Have you got game? I don't, not really, but Edible Canada sure does. They also have their own herb garden growing around their patio and even - you would never guess - electric car chargers. I know, right? Edible Canada is an interesting concept because the bistro is only a part of a whole. In addition to a bistro, Edible Canada also has a retail store within their establishment, demonstrations and tours guided by chefs and special food related events. To learn more, check out their website here. Anyway. Game, which was what brought us here in the first place. B has always wanted to try more 'exotic' meats, and when I saw rabbit, elk, and cornish hen on Edible Canada's dine-out menu, I knew we had to go.
Right when you walk into the bistro, you are welcomed by the sight of a busy, but clean, open kitchen. I love that, watching the chefs at work. Aside from that, the place is dimly lit, mostly by candle light, which gives off a nice warm and inviting feeling. The server gave us a couple minutes to review our menu`s, but we already knew in advance what we wanted - heh. B started with the Fraser Canyon Rabbit Terrine - of course - and then had the Wild Mushroom Crusted Wild Albacore Tuna Salad to follow. As much as I wanted the rabbit as well, I did not want to pick the same thing as him like I did at Five Sails, so I opted for the Warm Frisee Salad and the Ginger Honey Glazed Cornish Hen. There was only one choice for dessert and that was the Petit Fours.
The Rabbit Terrine was really good. So good that B almost didn`t want to share. The Terrine itself was creamy while retaining a bit of texture, and full of flavour, like what a pate should be. The potato bread that it was served with was warm, soft, and had a nice crust. There were also a nice assortment of pickled vegetables which brought more depth to the dish. My warm Frisee Salad was also very good, albeit being cold instead of warm. The body of the salad was made up of frisee (go figure), which had a mildy bitter taste that went pleasantly with the sherry vinaigrette. Thrown in were bits of smoked bacon, and croutons. When you pair the tangy vinaigrette with the smokey bacon, you get such an explosion of flavour - I don`t even know how to put it into words.
I think this salad was the best part of my meal because my cornish hen on the other hand didn`t really meet my expectations. It was supposed to be a ginger honey glazed hen, but all I could taste was the honey. In fact, the honey basically took over the whole dish - everything the hen was touching tasted sweet. Fortunately, there were also a few cherry tomatoes on the side and that acidity helped cut down on the sweet. Aside from that, my hen was also unevenly cooked - one was moist and perfectly done, and the other one was over cooked and dry. The gratin that was also served with the hen was delicious by itself, but definitely way too heavy for me as a side for this dish. I was only able to eat 1/4 of my gratin before I had to stop - not because I was full but because it was so heavy and creamy. B's Albacore Tuna on the other hand, was just as good as his appetizer. His tuna came beautifully seared on the outside and sitting on a bed of mushrooms and potatoes and squash. From what I tasted, it was delicious. Once again, like always, B's food tastes better than mine.
Fortunately, B and I both had the same dessert, so he had no chance to taunt me with how good his food is compared to mine. The petite four selection was an Okanagan Pear Gelee, Vanilla Salted Thomas Haas Chocolate Brownie, and a Maple Bourbon Toffee Pudding. There was also an apricot on the plate, as well as a smear of a strawberry or raspberry sauce. The Gelee and pudding was a just bit too sweet for my palate. You can however, really taste the fruit in the Gelee and it had a nice texture to it. My favourite out of the three was definitely the brownie - maybe because the salt added a nice contrast to the sweetness, or maybe because it had something to do with Thomas Haas. Hey, maybe it was both. I just really liked it and maybe I'll start baking my brownies with salt as well.
At the end of our meal, we were also presented with complimentary Bacon Sea Salt. Bacon. Salt. Bacon. Salt. Bacon. That's all I need to say.
No comments:
Post a Comment