Staff and fresh, refined cooking will put you at ease
Mark Laba
Province
Sahara Tamarin of the Cibo Trattoria with the buffalo mozzarella, heirloom tomato, peach and basil salad and the fava bean basil and mint stuffed mezzaluna with parmesan.
Sham I am. Most restaurant critics are a much different breed from me, exuding confidence that only a free meal, a pen and a public outlet will bring, snuffling down their noses and shaking their jowls like a prize porker at a 4-H Club meeting at even the fanciest of shindigs, ready to lay waste to all and sundry, plus duck livers and ice-cream sundaes, sometimes on the same plate.
Me, the fancier the place the more nervous I get. I sweat profusely, the bag on my head steams up and my shirt needs to be wrung out after the entrée.
Thus when word travelled around that this swanky place had opened, foodies perked up from the foie gras trough, agog at the food, the service, the wine list, the chef and the management. I started to sweat like a truffle pig on a fungus bender just thinking about it.
But Peaches talked me down off the ledge. Housed in the new Moda Hotel (the old Dufferin Hotel), the interior has submitted to a bit of archaeology, uncovering beautiful terra cotta tiled flooring, ancient timber beams running along the high ceiling and everything brought into the 21st century with simple yet elegant furnishings, a glassed-in wine tower and two enormous pop art-influenced paintings.
The chef is Neil Taylor, a British export from a famed London restaurant called the River Café so he shares his pedigree with another River Café alumni, Jamie Oliver. The Director of Operations and sommelier, Sebastien Le Goff, has worked in some of Vancouver‘s snazziest joints so, needless to say, I was expecting the perspiration to flow like spring runoff in the Kootenays.
Amazingly, with this level of excellence I felt nothing hoity-toity and, in fact, our waiter and everyone else made me feel at ease. There’s a great casual sensibility but I did refrain from asking for their best bottle of Baby Duck.
The focus is on the freshest and finest of ingredients, simply prepared but the simplicity hides a careful and discerning hand in the kitchen. The cooking is exquisite as evidenced by our appetizer of deep-fried zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, lemon and purple basil ($16). A hint of anchovy paste added a twist to the mild-mannered ricotta and the whole affair was an appetizer to remember.
Pasta here is made fresh daily and could double as the material for angel’s wings. Peaches and I tried the agnolli stuffed with pork ($19) from Qualicum Beach‘s Sloping Hills Farm where some of the happiest free-roaming pigs cavort. Also in the mix are prosciutto, oregano, parmesan and 12-year old aged balsamic. This schlimazel delivered layers of flavour and texture equivalent to devouring a Renaissance painting. The house-baked foccacia, particularly the caramelized onion creation, was a great balsamic sopper-upper. Like a 12-year old scotch, you don’t want to let this stuff go to waste.
The pasta dish is really the trailer before the main course so beware that the pasta plates are very small portions and though pricey, worth the splurge.
For a main Peaches and I tried a daily special of salmon ($24), simply done with rosemary, lemon and anchovy sauce. Perfectly cooked and the real kicker was the crispy skin, which I found succulent beyond belief. It had an almost candied effect and the accompanying wilted spinach was done with a slightly sweet, slightly nutty finish. We ordered a side of deep-fried new potatoes with chili, garlic and herbs ($4) with a fantastic crunchy carapace protecting the tender tater innards.
As for finishes, the Chocolate Nemesis Cake ($9) is a sultry and sumptuous dessert, worthy of its name as it will haunt you till your dying day. As for my nemesis, the old sweat glands went into a slumber but my tastebuds were firing on all cylinders.
CIBO TRATTORIA
Where: 900 Seymour St.
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-602-9570
Drinks: Fully licensed
Hours: 5 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat., closed Sun.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Truly culinary alchemy producing gold from earth ingredients.
RATINGS: Food: A+ Service: A+ Atmosphere: A
© The Vancouver Province 2008