During my research for places to eat in Vancouver, one stop kept coming up again and again – Published on Main, which also had recently received a Michelin star. That, unfortunately, had also led to it being very tough to secure a seat.

Fortunately, they had a sister restaurant – Bar Susu, which had a slot available for me. Even better, their version of a tasting menu was half the price. Score.

The original Bar Susu had unfortunately suffered some major damage due to a fire, which had made them move temporarily to a coffee bar they also owned. They actually did a great job of disguising it with some mood lighting and transforming the coffee bar with an actual bar.

I was soon greeted with my first course, which they dubbed as “snacks”’- chicken liver rosette and fried cheese with tapioca. I’m not the biggest fan of liver, mostly a texture thing, but I did my best with this version. Not my bag but I could tell it was expertly made. The cheese was definitely more my speed, with the tapioca adding some next texture.

The next course was much better – scallop crudo with watermelon radishes in a coconut, ginger, lime leaf broth. The scallops were perfectly seasoned and the slightly bitter radishes paired beautifully with the acidic broth. Absolutely superb.

Next up was one of the best salads I’ve had in a long time – autumn salad with a white mustard miso dressing, radish, beets, shaved goat cheese, seeds and nuts. This was a symphony of flavors and textures, each bite different than the last. I was blown away.

The next course was really why I was there. It wasn’t supposed to be my main course but I sweet talked them into allowing me to swap it with the other main course. Hot smoked trout with sautéed spinach in a tomato tamarind dashi. The trout was perfectly cooked and so fresh, and the dashi was bursting with flavor. Absolutely superb.

My final course was Basque cheesecake with quince sorbet and shaved beets. As shown in the pic, they added a birthday candle but thankfully did not sing to me. This was a great way to finish with the rich cheesecake tempered by the tart sorbet.

I chatted a bit with the manager and told him how I had originally tried to go their main restaurant. He said if I wanted to go there for a nightcap he could set that up. I graciously accepted.

After hiking up the hill a bit, I arrived at Published on Main, which was still quite bustling. They had set me up at the bar, and I was soon handed a book – I mean a literal book – of their autumn cocktail selections. Each cocktail had a page story from the bartender about their childhood home and what inspired them to make the cocktail.

I decided to go with one made by the bartender who was serving me – Oban Little Bay, Los Siete Misterios Doba-yej mezcal, Campari, Coconut bitter blend. This was one seriously complex drink, especially the coconut bitters mixed with the various alcohols.

I chatted a bit more with the bartender, who was from Nova Scotia and had bartended all over the world before landing in Vancouver. He also told me how amusing it was for people here trying to deal with some rare snow they had last year. He, of course, was more than used to it and had to help some friends with their snow shoveling.

I finished up my drink and said my goodbyes. Tomorrow was going to be another beautiful day so I intended to take advantage of it as much as possible.