1032 Alberni Street, Vancouver, BC
604-637-0777
After lunch at Street Food City, I waited patiently for dinner to arrive. We had a reservation for four (Seto-san, MomJ, Buddha Girl and myself) at Black + Blue for DOV2012. Okay, originally, we had our minds set on the DOV menu, but we soon gave it up and went a-la-carte, with the exception of myself, who ordered an appetizer item off the DOV menu.
Buddha Girl had a girly drink...very unlike her. Suggested by our server, Chris, this Entering the Dragon was quite refreshing, not too sweet or strong. Buddha Girl can't recall what was in it, does anyone know?
MomJ's appetizer was a good bang for the buck. This large portion of Crispy Calamari was nicely seasoned and perfectly deep-fried. The batter was light and had just the right amount of coating on each piece of squid.
Buddha Girl ordered Shrimp Cocktail. The crunchy shrimps were the sizes of prawns. Can't recall what the white sauce was or tasted like, but the seafood cocktail sauce was not the typical off-the-shelf variety. The cocktail sauce was refreshing and tangy, yet not overwhelming, very tasty.
From the DOV menu, I had the "Bacon 'n' Eggs" (thick cut of double smoked bacon, fried duck egg, spicy maple syrup, wild arugula). The pork was well smoked and perfectly tender with a ham like flavor. The scrambled duck egg was light and fluffy, but it was a bit bland to counter the sweetness of the sauce and the the flavors of the bacon. The half slice of bread really didn't do much to the dish other than just rounding out the plate and to soak up the maple sauce. If I would have change anything, I would have preferred a poached egg instead.
Since Seto-san, the small eater, did not order an appetizer, I took the liberty and ordered him one, to share, of course. I ordered a side of Mac & Cheese as an appetizer. This was done very nicely and can pass as finger food. Each breaded brick was deep-fried to a nice crisp coat with creamy and cheesy filling inside. Something Buddha Girl insisted on ordering again on our next visit.
We were given four sauces to accompany our entrees...sorry, can't recall any of them. We ended saving all the sauces from our appetizers too.
MomJ (10oz) and Seto-san (16oz) each had a Prime Rib, accompanied with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, red wine jus and caramelized pearl onions. The prime rib was done very nicely, tender as expected. There wasn't much herb nor garlic crusting on the edges, simple and good.
I had the PEI Blue Ribbon Porterhouse (24oz). I ordered this rare and it came out pretty much what I asked for. The tenderloin piece was nice and tender but the strip loin wasn't as good. Overall, I wasn't too impressed. For steak, I've only had two great experiences. One was at home, a simple Porterhouse that was tender throughout. And the other was at the Chicago Chop House, a 24oz NY Strip Loin done Chicago-style, blue as possible...and yes, I finished it all, including all the sides.
Usually, Buddha Girl's not really into Coq au Vin, simply because she doesn't like anything cooked with red wine, but because I've been raving about the white wine version and Buddha Girl always wondered why, she decided to give it a try. The chicken was very moist and tender, even for the white meat. While the white wine jus was rich yet not overpowering, it didn't penetrate the chicken as much as Buddha Girl would have liked. Nonetheless, my wife still enjoyed this dish, thank goodness.
Back when I first visited Black + Blue (see post 2012-01-25 Dinner @ Black + Blue), I loved the Crispy Calamari. This time, the breading wasn't as crisp and retained a bit too much oil. 
I was really disappointed with my Blue Ribbon Meat Loaf. First off, the portion was small, too small. Next, not only it looked like a hamburger patty, it also tasted like a hamburger patty. I think I'd be better off ordering a burger. Do not waste your money on this.
