From the first day I started this blog until now, I have been excited about great food, new restaurants and wine bars in Vancouver. And I am happy that we have a new Wine bar to add to the few we have!
Located on the southern side of the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel – LaTab Wine Bar is a quaint little find, that is bright and welcoming. The wines are hand-picked by owners Eryn and Kris, as they are wine lovers (geeks) themselves. And the food is a passion for Kris, bringing his creativity from Toronto to open Vancouvers eyes to some new dishes and flavours.
As part of a culinary tour to a few restaurants, me and some friends started our tour at LaTab. We each picked a dish and shared a bottle of Christophe Pacalet’s Julienas Beaujolais (made from the grape: Gamay) – it’s a fresh way to start an evening. Think dark red fruit, tart and earthy.
Pictured above we enjoyed: the Humboldt Squid with sauerkraut, caramelized yeast and crabapple – I love discovering new ways of enjoying squid, this was delicate and tasty; The Vegetable ‘egg’ with charred wild mushrooms and seed cheese was so much fun! The egg is made of vegetables and when you cut it open the pureed pumpkin inside acts like a “yolk” and blends with the delicious local mushrooms on the plate (this was my favourite dish!); I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Cricket Dumplings with smoked pumpkin, chestnuts and yuba – but I am now a fan. Can you taste “Crickets” I thought? Well first of all, how would I know what a cricket taste like?! And no, these were fresh little dumplings or ‘gnocchi’ that just happen to be made with cricket flour – a “future food” according to Kris (because to raise crickets requires very little water, yet they are high in protein). Very cool indeed for this small town palate 😉 . I’ll definitely be going back!
Don’t judge them by their website, they are new ;), but definitely add them to your dining out list
and enjoy the creative dishes and yummy wines!
983 Helmecken @ Burrard
Vancouver, BC
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