If you told me about a brunch place that sold Bennies for half off between the core service hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and that offered $5 mimosas over the same period, I’d assume you were talking about one of the many chain restaurants around town, those places with coy, slightly suggestively named dishes and cocktails, and servers that look like they are auditioning for Canada’s Next Top Model.
I would not think you were talking about one of the North Shore’s consistently best restaurants, a gem of a venue that delivers carefully prepared dishes using top quality seasonal ingredients, brought to the table by thoughtful, properly trained staff, in a contemporary, elegantly appointed room.
I was surprised, then, to encounter exactly these promotional offerings when I popped into Deep Cove’s Arms Reach Bistro one recent Sunday morning with my wife DJ. I was fully prepared to drop a few bucks on what I was sure would be a great meal, priced accordingly. Instead, I enjoyed a positively delicious Smoked Trout Rillette Eggs Benedict with hashbrowns and two bubbly and refreshing glasses of sparkling wine with orange juice for around $20, tax included.
It’s an interesting strategy for the restaurant and a risky one, from a certain perspective. You see, when you price your wares in a fiercely competitive way, diners are sometimes inclined to challenge why these sort of deals are not available all the time. A $20 brunch is a significant contrast to a $100 dinner, but I suspect the approach is directly related to the time of year. January can be a barren wasteland for even the most beloved restaurants, and being situated at the extreme end of North Vancouver’s most westerly shore requires that diners invest in a long-ish trip through the dreary wet of the season to dine there.
Looking at Arms Reach Bistro’s full tables, however, and the short queue for a seat even on a soaking and grey Sunday, I’d say the strategy seems to be working.
In my case, the modest prices for the proper brunch items (there are only four) inspired me to explore the rest of the available a la carte menu with greater zeal; a $13 Snake River Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, such as the one I ultimately chose, seems a lot more affordable when followed by a $7 main rather than a $25 one.
DJ refrained from ordering an appy in anticipation of her traditional eggs benedict and sipped her mimosa as I tucked into my carpaccio, a truly extraordinary rendition of a longtime favourite of mine, realized here with melt-in-the-mouth succulent slices of raw, beautifully marbled wagyu beef topped with a complex and pungent rosemary-garlic aioli, salty capers, shaved Grana Padano parmesan cheese, and a stack of olive oil-basted crostini. The portion was generous and the preparation flawless (including the temperature of the meat, which suggested the dish was not, as is so often the case with carpaccio elsewhere, made well in advance and stuck into the fridge until service).
When our mains arrived I remarked to DJ that it was interesting that neither of us had been asked how we would like our eggs poached. I find this question frankly superfluous as, in my admittedly strong opinion, there is only one way that eggs should be served on a Benedict dish: gently oozing in the middle but fully cooked around. Underdone poached eggs are repugnant while overdone poached eggs, in which the yolk is fully cooked like their hard-boiled cousins, are disappointing and contribute nothing to the enhancement of the dish. The kitchen team at Arms Reach clearly knows what it’s doing and the yolks of our eggs gently cascaded down the plate, covering the toasted English muffins that supported them in a vibrant orange sheen.
The smoked trout rillettes that topped my English muffin were luscious and subtle, with a delicate balance of fresh fish flavour and subdued smokiness, characteristic saltiness and rich fatty roundness. Rillettes (always plural) are preparations of meat (most commonly pork, but also frequently fowl) in which the protein is coarsely chopped, seasoned, and then slowly cooked in its own fat, ensuring a tender and moist texture on the palate. It is considerably less common to see fish rillettes, but the trout worked a treat. I noticed it also features on a sandwich on the lunch menu, which I will be sure to try on my next visit.
I paired my main with a glass of excellent Burgundian chardonnay from Chartron et Trebuchet.
DJ’s Benny, like mine, was topped with a fresh and citrusy Hollandaise and her eggs were cooked to similar perfection.
Our meal, which eventually included four mimosas, a tea, and a glass of wine between us, was $68 before gratuity.
Arms Reach Bistro is located at 4390 Gallant Ave. Armsreachbistro.com. 604-929-7442.
