Talk to Bruce Stephen for any amount of time and you'll realize the new director of food and beverage at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown is a man of many tastes.
He's been featured in one magazine as one of Canada's top sommeliers, and he's also written as a wine critic for publications all across the country. As a food and wine judge and speaker, Stephen knows his way around kitchens and bars, and it's that expertise he brings to the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown.
"The crucial thing at the Hilton here is you have to have your focus on the food. You have to have a great menu, and you have to recognize that at a hotel, the same guest will want a burger one night because they're working and the next night, they'll want a nice steak with a great bottle of wine. - Our challenge is to fulfill our guests' needs and do it better each and every time."
Stephen, along with his boss, general manager Ed Jaskula, was eager to show off the new menu to the Burnaby NOW recently. The kitchen, still ably run by Tong Lim, reflects Stephen's belief that the best menu includes the freshest local ingredients, cooked with a West Coast flair and served with the best wines.
We start with a couple of appetizers, including the locally influenced local mussels served in a white wine sauce with shallots, garlic and parsley; the dungeness crab cakes; the flatbread margherita pizza; and the bruschetta trio, featuring servings of smoked salmon, prosciutto, and garden fresh tomatoes and cheese.
We move on to the new mains that Stephen justifiably takes a lot of pride in.
We start with the flamebroiled flat iron steak, served with an onion marmalade, red wine jus, potatoes and seasonal vegetables. We then move on to another local dish that shows the hotel's commitment to sustainability. The free-run chicken breast, brushed with Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese and served in a tarragon cream sauce is nothing short of fantastic.
And because chicken is such a versatile meat, it's a great compliment to our next dish, the butter chicken, served with naan bread, papadam and jasmine rice.
By the time we get to dessert, the triple chocolate sensation, the crème brulee and the berry tarts, we have had nothing short of a spectacular meal.
"We want to make sure that all of our guests get the value they're expecting," said Jaskula. "We will keep on trying to deliver the best value and the best customer experience that we can."
The Hilton Vancouver Metrotown is at 6083 McKay Ave. Call 6044381200.
