Our first Valentine's Day together, Stephen took me to the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) for dinner during the "Montreal en lumière" festival. We had an amazing 7-course dinner prepared by the ITHQ students with the guidance of guest chef Jason Wilson, and it was perfectly paired with Washington wines specifically selected for the event. Culinary schools are a hidden gems that you wouldn't normally think of when picking a place for dinner or lunch. Firstly, the young and creative chefs-in-training are sure to deliver an awesome meal. Second, you'll probably pay between 50-75% less for a 3-course meal than if you ordered identical plates at an established restaurant. Thirdly, you're helping future culinary talent get practice, and then when they make it big you can say you ate their food before they were famous. Fourth, if you want to impress a date with really shishi-looking food (you'll know what I mean when you see the pictures below) culinary schools surely won't disappoint. Wherever you are, research culinary schools in your area, and give them a try.
Valentine's Day is definitely the worst day of the year to go to a restaurant. I like to people-watch when I go to restaurants and make up back-stories for all the interesting characters that I spot. Valentine's Day diners just make themselves such easy targets for this sport. Half of the female diners clutch grocery store roses that were procured at the last minute, male diners go slack jawed when they see the bottom line on the bill, and both genders order the cheapest thing on the menu and no booze because they picked a restaurant with a price point out of their comfort zone because they never go out and felt like they would treat themselves, but really end up depriving themselves of what they really did want to eat. I'm not a Valentine's Day hater, but gentlemen, take your ladies out on dates as often as your can to nice places, and give her decent flowers on random Tuesdays. Don't save it for Vday. All that to say, I had no interest in going to a restaurant on the 14th, so we went on the 12th instead.
Bistro 101 is the restaurant at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, located just outside Granville Island. Another benefit of going out for our Valentine's Day dinner on the 12th was that we could take advantage of Bistro 101's Wine Wednesdays when all bottles of wine are 50% off. It basically makes the wine the same price as you would pay at the liquor store (if not cheaper). Paired with a 3-course dinner at $26 per head, the value for your money can't be matched.
Before we received our apps, we were treated to an assortment of fresh breads and an amuse bouche. The entire meal is perfectly portioned, so I highly recommend that you indulge in a piece of each of the 6 or so different types of breads that are served. Cornbread, whole grain, poppy seed, choux...they were all delicious. The amuse bouche was a salmon mousse macaroon. The meringue was similar to a traditional macaroon, but the filling was rich and fresh. This is the second time I've had a savory macaroon. In fact, the last was at the ITHQ event (it was fois gras... and it was epic)! Kudos to the culinary student that executed these, they were fantastic and I would love to try more savory preparations.
We went on to the Sea Scallops with Crispy Cauliflower and Avocado Mousse and the appetizer of the day, a sous vide venison. I was a little worried about Stephen ordering the venison since we had terrible venison at Patrick Guilbaud, a 2-Michelin Star restaurant in Dublin, Ireland. Then again, I've never associated deer with Ireland. The sea scallops were smaller than I had expected, but they were well seared and buttery in the middle. The texture of the crispy cauliflower and radishes added the contrasting textures and flavours that scallops crave. I had high expectations of the avocado mousse, but it had little flavour and was more of a foam than a mousse. A little more density and salt would have helped. As for the venison, it was a visually stunning and complex dish. The medium-rare game-y meat was accompanied by blue cheese cream, capers, sweet chili sauce, roasted beets, arugula, caramelized onions, and flavoured coarse salt...pretty much every texture and flavour profile you could ask for. On their own, each of these elements was okay, but all together in one bite they were amazing. The students could teach Patrick Guilbaud a think or two about making a great venison dish!
My entrée was the best plate of the night: Squid Ink Pappardelle, Chorizo, Winter Squash and Prawns. I love fresh pasta. I would have happily eaten just the pasta. It was fantastic, and everything else was a welcomed bonus. The chorizo was spicy but not too hot and the squash was sweet and slightly charred around the edges. Two of my ultimate favourite textures also joined the party. First, prawns were cooked just to the point of being opaque, so they weren't chewy and rubbery. Second, the roasted grape tomatoes were intact on the plate, but burst in your mouth when you bit them. Timing is everything with these two, and having them as only 2 of many elements on a plate is tough to achieve.
Stephen ordered the Braised Lamb Shank with Buttermilk Whipped Potatoes and Brussel Sprout Leaves. The lamb tasted like lamb. Go to the grocery store, buy some lamb, cook your lamb, and taste your lamb. Did it taste like lamb? Probably not. Did it feel like you were chewing on a piece of a Hunter of Scotland rubber boot? Probably. Lamb is so easy to screw up. Kudos to the student chefs for showing lambs' true potential. Their lamb was shredded which made it extra tender. The mashed potatoes had a great consistency and buttery taste according to Stephen (I'm still not a mashed potato fan). There were also roasted red and yellow bell peppers on the plate, which strangely were the first thing we smelled when the plate arrived. I didn't even know bell peppers had a distinct smell, but this dish proved me wrong. Overall, the braised lamb was a solid dish, but mine was definitely better.
Dessert was good, but not very memorable. I found myself eating them, but not really paying attention to what I was putting in my mouth. There weren't any "Ooooo Aaaaahh" moments. I had the Black Forest Flourless Chocolate Cake. It sort of tasted like a denser version of cake from a Betty Crocker box. The white chocolate mousse on the cake didn't really have much white chocolate flavour, and it just looked weird on the plate pipped out in a random and inelegant way. The cocoa nib ice cream was good, but it wasn't quite an ice cream. It tasted slightly watery and had partially crystallized. Stephen ordered the Mocha Verrine. The dark chocolate mousse bottom layer of the verrine was quite good, and so was the vanilla shortbread top later. However, the white chocolate mocha mousse and lemon gelée in the middle together had a panna cotta texture that didn't quite fit with the other layers. It felt confused and the presentation missed the mark. The verrine glass was far too large and the swoosh on the plate was unnecessary.
As far as service goes, it didn't quite meet my expectations. It was quite slow, and we often found ourselves talking over empty plates for 10 minutes. It took another 10 minutes after our dessert plates were taken away to be offered the bill. The restaurant wasn't particularly busy (less than half the tables were occupied), and the staff was clearly running un-dinner-service-related errands. I guess the difference between Bistro 101 and the restaurant at ITHQ is that ITHQ is also a hotel management school, and therefore there is a higher focus on service and hospitality. Still, strong service is essential for any decent restaurant, so I believe a higher emphasis should be put on it at Bistro 101 for the students' benefit.
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| Scrumptious fresh breads! |
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| Salmon mousse savory macaroon. Could have used some better plating, but it was delicious. |
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| Sea scallops with avocado mousse and roasted cauliflower nibs |
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| Sous-vide venison, beautifully plated. |
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| Squid-ink papardelle with chorizo and prawns. Delicious! |
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| Braised lamb with whipped butter mashed potatoes and crisp brussel sprout leaves |
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| Flourless de-constructed black forest cake. |
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| Mocha verrine |
Taste: 7 - The ingredients were definitely fresh, but some were better cooked and applied better than others.
Creativity: 8 - Many cooking and plating techniques are used, since the students need practice across the board. You wouldn't get all of these techniques in one visit at any other restaurant
Service: 4 - It was quite slow, mousey and unmemorable
Bang for your buck: 8 - For $26 per head for 3 services, you're definitely getting great value. I know I didn't give the most raving review, but for $26 I feel good about it. It's highly unlikely you would get a similar 3-course dinner for less than 3 times that price per head. Also, take advantage of Wine Wednesdays!
Overall experience: 7 - Considering that students are manning the kitchen and dining room, it was a nice experience.
Would I go back? Yes. The menu changes monthly, and they also have a 3-service lunch for $20. I would definitely go back.
Who would I recommend it to? Adults, any occasion, any group size. It definitely isn't suitable to young children, or even teenagers that would be intimidated by the plating and flavour combinations. It is not the best place for picky "meat and potatoes" types, but they could probably work their way around the menu to find something they like. The dinning area is small, but there is ample space between tables, so large birthday party groups wouldn't disturb the neighbouring couples having a romantic night out.
For what occasion? Valentine's Day of course, birthdays, anniversaries, "just because," etc. There are no limits!
It was better than: I don't know if we've had enough comparable sit-down experiences. For now, Bistro 101 sits on the bottom of my resto totem pole, but probably not for long
It wasn't as good as: The appetizers/dessert at Coast, l'Abattoir, Fish House in Stanley Park
Expect: Expect to eat the students' gourmet culinary experiments using seasonal ingredients, and different textures and cooking techniques than you wouldn't necessarily see in other established restaurants.
Top 50 Worthy? I don't think so. The food was good, but I find it hard to believe that there aren't 50 better restaurants in Vancouver. The student did great work, and the food was on-par with my expectations, but it probably isn't one of the Top 50.
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