Service: 5
Price: $$
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.