Ethnic Eats – Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver

I had the priviledge of noshing at not one, but two delectable wine bars this week, so we’ll end off the week nicely with a couple of gorgeous reds and some cheese.

On Wednesday my dad and I checked out DiVino, a new wine bar on Commercial Drive, where the Dolce Amore gelato shop used to be (it’s still there, just halved to make room for the wine). It’s a beautiful space filled with dark wood, although it does feel a little cramped with so many tables. We were there at 4:30 PM where most of the tables, so I can only imagine it’s even more cosy at full capacity. On the other hand, they also have a patio so that’s good for some overflow.

We tried an Eastern Australia Marquis Phillips 2004 Shiraz ($9) each and asked for a plate of 3 cheeses to accompany it. They call them “assagini” here, little plates, and can be built up with a selection of meat or cheese. Our cheese plate, artfully crafted to look like a melted wine bottle, arrived with stilton and blueberry compote, brie and carmalized honey and a hard cheese that escapes me with pureed peaches. Portions were decent and arrived with a generous basket of bread, so it made for a great afternoon snack.

They have a good selection local and international wines and most of them are available by the glass(Kelly and Annie’s review has a photo of the full wine list if you’re interested). The shiraz was delectable and full in the mouth and the perfect wine for a rainy afternoon.

Then yesterday a coworker and I headed to Salt for lunch. Salt is a perennial favorite and I get cranky if I don’t go often enough. I had a gorgeous CastelNovo Rosso Sangiovese ($14), which was very soft and rich, and ordered a meat and cheese combo for lunch. At Salt you can pick any 3 meats or any 3 cheeses or a mix and the accompanying condiments for $15. I usually pick one or 2 that I need to have and let the knowledgeable staff fill in the rest. This time I couldn’t go without the sake-soaked and sliced thin Kazu beef and left everything else up to chance. Luck was in my favour as I was introduced to the CastelNovo as well as got to taste some old favorites. The beef was paired with cornichons and 2 cheese were chosen to accompany it; Comtmme cheese with quince paste and Taleggio with Cipollini onions.

So good!

Here’s the full menu so you can see what else is available:

I’m not going to compare the 2 because I haven’t been to a wine bar yet that comes close to what I think of Salt, but both are excellent, and it’s nice to have DiVino only a block away from my house. I envision a good many glasses to be had at both places this coming winter.

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DiVino

Commercial Drive

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Salt Tasting Room

Blood Alley, Gastown