La Toque Blanche excels in fare LA TOQUE BLANCHE, 4368 MARINE DRIVE, WEST VANCOUVER, 926-1006. VISA, MASTERCARD AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ACCEPTED. WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. .LA-TOQUE Blanche is - beginning to attract les _ctowds grands to its distant West Vancouver location. _” And that growing popularity is a good barometer of La Toque’s food quality. © = After all; what self-respecting gourmet, gourmand or upper crust glutton would sacrifice a night's dining with a trip into the wilds of West Vancouver, be they ever so ratified, if the food were anything but absolutely top drawer? The first time | tried on La To- que, just after it opened in April 1987, the food was superb but the place was half empty. On my most recent visit, the food was still superb (perhaps even a degree above) ut the place was jamimed. Word of slavering mouth had obviously been extremely active over the past 18 months, and it is ‘amazing how much better things taste in an atmosphere warmed by a full restaurant. The gay brouhaha of conversa- tion and laughter aids digestions; the bleak echo of'emptiness slows gastric juice flows to a trickle. Believe me; I’ve experienced enough of both to be able to ap- preciate the benefits of the former over the drawbacks of the fatter. in one struggling restaurant far -in my reviewing past, my wife and | were treated to a command per- formance from an enthusiastic piano and fiddle duo while we sampled the restaurant's food. Though a toe-tapping combo, the musicians were the only other people in the restaurant besides the waiting staff and us. Everywhere ! looked were staff faces beaming with desperation. | chewed but did not enjoy. Con- versation with my wife ricocheted off the restaurant's four walls and returned after being shared by’res- taurant staff. La Toque Blanche’s original seven-entree menu was still in service upon my most recent visit, but it was scheduled for an update in October. Owner and head chef Peter Wieser, who also operates Gourmet Catering Services Ltd. from La Toque’‘s kitchens, has re- tained the original menu's original Prices ($72 to $17 for entrees), which is an added bonus for the bargain conscious diner. The singie-page menu is deceiv- ° ing in its simplicity. All items are gastronomically complex and brilliantly presented. Service from waiter Francois Cacclin is attentive, genial and meticulous. A sampled Salmon and Red Snapper ($3.65) appetizer in a herbed vinaigrette featured thin slices of fresh salmon, octopus and red snapper arranged ina scalloped circle around a colorful centrepiece of fancy purple, white and green edged lettuces. A yellow nasturtium and a sprig of lemon palm added two extra floral flourishes. (t was 2 splendid opener, especially combined with the hot, crusty French bread provided. La Toque’s Lamb Lettuce and Avocado salad ($2.75), served with an excellent raspberry vinaigrette, also came with a bright bouquet of fancy lettuce and such unusual and interesting vegetable decor as a yellow teardrop tomato. The whole dish was attractive to both eye and tastebud. | sampled an evening's special New York Steak ($16.50), which was served with a delicious com- bination of morel and shiitake mushrooms in a rich and savory red wine sauce. ae TIMOTHY aA RENSHAW ‘table hopping The steak was thick cut and beautifully prepared — the way red meat was meant to be con- sured. New York would be proud. Accompanying the meat was a slice of potato pie made up of photo Neil Lucente LA TOQUE Blanche owner and head chef Peter Wieser presents a pork tenderloin with blueberry sauce in the West Vancouver restaurant's warm and hospitable surroundings. The restaurant serves excelent French-style cuisine. thin, layered slices of potato — the spud version of phyllo pastry — whole baby carrots and whole baby zucchinis sliced into fan shapes. My wife tried Noisettes of Lamb ($12.50). The tender, succulent meat was presented in a bright, red pisaento sauce whose charac- ter was enlivened with mustard. Both meals were elegant and excellent, but our enjoyment was reduced somewhat by our failure to specify the restaurant’s non- smoking section, which resulted in unpleasant tobacco gusts” wreathing our food, and reduced further by the battling couple sparring next to us on the other side of one of La Toque’s porous lattice dividers, which resulted in unpleasant insults curdling the immediate atmosphere. But on to sweeter pastimes: dessert. | . La Toque’s, again, are first-class. We sampled a special Fruit Cup ($5.25). The cup was a thin, crisp sugar pastry shaped like a rose and Li SMORGASBORD Seniors $6.25, 7 days a week $725 children 50¢ per year of age 5:00-9:00 p.m. Over 20 delicious items of fine Chinese cuisine 119 East Second Street, ‘NVan. Free Delivery 986-4175 SUSHI ORIGINALS AN OCEAN OF ORIGINAL ARD CLASSIC SUSHIS LOVINGLY PREPARED ie Try oar rainbow roll — a deliciously colourful roll of mm sea-eel, cucumber, salmon, snapper and egg o 5 and spinach, or muskroom sushi with a shitake mushrooms. § TAKE-OUT and f CATERING AVAILABLE sf 1980-1510 180 East 2nd, North Van.. filled with blueberries, strawber- * ries, raspberries, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dash of chocolate ‘ sauce and a sprig of mint. . A shallow pool of sweet cream, - embroidered with cassis, sur-.. rounded the cup. og, ‘I! looked on in wonder as my.“ ’ wife devoured the whole artistic. ° works with a few deft fork strokes. The closest I got to the dish was a. few splatters of chocolate on my tie. . t consoled myself with a 1970 | Burmester port ($10 fortwo: ounces), which raised Table Hop- ping accounting department eyebrows, but added a regal finish to an aristocratic meal. ; La Toque Blanche provides . . cuisine that can genuinely be call- ed haute at prices that can gé- nuinely be called reasonable. © :. Its popularity is-well deserved and suré to increase. - . Open for dinner every day ex- cept Monday. The Fall Family Festival Kim & Jerry — Sunday, November 6, 1988 at 2:00 pm. Tickets $5.00 available at recCentre Lonsdale _ 23rd & Lonsdale in North Vancouver or VTC 280-4444 For further information phone 984-4484 2300 Lonsdale Avenue North Van. 984-4484