Downtown Vancouver’s Granville Entertainment District has no shortage of poutineries, pizza joints, and donair shops. But did you know that there is one restaurant that is setting itself apart by serving homemade-style North African and Middle Eastern cuisine? Meet Salchicha, a newcomer to Granville Street, that is offering a healthier alternative to the fast food options in the area. Salchicha uses quality ingredients in their dishes by going preservative-free and using premium, free-range meat and BC produce. They opened earlier this year as a panini-bar concept but have recently revamped their menu to become a full-service sit down restaurant.
Salchicha, which means “sausage” in Spanish is chef-owned and operated by Ami Cohen. Cohen comes from a line of chefs but also has a background in interior design. Salchicha’s cozy and comforting space was designed by him. Check out the cool benches he designed with chair backs fixed to the wall.
What We Tried
Disclosure: I was invited by the owners for a complimentary tasting. All opinions are my own.
I recently had the opportunity to attend a family-style dinner at Salchicha alongside fellow food bloggers. The dishes were full-size so what you see is what you get. Our list of tasting dishes, as compiled by Nosh & Nibble, included the following:
- Appetizers:
- Salada Platter ($12)
- Chicken Skewers ($8)
- Antipasti ($7) with Harrisa, Sahuog, and Tahini Dips ($6)
- Sweet Liver Pâté ($9)
- Cherry Salad ($9)
- Mains:
- Beef Kebab ($13)
- Couscous Maraguez ($14)
- Shakshouka Maraguez ($13)
- Spring Chicken ($12)
- Dessert:
- Malabi ($5)
Appetizers
To start, there was the Salada Platter featuring Tabbouleh salad, Hummus, Arabic salad and Baba ganoush with a side of focaccia bread. The dishes definitely had a more natural, homemade taste to them. A nice way to stimulate the palate for the dishes to come.
The grilled marinated Chicken Breast Skewers was served with house chipotle mayo. The presentation was interesting because the two skewers came in a triangle-shaped dish with some tomatoes and shredded lettuce. At other restaurants, skewers just come on a small plate with no sides. The chicken pieces do seem a bit small for $8 but keep in mind that Salchicha uses free-range, additive-free meat.
The Antipasti was a mix of oven roasted seasoned eggplant, bell pepper, yam, carrot and zucchini topped with extra virgin olive oil. A trio of dips (Harrisa, Sahuog, and Tahini) were nice accompaniments. The vegetables were roasted perfectly as they had just the right amount of chewiness. I liked how there wasn’t too much virgin oil used.
The Sweet Liver Pâté was definitely one of the more unique dishes of the evening but unfortunately it seemed like most of us did not like it. The stir fried liver and onions pâté was sweetened from the homemade cherry tomatoes jam in cinnamon; sweetness and liver just didn’t seem to go well together.
Our last appetizer was a Cherry Salad with 3 colours of cherry tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, mint and feta cheese. A simple yet refreshing salad with lots of juicy cherry tomatoes.
Mains
The Beef Kebabs were skewered on cinnamon sticks and presented on top of a potato cream puree. Sides included roasted tomatoes and shallot onions topped with sweet reduced balsamic sauce. I thought it was an interesting use of cinnamon sticks. The meat was a bit dry but it was moistened up with the potato puree.
The Couscous Maraguez was a favourite of the evening. Traditional Moroccan spicy sausage made from fresh Alberta lamb on top of couscous with reduced Harissa sauce. It was a mouthful of flavour explosion with a subtle spicy kick. Highly recommended.
The Shakshouka Maraguez was a dish that was also very hearty and comforting. The dish was slow cooked on a sizzing plate with spicy tomato sauce, poached eggs and a side of focaccia bread and tahini sauce.
In terms of flavour, the Spring Chicken was a less interesting dish compared to the Maraguez dishes. It had marinated spring chicken strips in Moroccan seasoning and grilled with fresh rosemary leaves served with carrot rice and drizzled with date molasses.
Dessert
To finish off this feast, we had the traditional Arabic dessert, Malabi. It is a milk custard thickened with corn flour and topped with rose water and maple syrup, coconut shavings and crushed peanuts. I enjoyed the rose-flavoured sweetness and the light, creamy texture of the custard. Very nice ending to a Mediterranean-inspired meal.
Overall Impression
Salchicha serves some delicious homemade-style dishes showcasing North African and Middle Eastern cuisine with Mediterranean flair. We tried a nice range of items that they serve including different preparations with sausages, meat platters, dips and sauces. All in all, Salchicha seems like a nice healthy option on the fast-food heavy Granville strip. Rating: 3.5/5
Website: www.salchicha.ca