When is a slowly poached loin of heritage-breed organic pork a lot less appetizing than it sounds? When it pops up on your plate pink, wrinkly, soft and bearing a distinctly bizarre resemblance to thick, squishy slices of a certain male appendage.
"What does that look like to you?" I gulped, before tentatively digging in.
"It does have a nice girth," my companion conceded, poking uneasily at her matching plate of fleshy meat.
We were dining at Fuel Restaurant, a new Kitsilano hot spot that has grabbed the attention of all the local foodies. It is owned by Robert Belcham and Tom Doughty, the former chef de cuisine and sommelier, respectively, at the widely lauded C Restaurant. Alas, I'm sad to say that this first tryst failed to excite me.
I was a very naughty date, I must confess. My girlfriend made the reservation, but I mixed up the time and arrived nearly a full hour late. Even though we were there for the first seating, it was Friday night and they had a full house. When I finally sauntered in, general manager Tim Pittman recognized me immediately, which probably only added to the tension.
The owners, mind you, have dealt with worse calamities. When the restaurant first opened, around Christmas, it was plagued with power outages. Another restaurant critic happened to be there on one of those darkened evenings, but still gave it a glowing review.
Fuel faces stiff competition, located at it is next door to Gastropod on West Fourth Avenue, with Bistrot Bistro opening soon across the street. This latest addition to Vancouver's burgeoning Restaurant Row does, however, have the advantage of an open kitchen flanking a large window at the front of the room to better lure curious diners off the street. In fact, during an initial soft opening, Fuel's owners gave away free dinners to a few people passing by.
We would have loved to have been seated at the kitchen's wraparound bar, but landed in the boxy back room. While my girlfriend was patiently waiting for me (and only getting slightly soused on martinis), she managed to talk our server into moving us to a prime corner table, as opposed to the tiny two-seater in which we had initially been wedged. Even from this improved perch, we weren't overly impressed with the plain, beige-on-brown colour scheme. The only flourish to break up the monotony is an elaborate steel chandelier that looks like frozen tree branches shorn from a futuristic Brothers Grimm-inspired forest.
Simplicity, however, is the restaurant's ruling mantra. Belcham, who cut his chops at the famed Aerie Resort on Vancouver Island and then spent a year as chef de partie at Thomas Keller's far more legendary French Laundry in Napa Valley, Calif., is committed to using the best regional fare sourced from local farmers. His techniques let the food speak for itself.
Diners have the option of ordering à la carte or from one of the chef's menus (which range from four courses for $59 to nine at $110). Given the time constraints, we went for the four-plater, which began with a promising amuse bouche: tiny cubes of albacore tuna artfully sprinkled across a plate with smoked paprika and whispers of pork belly.
Pumpkin soup, juiced from local squash fruit, is thick and rich. It's poured from silver tea pots (a service technique borrowed from C) over a plump weathervane scallop that has been lightly seared. But it's the "crystallized" sunflower seeds that really makes the dish sing.
A terrine of juicy duck confit and creamy foie gras mousse is overwhelmed by sweet shallot confiture. It's made in-house, which is noble but risky for any restaurant, considering how the selection of premium terrines available from the Oyama Sausage Company have so spoiled local palettes.
The aforementioned pork loin, from Sloping Hills farm, is slowly simmered in a sous-vide bath, which explains its flaccid consistency. The method, originally for airline food, uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below the boiling point. It's all the rage these days and works wonders with breaking down tough pieces of meat. Chefs love how food soaks up whatever flavours and juices they seal into the bag. I just wish it were used more judiciously. Often with fish, or this already tender piece of pork, the boring boiled texture limps on the tongue. This sad little loin would have perked right up with a quick sear.
Even more disappointing was the way our initially gregarious waiter suddenly shied away and cranked up the haughty airs. The pork, he explained while presenting the dish, "will be served" with essence of blood orange (mouth-puckeringly tart) and it "will be coming" with Russian garlic (a nicely toasted gratin). Drop the pretension and be yourself.
Desserts, created by pastry chef Paul Croteau, made us wish we had asked for cheese. The best part about dense apple cake topped with miniature crème brûlée was an intense smear of hazelnut purée on the side. The fresh-cheese cheesecake was lovely on its own, but piled too high with never-ending layers of grapefruit sorbet, a lemony crust and every other citrus flavour imaginable.
The $39 wine pairings, however, definitely hit some high notes. A desert-dry pinot noir from Bouchard Père & Fils opened up like a cherry blossom with the pork. Doughty operates his own winery, Montagu Cellars in Naramata, and I'm looking forward to sipping his first vintage.
Even though none of the dishes we tasted that night made us go "wow," I will certainly be back if they'll have me. After dinner, we slid up to the bar and enviously watched several dry-aged, AAA rib-eye steaks being sautéed in rich pools of butter. A plate of crispy trout with hazelnut brown butter emulsion, served on a bed of bright green Swiss chard and roasted slivers of baby beets, looked so pretty you would want to frame it.
If you go, I suggest you sit at the bar and take some time to watch the theatrics (Belcham's elaborate arm tattoos are a sight worth seeing). Figure out what tickles your taste buds and order à la carte. And if you do order the pork, close your eyes and think of England. Not because you should, but because it probably tastes a lot better if you're not looking.
Fuel Restaurant is located at 1944 West 4th Ave.; 604-288-7905.
Alexandra Gill