Food Critic review 2004 #1
Friends .. fine food,
friendly place.
Dining at Friends is always an
adventure – and one I look forward to
for days before I go. I have never
eaten anything ordinary here – or
anything that was less than superb!
Oh I suppose I could order from the
menu – but why bother? There’s so
much delight in just letting owner and
chef extraordinaire Paul Gouda, choose
what he feels creatively inspired to cook
– and then go with it. Part of the fun is
guessing what on earth it is.
Lori and I had a lovely Saturday evening
at Friends last week. Saturday is one of
the days for belly dancing and the two
dancers Paul has are very good and put
on a fun show. Certainly the crowded
room enjoyed them tremendously. Lori
and I, however, were pretty much caught
up in the food.
But before I get started on what we had,
I want to stress one thing that I wrote
about in a previous review – and I say it
again because in this day it bears
repeating: The hygiene standards at
Friends are so far above provincial or
federal regulations that when Paul
received his health inspection certificate
he put it on the wall. It’s pretty rare for a
restaurant to ace every item on the test.
If you order a glass of water at Friends,
you’ll get water that has gone through
two filtration systems. Ice cubes – same
thing. Normally dishwashers are set to
clean and sanitize at 180 degrees. Paul
has his set to 210 – nothing survives that
heat. Every detail in Paul’s kitchen is
above and beyond – and that includes
the cooking.
You can feel good here – not just about
the taste of the delectable meals – but
also the standards of preparation.
So – Paul started us off with an appetizer
which he explained was a personal
recipe handed down to him by his father
– hummus laced with herbs, extra virgin
olive oil, lemon and lime juice, grilled
onions and peppers – extra-ordinary.
You see? Even the hummus is different!
Served with warm pita bread it was an
exciting start for what was to come.
And what came next were two plates for
each of us: one filled with vegetables
and the other with meats. Guessing the
vegetables was reasonably easy –
although I had to what the flavourings
were. As for the meats: I had what I
thought was a large piece of pork
tenderloin, except that it was sweetest
and tastier than any pork I had ever had.
The chicken was fabulous – and there
were dark pieces of meat that neither
Lori nor I could pinpoint – although we
agreed that they were delicious, unusual,
and very tender. I could have had
seconds on this one.
Paul finally came over to explain what
we were eating. We had okra with
orange liquor – and if you’re used to
slimy okra, you have to try this
vegetable at Friends. It was crisp and as
addictive as popcorn. The zucchini was
grilled with cilantro and zaatar, an
Egyptian spice and there was
Mediterranean kale grilled with Egyptian
spices and ouzo. Lastly there were the
peas – amazing fresh peas beautifully
and sweetly spiced. I admit I could have
made a meal just of the vegetables.
As for the meats: the pork was a close
guess. It was wild boar and tasty beyond
belief. The dark delicious unknown
meat? Deer meat! Amazing! The
chicken was cooked with onions,
Egyptian spices and herbs, cilantro and
parsley.
And then we ended the meal with a
magnificent dessert – and there is no
such thing here as an ordinary dessert.
We had flaky pastry with Egyptian
halvah, fresh mangoes and strawberries,
home made ice cream and a dash of
Bailey’s. Oh my but it was good
There is a reason why some of the top
chefs on Vancouver Island and the
Lower Mainland come here to dine on
their days off.
Friends is a small, unprepossessing
place. Don’t let that fool you. Order
anything off the multi-page menu – not
even the coffee or tea are the usual. Or
you can do what I do – let Paul feed you
and be prepared to be blissfully satisfied.
Special Flash: July 3rd Friends will
celebrate its Second Anniversary. Paul
informs me that this is going to be a very
special evening with free champagne
and a belly dancing show. Reservations
are required.
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