Bistro + Trattoria = Tapas. Huh?

Mon Bella Bistoria
1809 West 1 Ave.
Vancouver
604-569-2741
www.monbella.com

Signature Drink: Take Your Pick
Signature Dish: Scallops with Lemon Risotto
Rating: ** 1/2
Dinner & drinks for 2: $100

I love French, I love Italian.  Cuisine, that is.  (Then again, who doesn’t?)  Thus, when Brad Roark and Jay Brault, formerly of Araxi, CinCin and Tapastree, recently opened “the world’s first bistoria” I was eager to see what was up with all the hype.  I dropped by during week two of their soft opening.

This location has not been kind to previous waterholes.  Vintropolis shut its doors after a few short years, while Industry, the sports bar that preceded Mon Bella, lasted only three months before closing.  Luckily, the new owners had the good sense to remove the bar height seating and redo the room.  Fresh paint, mirrors and tables that don’t require a step stool all contribute to make a cozy little room, where the only nostalgia is the original Vintropolis carved-stone bar and the cool black-and-white photo-scapes of France and Italy.

The wine list, appropriately, focuses on French and Italian bottles, with some decent B.C. picks thrown in for good measure.  Can’t say much about the drinks, as I completely ignored them in favour of a glass (or three) of the Pinot Noir from Pentâge ($7.50), a Penticton winery that also produces some pretty fine boxed wines (yes, I do mean those bag-in-a-box kind with the little spout).

The menu was a bit confusing, being neither French, nor Italian, nor a fusion of the two.  Rather, it’s a bit of this and a bit of that, all served up as share plates (read smaller tapas-style portions).  The prices are decent, with nothing over $15, and most dishes hovering around $10 to $12.  You probably need at least three dishes per person to make a decent meal, not counting dessert, but the restaurant kindly serves you hearty whole grain and focaccia with olive and balsamic, as well as butter, to round out the corners.  Some items were a delight and others were less successful, but a major rant is that the menu just didn’t hit home on either the Gallic or the Latin front to do away with the sensation that I was in yet another West Coast “globally-inspired” eatery.  However…

…The croque monsieur ($9) was a great start.  Thick, toasted sourdough encased gooey gruyere and crispy ham, and came with a nice dip of vegetable ketchup.  A grilled zucchini salad ($10) was less successful (and ridiculously tiny in size).  The zucchini was tasteless, with no redeeming grill marks or smokiness.  The mint and pecorino were not abundant and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out if there was any dressing or if someone had just splashed by mistake.

The daily ravioli ($14) was a bounce back, thankfully.  We got large, overstuffed squares of shrimp, crab and squid.  These were tasty, hearty and fresh.  Unfortunately, scallops with lemon risotto ($13) were another miss.  The scallops were seared nicely, but raw to the point of being cold inside.  While I enjoy my seafood lightly cooked, these were underdone and could have used some seasoning.  The risotto, also under-flavoured, was overcooked and inconsistent in texture.

The Newport steak ($14) was one of the highlights of the meal.  You get to choose between béarnaise, garlic herb butter or salsa verde (not in this lifetime).  We went with the béarnaise, which was really lovely, an absolutely perfect sauce over top of lightly seared beef.

We weren’t, at first, keen on the daily desserts, despite the fact that we were still a little hungry, but our server’s dangling of a lemon tart ($7) changed our minds.  This was light, zesty cream over perfect pastry, with a berry coulis and some light crème fraîche.  The crème brulée ($7) was okay, a little bland, and could have used more vanilla bean and caramelizing.

All in all, it wasn’t a stellar experience, but it could have been worse, and one can hope for better things in future.

Ethical Beans Top Million Pound Mark
In 2003, Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schatche created the Ethical Bean Coffee Company, selling Fair Trade Certified and organic coffee, roasted in a 100% carbon neutral facility built to LEED CI standards.  Recently, they celebrated this milestone sold with a large celebration, at which they presented their very first customer, Chris Danyliw (pictured left with Bernhardt) with the millionth pound.  Visit ethicalbean.com for cafes and retailers.

Road Trip!
From November 6 to 10, head up to Whistler for the 12th annual Cornucopia, a celebration of food and lots of wine.  Featuring hands-on seminars, winemakers’ dinners, gala tasting events and too many after parties.  Visit www.whistlercornucopia.com for ticket info and schedules.

Dining Out
Taste of Yaletown is happening October 14 to 26.  Choose from over 20 restaurants offering three-course tasting menus for $25, $35 or $45.  Participating restaurants include Amarcord, Brix, Capones, Coast, Elixir, Glowbal, Hamilton Street Grill, Provence Marinaside and Tequila Kitchen.  Visit www.yaletowninfo.com/events for menus and contact info.

On October 6 at 7 p.m., Saltaire Restaurant (235 15 St, West Vancouver) will present a dinner featuring the wines of Montes Winery (Chile).  Winery owner Aurelio Montes will be on hand to talk about the vintages presented.  Tickets $70 per person.  Visit southworldwine.com for more info.

Food in Brief
Shaun Layton of George Ultra Lounge has won Giffard’s 2nd annual Iron Mixologist competition with his cocktail La Belle Poire.  Layton will be flying to France to represent Canada in the international stage in late May.

Chef Anna Yeh of the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel has won the 13th annual Black Box Competition, hosted by the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Vancouver.