A Tiny Bites dinner date at Cobre
13 Comments
Karen Hamilton
August 22, 2008
My husband reconnected with his family in Winnipeg last week while I missed him greatly at home. To pass the time, I booked myself silly with lunch and dinner dates, which culminated in a general Facebook & Twitter call for dining companions for Friday evening. The address to explore was Cobre, a Gastown tapas restaurant whose praises have been sung by many a Tiny Bites reader.
Photo courtesy of my lovely cousin
Five diners responded to my invitation, and on Friday, the 6 of us gathered for a lively meal atop Cobre’s mezzanine. Introductions were made and wine was poured: a velvety carmenere from Chile that had everyone competing for the last drop.
We then began the lengthy but enjoyable process of deciding what to order. The menu was littered with Spanish and culinary terms which would have otherwise daunted the uninitiated; luckily, Cobre supplied each diner with a glossary to help us decipher each item.
Everything sounded intriguing so we went bat-crazy with the menu, ordering 12 different dishes and doubles of some. (One guest must have found his gastronomic soulmate in another, because these two ordered almost exactly alike and flattered each other’s sense of taste all night. His girlfriend seemed okay with that.)
These were the highlights for me:
We nearly exhausted the Taqueria menu that night, ordering 4 of the 5 varieties available. My pick of these was the pulled duck with scallions and roasted garlic. Duck titillates my palate in oh so many ways, so I was very pleased to discover another method of preparation for my favourite fowl.
Honourable mention goes to the one with wild boar chorizo, sunchokes, and nugget potato. It wasn’t the runner-up in terms of taste (I’d say that was the rockfish) but it definitely won points for originality.
I fell in love with the mango crème brulée after my first spoonful, but unfortunately, it was not the dessert I had ordered. I made googly eyes at it from across the table while I nibbled at my delicious but extremely sweet dulce de leche.
The chocolate soufflé was absolutely sinful with its molten centre and dark, starchy outer shell. I was content with just a bite and a giggle at the curious geometry of the accompanying cinnamon churros.
Dinner conversation often veered back towards the gorgeous artwork that peppered Cobre’s walls. It seems inevitable that my cousin will track this artist down and buy some of her works, as we did find one of her business cards leaned up against the back of our booth.
The Verdict
Group consensus was quite positive. Plates were licked clean; wine was duly noted for future consumption; service was attentive and accommodated our communal table by splitting all our orders into smaller, shareable portions. I’m looking very forward to returning to Cobre and introducing my husband (and hopefully more Tiny Bites dining companions) to this wonderful Gastown find.
Cobre
52 Powell St | Gastown
(604) 699-2396
www.cobrerestaurant.com
Categories: Downtown, Events, Food, Gastown, Restaurants
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13 Responses to “A Tiny Bites dinner date at Cobre”
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Your great photos make it all look really delicious. And I love the photo of the hands reaching in. What a great piece of symbolism for something tasty!
Thanks, Tom. It really did taste as good as it looked.
Usually my dining companions are kind enough to hold back on the food until the photography’s done. This time around, they were itching to dig in, so I thought it was a good opportunity for an action shot =)
Now I’m really jealous I couldn’t make it. Although my last visit was only (?) about 8 weeks ago.
The wine: superb!
Your buddy Maartin has excellent taste in food =D
Dessert was top notch!
I’ve thrown up some more pics on flickr and thrown link love in your direction: http://flickr.com/photos/andrewkumar/sets/72157606903644413/
Hi there,
I am the artist you commented on and I wanted to say thank you for the positive feedback!!!!
If your cousin would like to contact me, he/she can email me at vine_04@hotmail.com.
Stephanie….
The duck taqueria is a new found favourite and the chorizo taqueria was definitely pulled together by the chili sauce, although I would have preferred slightly less potato.
Have to say, best part of the meal was the wine. And that’s saying a lot since the rest of the meal was so enjoyable!
We should TOTALLY do Cobre when I get back!
Klaus, Andrew, Bruce, and Raul: okay, Cobre redux some time in the fall!
Stephanie: Thank you for saying hello! We were thoroughly impressed by your artwork at Cobre…in particular the seafoam / aqua one by the booths on the mezzanine. Do you have an online portfolio?
Hi Karen!!!!
I am in the process of making my own website for that purpose. In the meantime I created a facebook group a couple of days ago. I am still adding photos to it too.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27978482582
Once again thank you for saying something about my art. It means a lot to me!!!!
Hi Karen,
I keep trying to post a reply on here and it won’t go through? I hope this one does. Anyways, I am currently working on a website, but in the meantime I started a Facebook group a few days ago :
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27978482582
It means a lot to me to have your recognition, so thank you again!!!!
This place look fantastic. I’ll probably take my girlfriend out to try your recommandations. Is the place busy enough to require reservations?
[...] had such great fun with you at the last Tiny Bites dinner gathering at Cobre that I’ve decided to make these public dinner excursions a regular thing. We’ve been [...]
Jason and his staff at Cobre has it nailed. The food (props to the short ribs and maple chipotle).
Great photos, Karen.