Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Do Chefs Have Groupies?

Okay, just when I start really latching on to Zin (on Robson, near Bute), Chef Chris Whittaker decides to move across the street to O'Doul's at the Listel Hotel. On one hand, I'm thinking, will I still be able to get beautifully executed food at Zin, like the special of the night I had a couple of weeks ago - sablefish, big California scallop, and arctic char, served with a beurre blanc sauce, new potatoes, greens, and so many wonderful oyster mushrooms ($26). Absolutely delicious, and of course perfect service to match. On the other hand, I'm thinking O'Doul's would be such a nice spot if the food, menu and drinks were up to snuff. I had one terribly mediocre experience with pricey, unsatisfying food and somewhat odd service at the bar from the bartender (a menu item promised a trio of appetizers paired with a flight of wine, and the bartender just seemed unwilling make pairings, and made no effort to consult anyone else on the pairings either, and in fact seemed rather against the idea of pairing food and wine in general) one night at O'Doul's long ago, and I haven't been back. There is live jazz there, which could be a lot of fun. I'll check it out once the chef gets settled in.

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