by Michelle Sproule | Mushroom Season is upon us. The warm wet days of Autumn bring with them the perfect conditions for fungal growth and the little buggers are popping up everywhere right now. I tagged along with the crew from Main Street’s Acorn restaurant (chef Rob Clarke, sous chef Brian Luptak, kitchen staffers Heather Dosman, Matt Gostelow, Peter Warszycki, Dylan Williams, and owner Shira Blustein, plus Jared Blustein and Christina Paradun from the FOH) as they followed professional mushroom forager Alexander McNaughton on a recent hunt/hike through the North Shore mountains.

Being familiar with the area and knowing likely hiding places, Alexander marched us through some serious terrain to uncover yellow chanterelles, puff balls, angel wings, and cauliflower shrooms. It was an arduous and rewarding adventure, but it should be remembered that going off-trail and eating mushrooms without proper identification are both very dangerous activities. Don’t fuck around. Be a pro or go with a pro.

Back at the restaurant, the kitchen crew crafted a rich and beautifully balanced foraged mushroom tart with sorel emulsion, goat’s cheese, watercress, cured egg yolk, and reindeer lichen — amazing. If you’re stoked on mushrooms but not interested in the bushwhacking, Acorn has a bunch of tasty shroom dishes on their menu this week. Starting Saturday there will be Hen of the Woods mushroom pasta with sunchoke purée, pickled shallots, and pepper hazelnuts as well as a vegan portobello and walnut pate with preserved lemon gel, pickled walnuts and caraway taro crisps. Take a look…

EVERYTHING SEEN IN VANCOUVER