Dinner at Diva: The. Best. Food. Ever!

Perhaps because they read my blog post about Diva (March 11, "Edison Goes to Diva, discovers Light") or one of the numerous raves in local journals, Dino and Krista decided they wanted to take me to Diva. Dino had some wine while his pregnant wife enjoyed some pineapple juice.

I noticed a cocktail with thyme, chartreuse and bubbly. I tried to keep the thyme from being tangled in my beard. It was slightly medicinal, but good with the amuse bouche:

Well, I actually needed some white wine to eat it. Uncooked albacore tuna with some other stuff. Krista had a bite before remembering that pregnancy frowns on raw fish. Dino wasn't impressed either. Ok, this meal is not off to a good start

At the server's excellent suggestion, we ordered 3 "starters." This is the trout.

This is some sous vide scallops and prawns, probably other stuff too. The reason we went to Diva was for their sous vide concoctions. This was amazing.

The lobster gnocchi was the server's suggestion. Although the lobster was a bit chewy, the gnocchi was better than anything I had in Italy (OK, that isn't saying much).

I rarely eat chicken in restaurants but upon the server's suggestion and as it was the only main course sous vide I hadn't eaten (the unbelievable salmon Fumiyo feasted on in March is still on the menu), I went with the chicken. Eating it, I flashed on the first time I ever ate chicken. When my parents went from vegetarian to 3 steaks a day at the end of 1962, my only relief from the sudden beef onslaught was our Sunday chicken dinner, caused by a sale on BBQ chicken at a local market, which also featured in the lunch I took to Jr. high on Mondays. That's how good it was. It was like discovering a new food, and being saved by it from monotony.

Dino had the lobster. Again, chewier than I'd prefer but with the white and green asparagus, still an amazing meal.

Krista had the halibut. Properly done, it's my favourite fish. This is so far above "properly done" it might as well be in a different taste galaxy.

Amazed that I still had room for desert, I agreed to try the Stilton cheese cake sodden with fruit. If you can get drunk on cheese cake, I was quickly besotted.

Dino and Krista had some chocolaty things. I found them scenic but tasted them not.

As I was eating all this food, I had the sensation that I was driving in a tunnel (possibly because Fumiyo is driving across Canada as I dined?) underneath a lifetime of food consumption, finally emerging in a new land of superior tastes. As someone who has searched for the best possible food for nearly 60 years, I've never had a better meal. I couldn't believe how good each course was (lose the amuse bouche pronto! ). The wine pairings were rather substandard, but I DIDNT CARE. I thought the scallops at C were the best food in town, but that's only one thing. Here everything was as good as those scallops. Vocabulary fails me. Food this good doesn't seem part of reality. It's worth a trip to Vancouver to eat here, even if you live in a different universe.