There is a group of lovely ladies that I typically do one
Dine Out Vancouver meal with every year. Our group changed a wee bit this year
because we decided to meld the DOV tradition with celebrating someone’s birthday.
After careful review of the DOV menus, the birthday girl
picked Twisted Fork. I called to make a reservation and the lovely hostess
explained they didn’t take resos, but had a great “call when your table is
ready” and assured me that they had the space to seat our party of 8.
On the night of the dinner, this was definitely the case.
Our name was put in, we went to a nearby pub for some drinks, and approx 1.5 -2
hours later we were seated.
Now I’ve heard about Twisted Fork and their awesome brunches
(although I’ve never been) but haven’t heard anything about dinners. Their DOV
menu was set at $28 and the menu sounded good.
Twisted Fork is located in downtown Vancouver on the
Granville strip, close to Davie St. The restaurant is quite small and narrow,
so you could miss it walking by…Look for the big fork! The inside of this
bistro is long, narrow, with mellow lighting, creating a relaxing vibe. They’ve
got high ceilings, rustic wood tables, and cool touches of décor and art (an
old door, a wall lined with their own jams, jellies, canned goods, preserves,
an old kitchen mixer as a vase).
Complimentary rolls:
Liked the presentation! (served in a colander with whipped
butter in a shot glass)
The appetizers:
Cream of potato and
leek soup garnished with pancetta crisps
I really really liked this soup. It was rich, warm and full
bodied with a delicate smooth creamy texture and a slight peppery kick. The
pancetta crisps were essentially two thin bacon chips, crispy, salty, awesome.
Warm beet salad mixed
with goat cheese, arugula, carrot and almonds tossed in a sherry vinaigrette
Gruyere and
caramelized onion tart with a hint of nutmeg served with pesto dressed greens
and pear chutney
No one in our group had the tart
The Entrees:
Vegan Lasagna with
layers of yam, eggplant, zucchini, basil, almond ricotta and tomato sauce
served on top of braised swiss chard
I liked this dish okay but didn’t love it. I found it a bit
boring flavour-wise. The textures were pretty one-note too.
Pan seared Sablefish
on herb couscous, cauliflower coulis and raspberry balsamic reduction topped
with leek fries
Herb and brie stuffed
Chicken Breast, served with wild mushroom risotto, roasted herb cherry tomatoes
finished with chicken jus
The Desserts
Pumpkin spiced
cheesecake served with sour cream topping and fresh mint
LOVED this dessert. Definitely not your average slice of
cheesecake. Served in a mason jar, this was a layered creation with loose
graham crumbles at the bottom with a main layer of a creamy whipped pumpkin
pudding, then lightly topped with a thin layer of slightly sweetened sour
cream.
Frozen chocolate
terrine served with raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries and almond tuile
Caramel mousse served
with fresh raspberries, raspberry coulis and almond tuile
All in all, an enjoyable DOV experience. The company was fabulous.
The food was solid (with no complaints from a diverse group of 8). I would say
that this was well cooked west coast bistro food in a tasteful, cozy, intimate
setting. Portions were reasonable. Service was friendly and warm. And again…I
am dreaming that one day I will have my own wall of pickled goods and
preserves.
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