{"id":15561,"date":"2019-01-05T15:15:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T23:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/?p=15561"},"modified":"2019-01-08T11:01:15","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T19:01:15","slug":"st-lawrence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/st-lawrence\/","title":{"rendered":"The St Lawrence Experience – discovering my favourite restaurant of 2018 in Vancouver"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was never a restaurant which I enjoyed so much that I had to book the next visit right the way, well, not until\u00a0I had my first meal at\u00a0St Lawrence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

First visit<\/h3>\n

I am sitting with Sherman<\/a> and\u00a0\u00a0Maggi<\/a>, who are among the most active food bloggers, as well as Kristina, who has retired from writing but definitely still has quite the opinions for food. We are excited. This is the most participated restaurant of the year, a clean sweep of every critic’s best new restaurant in the city,\u00a0 and the biggest winner at the Vancouver Restaurant Awards<\/a> in 2018, including “Best New Restaurant”, “Best French” (2nd place), and\u00a0 “Restaurant of the Year”.<\/p>\n

The menu here is created by chef Jean-Christophe Poirier<\/strong><\/em>, who has turned his childhood memories of home cooking from the small French Canadian town, into the comforting dishes in a more refined manner.\u00a0 This is a very well-respected chef and restaurateur who also owns Ask for Luigi, Pourhouse, Di Beppe, Pizzeria Farina, and Joe Pizza.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It certainly means a lot when he has announced to settle down on the cuisine he loves the most before he retires from professional cooking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are warned about the amount of rich meat sauce, pastry, butter, and cream used in the cooking. This is quite the gutsy move in a city where there is so much Asian Pacific influence in the restaurant scene. Yes, you\u00a0might find\u00a0Albacore Crudo with Dashi<\/strong> at L’Abbatoire<\/a> or\u00a0Lobster Tempura<\/strong> at Le Crocodile<\/a>, but there is no compromise here at St Lawrence. The concept is entirely Quebecois or French.<\/p>\n

As usual, I start with a cocktail.\u00a0 The Le Bijoux<\/strong> ($15) is one of the two gin cocktails on the menu, which I\u00a0 enjoyed for the balance and complexity. The cocktail menu also features a few cognac-based cocktails with the option of using Remy VSOP.<\/p>\n

\"Le<\/a>
Le Bijoux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cretons<\/strong> arrives first as the complimentary amuse-bouche provided at every table.\u00a0 \u00a0The fatty pork spread is served with seeded mustard and hearty country sourdough bread. I taste various spices in the spread such as nutmeg and cinnamon. Quite the quirky flavours to start a meal!<\/p>\n

\"Cretons\"<\/a>
Cretons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0Oreilles de Crisse<\/strong>\u00a0is one of the most talked about dishes here. The fried pork rinds with maple syrup & spice are served in a maple syrup can. The amount of savory\u00a0seasoning is perfectly balanced with the hint of maple syrup on the crunchy bits. This is dangerously addictive!<\/p>\n

\"Oreilles<\/a>
Oreilles de Crisse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With not a lot of fish or seafood dishes on the menu, the\u00a0Quenelle de Poisson\u00a0<\/b>stands out as a lighter first-course dish with an egg-shaped fish ball served in a creamy lobster veloute, with a fluffy biscuit and a few buttery shrimps on the side. For appetizers, we also shared the Beef Tartare<\/strong> and the Terrine du Jour\u00a0<\/strong>(with chicken and duck) –\u00a0 both French bistro classics, with the chef’s own fun twists, such as the truffle flavor in the tartare and the pistachio in the terrine. The terrine is one of the best I have tasted over the years.<\/p>\n

\"Quenelle<\/a>
Quenelle de Poisson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beef<\/a>
Beef Tartare<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Terrine<\/a>
Terrine du Jour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Onto the main plates, this amazing journey of French Candian soul food brought us down the chef’s memory lane. Imagine the best memories of family cooking from his childhood combining the years of accumulated knowledge and experience,\u00a0 comfort food has never been prepared at such a refined level.<\/p>\n

The daily feature, the\u00a0\u00a0Crispy Veal Sweetbreads<\/b>, is prepared with red wine & truffle sauce, and stacked with onion ring, chanterelles, and corn,\u00a0 offering easily the best piece sweetbread that I have eaten with that incredible crispy golden exterior. The popular and formidable\u00a0C\u00f4te de Porc<\/b>\u00a0is perfectly cooked through whilst juicy and succulent, complemented with a decadent bed of pomme puree with fromage Oka & the sauce charcuti\u00e8re, the essence from reducing the jus and red wine and whipping in the gosh-knows-how-much amount of luscious butter.\u00a0 The\u00a0Tourti\u00e8re de Ville au Cerf<\/b>\u00a0highlights the French Canadian pride – the venison meat pie showcased how luxurious it is to consume bold flavour wild game though an incredibly flaky pastry crust, along with house made ketchup on the side. If you still don’t feel enough of the comfort, the\u00a0Steak St. Lawrence <\/b>comes to the feast, wowing you with the medium-rare hanger steak, with bone marrow, sauce aux poivres and frites on the side.<\/p>\n

\"Crispy<\/a>
Crispy Veal Sweetbreads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"C\u00f4te<\/a>
C\u00f4te de Porc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Steak<\/a>
Steak St. Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Steak<\/a>
Steak St. Lawrence et frites<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Tourti\u00e8re<\/a>
Tourti\u00e8re de Ville au Cerf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you feel guilty having indulged yourself with too much meat, you could consider getting the Ratatouille<\/strong>. There are no visual tricks in this dish like the how they show in the Disney movie. It is all good old roasted veggies with a lovely amount of herbs and spices like how they do it in the French Canadian countryside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ratatouille\"<\/a>
Ratatouille<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was pretty full when the desserts came. I found the\u00a0\u00a0Riz au Lait Fa\u00e7on L\u2019ami Jean, <\/b>rice pudding\u00a0with salted caramel, and the\u00a0Tarte au Sucre,\u00a0<\/b>sugar pie & vanilla cream, far from the petite slices of typical sexy French sweets, although interesting, way too heavy after such a rich and comforting meal. But I wound my love in the cute cocktail of day garnished with watermelon.<\/p>\n

\"Riz<\/a>
Riz au Lait Fa\u00e7on L\u2019ami Jean<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Tarte<\/a>
Tarte au Sucre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2nd visit within one week<\/h3>\n

It was such an incredible meal for us, and I didn’t hesitate to book another table for the welcoming dinner for my friend Will visiting from San Francisco. It was the same company who tried to show Will “the best restaurant” and we ended going to Hawksworth<\/a>. But I was pretty sure this time that St Lawrence would make an excellent choice to represent the best of the city this time.<\/p>\n

And I am back!<\/p>\n

My friends and my guest were all impressed by the food and the ambiance of the restaurant.\u00a0 This time we tried the Langue de Bison<\/strong>, slices of bison tongue served creamy potatoes, the Truite Amandine<\/strong>, fillet of trout served with haricots verts and beurre noisette, the Agneau<\/strong>, braised Lamb on a small bed of vegetables and classic French beans. They are actually on the light side among the list of comfort food dishes because of all the fresh vibrant vegetables on the side.<\/p>\n

\"Langue<\/a>
Langue de Bison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Agneau\"<\/a>
Agneau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Truite<\/a>
Truite Amandine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Will and I decided to go for the Daily Special, the Cournouaille, stuffed Cornish hen with sweet bread, served with gnocchi and morels. This is where all the money is on, folks. Every single component on this dish is perfectly prepared and incredibly flavourful, and somehow it woke up my fun memories cooking The French Laundry Cookbook.<\/p>\n

\"Cournouaille,<\/a>
Cournouaille, stuffed Cornish hen with sweet bread, served with gnocchi and morels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cournouaille,<\/a>
Cournouaille, stuffed Cornish hen with sweet bread, served with gnocchi and morels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Final thought<\/h3>\n

For me, St Lawrence represent the the best of Vancouver at the moment – the food, the ambiance, and the service, all together as the perfect\u00a0dining experience.\u00a0 When Vancouver is known as West Coast cooking with farm-to-table ingredients and the Asian pacific influence, a meat-and-butter centric concept is rather refreshing. As I mentioned before, it is always great to be trendy and innovative, keeping the eyes busy and the intellect boosted,\u00a0 but the classics will always be around, as reaching to he heart is far more important when it comes down to great food. The dishes at St. Lawrence,\u00a0 at many level, have touched many hearts with the impeccable flavours and comfort.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

$$$<\/h3>\n

Rating: 5\/5<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

St Lawrence<\/em><\/h3>\n

269 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1G3<\/em>
\n(604) 620-3800 or stlawrencerestaurant.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n