20 - Friday, October 24, 1986 - North Shore News CONTINENTAL RECIPES German del with gourmet sali THE North Shore’s foodscape would be a richer and more varied vista if there were more lunch bar’s like Gundi’s Gourmet. Delicatessens have always been my idea of what any good eatery was meant to look like: food crammed into every available space. Cheese, salamis, pickles, spices, salads and condiments pickled in jars covered in foreign writing and enticing illustrations, all encased in a glass bunker behind which grins a master sand- wich and smoked meats chef. The North Shore has a few good delis, notably Meritt’s at 117 East 14th Street, that fit the lunchtime bill and make the mouth water merely upon entry. Gundi’s Gourmet, 4130-1425 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, applies the deli philosophy of -joyous variety to a different sector of the luncheon food chain. Opened in July by Klaus and Gundi Grosse, Gundi's specializes in salads. The tiny restaurant features 20 varieties, all recipes imported from Germany, a land where food re- mains a serious business. Displayed beneath the expanse of its 10-foot long sparkling glass “bar, Gundi’s substantial salads are sold by weight, ranging from 95 cents to $2.30 per 100 grams, which is more than enough to load any good-sized croissant to below the water-line. In their imaginative integration of animal and vegetable worlds, Klaus and Gundi prepare salads that are much more than simple blends of chopped vegetables doused in varying blends of oi! and vinegar. Chicken is combined with man- darin oranges and sprouts to make up Gundi’s Mandarin Salad ($1.75 per 100 grams). The really serious seafood fanat- ic might want to take a few hun- dred grams of Herring Salad ($1.15 per 100 grams) straight or with croissant, who cares if no one will come near you for the next week. Rice combined with top secret European spice, peppers and corn niblets makes up Gundi’s lively Asian Rice Salad for a mere 95 cents per 100 grams. Patrons whose salad repertoire consists of the standard Caesar, Romaine and Greek Top 40 are invited to plumb the depths of the salad unknown by taking advan- tage of Gundi’s free salad samples. On a recent Saturday afternoon family excursion my wife, the wee man and | took a tiptoe through the salads at Gundi’s. 1 tested the Vienna Chicken ($1.50 per 100 grams), while my wife tested a Tropical Salad ($2.30 per 100 grams) and the wee man tested the patience of the Grosse family and all sidewalk passers-by. The Vienna Chicken was a slightly sweet blend of chicken chunks, mayonnaise, pineapple and walnuts piled aboard a crois- sant. Noting the filling that oozed from both ends of my wife’s crois- sant, I could see a goodly supply of fresh shrimp, accompanied with slightly spicy sauce and chunks of papaya. ‘*Good,”’ she said from behind a smiling moustache of cream sauce. Klaus delivered all dishes with amiable efficiency. Desserts at Gundi's are required eating for the calorically callous and have literally driven some to crime. Most are made on the premises. Plum Cake ($1.50) consists of a lovely light crust filled with baked plums covered with brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon. For those who prefer to measure their ‘‘afters’’ in thousands of cal- ories, there is Turimasu ($2.25), a cream cheese and Amaretto con- coction that is currently sweeping dessert specialists in Europe off their weighty feet. i satisfies ads Its richness, bolstered by a topp- ing of chocolate, will satisfy those with the sweetest of palates. Recently an unknown number of Turimasu addicts broke into Gun- di’s Gourmet and made off with the restaurant’s entire stock. Fortunately for those of higher moral standards that stock has NEWS photo Stuart Pevis GUNDI AND Klaus Grosse serve up a helping of Bavarian Mushroom Soup and u Black Forest Ham croissant in front of their West Vancouver restaurant — Gundi’s Gourmet. ESPLANADE , ® Serving The North Shore For Over 45 years Open 1lam-11pm 7 days a week Free parking 117-260 W. Esplanade COE JP, All eel 986-2228 Fine East African Indian Cuisine OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK BUFFET LUNCH SERVED DAILY Sunday — Buffet Dinner — Fully Licensed Take Out & Banquet Facilities Book Now For Your Christmas Group Party! Monday-Thursday: 11:30am-2:30pm & 5: 30pm-1ipm Friday & Saturday until 12 midnight. Sunday untd 109m 4344 Lonsdale Ave, NV. 984-2775 table hopping by Timothy Renshaw since been replenished. Gundi's Gourmer is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. — a friendly island of salad sensibility that also features such daily hot dishes as goulash, schnitzel and roast pork, all priced from $3.95 top $4.95. TASTY MORSELS THE BROILER BAR AT CAPILANO MALL, NORTH VANCOUVER Opened Oct. 2, this new infor- mal 120-seat grill features cheap red meat standards such as ham- burgers ($4.75), steak sandwiches ($5.95) and steak ($7.95 to $10.95) in an atmosphere management has dubbed ‘‘casual classic’? dining. Most of the restaurant’s entrees are broiled over the much ballyhooed mesquite charcoal. Besides red meat dishes, the Broiler Bar serves up pastas, chicken and salmon entrees. Interior of the restaurant is dressed in bold greys and reds. Family dining amidst the bustle of mall shopping. MADISON AVENUE GRILL AT THE AVALON HOTEL, 1025 MARINE DRIVE, NORTH VANCOUVER. A major overhaul to the hotel’s small iounge, small Den dining room and small coffee shop has yielded one big bistro bar. The 170-seat Madison Avenue Grillis scheduled to open Oct. 31. Hotel management is hoping to cep meal prices to between $6 and 10. Featured ‘items will include pastas, gourmet hamburgers and gourmet pizzas, all running be- tween $5 and $7. In order to handle the tradi- tionally enthusiastic thirsts of North Enders, the Gril! has a 50- foot ceramic-tiled bar.