Moose’s Down Under Bar & Grill
Basement 830 West Pender St.
Vancouver, BC
(604) 683-3300

What can you do when a ‘koo is angry and about to give chase? Well, I’m not Steve Irwin and God bless his soul, I hope he’ll forgive me for what I did. I ate Skippy. Okay, that dated television show was before my time, but I’ve caught the occasional episode as I was growing up and my fascination with Australian life does not end there. In fact, I may have to go to that country and make it my permenant residence when considering how friendly everyone was at Mooses Down Under.

With rugby playin’ on the big screen, I thought why not. Watch a bit of the sport while snacking on a ripe ol’ salad and munching on one of this country’s indigenous marsupials. No it isn’t a koala, but I do have to wonder if that’s an animal protected by the World Wildlife Federaton. They’re far too adorable and that’s one creature I will refuse to touch on a dinner plate.

I started with an excellently crafted beer called Little Creatures. The bright ale certainly lives up to its name; it had a soft citrus finish to it. And apparently they’ve set up shop in the Lower Mainland even though the company is traditionally Australian. My server, Jacye, mentioned that little detail during our talk and his accent was a delight to hear. The servers know how to do their job well. I was frequently asked how my burger was. Maybe they saw me whip out my camera for a few snapshots.

Interestingly, Jacye asked for my name so he could address me properly. Normally, I would be cautious but his obvious friendliness and ‘chill’ persona was very cool. To have a server know how to treat a customer right was a very welcome breeze and change of pace from the indifference of past experiences.

And I was in high spirits (in more ways than one) once I tasted the full blown meal. I had to try the ‘roo, and it was a very decent burger. Instead of fries, I opted for a nicely made crisp salad. I normally go for blue cheese as my dressing of choice, but when I was told the chefs here made an in-house vinegerette, I thought why not? It made for a huge difference. The fruity flavours made the salad stand out. And I’m fairly sure that was not the beer talking.

When I tackled the ‘roo, I couldn’t help but be reminded of what buffalo tasted like. The meat here is not the same, but the grainy texture was certainly like what I ate at Connoisseur Catering long ago. This different type of meat was Alberta raised and grazed, and I’m sure however Moose’s imported their product, it was just as properly treated before being slaughtered for human consumption. I could tell that the meat was most likely recently ground. I bit into a bit of bone, and while that can ruin a meal, it was only one teensy bite. That was one damn lean burger. I think Skippy had been working out before getting slaughtered.

And I was not ready to leave yet. I had to sample more of what kind of sweets can be offered from down under. Apparently Lamingtons is a well known dessert; it’s a sponge cake coated in a light chocolate shell and covered with a fine dust of coconut. The cake was very soft but what sold me was the whip cream. I’ve had plenty in my life because of my fondness for cream puffs and Beard Papa’s products, but this cream was so light, I could swear I was literally eating air. The combination was just right to make the puffiness of the cake stand out as a contrasting thickener.

I’d almost swear all the ingredients used in this bistro are all organic. I could tear the menu apart to find out, and maybe next time I will. I arrived just after happy hour and missed saving a few bucks on a moose (or ‘roo) poutine. Would that create a nugget in my gut? Well, I’ll have to revisit this place when I’m in town next to find out. I’m still standing, yeah yeah yeah!

4 Blokes out of 5