Au Petit Chavignol
843 East Hastings St.
Vancouver
604-255-4218
aupetitchavignol.com

Open for Dinner: Thursday to Monday, 5 p.m. until late

Signature Drink: Kir Royale
Signature Dish: Market Terrine

Rating: *****
Dinner & drinks for two: $90

For many reasons, I’ve steered clear of reviewing most wine/charcuterie lounges in the past.  The fact that many of these establishment don’t actually cook or have kitchens is one reason—maybe the biggest. After all, what am I supposed to review…the quality of their slicing apparatus? Or maybe the refrigeration process for the cheeses? One can talk about atmosphere, décor, service, wine lists—all the accessories—but it has always struck me as odd that the main attraction (for me, at any rate), namely, the food and its preparation, is the one thing that generally tends to be redundant.

There’s also the fact that most charcuterie purveyors carry similar stock—Iberico, Little Qualicum, etc. Wines might range a little more, but in the end, you’re chomping down on cured ham and aged cheese. Add some bread and you’ve got a school lunch.

Having said that, I also must admit that there is something very satisfying about making a meal out of foods that are so blatantly full of fat, so sinfully lacking in greens and fibre, so inexpressibly delicious. It’s certainly not the healthiest food you’ve ever eaten, but it just may be some of the tastiest. And, if Jennifer McLagan speaks the truth in her latest book, Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, it just might be healthier for you than you think.

Rich terrines surrounded by pork fat, think wedges of aged cheese, paper-thin slices of cured meat, and French butter—heart attack or haute cuisine, either way you die happy, and, as we all know, it’s stress, and its by-product cortisol, that’s the real killer. And it certainly beats slapping margarine on Wonder Bread. No nitrites, nitrates, MSG, or animals that have been fed their siblings can actually make for some very high quality, incisor-worthy food.

And there is some actual cooking that goes on in these establishments…even those without ovens. Terrines must be ...[next page]