1 - The Grapevine

5
HERBIVORECARNIVORE
The Grapevine
September 19 - October 3, 2013
Bigger and badder every year! Want to Volunteer? smokinbluesfest@gmail.com
THURSDAYS:
Spitfire Arms Alehouse (Windsor): Open
Jam w/Stephen Fisher(19th), w/Kevin Meyers
(26th), w/Heather Kelday (3rd) 7pm
Just Us! (Wolfville): Open Mic w/Kim
Matheson (19th), w/Mike Aube (26th), w/
TBA(3rd) 7-9pm
Angles Pub (Windsor): Adam Cameron
(19th, 26th, 3rd) 7-10pm
The Kings Arms Pub & Steakhouse
(Kentville): Laura Roy (19th, 26th, 3rd) 7pm
Paddy’s Pub (Kentville): The Hupman
Brothers (19th, 26th, 3rd) 9pm
Library Pub (Wolfville): Tom Hall (19th,
26th, 3rd) 9pm
Paddy’s Pub (Wolfville): Trivia w/Graham
(19th, 26th, 3rd) 9:30pm
West Side Charlie’s (New Minas): Ten
Mile House, $8 (26th) 9:30pm
Anvil (Wolfville): DJ (19th, 26th, 3rd) 10pm
FRIDAYS:
The Kings Arms Pub & Steakhouse
(Kentville): Al King (20th), TBA (27th) 5pm
Blomidon Inn (Wolfville): Jazz Mannequins
(20th) 6:30-9:30pm
Joe’s Food Emporium (Wolfville): Paul
Marshall and Carter Lake (20th, 27th)
7-10pm
The Port Pub (Port Williams): Caleb Miles
(20th), Jon Duggan (27th) 8pm
Spitfire Arms Alehouse (Windsor): Rip
Tide (20th), Joe Murphy (27th) 8pm
Union Street Café/Wick Pub (Berwick):
Open Mic w/Darrell Skinner (20th), w/Craig
Werth (27th) 8:30pm
West Side Charlie’s (New Minas): DJ Gizmo
(20th), DJ Lethal Noize (27th) 10pm
Anvil (Wolfville): The Bass Ball W/Hypesteria,
DJ Lumiere, Nocon (20th) 10pm
SATURDAYS:
Farmers’ Market (Wolfville): Campbell
& Green (21st), Deep Roots at the Market
(28th) 10am-1pm
Library Pub (Wolfville): Irish Saturdays w/
Bob & Ro (21st, 28th) 2-4pm & Saturday
Evening w/Leo Boudreau (21st, 28th) 9pm
Spitfire Arms Alehouse (Windsor): George
Carter Trio (21st), Jon Duggan (28th) 7pm
The Kings Arms Pub & Steakhouse
(Kentville): Mark Riley (21st) 8:30pm
Lew Murphy’s (Coldbrook): Matt Millet &
Rob Hunt (21st), PM Blues (28th) 9pm
Union Street Café/Wick Pub (Berwick):
Kickin' Mule Blues Band (21st) 9pm
Paddy's Pub (Wolfville): Al King (21st),
Deep Roots Music (28th) 9pm
Tommy Gun’s (Windsor): DJ Fred $3
(28th) 9:30pm
Anvil (Wolfville): DJ (21st, 28th) 10pm
West Side Charlie’s (New Minas): DJ Lethal
Noize (21st), Good Feeling Band followed
by DJ Billy T (28th) 8:30pm
SUNDAYS:
Paddy's Pub (Wolfville): Irish Music Session
(22nd, 29th) 8pm
Anvil (Wolfville): DJ Victor (22nd, 29th)
10pm
MONDAYS:
Paddy’s Pub (Wolfville): Open Mic w/Stephen
Fisher (23rd), w/Beer In The Headlights
(30th) 8pm
TUESDAYS:
The Port Pub (Port Williams): Open Mic
w/Ian Brownstein & Steve Lee (24th, 1st)
7:30pm
T.A.N Coffee (Wolfville): Open Mic & Donna
(24th, 1st) 8pm
Spitfire Arms Alehouse (Windsor): Trivia
Nights w/Quick As A Wink Theatre, $2 (24th,
1st) 8-10pm
Paddy’s Pub (Kentville): Irish Music Session
(24th, 1st) 8-10pm
WEDNESDAYS:
Farmers’ Market (Wolfville): Angela Riley
(25th), Acadia School of Music (2nd) 5-7pm
The Naked Crepe (Wolfville): Open Mic w/
Jesse Potter (25th, 2nd) 8pm
West Side Charlie’s (New Minas): Karaoke
w/DJ Billy T (25th, 2nd) 9pm
www.herbivorecarnivore.com | By Jesse Gadon & Emily Leeson
We’re here to eat. Emily, the herbivore, will order vegetarian
or vegan & happily taste-test any gluten-free
options. Jesse, the carnivore, will literally eat anything
put before him. Watch out napkins!
There are a lot of small plates in our kitchen. Small unbreakable
plates, largely available in primary colours.
And while they do serve a variety of appetizing fare,
it's usually the sort a toddler greedily enjoys.
Well, tonight that toddler is enjoying some Auntie-time,
and we are off to enjoy some small plates of a
more sophisticated and wondrously adult nature.
Backstory
Good food begins with the raw ingredients. For Chef
Dave Smart, this means beginning with the seed
catalogues and selecting the best varieties that will be
drawn into his dishes. The small-plate philosophy he
adheres to means that the table is an ever-changing
tableaux of flavour, texture, and sensation. Dave
returns to classical French cuisine for guidance in
technique, but transforms what we may think a dish
to be into something contemporary, imaginative, and
memorable.
The Scene
The atmosphere is modern and simple. Sleek lines of
the furniture are paired against panels of reclaimed
lumber. The Maître d’ brought us to our table, and
from there we watched the sun set against the dykes.
As it grew dark, the glow from the candle on our
table shared a luminance with the street lights. How
unexpectedly romantic.
Cocktails
Temporary Vacation. This tequila cocktail was sweet
and citrusy and marked with a smoked sea-salt rim. A
great cocktail. Period.
Bob Herman. A delicious cousin of the Old Fashion,
if you will. But the mystery still remains: who is Bob
Herman? We know he likes Bourbon.
1st Course
THE HERBIVORE: Polenta & Goat Cheese Agnolotti &
L’Acadie Vineyards Estate L’Acadie Blanc 2012. Ribbons
of zucchini, sweet roasted cherry tomatoes...warm
and peppery, this agnolotti brought out the bright
nature of the L’Acadie. When executed with careful
forkmanship, every bite paired each sensation with its
counterpart, in a perfect duet.
THE CARNIVORE: Pan Seared Halibut & Domain de
Grand Pré Vintner’s Reserve Muscat 2011. A beautiful
portion of halibut sat within a light but complex lobster
bouillabaisse. The rich broth paired wonderfully
with the notes of citrus and sweetness of the Muscat.
2nd Course
THE HERBIVORE: Faux Pho & Gaspereau Vineyards
Riesling 2011. This course came as a do-it-yourself
kit. Now, when I complete an IKEA dresser, there are
no screws left behind. I’m sort of the same way with
my Faux Pho. All in, this dish was spicy and sweet,
savory and smooth, crisp and supple. The tofu played
beautifully against the light garnishes, while the chilli
Front & Central | 117 Front Street, Wolfville, NS
www.frontandcentral.com
spice and Reisling were obviously a pairing ordained
by a higher power than my own two hands.
THE CARNIVORE: Mushroom and Barley Risotto &
Luckett Vineyards L’Acadie Blanc 2011. From the soft
texture of the mushroom ragu to the endless pleasure
of beurre noisette cream with truffle oil, notes of citrus
to the “pop” provided by the barley, this dish brought
out the best in all of its ingredients.
3rd Course
THE HERBIVORE: Gnocchi & Blomidon Estate’s Baco
Noir 2012. The kale was the surprising star of this
deep, delicious, maplely mushroom Canadian dish.
Brought out by the earthy Baco Noir and soft cushions
of gnocchi, the kale was set up to be fully appreciated
in all its tones.
THE CARNIVORE: Duck Breast (3oz) & Blomidon Estate’s
Baco Noir 2012. There was a real sense of artistry
behind this dish. Perfectly cooked, the sliced duck
breast was ornamented with savory granola and micro
daikon radish greens, all accompanied by an apple
puree, giving the hakurei turnip and the rest of this
dish a natural sweetness.
4th Course
THE HERBIVORE: Field Berry Consommé. Fresh berries
and tart lemon ice cream sat alongside the mossy
green Matcha Green Tea sponge cake. It was a delightful
feast fit for forest fairies—or one very satisfied
Herbivore.
THE CARNIVORE: Dark Chocolate Ganache.
A wonderful finale to the evening. Three scallop-like
nuggets of dark chocolate ganache, mantled by salted
caramel ice cream (made in-house) and transfixed by a
decorative waffle tuile wave. A monument of yum.
A Final Note
With the evening drawing to a close, the Carnivore
asked, as he always tends to do, “One more drink at
the bar?” In this case, we might have: Front & Central
even has a lounge licence now, which means, we
might have even started and ended our evening at the
bar for that matter. But somewhere up the hill, a tiny
toddler is likely waiting for a lullaby and a tuck in bed,
all warmth and sweetness until she wakes up screaming
at 2am. No, for now we’ll just depart, sufficiently
satisfied, sufficiently suffonsified, sufficient sufficed—or
whatever it is you say.