Casual Dining vs Fine Dining - Mis Trucos

Looks like high-end, fine dining restaurants are a dying breed. Mortons, Cannery announced their closings recently. Fuel is revamping to provide food at a more affordable price. CRU, Voya, and Lumiere are all offering 1000 rewards points on Opentable. On the other hand, the smaller, more affordable restaurants like La Quercia or Le Faux Bourgeois are almost impossible to get into without making reservations at least a few days in advance.

Bu and I can never make up our mind on where to go for dinner till the last minute. So we need to find a place that doesn't have a crazy crowd. In comes Mis Trucos, a Mediterranean tapas near the corner at Davie and Thurlow. It's not the most obvious place to find since it's hidden on the second floor, reached only by a flight of stairs on the side of the building. But when you walk in, you'll find a spacious, simple, and cleaning looking room. We love the relaxed atmosphere as it's not one of those crowded and noisy restaurants where you have to shout at each other to have a conversation.

Sitting at the bar has its perks. I have zero knowledge in Spanish wine, so the bartender let us taste two different bottles. We went with a big, full body red that's quite fruity. One the menu, the restaurant added a tapas section recently. These are small, individual bite-size pieces. It's definitely a challenge if you try to share them. They're currently doing a special 3 for $6 between 5pm to 7pm, and 10pm to 12pm. We ended up ordering 4. I'm a sucker for mousse and pâté, so my favorite was the Duck mouse and onion jam on crostini. Before I could finish that, Bu gobbled down the Crispy bread-wrapped wild gulf prawn already.

Last time we were here, we ordered the serrano ham with slow cooked egg from the small plates section. But Chef Kris Barnholden has replaced it by having the slow cooked egg swimming in a bath of melted cheese served with warm, perfectly toasted brioche. Like the bartendar says... it's diabolical. The special was a wild venison carparccio. Its cut is slightly thicker than usual, which gives it a meatier feel. It's definiltey one of the more flavorable carpaccio that we have ever tasted. The roasted pork belly with potato and leek cannelloni, and onion puree in the large plate section, and the house made gnocchi and lamb shoulder are to die for also.

Mis Trucos is definitely one of our favorites at this moment. It definitely separates itself from the bistros and trattorias with its Mediterranean flavors. Less than $140 before tips for a bottle of wine, 4 tapas, 1 small plate, 3 large plates, 1 dessert, 1 dessert wine, 2 fully stuffed stomachs, and 2 happy customers, now that's what I call a good deal! What're your favorite restaurants at the moment?

(Yes... I know... Pictures worth a million words. I think I need to download a flash program for my iPhone so I can get some good pictures even when the light is low.)