Rick and I went to Vancouver's Gastown today to meet up with Cole Roberts and Jakob Granqvist of Nordica Photography. You see, Rick bought me a photo shoot for Christmas and we all got together so we could talk about some ideas and timing.
When we were finished our meeting, Cole and Jakob took off to attend to other business, which included snapping the official lighting of the new Woodward's "W"—a Vancouver icon.
Rick and I strolled Water Street and ended up in Pourhouse Restaurant for lunch.
Good choice.
I had the lobster mayonnaise mixed with tarragon and served with pickled miniature carrots, onions, and green beans on lettuces. Along with my salad, I had a glass of the 2008 Tinhorn Creek Pinot Gris.
This wine presented with stone fruit, green apple and both floral and mineral notes on the nose. There was a wonderful mouth-feel, with flavours of green apples, peaches, and citrus on the palate. The finish was fresh and lasting. It worked perfectly with the rich lobster, creamy mayonnaise, tarragon, and greens.
Rick had the beef brisket with hot English mustard, Havarti, and sauerkraut on rye along with a cup of house-made tomato soup and a glass of California wine: 2007 Mark West Central Coast Pinot Noir. Of course, I got to taste it, too.
On the nose, this Pinot Noir showed black cherries, earth, tobacco, and an aroma I can best describe as cement—but in a good way. On the palate it was juicy with more really dark red fruits, blueberries, and something a little vegetal.
For dessert, we each had a serving of the house-made rice pudding with poached pear and Port reduction. This is not the rice pudding your grandmother makes. Nope. It was not overly sweet and had such a rich, creamy texture that I didn't want my dish to empty.
I had no clue what to drink with it (I didn't want coffee or tea) so our server, Megan, asked Patrick to recommend a sipper. He chose a Sherry called Alvear Amontillado. Now, I don't know an awful lot about Sherry (actually, make that next to nothing) but this one was golden, nutty, rich in a caramel sort of way, with sweet and salty working together. Yes—a fine complement to the pudding.
Salut!
Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
