Vancouver Good

Last Friday night – a rainy, truly miserable evening. I myself was feeling a little miserable and was craving some comfort food. Where to? Au Petit Chavignol - a restaurant from beloved cheese shop, Les Amis du Fromage.

Au Petit Chavignol is part restaurant, part cheese & wine bar. You’ll find a menu with an excellent daily selection of cheese and charcuterie options, which you can order individually or as part of a tasting platter. But it doesn’t stop there! The hot menu items are memorable, with fondue, soup, pommes frites, poutine, mac and cheese, and croque madame & monsieur – all items that feature or accompany cheese and charcuterie. My highlights:

• I’d heard good things about the pommes frites here, and they are good. Big portion of freshly fried, crispy, salty goodness.
• Watercress salad with beets and a walnut vinaigrette was refreshing and a made me feel very healthy amidst all the cheese.
• Alpine blend fondue – a shareable blend of emmenthal, gruyere, comte, beaufort cheeses served up with bread, cornichons, and small pickled onions. I’m adding on kielbasa sausage next time.
• We tried a couple excellent cheeses – it was fun to have the option to pick a few and sample.
• Bonus: the restuarant is right next to the HUGE second location of Les Amis du Fromage.

As a small 36 seat restaurant located at 843 East Hastings St, Au Petit Chavignol is not in your standard, trendy neighbourhood, but it’s worth the trek. Judging by the packed restaurant, I’m not alone in this thought.

Au Petit Chavignol
843 East Hastings St (a few blocks west of Clark)
Tel (604) 255-4218
Limited reservations taken each night