| Harvey Specter | 02-18-2010 04:21 AM |
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Can...n?size=620x400 Quote:
Members of the Canadian men's hockey team chow down at DB Bistro Moderne, a high-end restaurant run by renowned New York chef Daniel Boulud. 'They like steak, they're real boys,' said Boulud.
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Hey, Sidney, pass me the piece de resistance, will ya!
It was tempting -- very tempting -- to try that line out on Sidney Crosby, when I got to dine with Team Canada. But to be honest, I was a little hockey-star struck, though happy enough to be in the same bistro, even if it was at a table by the bar that offered a hockey nut a dream view of the men we all expect to bring home the hockey gold at the 2010 Olympics.
And Sidney was too busy carbo-loading to talk anyway: Two bowls of pasta, a glass or two of red wine.
It was Team Canada's first official dinner at the Olympics. And all 23 of Canada's best hockey players, who often battle each other in the NHL, were in their own zone as they walked in. They just took their seat at a long table. Some wine and beer began to flow, there was lots of laughter; they're a team now.
And the pressure is on.
"This is our game," said head coach Mike Babcock. "We believe that as a nation."
Babcock figured that before letting the guys chow down together, he'd better make sure they can play together. For that reason, he scheduled Team Canada's first official dinner after their opening game of the Olympics.
As expected, Canada's gold-hungry hockey team made an Olympic appetizer out of Norway Tuesday night, winning 8-0. So on Wednesday night, Babcock led Team Canada into DB Bistro Moderne, Vancouver's high-end restaurant run by New York chef Daniel Boulud, for a little piece of culinary heaven.
The secret leaked that the Olympians might be coming to the restaurant. David Sidoo, the bistro's owner who had arranged the dinner for the team, had to be vigilant for gatecrashers.
"Word somehow got out," said Sidoo, waiting at the door as the team's bus drove up. "We had people saying they're with Team Canada security, people said they have reservations, all sorts of things to try and get in."
I knew hockey players were pretty good dressers. I never dreamed they were such foodies.
"These guys, they wouldn't even be here tonight unless it was going to be good," said Babcock.
The players have been ensconced in the Olympic Village, eating the same meals as other athletes. Babcock says they haven't been attending events or spending much time in public, fearing it might take time away from game preparation and their concentration.
In case you were wondering, the coach says they can have alcohol.
Says Babcock: "These are men. They're business ... if you have a glass of wine or a beer, that's not going to affect you."
Boulud, one of the world's top chefs, who made his reputation at Manhattan's Le Cirque and now operates some of the world's top French restaurants, flew in from New York City to oversee the menu, which he prepared with chef Stephane Istel. How does one cook for what might be -- and Canadians hope is -- the world's best hockey team?
"They like steak, they're real boys," said Boulud.
But this isn't just any steak joint.
The Hockey Canada menu Boulud and Istel prepared included canapes of Alsatian tarte flambe with house-cured bacon and fromage blanc.
There was duck pate en croute, duck prosciutto and lomo served, as the chef put it, "in abundance."
He also put out a hat trick of entrees, all approved by the team's doctors and nutritionists. Boulud figures Canada's hockey stars need all the protein and carbs he can stuff into them, so he offered up grilled rib-eye, sliced with wild mushrooms, baby spinach, and pepper-and-bearnaise sauce, plates of ravioli, cavatelli and lemon fettuccine and the piece de resistance -- loup de mer: Mediterranean sea bass cooked in a salt crust and white lemongrass butter.
It was an all-you-can eat affair. Predicted Boulud, the day before: "Some of them may have all of it." It looked like they did.
For dessert, Team Canada was presented with caramel apple spice cake with whisky butter sauce and vanilla ice cream. Let's just hope the boys still have room for the next course: Team Switzerland, which Team Canada meets tonight.
mcernetig@vancouversun.com
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