Vancouver '09: let the eating commence!

That pic to the left is exactly what my vacations tend to be about. Sipping effervescent glasses of bubbly while a chef prepares my latest indulgence. And that's the way it was at Salt Tasting Room in Vancouver, one of the first stops on the culinary tour of this strikingly beautiful piece of BC. Our friends Nancy and Randy had given us several recommendations, of which Salt was right up there. Within walking distance of our hotel, the very affordable and well situated St. Regis, Salt is located in the Gastown area, which is a rehabbed...sort of...place where there are still plenty of homeless among the tourist shops and restaurants, they've just been shoved off into less noticeable areas.

We walked down the ominously but not aptly named Blood Alley, where the sign for Salt sits high on a building. Salt is a sleek, minimally done wine bar/small plates resto (small plates being the of-the-moment way to eat in the 'Couv) that could easily be too stark, but is actually quite comfortable. Two long communal tables (they also have a room in the cellar with more tables and a glassed-in meat/wine cellar room), a bar and tables in front. The deal here is you choose meats and cheeses off their blackboard menu, in groups of three, then pick three condiments to go with them. They source their meat from some of the city's best purveyors, and the plates are very nicely presented. You can see our picks at right. They also list a couple of specials on the board, one of which was torchons of foie gras. Ah, the fatted goose. Who am I to deny his liver? This was deliciously rich with a sprinkling of sea salt, spread on slices of bread with housemade rhubarb compote. "Yummy" doesn't it justice. We washed down this pleasure with a couple of glasses of bubbly followed by a local red and white, which was just enough to fuel us to our next stop..........