Chives Bistro in Halifax had the very best table, great wine list and fantastic food.

We recently had dinner at Chives Canadian Bistro in downtown Halifax and it was a pleasure from the moment we walked up to the door.  There is a video screen outside showing what’s happening in the clean and efficient kitchen. What a great first impression.  Up the stairs and we were met with a warm and friendly greeting.  We had booked on Open Table and requested a quiet table.  Turns out we were in for a treat; they had booked us into their private dining room, “The Vault”, a leftover from when the space was The Bank of Nova Scotia. It also serves as home to their considerable wine cellar.   I felt very “safe” surrounded by the thick walls and racks of wine.  We tried an Oregon Pinot Noir from Domaine Drouhin; an excellent recommendation from George Davis, GM.  The meal was pretty fine, starting with a creative Greek Salad with roasted onions, fried panko crusted feta and poached garlic vinaigrette and Pan-Roasted Scallops with goat cheese, pickled beets, beet greens and honey buttermilk dressing.  For main courses I had Steelhead Trout with pak choi and mustard pickle, the fish was full flavoured enough to work with the mustard. David had the “Veg Millanesse”, panko crusted tofu with saffron parmesan risotto, sweet peas, olive tapenade and pesto and pronounced it the best vegetarian dish he’d had in memory.  We loved Chives, the food was creative, tasty and well-presented and the service was warm and efficient.  Casual and comfortable, they’ve been doing it for 10 years, so if you find yourself in Halifax you won’t go wrong booking Chives Canadian Bistro.  http://www.chives.ca/

Chives Canadian Bistro

1537 Barrington Street

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Another wine weekend getaway to the Okanagan yields a couple of cases of excellent wines.

On a weekend getaway to BC wine country we drove through the Similkameen Valley and stopped at Seven Stones Winery.  George the winemaker is often at the counter and enjoys sharing his knowledge so we usually learn something new about wine.  Seven Stones makes some nice wines.  I especially like the Meritage, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.  At least that’s what went into the trunk of our car.

Next stop was Watermark Resort to check out their Wine Bar and Patio.   I was expecting big things from the food with new chef Jonas Stadtlander making his mark.  We wanted a quick snack so chose the Dukkah Calamari with lentils, cilantro, onion puree and balsamic glaze.    I’d never heard of Dukkah which is a Middle Eastern blend of spices with ground almonds.  It sounded intriguing and turned out to be absolutely delicious.  We’ll be planning a meal there on our next visit.

Our final destination was our amazing villa at Hester Creek and dinner at Terrafina.  More about that in another entry.  It was a fantastic day ending in one of the loveliest rooms I’ve enjoyed in BC.  Hester Creek is one of my favourite wineries in BC.  They just seem to be doing everything right.  Breakfast in the Breezeway the next morning capped off an excellent stay.  I’d highly recommend a stay at the Villas at Hester Creek.

Day 2 and we have a lot of wineries to cover between Oliver and Vernon.  Thank you to every winery that opens at 10am.  Our first stop was Quinta Ferreira .  This is a family run winery with serious knowledge of making great wines and a beautiful tasting room with a wonderful art gallery.  Everything here is about friendly, comfortable good taste.  Next stop was Fairview Cellars.  Bill Eggert is the winery owner and  winemaker and he makes some seriously great red wines . A visit to Fairview Cellars is always a unique experience. This time I was able to taste some of the vintages I have stored to see how they were coming along.   I’d hoped to focus on wineries I hadn’t visited before but it’s tough to pass up some favourites.  Finally we visited Meyer Family Vineyards, a new one for us.  They have a reputation for great Pinot Noir, a couple of single vineyard releases that are killer.  They have a nice room and friendly knowledgeable staff.  Another new one for us was Wild Goose.   They were almost ready to move into their new tasting room and it looks beautiful. I was happy to get to try some of their Mystic River Pinot Blanc, and a Blanc du Noirs made from Pinot Noir and Merlot.  Finally I’ve been trying to taste a wine called Serenata from Serendipity Winery in Naramata but we just couldn’t find the winery so the Serenata quest is still on. 

By now hunger set in and we were headed for Local Lounge and Grill at the Summerland Resort.  This is a consistently good restaurant.  We’ve stayed at the resort before and I will again. 

Our final destination was Sparkling Hills Resort.  We had a beautiful room overlooking the lake and I was delighted to find they had expanded the spa hours to mornings and evening.  I spend an hour in the 7 saunas and steam rooms trying to sweat out some of the wine I’d consumed and curled up in the super comfy bed to watch “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”.    Nice end to a food and wine day in the Okanagan.

What a great weekend.

El Bulli Cooking in Progress is a look at how Ferran Adria and team create the best restaurant in the world menu

El Bulli Cooking in Progress is an exciting documentary about the 6 month annual process to creation the menu they would serve for the next 6 months.  Now closed permanently the food crazy creators have had a major influence on what and how we eat today and probably tomorrow.

Dinner at Terrafina Hester Creek Estate Winery and Villas. One of my favourite places in the Okanagan.

Who ever heard of a Smoked Trout and Prawn Pizza? We spent the night at the villas at Hester Creek Estate Winery so we were happy to have dinner at Terrafina.  Executive chef and co-owner Jeremy Luypen puts together a fantastic menu that reflects the season and place.  It has been clear to me both times we’ve eaten at Terrafina that the people really care about the restaurant and are all trying to make sure you are enjoying yourself.  The dining room and patio are both beautiful and comfortable.  We had 2 salads, a pizza and a halibut dish.  All were delicious but the Smoked Trout and Prawn Pizza with olive oil and sundried tomatoes was one of those things that you remember and could crave. Thin but chewy crust with crisp sweet prawns,  smoky trout and sundried tomatoes to add some high notes.  It was just amazing.  The halibut was perfectly cooked, flaky but not overdone, with an angel hair pasta in a light cream sauce that had some interesting depth of flavour.  We had a bottle of their Semillon Chardonnay from the library collection.  At $45 you would be hard pressed to find a bottle of wine of this calibre for that price in a restaurant anywhere.  Once again Hester Creek blows me away with the attention to detail, beauty and comfort of the place.  Don`t drive through the South Okanagan without visiting Hester Creek Estate Winery.