Marquise Vilmont is on to something. I sincerely hope it catches on.
The chef, who has been at the helm of the Taste of Caribbean Islands catering business since 2009, is dipping her toe into the waters of regular bricks and mortar, sit-down dining. Well, sort of.
You see, she has kicked off what she is billing as the Taste of Caribbean Islands “pop-up restaurant,” currently operating in the evenings out of the Ethical Kitchen space on Mackay Street in North Vancouver.
Once Ethical Kitchen has wrapped up its own operation for the day, Vilmont takes over, filling the restaurant with warm and enticing aromas of Caribbean cuisine.
My recent visit rather late one evening now has me singing the praises of this new venture to all who will listen. The pop-up has not had the benefit of a whole lot of promotion and regrettably the space, which is situated on a particularly quiet, recessed block that is barely discernible from even nearby Indigo, is not subject to a ton of walk-by traffic in the evenings.
My fingers are crossed that the word-of-mouth effect begins to take hold soon and that Vilmont finds the audience she deserves for her boldly flavoured, memorable cooking.
Before we move on to what I sampled at Taste of Caribbean Islands, I feel it is important to give kudos to Ethical Kitchen for the support and vision they have exhibited in helping fledgling North Shore chefs in their attempt to bring their fare to market.
You may recall that Ethical Kitchen once opened their dining space to patrons of soba wunderkind Takashi Koriyama’s cuisine.
Koriyama was producing some of the best noodles out of the tiny kitchen in Tama Organic next door. An arrangement with Ethical Kitchen permitted a growing legion of soba enthusiasts to sit and enjoy Koriyama’s dishes on site.
Now the progressive North Shore restaurant, which has gained its own following over its eight years of operation, has afforded Vilmont a venue in which to showcase her culinary talents outside of the catering world.
My first attempt to visit Taste of Caribbean was unsuccessful. When I arrived, Vilmont was in the process of shutting the place down a couple of hours early, citing very slow patronage.
She was affable and apologetic about it and seemed sincere in her wish to see me again sometime soon, so I dropped by again the next night, though much later than I had planned, and feared that perhaps I had missed the boat again. Happily, Vilmont was very much in business, busily working the ranges when I arrived.
I asked the lone server working the room that evening to tell me the best dish on the menu and, without hesitation, she explained it was the Pulled Pork Cuban Sandwich. Now, a Cuban sandwich is a very specific thing and its proper, authentic construction is the subject of much heated debate from divergent camps.
The roots of the dish can be traced to early 20th-century Cuban workers in Florida. This is the first time I’ve seen one on a local menu and was very impressed with Vilmont’s rendition.
An approximately eight-inch wedge of baguette-like organic bread was stuffed to capacity with pickles, mustard, mayo, tomato, lettuce, rounds of jalapeno, cheese and the key ingredient, pork.
The meat in the sandwich was actually presented as beautifully roasted, slightly caramelized strips and cubes and not as the usual thread-textured fibres of meat one typically associates with the term pulled pork. The sandwich was grilled until crispy (not mouth-decimatingly so) and faintly smoky. The whole affair worked well, every bite hitting unique combinations of flavours.
Keen to try more from Vilmont’s lengthy menu, which my server explained is a Haitian-influenced take on modern Caribbean, I ordered a follow-up dish of Marinated Oxtail served with au gratin potatoes and rice. It was here, dear readers, that I discovered the deep magic in Vilmont’s cooking.
My, oh my, that oxtail was phenomenal. Spicy, thoroughly caramelized, crisp in parts, succulently fatty in others, it was bursting with deep, flavours that had me looking skyward as if to proclaim to the vast, cruel and indifferent universe that our noisy little planet has intrinsic value after all, that there is fundamental good in our world and that I know this because I experience it from time to time on a deeply sensual, overwhelming level.
The accompanying rice was not just some afterthought starch component either, but rather presented bold, earthy flavours of its own, while the au gratin potatoes were satisfying in their creamy, buttery, deep-dish baked richness.
I brought some oxtail home for the kids to try and they devoured every remaining morsel in seconds, completely unperturbed by its description.
The bill was $27 for my two dishes, which would have easily made a meal for two. Taste of Caribbean Islands is located at 1600 Mackay Rd., North Vancouver. tasteofcaribbeanisland.com/. Open 5-11 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, Tuesday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.
