< Knowing your food sources! | Main | Great time to be a locavore! >

Vancouver Island

Posted at 1:33 PM on July 15, 2008 by Paulette Thompson

A couple of weeks ago my buddy Kalpna took my mom on a vacation to Vancouver Island. I got to go along on the road trip. We hit the road on a Friday afternoon, crossed the border, and took the ferry from Tsawassen. It was a mad dash of a weekend, especially as Canadians were taking a long weekend as Canada Day was that Tuesday, July 1st.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast in the Ladysmith-Cedar area. This is about an hour and a half to two hours north of Victoria and maybe thirty minutes or so south from Nanaimo. Saturday afternoon we discovered that there are some wonderful cinnamon buns to be had in the town of Ladysmith.

It was extremely hot that weekend here in the Pacific Northwest!

I had read both editions of Elizabeth Levinson's book, An Edible Journey : Exploring The Islands' Fine Foods, Farms And Vineyards. Levinson's book tells you about places to go for sustainable, local, and usually organic--officially or unofficially--foods in the villages, towns, and cities on Vancouver Island. The book is cool because she has conversations with the people in the farmers markets, on the farms, piers, bakeries, and restaurants about why it is that they do what they do: choose to be locally - oriented.

On Saturday evening we went to Mahle House to eat. It is listed in both editions of Levinson's book. Mahle House is a family - run restaurant. Its garden is next door. Most of their food comes from the immediate area.
We found the food to be quite good while some dishes were truly excellent. Although their menu changes weekly and is seasonal, some items seem to stay around
We were brought a nice whole grain, seedy bread with whipped butter. We wanted to eat all of it. We controlled ourselves.

Kalpna had a local white wine she really liked. I can't remember what it was, though. I do remember what we eat as we shared everything: Kalpna ordered asparagus soup and the porcupine prawns ( Kataifi wrapped Tiger Prawns - Wasabi mayonnaise). The porcupine prawns were off the chain, they were so delicious. The asparagus soup was pleasant, but we all agreed that the soup really didn't do the glory of the vegetable justice.
My mom ordered the seafood tower(Dungeness Crab Cake, Jumbo Scallop and Tiger Prawns). The dungeness crab cake was good, but scallop and tiger prawn could not compare to the porcupine prawns and that kicking wasabi mayonaise. Wow! The scallop and prawn were a bit bland.

I ordered halibut tacos with corn salsa. While the fish was nicely cooked, the corn salsa did nothing to enhance the flavor. The vegetables had a nice texture. Unfortunately the tacos were bland. Now I don't know about y'all. I just know that even the simplest taco should be flavorful. A spoonful of the wasabi mayonaise helped. I would not order this dish again.

Our main dishes were as excellent as the porcupine prawns. Mom got Free Range Chicken stuffed with Dungeness Crab and a lemongrass sauce; it came with a basmati rice pilaf and grilled asparagus and carrots. Delicious.
Kalpna had Frenched Rack of Lamb crusted with Dukka (Pistachio nuts, Sesame Seeds & Spices) with Mango and Grape Couscous and Pomegranate Molasses Glaze. The couscous was the big kind that some call Israeli couscous. I can't remember what else was on her plate as I was in a stupor. Delicious.

I had the Vegetarian Tower, goat cheese stuffed portabella mushroom with grilled red and yellow peppers, eggplant, and zucchini. There were polenta and cheese fries served with olive tapenade. Delicious.

Did we need dessert? No. Kalpna and I split an order of strawberry shortcake.
Yes, the strawberries were local. They were small and delicate. Wonderful flavor.The slice of cake, pound cakey, was a bit dry. The real whipped cream was nice. It was nice to have a dessert that was not too sweet. It was good, but it needed a little something to take it to the bridge. What should that have been?

Overall, we had a great evening. I know I felt like I needed to be carried out in a wheelbarrow, sleepy and sated.

I wouldn't mind returning to Mahle House someday, especially on a Wednesday night, which is Adventurous Wednesday. This is a night when the chef gets to suprise you. Everyone at the table will have a different meal. The next time any of you get a windfall, let's go have a gourmet dinner out in the country at Mahle House in Cedar, B.C.

We did go to the farmers market In Cedar on Sunday. We didn't buy any produce as we were returning to the U.S. that day. One thing I noticed was that at 10:45, the artisanal bread from a local bakery had already sold out. The market opened at 10:00! You know that bread had to be good.

The three of us had a great time. We were happy to home. We needed more time to explore central Vancouver Island.