Dine Out for Life with me at Tomato Fresh Food Cafe
5 Comments
Karen Hamilton
March 6, 2009
After much back and forth, I’ve decided to simply link you to the page where the originally embedded Global BC video invite lives. I hate clips that autoplay, no matter how great an overview this video may be for Dining Out for Life.
It occurred to me that I’d never paid attention to Dining Out for Life. One day each year, over 200 restaurants in the Lower Mainland are patronized by thousands of diners for the express purpose of “filling their plates to fight AIDS”. 25% of all proceeds goes to A Loving Spoonful and Friends for Life: local charities that support people living with HIV / AIDS.
While the event has certainly not gone unnoticed by our household, I can’t recall ever making a point to participate; we dine out fairly often, after all. My sense of social responsibility grabbed me by the ear this time. My ear was pulled even further when Eagranie of The Well-Tempered Chocolatier declared her early commitment to the cause (bravo, my dear). I decided to follow her lead by also volunteering my pen, lens, and time as a Dining Out for Life Restaurant Ambassador.
The DOFL planning team acquiesced to my request to help at a restaurant that I’ve never eaten at before. They wound up assigning me to Tomato Fresh Food Cafe–once an institution on the Cambie corridor and now a neighbourhood contender on the Broadway strip of Kitsilano.
Now, I wouldn’t ask you to come out to Tomato Cafe without scouting it out for you in advance, so here are my notes, scribbled at said Cafe from 4pm to 7pm tonight, t-minus 1 week to the start of Dining Out for Life.
4pm at Tomato Fresh Food Cafe – Arrival and first tastes
Soon after I settled into a booth with a good view of the open kitchen, I was greeted by chef James Campbell, who had noticed my photo documentation and came to say hello. I introduced myself as their Restaurant Ambassador and proceeded to peruse the menu for something good to try.
My visit could have been better timed. Between 3 and 5, the kitchen grills shut down to prep for dinner service. I had to make do with the afternoon menu, which was described by my server as a selection of cold sandwiches and salads. Sandwiches are pretty far down on my list of food favourites, so I was a little disheartened. My countenance brightened, however, at the presence of soup on the menu.
Today’s soups were a Manhattan clam chowder and a Thai chickpea curry. I opted for a cup of the latter. It was gone in literally a minute; I was hooked after the first few bites. It was like some entity had possessed my being and threw the soup into my mouth in rapid-fire swallows.
My sadness at the soup’s quick demise was washed away by a glass of the Heavenly Cleanse: a juice medley of carrot, apple, lemon, and ginger. It was at once harmonious and distinct – the flavours worked well together without losing their identities completely. It is also an unusual blend; not my first choice for diners that do not tend to eat out of the box.
4:30pm – Round 2
While I waited for the grills to fire, I skipped ahead and ordered one of Tomato Cafe’s desserts: a warm Banana Foster cake. The mascarpone ice cream was eager to slide off the top of the cake. I rushed to snap a photo while it was still upright.
Loved the small details. There were curlicues of caramel sauce and a ring of miniscule banana slices that were intermediary between cake and ice cream. A leaf of coconut tuile poked out from the mascarpone in defiance of gravity.
5:30pm – Round 3
Now that the kitchen was afire for dinner, I placed my order for one of the many personal favourites pointed out to me by my new server, Khristine.
The seared bay scallops were my choice for winding down my taste test. This $13 starter was served on a bed of pea and asparagus risotto. The portion I received would have been suitable for a standalone light meal; after soup, juice, and cake, my belly could barely take this much more. But I managed to eat every last bite.
Had I not prefaced my dinner with an abundance of snacks, I would have likely tried the Bouillabaisse du Pacifique or the tagliatelle with wild sea prawns and long stem artichokes. Both are Ocean Wise – bonus. Ah well…it gives me something to try on subsequent visits, including next week on Thursday, March 12th.
Will you drop by for dinner on March 12, 2009?
If I’ve gotten you interested in Tomato Cafe, please consider joining me on Thursday in support of Dining Out for Life. It’d be lovely to meet you!
Tomato Fresh Food Cafe
2486 Bayswater Street (at Broadway) | Kitsilano
Reserve by phone: (604) 874-6020
Reserve by email: info@tomatofreshfoodcafe.com
(If Tomato Cafe is not your thing, check out where Eagranie is stationed or peruse the full list of participating restaurants for a place that you can endorse.)
Categories: Blogging for Social Change, Events, Food, Kitsilano, Restaurants
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w00t. Thanks for helping spread the word, Karen. That bananas foster cake looks tasty.
Also, a full list of restaurants is available here: http://www.diningoutforlife.com/vancouver/participating.
Some restaurants are open for lunch – even more opportunity to raise money for a great cause.
Ah I would but I have dodgeball that night.
I would join you but I think we’d make a better service to the Vancouver foodie community by spreading and choosing different restaurants. Therefore, sadly, I will be missing you at Tomato. I’ll post my adventures on my blog, though (and I have trackbacked to this post)
[...] Raul’s post, I found out that Karen of TinyBites will be at Tomato during the event as [...]
Great idea, Karen! I am glad that we’ll have covered the city!
Last post for Raul – Location for Dining Out for Life Tweetup