I’m writing this Sunday Edit from Texas, with Fredericksburg dinners and San Antonio wanderings fresh in mind, but I’m still thinking about a bowl of noodles back in Gastown.
Last week, most of this trip was still ahead of me. Now there are photographs to sort, conversations to follow up on and plenty to write about. Back home, I just published my full dinner story from The Moon, alongside stories about an Indonesian pantry shop, a chef’s family memories and a supper club with a murder to solve.
Those noodles at The Moon
Our October 25 dinner at The Moon Martini Bar & Restaurant in Gastown was exceptional. The dish I kept talking about was the einkorn noodles in Peking duck broth with geoduck. I raved about them so much that chef Felix Maristany sent some home with me. That is a very good way to end an evening.
There was plenty else to love, from a martini with pickles and papas to humpback prawns, veal tartare, coho salmon and Charentais melon semifreddo. The full dinner story is now up, with photographs of the dishes. And yes, I’ll be going back for those noodles.
The hospitality at Hill & Vine
Here in Texas, Hill & Vine in Fredericksburg made for a lovely evening. I enjoyed the food and drinks, but the warm hospitality and conversation with the general manager were just as much a part of it. I followed up afterwards to learn more about him, the owners and how the restaurant came together.
Dinner at Otto’s brought another good conversation, this time with Hailey from Visit Fredericksburg. I enjoyed hearing about her life, and she made sure I had a ride home before heading home herself to feed her pigs. Thank you, Hailey. There is plenty to research before a trip, but you can’t put those conversations on an itinerary. They are a good part of what I’ll remember from Fredericksburg.
A few names in the Texas wine notebook
The wine story is still taking shape, with some helpful guidance from fellow members of Les Dames d’Escoffier. At Pedernales Cellars, Cathy Whitson singled out Graciano and Tempranillo Reserve as her two favourites, and they were very worthy additions. At Becker Vineyards, Nichole Bendele recommended the Viognier Reserve as an introduction to the winery, particularly for its versatility with food. It was a favourite in the lineup, and I even left with a bottle.
San Antonio on foot
By Saturday I was back wandering around San Antonio, spending time in the Pearl district and making my way to Blue Star in Southtown. I have the Jeep for getting farther afield, but I’d already done enough walking to feel quite comfortable abandoning the gym plan.
I’ve also been sorting through photographs, including the girls dressed for their quinceañera celebrations. There are days when the camera roll explains the day better than the itinerary does. I’ll have more from San Antonio once I’ve had time to put the photographs and notes together.
Los Barrios and that shrimp chile relleno
Los Barrios gave me another dish to keep thinking about: the shrimp chile relleno. So good. Fellow Dame Diana Barrios Treviño’s Los Barrios Family Cookbook is coming home with me, too.
A Vancouver shopping story that starts with candlenuts
Thinking about what makes food taste like home brings me to this week’s story on Toko Convenience. The family behind the Strathcona shop remembers trying to make rendang after moving to Vancouver and being unable to find candlenuts. That small frustration helps explain the much bigger idea behind the store.
Angela So and the brothers behind Tempea are bringing Indonesian pantry ingredients, fresh tempeh and sambals to East Hastings. The self-serve noodle bar was still in the works when we spoke, so this is a story about the shop and what its founders are building. I especially like that customers can ask them to track down the ingredients they miss.
From a family’s foraging places to Milan
There is another lovely connection to home in my interview with Five Sails chef Tengis Battur. His father gathered wild berries for his competition dish in the places where they had foraged together when Tengis was a boy. He also used the tea leaves his grandfather brewed for family visits.
Battur won the Canadian regional final of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition and will represent Canada in Milan in 2027. The award is the news, but the family story is what I wanted to hear more about. His answers gave us both.
Dinner, jazz and a little murder
Shon Wong’s family memories take a rather different turn in The Jade Note. His recollections of noisy Chinese restaurant celebrations, his father’s style and family photographs have helped shape a fictional supper club with a murder to solve.
The show comes to Capitol Hill Hall in Burnaby on November 28, with dinner, live music and audience suspects. I enjoyed hearing where the characters and atmosphere came from. There is a whole family history behind the evening, along with the jazz and the whodunit.
Christmas cake is creeping into the conversation
Even while I’m away, the holiday stories are arriving. I’m working on a profile of Bel Café pastry chef Marissa Gonzalez, who grew up in Mexico and had to research and experiment her way into making Christmas cake. Her written interview is a lovely reminder that experienced cooks still get to be beginners at something.
Bel Café’s holiday menu launches November 17. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I’m looking forward to sharing more of Marissa’s story.
For a little kitchen inspiration, Pati Jinich’s Foods of La Frontera feels like a fitting book to revisit while I’m in Texas. It is one of the titles in my fall cookbook feature for VITA. The Crispy Shrimp Taquitos are on my list to try when I get home.
Three new books and a second suitcase
I’m heading home with three new books: United Tastes of Texas by Jessica Dupuy, The Big Texas Cookbook by the editors of Texas Monthly, and Diana Barrios Treviño’s Los Barrios Family Cookbook. Plenty of inspiration for keeping a little Texas in the kitchen once I’m back in Vancouver.
I now require a second suitcase. The books might have something to do with it, although I may have bought some boots, too. For now, there is a little more Texas before I head home. Packing can wait.
