The Diamond displays extra sparkle
OLD SOUL: Delicious cocktails mix with flavourful food in laid-back atmosphere
I’ve long been a fan of The Diamond, a Gastown cocktail lounge with an old soul. It’s a cool, laid-back place to meet a friend for a cocktail and snack. The vintage room is unpretentious and inviting, the music’s great and kept to a sane level, and the cocktails are delicious. It was No. 17 in a roundup of the top 50 bars in Canada in April.
Until recently, it wasn’t the food that beckoned one to this second floor corner location looking over Maple Tree Square. But owners Mark Brand and Josh Pape nabbed Kris Barnholden last February to sexy up the food. He’s been around the block in Vancouver’s restaurant scene — Fiction, Lucy Mae Brown, Parkside, Mis Trucos and Latab — all noteworthy but now relegated to history.
He’s also cooked at temples of gastronomy like Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York state, where ingredients are venerated to holiness with dairy from their own farm and produce harvested just before service.
At Latab, Barnholden followed suit, milling flour, pressing oils, pickling, curing, and using foraged ingredients. His food strayed from familiar territory with dishes like “egg” (puréed pumpkin for a yolk and puréed celeriac for the white) with wild mushrooms and toast. It folded and he went on to establish a dinner program at his friend’s Bows and Arrows restaurant, built upon quality ingredients and ethical sourcing.
His last three kitchens (Mis Trucos, Le Tab, Bows and Arrows) had no ventilation system so the menu had no grilled or roasted foods. It’s the same at The Diamond.
“It just so happens,” he laughs. “I’ve become a specialist. You’re never going to get fire-grilled meats or roasted fish here.” He operates
with a sous vide, two induction burners and a combi-oven.
Barnholden was tasked with elevating the food, replacing the hodgepodge of sushi, Cuban sandwiches, and charcuterie. And, of course, making it cocktail friendly.
He’s still driven by the best ethical, sustainable ingredients. The flatbreads (anchovy tomato; chorizo cheese; and sweet pea, burrata and salsa verde) are made with houseground Red Fife wheat (from Grain, which sources Canadian grains. “It’s run by two lovely women,” Barnholden says, “a wonderful company.”)
Grass-fed beef is from Pemberton and veg from local farms like Hannah Brook Farms in Pitt Meadows.
“In general, I’m trying to keep my cooking clean and fresh, and make sure you can taste the flavours.”
Mission accomplished. The flatbread with puréed sweet pea, burrata and salsa verde ($15) was a testament to simplicity with lovely fresh and clean flavours.
Ditto, the marinated side stripe prawns with fennel and herb salad and preserved lemon aioli ($14). Barnholden deems the side stripes as the unsung hero of the prawn world; they’re every bit as good as spot prawns but don’t send us into panic over their short window of availability.
“They’re frozen at sea in sea water and, for whatever reason, stand up well to that process.”
Humboldt squid with chorizo, chickpeas, chilies, yogurt and mint ($16) was another winner with tender
ribbons of lightly cured, squid, cooked sous vide in lemon olive oil and done up with a nice balance of yins and yangs.
Meat dishes are earthier and heartier — smoked lamb ragu with porcini mushrooms, polenta and gremolata
($19) uses lamb shoulder from the Peace River.
“I pay double the price of New Zealand lamb in B.C. so to keep the price down, I use a lesser cut,” he says.
And a 48-hour short rib with
romesco sauce, potato, and garlic ($19) gets a sous vide treatment. They’re both delicious.
Desserts weren’t highlights. Honey almond cake cubes were dry and chewy but uplifted by the bright taste of apple poached in Chartreuse syrup. A flourless cake with pumpkin seed praline and whipped tequila horchata, a pudding-like assembly, needed more structure.
When I made a suggestion that he do a once-a-month menu in the cosy the backroom bar (like L’Abattoir’s 1 Gaoler’s Mews dinner), he was all for it.
“Let’s make that happen,” he said. I’d certainly be interested.