The Blue Marble Restaurant - Disappointingly Mediocre Tapas

I normally do not frequent airport restaurants because they often feature fast food equivalents for the on the go diners. That was when I read about a new establishment billing itself as an upscale tapas style cuisine. Called The Blue Marble and located in the modern Grand Hotel, the premise and positive posts on Urban spoon moved me to try the place. Grabbing a friend for a belated birthday, we made the quick drive over to the airport to dine at The Blue Marble Restaurant.

Finding the place at the airport is easy. Parking in the airport parkade allows for a quick five minute stroll over to the Grand Hotel where The Blue Marble is located. A handsome modern restaurant with large panes of glass and plentiful comfortable booth style seating, diners have the option of choosing from the louder and more raucous lounge or the dim private dining room. Thankfully parking is validated for six hours for paying guests.

The main attraction to the restaurant is their tapas style menu. Served only at dinner, Blue Marble offers a large number of clever tapas creations with enough variety to compliment most diners wishes. Reading through the menu reveals interesting combinations like a Venison Carpaccio with a Chestnut Puree or a Beef Tartar with Avocado. If tapas is not in the cards, a dinner menu was also provided which features more ordinary dishes including a smattering of soup and salad options, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and grilled entrees. The more exciting menu and one that Blue Marble can differentiate itself with is the tapas.

Our meal started with a Arugula Salad which featured the fresh greens with a Saskatoon vinaigrette, prosciutto, candied pecans and poached pears. The tastiest dish of the day, the chef does well to pair classic ingredients and new flavours into a well balanced salad that could have served as a main meal for some. Salty, sweet, slightly bitter and tart all come together nicely here.

Serving Oxtail Ravioli in undercooked (almost raw) pasta is an egregious error that took away from the entire dish. Granted the oxtail was nicely prepared and tender and while the accompanying white bean puree and morels were tasty, the entire dish ground to a halt with the disgustingly undercooked doughy pasta. Beautifully presented, woefully prepared.

This mediocre Duck Breast, prepared sous vide, is paired with a venerable forest of greens and lentils. The breast, although tender and cooked through, was laughably devoid of any seasoning or flavouring; furthermore the usual contrast of crispy skin with smooth meat was destroyed here with fatty tendrils of charred skin that offered nothing to the dish. Finally, the accompanying salad, while nicely dressed with a Saskatoon berry vinaigrette, completely overpowered the bland duck and overall resembled a salad more than a main dish.

Thankfully the Arctic Char was much better with seared and tender filets of delicate char that went well with a citrus-filled salsa. I enjoyed the use of the blanched green beans and thought they paired well with the crunch of toasted almond and bacon. The accompanying crispy skin of the fish though, was completely tasteless and added nothing to the dish.

Canadian Prime Beef Tartar was also decent, with the chopped fresh meat paired with avocado and a horseradish puree. The spice of the horseradish was off-putting initially but our taste buds quickly adapted to the spiciness and thought it helped elevate the tender and luxurious beef. The addition of avocado was an interesting one as it added more, un-needed, fattiness but also a creaminess that the beef was missing.

This handsomely presented Pickerel features portions of filet served on blanched leeks and paired with a truffle aioli, crispy shallot, summer peas and watercress puree. I enjoyed the balance between the nicely prepared fish with the truffle aioli and the sweet pop from summer peas. Textural balance is achieved from the crispy shallot and smooth fish flesh. The rest of the accompaniments feel cluttered and added little to the dish.

Blue Marble Restaurant was an unfortunate example of fancily dressed mediocrity: the food was unspectacular, ordinary at the best and downright repulsive at worst. While I appreciated the unique elements in each dish, it was as if the chef thought to overwhelm the customer with every ingredient in their playbook and hope the diner enjoys some aspect of the dish. Granted there are some nice pairings here but the overall dining experience was forgettable and lackluster. There are better tapas restaurants in town, ones in locations better accessible and featuring uniformly better food than Blue Marble.

Vancouver 2015 Wedding - toshi Teppanyaki, YVR

After a feverish pace to the weekend and gaining a record number of pounds, I found myself back at Vancouver airport going back to trusty old Winnipeg. Flying in the evening meant that I would either need some food prior to leaving or some after. We arrived promptly to the airport with a good hour to go before boarding. I suggested we finish off our food marathon in Vancouver where it all began. We walked around the food court and settled on Toshi Teppanyaki.

I did not have any expectation going into Toshi. It certainly did not help when the owners of Toshi were the same as the bland Western Chinese Food stall right next to it. Lovely. The menu includes a number of quick teppan fried dishes and pre-packaged sushi dinners.

I ordered the Chicken Sukiyaki. A marinated chicken thigh finished on the teppan and served with mixed vegetables and rice. This was altogether disappointing, even for my low expectations. The skin was so soft and devoid of flavour that it was practically inedible. The chicken itself was simply average and the vegetables bland and tasteless.

My dining companion got the Sushi Combo. Four pieces each of pre-packaged salmon and tuna sushi. We felt the need to order some sushi in Vancouver and although this was better than most pre packaged variants, the tasteless and thin pieces of fish were a disappointment.

The truth is, this meal was purely for sustenance and while Toshi has many faults with its food, I do commend them on the large portion sizes and average prices. With that, we left Vancouver with full bellies and fond memories of a wonderful weekend.