Some Things Never Change and It's a Good Thing

Back in the day when I was still living in Vancouver, going to culinary school, and working in the restaurant, one of the ultimate best places to eat was in Diva at the Met.  They had the best service, the best chefs, the best food, and the best dessert.  What stands out for me until now is the dessert.

The desserts at Diva is by Thomas Haas, the best pastry guy in town.  He has this warm chocolate souffle cake that is to die for.  It's just the best.  I still remember tasting it for the first time, tasting it again, and I still remember how it tasted.  The last few days before I left Vancouver for good, I volunteered for Haas for one of the wine events and in return he gave me a few cakes.  I had enough to eat one a day until the day I left.  It was just heaven, so tonight, we decided to revive the dining experience from a few years ago.

I hate to write negative things, but the night did not kick off too well.  We had a server with a fake French accent.  He was extremely rude and lazy.  I don't want to elaborate on how his service was because I don't think all servers in the restaurant are like him, but service is extremely important to the dining experience and tonight it was terrible and just annoyingly distracting throughout the whole night.

The food was very disappointing as well.  It was obvious that changes were made in the menu to cut down food costs, which is not the problem.  The problem was nothing was cooked well.  It is so far from the quality of cooking it used to be.

The best part of the squash bisque was the presentation and will just leave it at that.

The Waldorf Salad was much better than the soup. The panna cotta went well with the cut green apples, but after a few bites, I just didn't want anymore.  It's a good thing it was shared.

The vegetable pot au feu was edible.  The flavours were just all over the place.  The strong miso broth, the many onions, some pickled vegetables, and hot mustard just did not mix well for me.

The best part of the night was the dessert.  I came for the souffle cake and that's what I ordered.  I'm so relieved that it did not let me down one bit.  It's still exactly how it used to be; the taste, the ingredients, and the extreme satisfaction.  The cake is warm and a tempered chocolate disc is served on top which melts and serves as a sauce.  There is also pistachio ice cream on the side which provides a contrast in temperature and complements the chocolate.  It's just the perfect dessert and a good end to what could have been a terrible night.