Making Croissants at Bouchon in Las Vegas

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 25 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally:

At the 5th day of the opening for the first ever Ladurée in the United States in New York

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on Blue Mountain, Jamaica

Food is undeniably a focus when I’m traveling. This year I was grateful to take Follow Me Foodie to Bowen Island, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Montreal, Quebec City and Jamaica.  Here are some of my best international indulgences this year. So Follow Me Foodie to some of my favourite foods and restaurants abroad with just one click!

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Pine State Biscuits – The Reggie Deluxe Biscuit Sandwich – Portland, Oregon

2. Pambiche – Masitas – Portland, Oregon

3. Local 360 – Fried Chicken – Seattle, Washington

4. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe – World’s Best” Mac & Cheese – Seattle, Washington

5. Nove Italiano - Shrimp Francaise – Las Vegas, Nevada

6. Bouchon – Truite Grenobloise – Las Vegas, Nevada

7. Traif – Crispy Pork Belly – Brooklyn, New York

8. The Spotted Pig – Gnudi – Manhattan, New York

9. Katz Deli – Pastrami Sandwich on Rye – Manhattan, New York

10. Jean-Georges – Manhattan, New York

11. BonChon Chicken – BonChon Chicken Wings – Manhattan, New York

12. Peasant – Cannolichi, Suckling Pig (Porchetta) – Manhattan, New York

13. Boqueria – Croquetas Cremosas – Manhattan, New York

14. Blue Hill – Chilled Corn Soup, Berkshire Pig - Manhattan, New York

15. Scotchies – Jerk Chicken – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

16. Blue Mountain Coffee – Blue Mountain, Jamaica

17. Schwartz’s – Smoked Meat Sandwich – Montreal, Quebec

18. Le St-Urbain – Coffee Glazed Sweetbread – Montreal, Quebec

19. Van Horne – Melon Canari (Canary Melon) – Montreal, Quebec

20. Le Bremner – Kimchi Snow Crab, Lobster Toast Au Gratin – Montreal, Quebec

21. Café Clocher Penché – Duck Confit – Quebec City, Quebec

22. Laurie Raphaël – Apple Crumble, Carrot Cake – Quebec City, Quebec

23. La Traite – Wendake, Quebec

24. Au Goût d’Autrefois (Dining at the Duck Farm), Quebec

25. North End Caffe – Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls – Los Angeles, California

Follow Me Foodie to l’Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations!

Kumbaya my foodies! A bite of First Nations cuisine at La Traite.

Uh, Follow Me Foodie to where?! A hotel for our national premiers? No. It’s the First Nations Hotel in Wendake, Quebec! It’s a 4 star boutique hotel featuring a First Nations restaurant La Traite and that was initially why we came. However after a tour of the hotel, I really wanted to spend the night or weekend there!

I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to write about a hotel restaurant! This was honestly one of the most unique hotels I’ve ever been to. Forget Vegas, resorts or castle like hotels, this was a side of luxury I’ve never experienced before! I honestly want to go back to Quebec just to come here again!

I was invited to Quebec City for a culinary tour and when I saw that a hotel restaurant was on the itinerary I was pretty disinterested, until I did my research. Well, dinner at a First Nations Hotel was something different, and I was game… and ready for game meat.

Okay let’s get the stereotypes out of the way, because I feel like they could be crossing your mind. No, you’re not living in tepees, long houses, igloos or even having to use an out house… at all! However you’re situated right on the Akiawenrahk River and surrounded by forest, trails and pure nature.

Okay now throw all the stereotypes back in because these are the rooms and they have fur everywhere!

And boom! Flat screen TV! I’m not a camper or outdoorsy person, but I can manage this no problem!

The theme of the hotel is to experience First Nations art and culture and way of life… but in the 21st century. It’s actually a really nice hotel and the authentic experiences are quite luxurious, so it’s only as traditional as to still attract tourists. And as a tourist, I was attracted!

The hotel embraces the First Nations theme and we were taken to the outdoor fireplace where we were taught to make bannock from scratch. I’ve done this before on a field trip to a long house in elementary school and I was just as excited to do it again! Some things never change!

This is just an example of one of the many ongoing First Nations activities they offer at the hotel and there’s even a daily Labrador tea ceremony for guests. It was almost like First Nations “Disneyland” for adults, and it was just an all around fun, educational and adventurous experience.

Okay, so back to the original reason we were here. It was to have dinner at La Traite, which is the restaurant inside the hotel. This isn’t just any “hotel restaurant” though, this is a First Nations restaurant featuring traditional First Nations cuisine with French techniques, Quebecois twists and modern execution.

For a minute, the decor transferred me back to Colorado… or Calgary. If you’re vegetarian or fear dead animals on walls, you may want to reconsider… but everything is sustainable with respect to the environment if that helps.

It was visually overwhelming and I just couldn’t stop taking pictures because everything looked so interesting! It was the natural outdoors brought to the refined indoors, and it was successfully portrayed in the theme of the hotel, ambiance and food.

Beaver cushions… they’re in the rooms, at the restaurant… and on our nickles!

Restaurant: La Traite (At l’Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations)
Cuisine: First Nations/Canadian/French/Fusion
Last visited: November 10, 2011
Location: Wendake, Quebec (Wendake)
Address: 5, Place de la Rencontre (At l’Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations)
Bus stop: Bastien / au 16
Price Range: $30-50+ ($20-25 mains)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Located inside First Nations Hotel
• Authentic & modern First Nations cuisine
• Casual fine dining
• Exotic meat & game
• Fresh seafood
• Local/organic ingredients
• Home-smoked fish and game
• Seasonal menus
• Affordable set menus
• Wine list/in house sommelier
• Great view/outdoor patio
• Indoor and outdoor fireplace
• Private room
• Sunday brunch
•  Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Dinner/Late

**Recommendations: n/a
We were presented a 6 course dinner ($69) paired with wines ($115) which I thought was incredibly worth it. They also have 3 courses for $39 and 4 courses for $40, so the set menus are very reasonable. You can order a la carte too and the menus are seasonal so they change all the time, but they can be considered “adventurous”. In Vancouver, the closest restaurants we have offering this cuisine is probably Salmon n’ Bannock or maybe Wild Salmon Restaurant.

During dinner we had the honour to watch a few First Nations song and dance performances which happen on occasion at the hotel.

La Traite features lots of wild life and fresh seafood and it embraces First Nations cuisine, yet tries to make it appeal to a mass market without “dumbing it down”. It was more refined than the traditional, but they didn’t hold back either. Of course, as a hotel, they’re bound to a bit, but I think they did a good job finding a balance. In the end it just matters if the food was good, and I thought it was. I probably valued the overall experience most though, and it’s something memorable, different and worth making an effort to visit.

And to top things off I got to meet the Premier of Quebec, Monsieur Jean Charest, who was attending an event at the hotel that night!

On the table:

Domaine de l’Idylle “Cruet” Vin de Savoie 2009, France (It’s a very rare grape!)

Complimentary Bread & Butter

• It was nice to see the bannock come up again, and there was also a baguette.
• The baguette was very chewy and a bit tough on the outside, but soft on the inside.
• The bannock was thin and soft and made with some chives and it was almost like corn bread. It was quite moist, and cakey, but not really sweet or savoury.
• Sometimes they make the bannock with cheese, which is not traditional, but I can imagine it to be delicious!

Face Cachée de la Mer - 5.5/6

• Bonbons of smoked certified ecological salmon with sour glasswort
• This was one of my favourite courses of the night.
• Being from the West Coast I’m familiar with my smoked salmon, but I’m not familiar with glasswort.
• I loved the colour and presentation and the salmon was cured and smoked in house.
• The salmon was meaty, smooth, oily, well cured and salty, smoky in the nose with a hint of black pepper to follow.
• It sat on top of crème fraîche, which is a classic match so there was a nice tang and richness to complement the fish.
• If I didn’t know it was glasswort I would have thought it was just mixed herbs. I could taste some mint and grassiness of alfalfa sprouts in the mix as well.
• Glasswort is a type of plant that looks like a pathetic baby cactus or weed, and it just came across as a micro herb to me.
• It was simple, fresh, representable of the restaurant, well executed and delivered and we were off to an excellent start!

All Natural Seal Meat – 1/6 (Not how it’s normally served)

• I feel really bad about this. I was the one that was keen on trying seal meat when I heard it was on the menu. It’s sustainable, but I feel bad I didn’t like it.
• This is not how it’s normally served, but they were nice to give us a sample since I was so curious to try it.
• It tasted like beef tenderloin with a pronounced liver flavour that lingers for a long time with a slight iron finish in the nose.
• The texture of the meat is very tenderized, marinated and almost pounded, but you would think it was beef in the initial bites… until you started breathing it in and letting your palate absorb the flavours.
• The iron and liver aftertaste honestly lasts for a long time, maybe 10 minutes, and I felt like I ate a plate of rusty pennies.
• I’m going to say it’s acquired. I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not for me.

Morgon Les Charmes La Louve, France

Que l’Odeur des Bois Sature – 4/6

• Foie gras Torchon with haskap berry spread on toasted bannock bread
• It’s a long process to make Torchon style foie gras, but I like it better than paté because you get more natural texture and flavour of the foie.
• The Torchon foie gras is almost like sashimi. It has a blubbery raw texture (but it’s cooked quickly) and it’s marinated in wine and topped with some salt and served chilled.
• I wish the grilled bannock was served warm though and I wouldn’t mind if it was non-buttered/oiled because the foie was already rich and buttery enough.
• I liked the Haskap berry spread which tasted like cranberry meets raspberry sauce.
• It was a nice twist to the classic strawberry and foie pairing and it was nice and tart rather than sweet to cut the richness.
• There was also a sweet honey (foie needs a sweetness to complement) and herb infused oil condiment. I thought it was a basil or parsley oil, but I think it was glasswort oil.
• It was an interesting, yet somewhat expected First Nations interpretation of foie gras.

Courville Domaine Les Brome Cuvée Julien 2009, Quebec (made with 2 grapes that grow in the Winter)

Qui Roucoule dans la Broussaille – 3.5/6

• Roasted half-squab glazed with molasses and birch syrup and served with cattail sauce
• Whoa! Cattail sauce? It’s those straw like plants that grow by ponds! I didn’t know they were edible! This was going to be a first!
• The cattail sauce tasted like chicken gravy, but it was a bit tangy like it had lemon in it. I think it was made with cattail pollen and other ingredients, so I’m not sure what the cattail alone would taste like.
• The sauce was served on top of parsnip puree which was smooth and silky like a pommes puree.
• The squab was very rare and I prefer it medium rare, but it wasn’t very tender so I needed to use a steak knife to cut it.
• The birch syrup was served on the side and also reduced with some balsamic vinegar.
• The syrup was sweet and not really tart, but almost a bit bitter in the aftertaste.
• I appreciated the creativity, but I wasn’t keen on the squab although I enjoyed everything else.

Lavia Monastrell Syrah 2006, Spain

L’Inattendu – 4/6

• Elk tartar with fir jelly, thyme liqueur and salsify chips
• Again! Staying true to its roots by featuring elk and fir! I really like elk, so I was looking forward to this.
• Elk is a game meat, but it’s not gamey in flavour. I’m sensitive to gaminess and this wasn’t gamey.
• It’s a very lean meat, but it was very rich and creamy as a tartar and it almost had a stickiness from the marinade.
• The texture of it is meatier and thicker than beef tartar and sweeter than it too.
• The fir jelly enhanced the sweetness of  the elk, but I was hoping for a more intense flavour and perhaps a berry sauce since elk can handle strong sauces.
• There were some red onions, chives and what seemed like little dried hay pieces in the tartar, but it wasn’t distracting and barely noticeable. I’m not sure what they were though.
• I could have used more salsify chips for more contrast in texture, but I did enjoy the tartar alone.
• The herbs were all more mild than expected, and I liked it more with the wine pairing which just helped bring it to life.

Kangaroo Paté – 4.5/6

• This was an alternative to the tartar which I also got to try.
• I’ve had cooked kangaroo on pizza before and it tasted like beef, but it was my first time trying it as tartar.
• It tasted like pork pate and it wasn’t gamey and you probably wouldn’t have guessed it was something else unless you knew.
• It was a bit dense and chunky rather than creamy and smooth and it had a peppery seasoning that wasn’t spicy.
• It was topped with a berry sauce for sweetness, herb oil and some sort of honeyish red berry sauce. It was the same sauces from the Torchon foie gras course.
• I really like pate and I enjoyed this, although I think I’ll remember it based on being kangaroo rather than the flavours being particularly memorable.

Blancas Nobles Barranco Oscuro, Spain

Au Pays du Nord – 5/6

• Sieur Corbeau, Rivière Rouge and Comtomme cheeses served at just the right temperature with hazelnut fantasy
• This was a fantastic cheese plate, but it was a shout out to Quebec more than it was an ode to First Nations cuisine.
• The cheeses were served perhaps a bit warmer than room temperature, but they weren’t melting.
• They were nice and soft and their oils were coming to the surface so I could really taste their flavours.
• The Sieur Corbeau (left) was a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese. It was creamy like a lighter brie cheese with a thin rind. It was quite oily, buttery and almost a bit like White Cheddar meets brie.
• The Rivière Rouge (middle) was a saltier, firmer and thicker cheese, but it’s not hard. It was almost waxy and buttery and it coated the roof of my mouth.
• The Comtomme (right) was a soft raw cow’s milk cheese with a very mild flavour and it didn’t seem very rich.
• The hazelnut fantasy was like a Raincoast Crisp meets a biscotti and it was loaded with toasted hazelnuts and brown cherries. I loved it!
• The apples were a bit powdery, which I found quite common in a lot of varieties in Quebec, unless they were just old apples I kept getting.

La Part des Anges 2001, Quebec

Délice Boréal - 4/6

• Crème brulé with chocolate and strawberry and frozen maple crystals
• A crème brulé is a classic choice for dessert in Quebec and the maple crystals made it more unique, but I was hoping for more of a First Nations dessert or twist.
• It was a rich creamy smooth bittersweet chocolate, but it wasn’t too sweet although a few bites was satisfying enough for me.
• It had a great brulé crisp that wasn’t burnt and it was very good for what it was, but I was just hoping for something more unique since everything else was.

Inuit Herbal Tea – They serve this tea during the daily Labrador tea ceremony for guests as well. It was almost like a chamomile meets mint tea and it was really light, mild and soothing.

Happy Canada Day!

A Recap of The Canadian Culinary Federation’s Conference Aboriginal Potlatch Supper catered by Wild Salmon Restaurant

Aboriginal dancing at CCFCC Aboriginal Potlatch Supper – Photo by Thorsten Gohl

So what is Canadian cuisine? Sure I could blog about poutine, meat pies, maple syrup, Nanaimo bars, and smoked salmon, but what fun would that be? Actually that would be a lot of fun, and in fact I did re-launch my search for the best poutine series on Canada Day last year – see that post here.

This year I’m switching things up by highlighting a previous event I attended which I think is very appropriate for Canada Day. At the same time I want to introduce a truly Canadian restaurant that is only open for lunch during the summer. It’s a hidden gem and local secret that I recently discovered, and it goes by the name of Wild Salmon Restaurant.

As some of you know, Vancouver hosted the 48th Annual 2011 National Chefs Conference a couple weeks ago (June 10-16). Some of the country’s best chefs came to the city to showcase their talent, and a series of culinary events took place that were ideal for any foodie, gourmet, or really just anyone in general.

I attended the Aboriginal Potlatch Supper on June 13 at Vancouver Community College. It was 9 stations of mini courses that represented traditional indigenous ingredients, recipes, and cooking methods. It incorporated modern equipment and West Coast twists, and in particular BC flavours, and each dish was paired with BC wines. The menu was created by Vancouver Community College Aboriginal Culinary Class with instructor and Chef Ben Genaille.

I can’t say I’m too familiar with Aboriginal cuisine. There’s a lack of it in the city and the only time I’ve really experienced it was on an elementary school field trip at a long house cabin on an Aboriginal reserve. I also tried it at an Aboriginal event during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and items included bison, caribou, venison, deer, salmon, rabbit, elk, and even rattle snake. Other than that, there was the old So.cial at Le Magasin and Pair Bistro that has slight Aboriginal influences in their menus. There’s also Tomahawk in North Vancouver, but I’m not sure if that counts. Anyways, my point is when it comes to traditional Aboriginal cuisine the choices in Vancouver are very limited.

Photo from Crystal H.

That is until I attended the Aboriginal Potlatch Supper and discovered the Wild Salmon Restaurant. Tucked inside the third floor of the Vancouver Community College (VCC) the restaurant is only open for lunch and only in the summer. It’s challenging to get reservations as it’s very popular and the mains are insanely affordable at $11.

It specializes in Aboriginal cuisine and features the talent of chefs in training (students) from VCC’s Aboriginal Culinary Arts Program. The courses I tried at the Potlatch Supper was a teaser of what is offered at the Wild Salmon Restaurant. So happy Canada Day everyone! I hope you enjoy this Canadian secret, or I guess it’s more of a Vancouver secret. Share it, try it and celebrate it!

The Aboriginal Potlatch Supper

A selection of Aboriginal meets West Coast appetizers

Traditionally smoked salmon parsnip dumpling, pumpkin sauce. Those parsnip dumplings were melt in your mouth delicious and the pumpkin sauce gave it a nice sweetness. It’s available at The Wild Salmon Restaurant as a main for $11.

Wine pairings: Eau Vivre Gewurztraminer, Tangled Vines 3 Blancs

Spot prawn, poached in bentwood box sweet onion, garlic cream. I think I had at least three of these. The sweetness of the tender onion complemented the sweetness of the prawn and the richness of the buttery cream sauce rounded up all the flavours. It’s available at The Wild Salmon Restaurant as a main for $11.

Wine pairings: Haywire Pinot Gris, Misconduct Misfit

Spiced seafood cakes, corn puree dandelion salad. It was a crispy and tender seafood cake with sweet corn sauce and it’s available as a salad at The Wild Salmon Restaurant for $4. Yes, $4!

Wine Pairings: Rustic Roots Apple Pear, Bartier Scholfield Rose

Smoked trout apple salad young cress, wild mushroom vinaigrette. The smoked trout was indeed smoky and it came with some crispy skin. This is available as a salad at the Wild Salmon Restaurant for $4.

Wine pairings: Cassini Pinot Noir, Rollingdale Pinot Noir

Rabbit sausage king oyster ragout, blueberry pine nut chutney. This is not available on the regular menu at the Wild Salmon Restaurant, but they do offer a Braised rabbit, glazed onion, roasted sweet potato mash with peppery watercress as a main for $11.

Wine pairings: Black Cloud Pinot Noir, Hester Creek Character Red

Braised bison brisket roasted squash salad, roasted onions, natural sauce. The bison was melt in your mouth tender and smothered with a savoury and sweet au jus. This is not available on the regular menu at the Wild Salmon Restaurant, but there is a Slow-smoked bison brisket, roasted squash salad and savoury bannock bread pudding as a main for $11.

Wine pairings: St. Hubertus Oak Bay Foch, Fairview 2 Hoots

Roast venison loin sweet potato sauce, savory bannock bread pudding. This is not available on the regular menu at the Wild Salmon Restaurant, but again there is a Slow-smoked bison brisket, roasted squash salad and savoury bannock bread pudding as a main for $11.

Wine pairings: The View Pinotage, Noble Ridge Meritage

Cinnamon bannock fritters Brown sugar cranberry sauce. This is probably the only thing I really didn’t like because they were really dense and dry. Given the event and the fact it was students, it really isn’t a big deal. This is not on the regular menu at the Wild Salmon Restaurant.

Wine pairings: Raven Ridge Iced Cider, Tugwell Mead

Bannock bread pudding, sundried berry egg sauce. This is not on the regular menu at the Wild Salmon Restaurant and the only dessert offered is Indian Ice Cream with Fresh Berries and shaved snow for $3. I really want to try this!

Wine pairings: Vista D’Oro, The View Optima

Wild Salmon Restaurant is open until August 26 for lunch only with weekday sittings starting at 11:30 a.m. Call 604.443.8352 to make a reservation. The restaurant is located on the second floor of VCC’s Downtown campus (250 West Pender Street, Vancouver).

Sorry! Restaurant is now CLOSED.

Restaurant: So.cial at Le Magasin
Cuisine: Canadian/First Nations (Coastal Peoples)/Regional/Contemporary
Last visited: October 18, 09
Location: Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
Address: 332 Water Street, Gastown – In the 1911 Le Magasin building
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4 (Food is actually 3.5, but the extra .5 goes to creativity & effort)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• CLOSED – now McLean’s Restaurant, Bar & Custom Deli
• Authentically Canadian/Regional menu
• Features authentic First Nations/Coastal People’s cuisine
• Almost everything is homemade/from scratch
• Menu not for everyone – can be too creative to the point of not good
• Most reduced reduction I’ve ever tried
• Homemade breads
• Seasonal menu – changes often
• Local/Organic where possible
• Oyster bar available
• Full wine bar
• Casual fine dining
• Offer 3-4 course prix fixe menu
• Mon-Fri – Lunch
• Sat-Sun – Brunch
• Everyday dinner at 5pm
• Daily happy hour 3-8pm (Oysters on special)
• Also apart of So.cial Le Magasin Butcher Shop and Deli (located on other side of building)

**Recommendations: Bison Steak, Organic Chicken, Canadian Cheese Plate, Bannock

This is almost the only restaurant in Vancouver serving all Canadian/First Nations cuisine. The chef is First Nations himself and has only been there for about 4 months. The menu is really interesting and you definitely get a feel for that regional cuisine and super Canadian theme. Sure there are gourmet twists here and there that makes it not as “authentic”, but the main ingredient and concept is quite Canadian. The fact that it’s discretely located in the basement of a building in historic Gastown also adds to the overall charm and Canadian pride the restaurant offers.

We originally came here for the oyster bar…my friend has never met an oyster he didn’t love. About seventy oysters after…yes between 2 people…we managed to still try their entrees and desserts. Come to think of it, I’m going to dedicate a separate post just for the oysters.

I can definitely taste the passion and love for cooking the chefs/cooks/kitchen have…they pay so much attention to detail. I’ve never had a sauce/gravy as reduced as the ones they serve here. They make everything from scratch – they even pickle their own pearl onions – and that was more or less a garnish! With that being said, I do appreciate their efforts and creativity – however with all that effort and creativity the food should have tasted better. Sometimes they were trying to do too much and it was overkill, or the idea was there but the flavours were just a bit off and not thought out thoroughly.

The menu isn’t for everybody. If you’re not into exotic, overly creative, or adventurous dining then you’ll probably think everything tastes off or weird here. I’m into “weird” combinations of flavours and cooking outside of the box, so I was able to appreciate it even if it didn’t taste great.

Added note: If you want to try this restaurant you better go soon because they’re reinventing themselves – changing names and everything. However they are staying with the 100% Canadian/First Nations theme.

On the table:

**Bison Steak – 6/6

• Breaded bison steak with mushroom and cranberry reduction, smoked quail’s egg, potato croquette, mushrooms & carrots.
• If you’ve never tried bison it basically tastes like steak, but a bit sweeter. It’s not gamey at all, so it’s definitely not like lamb. This one was really tender and moist and cooked medium rare.

• They bread it with a very traditional First Nations bread called bannock.
• Bannock is a flat quick bread that is typically baked or roasted around a campfire. It’s amazing!
• The bannock is homemade and they wrap it around the bison and deep fry it. The bannock is so crispy it tastes just like crackling! Crackling is the fatty skin on pork that gets really crispy when it’s roasts. It becomes super crunchy and sweet almost like candy. That’s exactly what this bannock tastes like and you don’t have to feel guilty for eating it because it’s “healthier” than pork fat.

• It’s ridiculous how good they make it here. As you can see it’s multiple layers of deep fried bannock. It’s so good! I think they even sweeten the bannock with a little maple syrup. That’s traditional how bannock is eaten anyways.
• The mushroom and cranberry reduction is insane. It’s so thick and sticky and there’s whole cranberries in it. It’s quite sweet but a slightly tart at the same time. It’s not necessarily the best tasting, but it goes with the bison well since the bison is naturally sweeter. It’s also really really reduced.
• I also appreciated the little details like the mini potato croquette and the single smoked quail’s egg. It gave you just enough to want you craving more.

**Organic Chicken – 4/6

• Organic chicken with wild mushrooms, glazed sunchokes, pearl onions, blueberry confit and chicken jus.
• The chicken was very tender and not dry at all. I think they pan fry it first and then let it finish cooking in the oven. It has a crispy caramelized and flavourful exterior. It wasn’t the juiciest chicken ever, but it was still really good.

• The sauce on this is again ridiculous. I can’t emphasize how reduced it was. It wasn’t necessarily the greatest in terms of flavour – but in terms of quality it’s top notch. It tasted like they used a pound of fresh blueberries and reduced it to 2 tbsp. It’s the thickest reduction I’ve ever had to date. Surprisingly it actually wasn’t that sweet even though it looks and is the texture of caramel. The cranberry sauce on the bison is sweeter and tastes better. This blueberry reduction is more hickory tasting almost like a charred taste. It’s very syrupy and not tangy at all. It literally coats your whole mouth.
• The menu said with pearl onions, but they forgot them in mine.
• The glazed sunchokes were I can’t say good, but just different. This is what I mean by trying to do too much. I think the dish would have went better with Yukon potatoes or something simple like that. They had too much going on. Sunchokes taste like raw potatoes too so they should have gone with something that just tastes better.

• The mushrooms were terrific and I’m pretty sure they were dried Chanterelle mushrooms. It’s one of the best mushrooms, a gourmet mushroom that’s almost like an apricot. Dried mushrooms work better for sauces because they absorb flavours well and get all plump and juicy in the cooking process. The sauce definitely had an intense wild mushroom flavour and there were lots!

Jellied Buttermilk – 1/6

• Chamomile glazed bannock, peaches and vanilla cured fennel.
• Another example of trying to do too much and letting creativity take over.
• It’s an interesting concept that just doesn’t fly in the end…it makes me think they didn’t even try it. There’s no way they could have thought this tasted good or that customers would like it. It felt like something a test kitchen would make…and then toss.

• The jellied buttermilk is almost tasteless, except maybe a bit sour. It literally tastes like buttermilk mixed with gelatin powder. I could see it was infused with real vanilla bean, but it didn’t matter – you couldn’t taste it at all. Not sweet either.
• The cured fennel tastes like onions without the onion flavour. I thought it was coconut meat but it wasn’t sweet and had no flavour. I expect sweet for a dessert. There was the slightest licorice taste and that’s because fennel has a natural licorice flavour.

• The only thing good about this was the bannock, and unfortunately you only get a small sample of it. Smaller than a Timbit and it was the best part! (Bannock is a very traditional First Nations flatbread) They make it in house and it’s freshly baked for this dish. It was rolled in icing sugar and had a sweetness to it from the chamomile glaze.
• This dish was just poorly thought out and executed. It wasn’t a dessert at all. They should have just stuck to what they do well and just served mini bannock balls. That’s all they needed – simplicity!

**Canadian Cheese Plate – 5/6

• Camembert, Brie, Blue Cheese, Smoked Gouda. Served with homemade breads, olives, pickled pearl onions and drizzled with basil oil.
• Sounds simple, but they dress it up like crazy. The reason why I recommend this is because the condiments it comes with is ALL made in house…except the olives and cheese. It’s totally worth it with all the labour they put in!
• This is a dish where they paid attention to detail and it actually paid off.

• The pickled pearl onions: I couldn’t believe that they actually pickle their own pearl onions. It’s not like they need too and it’s not even typical or expected when you’re dining Canadian or First Nations cuisine!
• They were very juicy, but also very acidic and very sour. It was very slightly sweet in the end notes but it definitely gets your saliva glands going because they are sooo sour.

• It comes with 3 different homemade breads that are all baked fresh. They do a wonderful job with their breads!
• • Focaccia: Sea salt and herb crusted, very cake-like and very soft.
  • Sourdough: Nice and chewy
  • Crostini: Brushed with olive oil, and good enough to eat on their own. Like chips!

Drinks
**Saskatoon Berry Iced Tea – 4.5/6

• Non alcoholic. Nice, light and refreshing. This is lightly steeped Saskatoon berry tea leaves sweetened with organic Agave nectar.
• It was a very light tasting iced tea. It was very aromatic and florally. It tastes like melted gourmet candies, but it’s not that sweet because there’s no sugar, except for the agave nectar. This is a perfect summertime drink.