The GOODS from Pied-a-Terre, La Buca, Sardine Can, The Abbey

Vancouver, BC | Now in its ninth year, the Game and Wild Mushroom Festival takes place October 15th to November 2nd with three or four course prix fixe menus at La Buca and Pied a Terre, and daily chalkboard specials at Sardine Can and The Abbey.

Chef Andrey Durbach celebrates fall with special menus at all four restaurants featuring wild, local mushrooms, deliciously rich game meats, and other speciality foods. “This is my favourite season to cook,” Durbach says. “It’s the best time of the year for mushrooms and it’s also traditionally hunting season. It’s a time of year we turn our attention to foods that are deeply satisfying.”

The fest is a chance to taste the rich, earthy flavours of freshly picked in-season mushrooms—including chanterelle, matsutake, porcini, and black trumpet—and rarely featured game such as red deer, wild boar, and elk.

For the first time, the newly opened The Abbey joins La Buca, Pied a Terre, and Sardine Can in the annual foragers’ and food lovers’ extravaganza, with each restaurant offering unique menu items and wines to accompany them.

La Buca will feature a delectable three and four-course menu for $52 and $60 respectively. Highlights include mustard and black pepper crusted carpaccio of elk; taglierini with butter, sage, truffle, and porcini secchi; grilled venison, soft gorgonzola polenta, quince preserves, and marsala wine; and osso buco with wild mushroom risotto.

Diners at Pied a Terre, which offers a three-course menu for $52, can look forward to an assiette of red deer three ways: roast loin, grilled sausage, and braised cheeks; roast quail stuffed with foie gras and brioche; wild mushroom bouillon with quenelles of pheasant and oloroso sherry; and a frisée au lardons with wild boar bacon, poached duck egg, and mushroom crouton, among many other standout dishes. Sardine Can and The Abbey will feature extensive Game and Wild Mushroom fresh sheets. “B.C. is one of the best mushroom regions in the world,” Durbach says. “These foods also pair beautifully with intensely flavourful wines.”

BOOKINGS

Pied-a-Terre | 604-873-3131 or [email protected]
Sardine Can | 604-568-1350 or [email protected]
The Abbey | 604-336-7100 or [email protected]
La Buca | 604-730-6988 or [email protected]