When the announcement came that Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, two of the world’s most respected chefs, were opening restaurants in Vancouver, the city’s fooderati nearly choked on their sablefish in delight. Vancouver’s food bloggers and food journalists saw to it that every stage of the three new restaurants (Boulud is involved in two), from decor and staffing to menu development, was analyzed. The great chefs’ arrivals were seen as confirmation that Vancouver was now the dining destination in Canada and would put the city in the ranks of legendary culinary capitals like Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo and New York. (Though one observer who felt it best to remain anonymous did express some dismay: “When Boulud came and did the press launch it was absolutely grotesque how much ass-kissing was going on.”) On a recent visit to Vancouver I wanted to see what had happened after the splashy openings, when the day-to-day people were in charge.

The least formal of the three restaurants is DB Bistro Moderne. The room feels vaguely retro and cinematic in its design. A zinc-top bar and oxblood leather chairs suggest classic bistro, while a partition of smoked glass dividing the main dining room from a wine-lined private area, and a soundtrack that mixes angular jazz with remixed reggae, indicates a more adventurous bent. This blending of classic and contemporary is carried through in the cuisine—overseen by long-time Boulud chef Stephane Istel. All of the bistro dishes purists expect—an exemplary steak frites, coq au vin—are in evidence, but it’s not all cuisine grandmère. Grilled tuna comes with an Eastern bent in the form of cucumber mint raita and spicy harissa. One of Boulud’s most notorious creations, the DB Burger, is also on the menu, but in a relatively more reasonable $28 version, without the option of the US$150 burger they serve in New York. The version offered here is unfortunate: the foie gras filling is a cold slippery mess, the braised short ribs stringy, the truffle non-evident. Overall the food is expertly executed, but at times can feel a bit soulless. Once the novelty of having a Boulud restaurant in town wears off, perhaps we’ll see chef Istel assert more of his own personality into the food.

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