When were you last wowed by eggplant?
If this question makes you take pause, you are likely in the same camp as me when it comes to this vegetable. I don’t hate it, per se, I just don’t particularly like it. It can be pulpy, drab, even a touch bitter if not given the unconditional love and attention it demands. I’m not sure my heart has room for such a needy vegetable.
Last week, if I had to answer my own initial question, I’d have said it was in 2005 or so, when my wife DJ and I were in Manhattan for a few days. We had dinner one night at the legendary Pete’s Tavern off Gramercy Park. There, situated on a bustling patio, we tucked into an incredible dish of Eggplant Parmigiana. A mighty slab of the offending veggie was dipped in egg, breaded, deep-fried, slathered in a wonderful marinara sauce and topped with half an inch of cheese, then baked until it was a gooey mess and was ultimately served by a guy whose pronunciation of the dish summoned every single well-worn stereotype about NYC and made me fearful for the well-being of my kneecaps in the event I didn’t care for it.That eggplant had a lot of help.
Recently, however, I had another “wow” moment with the stuff, which I will refer to as aubergine from this point forward as it sounds so much more appetizing that way. The momentous occasion was once again shared with my wife DJ, only much more locally, at Mythos Taverna on Lonsdale Avenue and 18th Street, where we enjoyed an incredibly rare night out together, our eldest two children basking in a respite from mom and dad in the company of their favourite sitter.
The aubergine in question formed one quarter of an appetizer sampler plate, Mythos’s Dip Sampler, comprised of a basket of pita bread and a platter of tzatziki, hummus, tarama (fish roe dip, one of my all-time favourite Greek dishes, wonderfully realized here) and melitzanosalata, or aubergine dip, a fresh and fragrant, coarsely chopped mixture of roast aubergine and red peppers with herbs and olive oil.
Truly the standout dish of the evening, the melitzanosalata, which I understand isn’t typically made with red peppers, had a tremendous depth of flavour, given the central ingredient, and made me wonder for one fleeting moment if the problem with aubergine is that most places just don’t know how to prepare it properly.
An additional appetizer of Stuffed Grilled Calamari was also very satisfying, with four hearty pods of squid that were filled to capacity with a rich and silky blend of fresh crab, red peppers and cream cheese, served with a wedge of lemon and dollop of garlicky tzatziki. A glass of fruit-forward, moderately acidic Sandhill Pinot Gris paired nicely with the apps.
For her main, DJ selected Vegetarian Moussaka, a sizeable dish of thinly sliced, tightly compacted potatoes in bechamel sauce perched atop a gently stewed foundation of zucchini and eggplant with subtle green herbs. The moussaka was accompanied by imposing wedges of roast potatoes, a mountain of fluffy rice and Greek salad. While not as memorable as the melitzanosalata, the dish, which was rib-sticking vegetarian comfort fare, still made excellent use of the humble aubergine.
For my main I chose Garlic Prawns, featuring nine plump and succulent prawns, at least that many cloves of potent garlic, lemon butter, and the aforementioned potatoes, rice and salad that accompanied DJ’s moussaka.
The prawns were lovely, impressively large and cooked just right. The entrée had so much food, I was hard-pressed to even finish the seafood component, let alone the sides.
This was a multiple-attempts meal, although I have to say the garlic content in this selection had Western Canada’s entire vampire population running for the prairies, so a repeat of the meal the next day was a challenging proposition.
DJ and I both had a glass of Lafazanis Red, a cheap and cheerful, medium-bodied and food-friendly wine made from the agiorgitiko grape, a varietal that is ubiquitously planted in Greece.
One irksome thing that has needled me a bit since our meal was our welcome. Here’s the thing: DJ and I found Mythos staff members to be warm, helpful and knowledgeable . . . when they were available. I suspect that perhaps the restaurant underestimated the evening’s volume because the staff was absent at a few key moments over the course of the meal.
The absence that rubbed us particularly wrong that evening was at the time of arrival.
The phone was ringing and there were servers behind the bar and out on the floor. However, when one member of the team approached the entrance way, she effectively blanked DJ and I and proceeded to field take-out orders on the phone instead. It was a full five minutes before we were acknowledged and seated.
This is not a tragedy of epic proportions, but I have to say, it could have been avoided by a simple “We’ll be right with you, sorry for the wait.” Instead, the good food and ultimately kind service had to work from an initial deficit to make the meal as good as it was.
Our meal of two appetizers, two mains, and two glasses of wine each was $102 before gratuity. Mythos Taverna. 1811 Lonsdale Ave. 604-984-7411. mythostaverna.ca
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.
