I'm a decent actress but a terrible liar, and as someone with a penchant for solo dining in chef's counter style bar seats, the chance to interact with the restaurant team can be a blessing...and a curse.
"Just watching the cooking show?" joked Chef Kovic Prevost from his post behind the counter on a recent Thursday night at Is That French.
I tell him it's my favourite show, and that isn't a lie; given the opportunity, I will always choose a chef's counter, and I love a bar seat, particularly when I'm alone. Of course, when the chit chat turns to how I came to be at the Gastown wine bar, as in if it was me just enjoying a post-work snack, I tried to play coy.
"Well, I'm technically working right now."
(For the record, whenever I'm asked by a server how I know about the restaurant in which I'm dining, my standard reply is "It's my job!" See, I told you I'm not a great liar.)
And here's a truth I stumbled upon early into my dinner the evening in question: Is That French is a really special place.
Wine bar tucked away in Gastown's Blood Alley opened in summer 2022
It took me far too long to end up at Is That French and I'm lamenting all this lost time. The 51-seater tucked along Blood Alley opened in summer 2022, but this was my first visit. It feels like a criminal's interrogation room confession saying that out loud, or typing it here. I plead guilty.
Is That French is a wine bar with a deep reverence for Pacific Northwest ingredients prepared with classic technique, a lot of playfulness, and some really cool wines.
As someone who loves wine but is not fluent in the language, I had an immediate appreciation for Is That French's approach. The wine bar's focal point are low intervention wines from B.C. and abroad by the glass, and they are available in half-pours and flights. Right to the heart, frankly.
I described my ideal sips to my fantastic server: Mineral, crisp, not syrupy, not oaky, and she and I collaborated on two rounds of two half-pours, starting with a pair of whites and then an orange and a rosé. I settled in for what wound up being a rewarding wine and food journey.
A bar seat in a restaurant where the cooking is done at the counter offers a great way to have a living "picture menu" moment before ordering. I play the "Oooh, what's that?" game as I watch pasta come out of the water in a single portion and get tossed in sauce and then piled like a beehive hairdo in a bowl with a pair of thin-tipped tongs. From the cold section, I see a salad being assembled leaf by leaf, or a mound of chopped B.C. spot prawns plated with a bright orange creamy sauce and some lettuce "cups."
Counter seats offer great view of the 'show' at Is That French
These previews largely guided my choices. After a half dozen freshly-shucked oysters (three B.C., three from out east) and my opening sips of two excellent whites (Hajszan Neumann Gruner from Austria and Roche's Pinot Gris from the Okanagan) I ordered the spot prawn tartare and eggs with plump, briny ikura and anchovies (called Oeufs Mayonnaise).
Watching the "show" of the culinary staff handle a steady influx of orders, turning out dish after dish in the tiny space with limited equipment, and seeing Is That French head chef and proprietor Prevost take care to ensure each dish met his standards before calling "hands" to have them whisked out to guests illustrated that respect for the whole process.
From my perch at the last seat at the bar (in front of where the oysters are shucked), my plates didn't have far to travel, and were often present by Prevost himself, who offered a vibrant description of each dish in doing so.
Regional ingredients the focus of the food menu
It's abundantly clear that Prevost has a deep respect for ingredients, particularly those that come from the region. The spot prawns were given only a little adornment so that they could offer their signature sweet, ocean-y burst of flavour, for example, even when paired with the uni hollandaise.
But the whole menu is a who's who of seasonal and local in that oh-so-Pacific Northwest way with the quintessential wine bar small plates charm.
More charm comes from how evident it is that much of Prevost's backstory is embedded in this place, like his family’s restaurant legacy in Quebec. A black-and-white image shared on Instagram ahead of the wine bar's debut shows a couple outside Café Francais in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, and the caption reads: "My grandparents in front of my grandfather['s] first restaurant circa 1946. He was 25 years old and borrowed 5k from his father. Taking risks runs in the family. I wish he could still be there to witness his legacy, try my food and have a glass of wine. Is That French?" The photo hangs behind the bar/counter in fitting tribute.
On the suggestion of my server, I waited for my glass of Alfredo Arribas "Siur Alta" (an orange wine from Spain) to order the Boursin stuffed olives with hot honey, because the pairing was not to be missed. She was so right. The wine cut through the big, rich olive and cheese taste beautifully. I paced myself so I could match every bite with a sip. When people talk about food pairing being fun...this is what they mean. That was fun.
I also had to add on the tartare, as few dishes say "wine bar" to me than the dish, particularly one with a French-ish bent. With my half-pour of the Spanish orange wine I also did a half-glass of a French rosé, a classic Cotes du Rhone 2022 Grenache from Montrius called "La Muse Papilles."
It was around this time that my chit chat with Chef Prevost led to me revealing that going to restaurants is work for me. Of course, it's work that is deeply pleasurable.
'I want to bottle that feeling forever'
As a food writer, I find most restaurants inherently romantic; not in the flirty, canoodling way, but romance in that way that a play or ballet evokes an emotional response. From the best seat in this house, I am easily mesmerized by the theatre of it all. How many east coast oysters are left? Is the table by the window ready for their last dish? Are the meals for the live jazz entertainers ready?
But that's just the show part. Where the restaurant tells me about itself is on my plate and in my glass, and when the story is as riveting as it can be at Is That French, I want to bottle that feeling forever.
That's why, when I am undeniably full with the perfect degree of wine buzz, I say yes to dessert. It might mean a tummy ache in the wee hours, but for now I get to extend my pleasure.
Prevost tells me that the Basque Cheesecake is the sole menu item to have stayed on offer since day one. People come in just for a slice and a glass of wine, he attests. Say less! I think, though I did give myself a minute to confer with myself. Obviously I was sold.
Basque Cheesecake a permanent fixture on the menu with good reason
There are only two dessert options at Is That French, and both are cheese or cheese-based: A cheese selection (on this night it was Brie D'affinois; is that French? Yes, it is) and the cheesecake. The cheesecake is textbook Basque: caramelized exterior, fluffy custardy filling. A bit of fruit compote on the side and a sprinking of salt on top balances it out perfectly. Prevost set down a glass and said it would be a shame to not have a bit of Sauternes with my dessert. He isn't lying, either. The Chateau Coutet from Bordeaux paired perfectly.
All good shows must come to an end, and with just a few sacrificial bites left on my plate (and not a drop in any glass), I set down my fork in sweet surrender. It was a moment of happy sadness after I settled the bill and stepped back out into the fading evening light to make my way home.
Often when I leave a restaurant, the standard parting wish from staff is that they hope to see me again. I don't often get to go to the same places over and over, so I never promise, instead saying: "I hope so, too!"
This time, I said something different. "You will." And I mean it.
Video: Is That French in Gastown
@forkingawesomevia It took me far too long to end up at Is That French and I'm lamenting all this lost time. The 51-seater tucked along Blood Alley opened in summer 2022, but this was my first visit. Is That French is a wine bar with a deep reverence for regional ingredients prepared with classic technique, a lot of playfulness, and some really cool wines. As someone who loves wine but is not fluent in the language, I had an immediate appreciation for Is That French's approach. The wine bar's focal point are wines by the glass, and they are available in half-pours and flights. The whole menu is a who's who of seasonal and local in that oh-so-Pacific Northwest way with the quintessential wine bar small plates charm. Freshly-shucked oysters. Oeufs Mayonnaise. BC spot prawn tartare. Boursin filled olives with hot honey. Beef tartare with artichokes. Basque Cheesecake. Where the restaurant tells me about itself is on my plate and in my glass, and when the story is as riveting as it can be at Is That French, I want to bottle that feeling forever. ^^ This is an excerpt from my full article about Is That French on Vancouver Is Awesome. You can read the whole thing there on the site in the Food and Drink section and sign up for my weekly Forking Awesome Metro Vancouver newsletter. What is Forking Awesome? Look for the pinned video for an intro to the person behind this account, Lindsay, a food writer with 20 years of experience. #vancouverbc #forkingawesome @LindsayWR @Vancouver Is Awesome ♬ Take My Hand - Matt Berry
Is That French is located at 45 Blood Alley Square and is open Monday to Wednesday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Thursday to Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. Reservations are available via OpenTable.
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