CALGARY: Vero, the truth of the matter

There’s a reason respected, professional critics are paid to visit restaurants anonymously three, four or five times before they form and publish a critique.

Restaurants live or die by reviews and to be judged on one visit, where the kitchen or servers may be having an off day, could be fatal. However, most of us are unlikely to spend our hard-earned dollars to try a restaurant again that has failed to make a good first impression.

Such was my dilemma with Vero Bistro Moderne in Kensington, a sibling-owned venture with the sister in the kitchen, which boldly advertises, “Welcome to my heart.”

Our first visit for dinner was so uneven, it hurt my head trying to figure out why. But Vero’s late-night tapas menu was intriguing enough that it drew us back — holding our breaths — for a second chance. Even though both visits were within the same month, they felt like we went to two completely different restaurants.

On the first go-around, four of us went for dinner and got appetizers of varying success. My crab cakes, on special for the night, were divine. Full of flavour, texture and nicely done with some organic greens.

Tim’s lemon poached black tiger prawns ($15) were solid, with crispy green leeks and caramelized pineapple and tomato salsa.

But Suzi’s honey red chili boneless ribs ($14) were, as she put it best, “sub-TGI Friday.” It’s neither bistro nor modern if the boneless ribs aren’t any different from some Chinese takeout joint.

Oddly, an amuse-bouche of olives and some small chunks of Parmesan Reggiano came after. After the starters, bread, and heart-shaped butter, and after the wine had been poured.

For our entrees:

• My pan-seared sea bass ($36) with lobster ravioli, tomato confit and lemon spinach was great.
• Jason’s double rib lamb chops ($35) with risotto and rosemary merlot jus was well-executed.
• Tim’s grilled duck breast ($30) with truffle potato puree and wild blueberry coulis was not remarkable but was tasty enough.

But poor Suzi, who ordered the night’s special of poached chicken with black truffle, polenta and a lemon sauce found it BLOODY inside.

The staff were extremely apologetic, comped the plate, cooked her a new order of chicken, and sent over a complimentary glass of white wine, as well as later handing us cards for free desserts.

But then, they cleared everyone’s dinner plates — as I was still finishing mine. To add more discomfort, the waitress proceeded to ask if anyone wanted dessert. When we said, no, trying to make it obvious that I was still eating, she then asked if anyone wanted coffee.

It was all very strange and we felt quite uncomfortable being pushed out the door, even though there was no lineup or explanation that they wanted the table.

Also for a place that seems to pride itself on wine and wine pairings, we were never given any suggestions to pair with anything we ordered or even when we had obvious trouble picking from the wine list.

Suzi, who enjoyed the glass of white they sent over, asked the waitress what it was. She said she’d return with the bottle because she couldn’t remember the name — but never did.

Fast forward to our visit for their tapas offerings, served nightly after 9 p.m.

The acoustics of the black and red room, which does not absorb noise well, at full dinner service were awful. But now, with the frenzy of the dinner rush over and the servers less harried, the vibe was more low-key.

Our server knew his wines and was able to identify a very dry rosé for us, a nice 2007 Bodegas Lagarde Blanc De Noir Rose from Argentina, for a reasonable $34.

Even more reasonable are Vero’s tapas, averaging about $8 — in expense-account-mad Calgary! And vegetarians are well thought of here, with a lengthy selection of tapas sans meat, including grilled Korean-style eggplant and salt and pepper tofu with Vietnamese spicy sauce.

The spicy beef carpaccio ($12) — recommended by the server, and not listed on the menu — really stood out. The pounded out pieces did not taste like the freezer (as so many carpaccios do these days), but like real beef with some nice spicing, and had a great surprise kick from a dollop of sriracha hot sauce.

We also loved the slices of black truffle ($9) on chunks of soft (goat?) cheese, with dried cranberry crostini and a Chinese spoon of 10-year aged balsamic vinegar reduction for dipping. Oh, what a party of flavours.

The deceptively simple sounding soft poached egg on spicy chorizo ($8) left us very happy. The egg perfectly poached with the yolk oozing just so, with the hunks of sausage, on a bed of potato mash was delicious. Can I eat this every day?

For dessert, we split a generous portion of crème caramel ($10) that came with mango ice cream, pink peppercorn mixed berry and white balsamic honey reduction.

It was a nice outing, and proof that second chances can end well.

Vero’s strength is in its small plates, and has a competitive edge in offering quality dining at a time of night when there are few other options. We’ll certainly be back for tapas — after dinner elsewhere.

Vero Bistro Moderne, 209-10th St. NW, Calgary, (403) 283-8988. Tapas menu after 9 p.m. Open 11 a.m.-2:30 pm, 5 pm-midnight. Til 2 a.m. weekends. Closed Mondays.

Tags: carpaccio, chicken, chorizo, dinner, reviews, tapas, truffles, wine