21 - Friday, January 29, 1988 - North Shore News A successful culinary voyage MW THE PACIFIC ORIENT LINE CROSSINGS RESTAURANT, 157 B CHADWICK COURT, NORTH VANCOUVER, 987-4610. THE LOWER DECK BOAT CLUB BISTRO IS WHEELCHAIR AC- CESSIBLE, VISA, MASTERCHARGE AND AMERICAN EX- PRESS ACCEPTED THE PACIFIC Orient Line Crossings Restaurant will pro- vide first-class culinary passage for all who sign aboard this excellent new restaurant. It represents a titanic improve- ment over its predecessor, Benn- ington’s, which manned the helm of what is a great North Shore seaside location, but failed to pro- vide the quality of food, decor and atmosphere it deserved. Food served at Crossings is as imaginatively and artfully pres- ented as it is elegantly prepared by head chef Robert Brown. The restaurant's dinner menu, simple yet inspired, is bolstered by a nightly fresh-sheet selection that is similarly appetizing and an ex- Cining a cellent sushi bar masterminded by Yuza, a 25-year veteran of the sushi major leagues in Japan. For those who have promised themselves or their persistent mates that, yes, we will take that sea cruise soon, just be patient, my . plum, Crossings’ cruise liner motif “sis extremely convincing: big - chandeliers, plush deep blue carpets, decorated with sea horses, a mini-grand staircase that leads the way to an upper-deck dining. room decorated with faded, brown photos of cruise liners, seafaring passengers lounging on decks, models of hall-of-fame cruise liners and other details nautical. The upper deck is lushly ap- pointed with rosewood-stained wooden chairs outfitted with rose-pink upholstery. _ View from the restaurant’s up- per deck has also been vastly im- proved since its Bennington’s days. The east wall is now all glass, and the'extreme ¢ast section is covered with a glass ceiling. The result is a first-class harbor view of Van- couver from its glorious North Shore. Nightly restaurant reservations are listed on a lower-deck blackboard ‘passengers list’ at the entrance to the mysterious Boat Club Bistro. All that is missing for the true deep-sea cruise enthusiast is the lurch and roll of the ship and a rousing mid-meal lifeboat drill. But, regardless of the effect of decor and location, if the food Shore. The order was six sushi pieces, all of which included a generous cut of raw tuna ona dainty cube of the patented sticky Japanese white rice. Accompanying on a separate plate were separate mounds of by Timothy Renshaw table hopping » were not interesting and accept- able, the whole harborside voyage would be for naught. Thankfully, Crossings’ food is far more than interesting and far more than merely acceptable. It is served by good, profes- sional waiters attired.in cruise-line stewards’ regalia. Crossings’ regular menu includes -a basic but spirited selection of appetizers and salads (from $2.95 for Chicken Yakitori to Sesame Chicken, $6.95, or Shrimp and Crab Salad, $9.95) and seafood, beef and chicken entrees in the $10 to $17 range. A sampled Artichoke Salad ($4.95) was sparkling with bright greens (lettuce romaine, cucumber slices) and reds (radicchio, red onions and tomato slices) sur- rounding three enthroned ar- tichoke hearts. The Dijon dressing was very good, My Tuna Sushi represented some of the best examples of that * greut Japanese minimalist cuisine | have yet to sample on the North fresh green Wasabi Japanese horseradish and fresh ground white ginger root, which came in place of the more traditional slices of pickled pink ginger — superb from horseradish to rice.. I consulted the evening's fresh sheet menu while my wife, lurching from imagined heavy scas, demanded to iake a walk around the deck and began singing cruis- ing songs of questionable taste. I tried a Pheasant in Rhubarb Compote $13.95. She had a Saltspring Lamb ($14.95). Both selections were served on grand Pacific cruise plates that acted as large crockery canvasses for the entree artwork. Vegetable accompaniment, laid out in colorful precision around the meat, included mushrooms sauteed in garlic, carrots and snow . peas and boiled potatoes (though Come and Try Us in North Vancouver Now! ‘UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT ws 2 pe. Fish & Chips, Lunch and Dinner “ur. 260 )W, . ESPLANADE, N. VAN. offer expires Feb. 4, 88 11:00 AM-10:00 PM, Sun.-Thurs., 11:00 AM-11:00 PM, Fri. & Sat. they forgot mine) sprinkled with a PETER LACUS, owner of the “Pacific Orient Line Crossings Restaur- ant near the. ‘North Van- couver® an Station, blusher of paprika, The pheasant was rendered marvellously piquant by the thubarb compote. The combina- tion was both novel and extremely complementary. My wife's lamb was presented in a savory Dijon mustard brown sauce — also very good. We accompanied the whole feast with a botde of Leo Buring Pinot Noir ($14.95) from the com- prehensive wine list. See N. Van's Page 22 Fine Family Dining made affordable SWAN James Olsen - Restaurant in Oundarave DE DUTCH PANNEKOEK HOUSE DE BREAKFAST: DE BRUNCH DE LUNCH: DE LICIOUS P THE MOST BEAUTIFUL Berea & THE ‘NCA GENUINE DUTCH CAKES IN NC WORLD... OPEN 7DAYS A WEEK 1653 CAPILANO ROAD AT MARINE DR. N.VAN. $85-0328 Ovther locations in Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby , Port Moody SMALLER FoR Tens FOR SMALLER APPETITES AVAILABLE ! NEWS photo Mika Wakstleld