At Edible Canada, it's an oasis of tastiness

Edible Canada at the Market’s chef de cuisine Jennifer Dodd and sous chef Tom Lee spent months on their menu of unfussy B.C. food, including crowd-pleasing duck-fat frites.

Tracey Kusiewicz

We also shared a main of simple-yet-succulent grilled salmon with apple-fennel salad, a side order of heart-stoppingly tasty onion rings, a basket of artisanal bread, and sponge cake with lemon curd. With one beer and a latte, we both left absolutely full for just over $70 including tax and tip.

Pateman, a chef with an MBA, said the goal is to offer well-executed B.C. food “without fuss”, sourced as much as possible from the market. Dodd and Lee, he explained, have spent months honing the menu, which will change seasonally. The chefs find about 80 percent of the ingredients at the public market, and most originate in B.C. and Canada.

But he’s not obnoxious about his showy regional cuisine. As if to prove there’s still room for humour in the local food movement, the onion rings are massive cuff-sized creations, served with oregano buttermilk aioli.

“All potatoes go in the deep-fryer filled with duck fat,” he added, explaining that this was a favourite at Edible B.C. market dinners. The menu advises that the French fries and breakfast hash browns are cooked this way.

A warning about the hash browns. Once you’ve tried these—as I did—all other hash browns will forever pale in comparison. Bite in, and the crispness is audible. The potato inside is velvety and smells like earthy root. Forgive this gush: they made me feel like a potato virgin, tasting hash browns for the very first time.

The kiddies were along for breakfast, and normally, they behave appallingly on patios and won’t eat restaurant food. But Pateman claims the bistro is family-friendly, and indeed, it did work some kind of magic. The kids adored the Belgian waffles with lemon ricotta and served with a lush, chunky cherry sauce. Sloping Hill Farm’s maple sausage patties were a hit. They ate, and so did we, in relative peace. Though my trio of breakfast tacos with chorizo appeared at first to be a suspiciously small portion, we all left satisfied for about $50 including tax and tip, with one pot of French-pressed coffee—quite the deal for an exquisitely-cooked meal for four.

This is one of the rare Granville Island patios that doesn’t face the water. It’s enclosed from the street by waist-high wood planters filled with edible greens, near a busy, working stretch of the market where vendors load and unload goods. But dining there is far more peaceful than I expected. And while the False Creek waterway is undeniably gorgeous, I found it comforting not having to gaze upon other people’s ritzy yachts and million-dollar condos.

Given the number of people who visit Granville Island each year, and the success of his previous market dinners, Pateman knew the bistro would be a hit. It is—the patio is already frequently packed. Pateman will be introducing tasting trios (such as salmon three ways) in the next couple of weeks, which will only encourage more people to eat here. They should. Get in while you still can, before the lineups start.