Chef Hamid Salimian

One of Vancouver’s top chefs Hamid Salimian is the creative genius behind the newly launched line-up of food truck eats in his elegant dining room at Diva at the Met in the Metropolitan Hotel on Howe.

He is taking street-eats to the next level with food truck-inspired lunch features. Leading the lineup is the Diva Corndog, a handmade gourmet corndog that consists of a sweetbread sausage battered in buttermilk and cornmeal and topped with truffle mayo, grainy mustard and homemade sauerkraut for $17.

Executive Chef, Hamid Salimian, puts his creative twist on trendy food truck basics. From the Diva Corndog to tricked-out fries, gourmet sammies and killer curries and kabobs; this rotating menu offers a selection of lunch items that will tempt any palate.

“In creating our food truck-inspired dishes we were looking at fun ways to reinvent some of those classic street foods that people crave,” said Salimian. “We’ve taken the basics and amped them up with the high-end ingredients and bold flavours that guests expect from Diva.”

Kicking off the new lunch theme will be Korean fries consisting of Yukon potato fries topped with pork belly, kimchi, green onions and nori powder; a grilled mortadella sandwich with basil, tomato, pickled hot peppers and truffle mayo served on a fresh ciabatta bun; and a chicken Thai curry on rice with cilantro and peanuts.

Diva at the Met’s food truck menu items are available starting on Wednesday, November 14. Each week three new gourmet street-eats will be available on the menu, with the Diva Corndog as the anchor item throughout the ten-week run. Prices for the dishes range from $14 to $17.

A sample of what guests can expect to enjoy as part of Diva’s food truck dishes are outlined below:

Food Truck Fries:

Montreal fries – Yukon potato fries covered with tender braised brisket, gravy and cheese curds

Turkish fries – crisp fries topped with Turkish sausage, fresh basil, ripe tomato, feta and parsley

Louisiana fries – golden fries topped with crispy sweetbread and Tabasco mayo

Gourmet Sandwiches:

Pulled pork – 24-hour, slow-cooked pork shoulder on a sesame seed bun dressed with coleslaw and havarti cheese

Vietnamese sub – a classic sub bun filled with BBQ chicken, fresh cucumber, pickled carrot topped with a smear of hoisin sauce

Fennel Salami – Diva’s own fennel salami with spicy peppers, fresh pesto and ripe tomato on a mini baguette

One Pot Wonders:

Persian kabob – kabob koobideh served with black tail rice, grilled tomato and sumac

Braised short ribs – tender braised short ribs with parsley, dry lime and kidney beans on basmati rice

Coconut curry – aromatic coconut and lamb curry served over a bed of rice and topped with mint and fried onions

Diva at the Met is located in the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver. Reservations for Diva can be made online at www.divamet.com or by calling the restaurant at 604-602-7788.