Friday night, and I'm breaking out of the city. Well, not too far out—a scant 30 minutes from the downtown core and I'm on the docks of Sidney 's Van Isle Marina, home to local-loving and locally loved Dock 503. The well-respected restaurant has had a change of command as of late, with new young chef Michael Minshull heading down the mountain from the Aerie to take over the kitchen. He's carrying on in both the tradition of the Aerie and Dock 503, in using only seasonal, local produce and products. I was interested in seeing what was up his sleeve, since we were dining in late days of winter when there isn't much fresh growing around here.
What are fresh are onions. The humble onion appeared in many different guises throughout the $25 Dine Around menu. I almost expected onion gelato! I'm a big fan of all things allium – but if you're like my dinner guest and intolerant to this plant family, you might want to tread carefully. Our night started off with Three Lily and Yukon Gold Potato soup with a shitake mushroom cream for me, and their take on Caesar Salad - Grilled Baby Romaine with preserved lemon, olive tapenade and warm polenta croutons for my guest. The soup's three lilies were a triple assortment of the onion family and were warm and comforting. The same could be said for the grilled salad – an unusual take on a familiar standby.
For our mains we had an Asian-influenced Pacific Rock Fish, served with scallions, ginger/belgian endive slaw and a fried rice cake. Very delicate in flavour, the fish was flakey and tender and steamed to perfection, the assertive slaw a nice contrasting pair. We also chose the Cowichan Chicken Breast – slow roasted and layed over a soupy thyme-rich broth of Savoy cabbage, steamed pearl onions and potatoes. The chicken was very moist alongside the thyme-infused jus. We selected the Gray Monk Pinot Noir VQA – light bodied enough to enjoy with the fish, but fruit-forward enough to stand up to the chicken.
Desserts were a small ramekin of vanillin sweet potato crème brulee with crispy pecan biscotti as well as a quartet of housemade sorbet and gelato – praline, almond, lemon and cocoa. Both were very flavourful and light – a refreshing way to end the evening. Throughout, the food was very simply prepared, with clean, unadorned flavour. Our server/sommelier Michael was very helpful and attentive and we would certainly return in the spring or summer to see what fresh riches the kitchen uncovered to work with.
Bon Appetit – The Secret Diner
2230 Harbour Road, Sidney, 250-656-0828
