ARC owner Antonio Romero Casado, carving a jamon leg. Leila Kwok photo.
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ARC Tasting Room and Wine Bar
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Where: 1020-2471 Horseshoe Way, Richmond
When: Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Info: 778-998-5322, arcimports.ca
In a semi-industrial area of Richmond, something’s going on in a warehousey building. Inside, there’s zsa zsa zsu, a thing which Carrie Bradshaw described as “the butterflies-in-your-stomach thing that happens when you not only love the person but you gotta have them.” Kinda like lust.
The zsa zsa zsu stimulant at ARC Iberico Imports is the Cinco Jotas Iberico de Bellota, the queen of Spanish hams, ranked in the highest of a premium category made by a Spanish company founded in 1879. The ham is certified to be from 100 per cent pata negra, or black hoofed pigs, which are acorn-fed and raised on a minimum of two hectares of land per animal in a designated region. It’s a beautiful product, ruby red, slightly nutty with voluptuous umami. It’s the brand of choice for superstar chefs like Ferran Adria in Spain and Jose Andres in the U.S.
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In Canada, ARC, which imports premium Spanish foods, is the exclusive Cinco Jotas distributor and sells to restaurants such as Bearfoot Bistro, Elisa, and soon, Boulevard and Bar Oso. ARC also operates a small retail store and a tapas and wine bar — the bar is nothing fancy and most of it is outdoors, under a tent, heated in cold weather. Not quite sunny Spain, but if you’d like to be there, the food and the friendly Spanish-speaking staff will take you.
Spanish wine, vermouth, sherry or cava will lubricate the way, and there’s quite a variety of snack-sized dishes considering it’s an operation with the most minimalist of kitchens. The menu features appetizers, salads, tostas, tapas, seafood and meat snacks, jamon, and about 20 premium conservas or canned seafoods to nibble with crackers. There’s also a bocadilla menu board with simple but very good quality baguette sandwiches. They’re available Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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ARC takes its name from owner Antonio Romero Casado’s initials. He comes from a hotel and restaurant family in the south of Spain. His Richmond shop and tapas bar opened last July selling the bocadillas and has since expanded the menu and service. For instance, if, over the holiday season, you want zsa zsa zsu for an event, Casado, a master jamon carver, can set up with a whole jamon leg and carve beautifully plated pieces for guests — it’ll cost $400 plus the price of the leg of ham, another $1,900 to $2,000.
A taste of Spain at the tapas bar, however, is less of a splurge. The bocadillas are mostly under $10 with the exception being the one with pata negra jamon at $16.90.
A 50-gram plate of the top-quality jamon is $42, and it would be a shame not to try it. I also liked a dish I often had for breakfast in Spain — crushed tomatoes with good olive oil on toasted baguette ($7). So simple, so good.
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From the conservas menu, we ordered mussels in pickle sauce ($16.37) served with crackers. Tosta with grain-fed jamon, tomato, and olive oil ($12) wasn’t the top-notch ham, but still excellent.
El Navarrico white asparagus with mayo ($15) seemed over-priced for four pieces, but they were fat like cigars and delicious. Gildas, or anchovies with olives and guidilla pepper ($6), tasted of quality. By the way, most of what you eat on the menu can be bought at the store. I ordered the next dish because it came with the Spanish potato chips so prominently displayed in the store — more anchovies draped over the chips. I overdid the anchovies, but I did like the chips. Sweet pork side belly ($25) with a preserved artichoke is substantial, the size of a main dish, and delicious.
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For dessert, above all, you should try Tarta de Queso de Mis Padres, or “Antonio’s parents’ secret cheesecake” ($10). And he’s dead serious about secrecy — I couldn’t pry anything out of Casado until he finally relented and revealed it’s not baked. Anyway, it’s velvety and not too sweet except for the dark caramel drizzle.
And a heads up — every Sunday the tasting room offers 15 per cent off the jamon, conservas and vermouth menu. It’s a nod to Spain’s Sunday tradition of having a spot of vermouth with jamon.
ARC ticks all the right boxes when it comes to Spanish libations — wines by the glass and bottle, sangria, sherry, cava, vermouth, Estrella Damm beer, and three gin and tonics. An impressive lineup for such a small and casual spot, although the wine markups seem to be quite high.
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And another head’s up. Casado has expansionary plans for the shop and tapas concept. “We’re going to open another in Vancouver in Yaletown or Mt. Pleasant, then we’ll slowly open one in Montreal and Toronto. It’s great to try these products and be able to buy them afterwards.”
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SIDE DISHES
Easing holiday stress
President’s Choice has introduced some holiday-easing products available at Loblaws, NoFrills and Real Canadian stores. They include the Butter-infused Stuffed Turkey Crown, Lobster and Scallop Seafood Bake, Hot Chocolate Bombs, Eggnog Ice Cream, Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cluster New York-Style Cheesecake. And if you want something less traditional for entertaining, there’s Kimchi Hummus, Halloom Cheese Sticks and Kalbi Short Ribs. “We’ve always been on a mission to discover the world and bring global flavours back to Canadians in a way that is authentic to the cuisine,” says Kathlyne Ross, VP of product development and innovation at Loblaw Companies Ltd., in reference to the world flavours.
Source: vancouversun.com
