Periodically, when I visit a place with which I am already very familiar in order to do a review, I feel a sense of mild dread.
What if the experience isn’t very good? It’s my obligation to describe what I encounter during the course of a meal, faults and all. I owe it to you, the reader, to report accurately on dining experiences so that you can make better informed decisions about where to take your business. I also owe it to all the restaurateurs and chefs who work tirelessly to deliver consistently amazing meals to be honest about places that don’t do the same.
Still, a discernible knot develops in my stomach when a beloved venue is on the column roster. It’s sort of like visiting my mom at her place for a holiday meal and then taking her to task for under-seasoned gravy and unforgivably fibrous asparagus.
I felt this gentle foreboding on my recent visit to The Queen’s Cross, a traditional U.K.-style pub the nooks and corners of which have become intimately familiar to me.
The Cross, as it is known to regular patrons, was the first pub I ever visited on the North Shore and was, it turned out, an influential carrot that was dangled before me when, in my much younger and shamefully foolish days, I was reluctant to move from downtown Vancouver to the North Shore. Oh Chris, if you only knew then what you know now.
I walked into the pub just after 7 p.m. on a weeknight to find my dining partner, Mike, already seated at the high-countered bar, sipping a pint of Stanley Park Sunsetter, a seasonal wheat ale with a distinct fruit-forward tartness attributable to its citra hops. The Queen’s Cross has embraced the B.C. craft beer movement in a big way and their lineup of wells is the largest I’ve ever seen it.
I surveyed the room as I entered, with its dark furniture, bold striped booth upholstery and jovial, at-home crowd and felt instantly embraced by the warm, faintly nostalgic familiarity of the place, almost as if the echoes of countless bouts of laughter that I have experienced there still reverberated through the room.
Mike and I repaired to a booth at the back and, upon reviewing the menu, decided to eschew the more traditional North American pub fare such as wings, nachos and burgers, and instead commit ourselves to sampling the gastro-pub offerings, beginning with an appetizer of rare seared, sesame-crusted saku tuna served atop crispy wontons with wasabi mayonnaise, cilantro, cucumber salsa and ponzu (a Japanese staple sauce comprised of rice vinegar, dried tuna flakes and seaweed enlivened with the citrus-punch of yuzu).
The tuna was beautifully prepared, its carmine-hued flesh giving way to the faintest hint of pan-sear at the edges.
While wontons are a natural vessel for the fish, for my taste the mayo was a bit too sweet, a touch like salad cream, and could have benefited from a more prominent wasabi kick. Still, it was an inspired gastro-pub starter.
We followed the tuna up with a shared potato, rosemary and roasted garlic pizza. I felt compelled to order the dish as I happen to know the combination of ingredients works brilliantly, courtesy of the now-closed Coliseum that once lived on West 12th Street and called this pizza its signature item.
The Cross did an admirable interpretation of the tomato-less creation, with a hearty application of earthy rosemary, thick-cut new potatoes and handfuls of sticky, caramelized garlic.
Pursuing the innovative pub cuisine theme through to fruition, Mike ordered a giant Yorkshire pudding (it filled a dinner-sized plate) stuffed with slices of lean roast beef, garlic mashed potatoes and caramelized onions, all topped with beef gravy. The roast beef was tender and well seasoned and the Yorkie was light, crisp and succulent, as it should be. The dish was a winner, especially at just $15.
For my main, I chose braised lamb shank, also served with garlic mashed potatoes, with steamed carrots, broccoli and medallions of zucchini. The enormous shank of slow-cooked lamb was fall-off-the-bone tender and the vegetables were deftly cooked, retaining a subtle crunch throughout.
Mike and I enjoyed pints of Russel Eastern Promises pilsner, clean and crisp on the palate, a great food beer, and Goose Island IPA, a well-balanced, golden and hoppy brew from Chicago.
I would suggest, reflecting on this meal, that while entrées at the Cross tended towards heavier fare, especially given the season we’re in, and require a substantial appetite, my most recent visit affords me the relief of being able to professionally recommend a place I have personally enjoyed for a long time.
Our meal was $105 before gratuity.
The Queen’s Cross is at 2989 Lonsdale Ave. 604-980-7715 queenscross.com
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Matthew Phillip has been named the new executive chef at Pier 7 Restaurant and Bar down on the water’s edge of Lower Lonsdale.
Phillip’s appointment came shortly after the restaurant celebrated its third anniversary.
With a long, hot summer ahead I recommend trying to score a seat on Pier’s great south-facing patio and embrace the season with The Boil, a unique Thursday evening offering that seems to be gaining serious traction since its launch in the new year.
Priced at $25 per person, The Boil serves two and consists of a fisherman’s net filled with snow crab, chorizo, mussels, Dungeness crab, prawns, clams, calamari, okra, and corn on the cob.
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. He earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
