The Salt Tasting Room

I'm not sure where it was that I saw or read about TSTR (after a quick Google, I think it might have been a Food Network show or maybe Food & Wine magazine), but when learning I'd be spending a quick couple days in Vancouver, it's the first eatery that came to mind. It was the immense chalkboard wall of charcuterie and cheeses that left an impression...

Nestled in (what I perceived to be) a faux grungy alley in quaint, yet touristy, Gastown was a simple idea. Pick your meats and cheeses (total of 3), pick your condiments (3) and pick your wines (3). Pair them yourself or have the helpful and knowledgeable staff pair them for you...

Full disclosure: we arrived on a lazy Tuesday evening and it's reasonable to think our experience might have been different on a packed Friday night...

I've documented my historic disappointment with wine bars (Cliff Notes: love the concept, "eh" on the execution), but I'm not sure I'd call this place anything but perfect. Every step of the way I felt I was eating something hand-picked. Something pre-screened. That's all I ask. I start envisioning a distributor shoving surplus product down a buyer's throat and the vibe's lost...

After some intense deliberation, here's where I spent my $30 Canadian (solid portions btw):

Manchego (Spain)
Marcona Almonds
Shepherd's Ridge Pinot Noir (Wairau Valey, New Zealand)

Pancetta Salami
Guiness Grainy Mustard
Langmeil Three Gardens (Barossa Valley, Australia)

Valdeon Azul (Spain)
Similkameen Apricots
Renato Fenocchio "Elena" Barbera d'Alba (Piedmont, Italy)

Two words: Valdeon Azul. I like Blue Cheese. I've had good, I've had bad. My point: I'm no devotee. But every bite of that wedge was an experience. A strong, balanced flavor that paired perfectly with wine and the apricots. But what I loved was that it wasn't overly rich. Not over-the-top buttery, as blue cheese can be. Later, I learned it's a blend of cow and goat's milk customarily wrapped in Sycamore leaves. Complex flavors I don't have the vocabulary to describe...

All three pairs (trios?) worked. Well. Differently. And it was fun. I love assembling food. I love making those micro-decisions that help craft the experience. What should my pancetta to mustard distribution look like? Do I finish the blue cheese before downing an apricot? Good stuff...

The concept's not new. Meat, cheese and wine. But give me good meat, good cheese and good wine. TSTR delivers on all three and the mix-n-match pairing is what takes it over the top...

Cost: $$
Rating: 9/10

The Salt Tasting Room
45 Blood Alley
Vancouver, BC Canada
604.633.1912