Recently me and a friend did a little ‘culinary tour’ in Vancouver, one of our stops was the newly opened Grapes & Soda, on 6th Ave at Granville Street in the neighbourhood of ‘South Granville’ just outside of downtown and Kitsilano. It’s a small space right beside the restaurant: The Farmer’s Apprentice (same owners and same food concept). A cute long space with a funky shabby sheek feel, yet simple. It’s got the same open kitchen concept as the restaurant but with a smaller menu of a few share plates. It’s strength is a creative bartender mixing up cool new cocktails and a wine director who chooses naturally made wines from around the world that pair extremely well with the food which is all about local, fresh and seasonal.
We started with two cocktails: On the left GNS Clover Club – made with reposed tequila, beet and rhubarb shrub (made in-house), egg whites and lemon thyme (which disappeared quickly 😉 ) ; on the right Tucano made with aged cachaca, guava, rosemary, orgeat and lime (consumed slower in hopes of pronouncing “cachaca” properly!)
Dish #1: marinated anchovy, fennel, celery and lemon
Wine pairing: 2013 Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Matalica from Marche, Italy
the pickled, salty-ness of the dish matched really well with the crisp acidity with notes of citrus and minerals of the wine.
Dish #2: chicken balantine, anson mills grits (corn), with hazelnuts and morels
Wine pairing: 2012 Roagna Langhe Bianco from Piedmont, Italy (predominately Chardonnay with Nebbiolo)
the creamy corn polenta and nutty chicken was perfect with the juicy, round and refreshing Chardonnay
Dish #3: organic beef tartare, beets, berries cubeb pepper and watercress with radish
Wine pairing: 2012 Noella Morantin ‘Cot a Cot’ (Malbec) from Loire, France
another perfect pairing, bringing out the rustic side of this wine (with a hint of menthol)
Dessert: olive oil cake with a grapefruit sorbet
Cocktail pairing: only the bartender knows, but it was a blend of 4 different rums + other delicious ingredients 😉
Simply delicious. A beverage team who are super knowledgable and passionate about what they create and serve and a kitchen team who have palates of adventurers! Drop in Wednesday to Sunday for eats and drinks or pop in for happy hour 5-6:30pm. On another visit, be sure to make a reservation for The Farmer’s Apprentice next door for dinner.
Just trust me – you must dine here!
Grapes & Soda
1541 West 6th Ave at Granville St.
Wine and Travel Concierge 