Fable Kitchen - Vancouver, BC

I love Top Chef and when it was announced they were filming a Canadian version I was super excited.  I cheered on our local boys and when a BC boy, Trevor Bird, made it to the finale, there was nothing but excitement.  This Piglet watched the last few episodes with fervor and during those last few, Trevor made a decision that I admired: he wouldn't go back to the well-paying but mindless job when the season was over.  I couldn't watch the last episode when it aired but I PVR'd and gave it my first afternoon on my first day off.  Trevor lost...  Ugh.  I'm not watching the third season.  

However, Trevor, along with fellow contestant Curtis Luk, went out on their own and opened up a place called Fable - created by Trevor's team on the show during restaurant wars.  Fable means farm to table - basically food goes from your local farmer and to your mouth with no processing, no mass transportation and no middle man.  It's an all-encompassing concept that supports local farmers, sustainable farming and consumption practices, organic living and local economies.  I love the idea but will the food be any good?  Will it be affordable?  Well, these two Hungry Piglets are gonna find out.  In support of this movement, we decided to ride our bikes out to the restaurant - it's a casual dining joint but I felt awkward arriving in casual biking gear and kinda sweaty.  I just hope we don't smell...

It's a nice warm place with an interesting feature wall in the back.  The poor foursome right before us without a reservation were told to wait at least 30 minutes.  We were a two and it just so happened a two-top opened up when we showed up.  SCORE!

Both Trevor and Curtis are working in the open concept kitchen!!!  I'm so excited!!  Food nerd alert!  The menu is limited but I like that - makes for quicker decisions.  A few appies, a main and hopefully room for dessert.  And your time starts...  NOW!

 

Canned Tuna - $12

It's got potatoes, tomatoes and then albacore tuna that's slow poached in some really nice olive oil that you can definitely taste right off the bat.  It came with a tsp of flaked sea salt and you should absolutely use it because without, the tuna is a bit bland.  A little bit of this, a little bit of that on top a piece of their crostini and you have a nice little bite.  Mr. Piglet didn't like this as much but I enjoyed it for the soft tuna, rich olive oil and bits of salt.

 

Chickpea Fritters - $9

Pickled red onion, shoots, curry mayo

You know that halo of light that surrounds things that are holy and sacred?  There should be a halo around this dish because it was just AH-MAY-ZING.  The pickled red onion cuts the denser fritter and heavier curry mayo and the fritter itself is awesome. The outside is fried to crispy perfection while the inside is soft and almost creamy in the middle but then there's a few bigger chickpea pieces for some change in texture.  The shoots then give it another dimension of texture and taste.  The table next to us ordered the fritters as well and also raved about them.

 

Flat Iron Steak - $22

Potato fondant, black pepper jam, broccolini

Steak is tender and cooked perfectly to a medium rare (as all steak should be!) and that black pepper jam is a revelation - I gotta find me a jar of that to put on all my steaks from now on.  Broccolini is broccolini.  What's a potato fondant?  I still don't know but it was tasty as heck - crispy with roasted notes on the outside and super moist and soft on the inside.  Mr. Piglet has requested that I make potatoes this way from now on.  Ha!  Like that's gonna happen...  he's a Top Chef finalist!  I still can't make mashed potatoes properly!

 

Spaghetti and Meat Balls - $11

Duck meat ball, tagliatelle

You know of that halo that I spoke of above?  Yeah, this dish needs it as well.  OMG.  Every element on this dish was wonderful! And to think we almost skipped over it!  We had planned on only 2 appies and a main but Mr. Piglet thought he needed just a little more to make it through the bike ride home so we decided to go back to an appie after the main.  Thank goodness we did because it was just...  there are no words.  No words can describe just how good this meat ball was.  Crispy on the outside, uber moist on the inside and there's tons of duck flavor without being overpowering.  And you break it open to sauce the pasta!  How cool is that???  When Trevor made this on Top Chef, we wished we could have some and now can and have!!!  I usually don't like foam but this Parmesan foam just mixes so well with the sauce in the meatball to create this absolutely delicious creamy savory sauce for the perfectly cooked tagliatelle.  Mr. Piglet says he could eat this everyday for the rest of his life and I agree.  DEEELISH!

Strawberry Fields - $9

This dessert left us confused - not sure if we can agree if we liked it or not and I'm not entirely convinced that peppercorns taste well with strawberries.  It's a great mousse but it just overpowers much of the dish.  The cookie is crispy but just a shortbread cookie.  Not really sure what the olive oil jelly does and it's also lost in the dish.  The fruits are fresh and delicious but it's sad they take a backseat to the mousse.  I learned later on that the macarons are amazing.  Hm, next time...

Our assessment?  Just go.  You just have to experience what we experienced.  Mr. Piglet and I haven't had such a completely satisfying meal in terms of food and service in a really long time.  It was amazing from top to bottom, from beginning to end.  Mr. Piglet has just made plans to go back even though we'd  just been there yesterday - that's how much he liked the food.  If you're a fan of the Top Chef series or just like food or breathe air, you should go and try Fable Kitchen.  Go.  Be happy.

Pros:

• Excellent food
• Very friendly service and not at all pretentious
• Food with principles - locally sourced and in-season ingredients used
• Owned and operated by local Top Chef finalist - how cool is that??

Cons:

• Busy.  No reservation?  Fuhgeddabouit!  You're waiting at least 30 min for a table