And there’s one hostess who went beyond the call of duty
Mark Laba
Province
Chef James Campbell (at right) and Christian Gaudreault, owner of the Tomato Fresh Food Cafe, with rigatoni with oven roast tomatoes, artichokes and chorizo sausage. Photograph by : Jon Murray, The Province
TOMATO FRESH FOOD CAFE
Where: 2486 Bayswater St.
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-874-6020 or 604-873-4697
Drinks: Fully licensed.
Hours: Open everyday 9am-10pm.
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T his year I thought I would take Peaches out for an early Valentine’s Day romantic dinner, with our seven-month-old twins and four-year old toddler. After all, the twins look like fat little cherubic Cupids minus the wings and Small Fry Eli, well he can wreak havoc with a bow and arrow. Or restaurant cutlery.
At my age, with this many kids, the only heart I’m interested in is a Jarvik, preferably one that pumps martinis. But our destination had a big, bulbous bright-red 3D tomato for signage out front, which kind of resembles a heart if you’re the Jolly Green Giant.
Now some places claim to be kid-friendly and then there are those joints that will actually baby-sit your brood. With that attitude they could serve me possum bladders with milk gravy and I’d be happy. Fortunately the food is better fare than that here and the hostess went far and beyond the call of duty by wheeling the twins around in their double stroller while we ate dinner.
It’s a cavernous room that affords twin-stroller manoeuvring with booth-seating lining one section of the place, counterbalanced light and dark wood hues from walls to furniture and two large trees sprouting up through the concrete flooring.
So, if they ever have to replace a piece of panelling, they can do their own lumbering. The old location was charming and quaint, this place is vast and lounge-like with intimate pockets
Small Fry Eli had a cheese pizza ($4.95) off the kids’ menu and a classic chocolate milkshake. This kept him busy for about three minutes, which to Peaches and me, is just about enough time to wolf down our meal. We eat faster than a pack of hyenas on a water-buffalo carcass, wary that the lions will soon return. But with the twins being attended to, we had time to enjoy our food.
I tried the rigatoni with ground chorizo, oven-roasted tomatoes, eggplant, artichoke hearts, peppers and a fresh tomato sauce ($17). My only complaint is that I think the chorizo should be served in good-sized slices rather than ground to add some textural contrast.
Peaches sampled a special of the day — baby back ribs with a maple chipotle glaze, mashed ‘taters and a nice cabbage slaw ($27.95). Great glaze and tender meat that fell from the bone like pants at a proctologist’s office.
Prices seem rather high on the evening menu and I’ve always found the brunch and lunch selections more varied and better value. Still they make a great Dungeness crab cake with roasted pepper relish and prawn aioli appetizer and a formidable local seafood bouillabaisse.
For lunch, I highly recommend the Moroccan turkey burger, the famed turkey sandwich or the veggie chili. And the breakfast from the Diner Classic to the Eggs Benny Tomato-style has always been outstanding, as are the homebaked cookies and desserts.
As we vacuumed up the last of our meal the twins started to disintegrate faster than a candy heart in a glass of champagne. Ah, the fleetingness of youth, I thought, gazing at my bald spot in a spoon, and peaceful dining, too. Still, for that one small moment, however brief, I actually remembered what is was like to chew food.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Vine-ripened dining ripe for the picking.
RATINGS: Food: B+; Service: A; Atmosphere: B