Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Restaurant: Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Cuisine: Pizza/Mediterranean/Italian
Last visited: March 9, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1265 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 3.5
Service: n/a (Media dinner)
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 3.5 (food is on generally good, but not worth it)
Additional comments:

• Chef Brian Ritchot
• Chef from Montreal, one from Spain
• DJ’s/live music on weekends
• Contemporary, sleek, posh atmosphere
• Great for groups
• Specializes in gourmet pizzas
• Mediterranean/Italian options
• Longue like atmosphere
• One large projection screen TV
• Open late
• Pizzas available for take out
• Dinner service only

**Recommendation: Short Rib Pizza, prosciutto di Parma 18 Month, Duck Pizza, Banoffee Pie

I was invited to a media dinner at Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar so the food served this evening was complimentary. However there were no expectations from Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar and the review represents my true and honest opinions.

Overall the evening was very pleasant and the food was good. However if I were to imagine myself as a regular diner I would probably think great atmosphere, good food, but over priced. It’s “Yaletown Pizza”. Better than Opus Bar pizza for sure. Nothing tasted bad, but when you’re paying for it you get more critical. There are things in the recipe or cooking method that could be improved. I would have liked to see smaller sized pizzas at a reasonable price…which they may consider. I just don’t want to share 1 14 inch pizza if I’m having dinner with one other person…and if we order more we’re looking at a steep bill with lots of leftovers.

They offer pastas and a couple mains but their focus is pizza. I liked the thin crust and made in house aspects but it was at times inconsistent and some were crispier than others. I'm not being too picky either - it was a significant difference. However the pizza crust has a slight garlic powder flavour which is great! Also there’s decent leopparding on the bottom of all the crusts – sign of pizza crust cooked properly.

Soggier crust on 1st pizza.

Crisp crust on last pizza!

I attended the evening with Victoria from Victoria’s Food Secrets. 9 courses later and we still had room for one more dessert…so we just reached for the unfinished dessert down the table. ;)

Oh and no – that is not Charlie and the owner’s name is not Charlie…Charlie is a fictional character the restaurant and food is inspired by.

The dessert portion of dinner at Charlie's Restaurant + Bar.

On the table:

House Marinated Olives 4/6

• Citrus & fresh herbs $6
• Olives are olives and there were a variety which I liked.
  
• I like olives so I liked them. The marinade was good, but also standard.

Grappa Cured Salmon 3.5/6

• Cream fraiche, cucumber, mint, salmon roe and lemon zest $15
• Very fresh and big piece of salmon. Quite a simple dish that sounds more interesting. A sharing appy.
  
• I liked the levels of saltiness from this – the salty bite of salmon roe, fresh sea salt on top of the salmon and then the fresh caper berry. The cream fraiche helped to balance and round out the flavours.
• The cucumber, mint and lemon zest was more for décor and not enough to actually add to the dish.
• Not sure how much this appy suits the restaurant, but it’s still good.

Prosciutto di Parma 18 Month 5.5/6

• With pea mousse, snow pea tendrils, a poached egg, two crostini, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
• Not on current menu, but will be added at end of month. Price TBC. I would hope $12-14.
  
• Great combo of flavours and loved the plating. Prosciutto roses!
  
• I loved the pea mousse. Its very light and fluffy. I recommended them to add Mascarpone to the mousse to give it creaminess and richness. Drool.
• I could taste some tuffle oil on the prosciutto – great touch!

• The poached egg could have been even softer and there were fresh green peas underneath it all. Loved the textures of it altogether.
• It definitely needs a few more crostini for the portion.

Meatball Pizza 2/6

• Spicy tomato sugo, pork meatballs, fontina, smoked speck and fresh oregano $23
• It was good, but for $23 I wouldn’t order it. It’s a bit too basic for me anyways so I wouldn’t have ordered it on a regular basis.
• The best part was the Fontina, except it made the pizza extra greasy which eventually made the thin crust a bit soggy.
• It was homemade Italian Sausage meatballs. They were ok but a bit dry and not a highlight. The pizza also wasn’t spicy to me and there wasn’t much oregano. Maybe they should shred them up and spread them around.

Smoked Salmon Pizza 3/6

• Salsa verde, house-smoked salmon, red onion, capers, arugula preserve, lemon and goat cheese $25
• Lots of stuff going on here, but I did like it.
• I liked the big pieces of salmon and there was a decent amount of creamy goat cheese crumbles…a little goes a long way.
• It was salty, slightly peppery and the salsa verde got nicely baked in the oven so it gave off a nutty flavour and crispy texture. It was quite a herby salsa.
• It was almost like an arugula salad tossed on top so it was quite fresh tasting – the heaviness comes from the goat’s cheese. Some could like this idea and others might find the salad messy and distracting. I liked it.

Roast Potatoes – Side 3.5/6

• The potatoes were very flavourful, fluffy and buttery but the skins were not crispy enough.

• If we stopped here I would have been slightly underwhelmed...until...
  

Short Rib Pizza 5.5/6

• Tomato sugo, braised short ribs, caramelized onion, mozzarella, horseradish cream and green onions $25
• This was my favourite of the night!
  
• Lots of short rib, but it was a bit dry. I like how I can see it but this method dried out the meat during baking.
• The beef could have been more marinated to compensate for the drying out. There’s definitely some dried herb they cooked it with so there's still some flavour.
  
• I loved the fresh spicy horseradish cream! It’s spicy, but it tastes like they made it milder so it wouldn’t be overpowering. it also added some sauce/juice to the meat.
  

Duck Pizza 4/6

• Porcini sauce, smoked duck, roast portabellini mushrooms, tallegio, radicchio and truffle oil $25
• This had so much potential and it was very good but I was very bothered by the duck part…which is the main part. It had almost completely dried out during baking and it came off as roast beef. Since it was thin slices of duck it really came off as roast beef.

• You can see how the duck meat is dry and wrinkly. So it was good, but disappointing in that one aspect.
  
• I liked the mushroom flavour throughout though. Nice layers of mushroom flavour including the big slices of juicy Potabellini and truffle oil which I could taste.
• It was a bit on the salty side and I would have liked more shredded cabbage for more of a crunch.

Drinks

Keep in mind I’m not much of a drinker – watch this video to see why.

Champers Thyme 2/6

• Apple, cucumber, thyme smashed with agave syrup, Henrick’s, Prosecco crown $11
• A sparking cocktail to start the night. Couldn’t taste much apple, but cucumber and thyme stood out. Refreshing, but quite bitter (from Thyme) and tart.

Cocktail 1265 2.5/6

• Blood orange, grapefruit, juniper berries, pine nuts, basil, grapefruit bitters, Vodka $10
• I thought I would like this more than I did. Pretty strong drink. The pine nuts are pureed it so it has a very subtle nutty flavour. Bold, citrusy and slightly sweet, actually quite bitter.

Devil 4/6

• Sliced fennel, cloves, cherry syrup, Cazadores Reposado tequila, cherry bitters and ginger beer $11
• I don’t like Tequila, and this was the best drink. It’s surprisingly sweet because of the cherries and it just worked very well. It has a warm spice and slight licorice taste.

The dessert portion of dinner.

Chambar Restaurant

Restaurant: Chambar Restaurant

Cuisine: Belgian/French
Last visited: February 12, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
562 Beatty Street
Price Range: $30-50 (Closer to $50)

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

Food: 6
Service: 5.5

Ambiance: 4.5

Overall: 6

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Belgium/French food - fusion
• Innovative/exotic/creative menu
  
• Going on 6th year
  
• Casual fine dining
• Lively atmosphere
• Busy on weekends/late nights
• Husband and wife owners
• Chef Nico Schuermans and his wife Karri
• Parent to Cafe Medina next door
• Just opened Dirty Apron Cooking school (couple stores down)
• Fixed menu available
• Event nights
  
• Extensive wine list
• Great for drinks/cocktails/appetizers
  
• 18% gratuity for groups of 8+
• Ocean Wise
• Open 5-12am daily
• Reservations recommended
  

**Recommendation: Mushroom Soup, Mussels & Frites, Le Canard aux Epices, if you can order Stilton croquettes as a side - do it! Vanilla Pear Cake

Chambar has always been one of my favourite restaurants...and it still is one of my favourites. I rarely ever say I have a “favourite restaurant” but this one has yet to disappointment me. I usually have certain dishes I like and that’s what I will recommend rather than the restaurant itself…however everything here is more or less amazing.

It is a Belgian restaurant, but the food is more contemporary with slight French and West Coast influences. It is more or less a fusion restaurant.

A bit steep in terms of price, but in the category of casual fine dining. The portions are reasonable although they look smaller until you start eating them.

They really let the ingredients speak for themselves here and they don’t go overboard by trying to enhance every single item with seasonings and spices. It’s simple, but tastes so complex. That’s the magic of Chambar.

My dessert review for Chambar Restaurant.

On the table:

Mushroom Soup

• It's not on the online menu but it was called "mushroom soup". It was basically 3 kinds of mushrooms showcased in 3 different way with 3 different cooking methods. There was a mushroom soup, sauteed oyster mushrooms, and deep fried trumpet mushrooms. $17
  
• Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms 6/6
• These are wonderful! The stems were meaty, juicy, big, and plump. It was sautéed in lots of butter and some garlic and it was almost the texture of meat. That is all I tried from this plate, however there were no complaints coming from the person who did order it. (That's why I can't rate the entire appetizer)
• I did love the concept of this appetizer overall – however the soup portion of it was looking a little small. Even the sautéed oyster mushrooms were a bigger portion. If “soup” is in the title of the dish then it should be showcased the most and it wasn’t. Nonetheless I would still order this again just based on the sauteed oyster mushrooms I tried.
  

Le Carpaccio de Thon Grillee - (Ahi Tuna) 4.5/6

• Charred yellowfin tuna carpaccio, celery, daikon & citrus brunoix. Pomegranate molasses, red shiso $17
  

• The slices were actually really nice and big and also cut quite thin and I’m surprised. I will usually only order sashimi items at Japanese restaurants…purely for the fact that it’s usually done better.
• I did miss the citrus note to this dish ever though there was still a tang to it from the pomegranate. The tang is just milder than the tang you usually get from Japanese tuna carpaccio. I also missed a little bit of heat – but maybe I’m too used to tuna carpaccio’s with wasabi. This one has mustard seeds though which was nice, but a bit masked even though there were a lot of them.
  

• This carpaccio carried a fruity flavour and the fish was very fresh. The diced ingredients were very subtle in all aspects and the combination of flavours were quite soft.
• There was some grapefruit which gave it a slight citrus tang, a little bitterness as well as some sweetness. It was a very fresh dish, but also a bit mellow in flavour although still delicious.

Dual Bison 5/6

• They don't have this on their online menu but it was basically bison done two ways. The first was a bison Prosciutto and the second was a bison shepherd's pie. $18 (I think?)
  

• Bison Prosciutto
  
• The bison prosciutto was very similar to regular prosciutto but much more rich. It was more like duck prosciutto, but more lean and less buttery and creamy.
• The slices are a bit thicker and the taste is almost a bit sweeter and it’s definitely not as salty as typical prosciutto.
  

• Shepherd’s Pie
• The bottom meat layer of the pie was braised bison which came off as almost like “pulled pork”. It was very shredded and actually quite dry. The flavour was very simple, but it was dry because it was a lean meat not because they overcooked/baked it.
• The pulled bison was best with the gravy they served along side. It was an intense, thick and syrupy sauce. It tasted like barbeque sauce with lots of Worcestershire sauce. There was quite a kick!
• The potato topping was a very simple but good mashed potato with lots of butter. It was nothing fancy, but just simple and good.
  

Mussels & Frites - Vin Blanc 3.5/6

• White wine butter cooked mussels, braised celery and leeks. Coarse black pepper. Served with frites. $22
  

• I could definitely taste the white wine. It wasn’t cooked out as much as I thought it would be. The wine is actually really obvious and I found it a tad distracting. It was my least favourite of the 3 although still tasty.
• It’s definitely a nice qhite wine they’re using and it’s something that I could easily drink, but it was a just a bit overpowering.
  

Mussels & Frites - Congolaise 6/6

• Mussels cooked with a tomato coconut cream. Smoked chili and lime. Fresh cilantro. Served with frites. $22
  

• If you like a more exotic mussel then this is for you. This was very Indian inspired with a very aromatic broth.
• The broth was stewed with fresh tomato chunks. Big coarsely ground black peppercorns, fresh basil leaves, cardamom, cumin and coriander.
• The broth didn't taste or look creamy, although there was coconut milk in it. I found it quite light and tangy with more of tomato based soup then a coconut cream based one.
• I wouldn’t say it was spicy, but there was a little heat.
• I could have drank the broth as a soup on its own.
  

Mussels & Frites - Coquotte 5.5/6

• Mussels cooked in a white wine cream. Smoked bacon lardons, spring onions. Served with frites. $22

• If you just want a simple, good, and more traditional mussel then this is for you.
• This was just good. It’s nothing adventurous and it’s one of those gourmet dishes that appeals to the masses.
• There’s bacon…and what more do I need to say? People love bacon!
• There’s also shallots and some green onions and onions.
• If you like bacon, butter, cream and onions – then you’ll like this. It’s not that creamy, but it is still very rich – it was almost like a bacon chowder broth.
  

Frites 4/6

• Served with a house made garlic aioli.
• The frites were very fried – they weren’t dark brown but they were fried until they were almost dry. I think they triple fry these. They're very crispy and reminded my of a thicker version of the skinny fries I had at The Irish Heather.
• They are cut into 1 inch sticks which allows more surface area for them to fry up very crisp. They weren’t fluffy and not too salty too.
• The garlic aioli is wonderful! It’s very thick – almost the texture of full fat yogurt.

There's a piece of ahi tuna carpaccio on the top right hand corner - that's not how it's served though...that's just my bite :)

It would normally look like this.

Chevreuil aux Raisins 5/6

• Cassis & juniper venison loin, stilton croquettes, braised belgium endive, coronation grape & aged sherry sauce. $30

• Venison tastes like a very tender and lean steak. The meat is a bit sweeter and it’s not as rough. It came with 5 pieces of venison and it was a bit overcooked for me. I could have had it a bit rarer although venison is still very tender even when cooked to medium.
• It was seared with simple salt and pepper and it was very little.
• All the little details were quite random and I didn’t think they complimented each other although they were good individually.
• The sauce could have been a bit more reduced. It wasn’t thick and sticky and it came off as a gravy thickened with corn starch.
  

• The Belgium endive leave was braised with maple syrup. The bitterness it naturally has was almost completely gone so I didn’t feel like it was endive. I didn’t find that it complimented the venison – I actually thought it took it over. Not that it tasted better, but the flavour was so strong I was distracted. There was a very strong clove taste and there was a bit of cardamom in it – however I though the combo of these spices was cinnamon.
• The brussel sprouts were dressed in tangy vinaigrette made with good quality olive oil you can taste.
  

• The stilton croquettes were amazing! They looked just like the croquettes in Spain. They were very fresh and the Stilton was used perfectly. A little goes a long way and they used the perfect amount. Stilton is very similar to Blue Cheese so it can be quite overpowering – this one was evident but not overpowering one bit.
  

• It was nice and crispy with a light breading and very creamy and soft inside.
• It was served on a bed of “dip” which tasted like sour cream mixed with chives. I could have eaten 4 of these as an appetizer. Yes….not a plate – but 4. Although they were good you don’t want to overdo these because they still are very rich.
  

Le Canard aux Epices 6/6

• Spice rubbed duck breast, butternut squash puree, red delicious caramelized apples, whipped goats cheese & tamarind gastrique. $29

• The duck skin was very crispy and almost came off as bacon! It was nicely seasoned and there was actually very little fat yet it was still moist.
  

• The pieces were a bit small and I found this entrée to be the “stingiest”.
  

• The goat’s cheese was good, but again a bit overpowering with the duck. I think I would have liked it if they mixed the goat’s cheese with a ricotta to make it a bit lighter in flavour. I wanted to showcase the natural sweetness of the duck a bit more.
  
• The tamarind sauce was tangy and that suited the cheese well becuase it was almost like balsamic vinegar with goat's cheese which is a great combination.
  

• I didn't like how they used a Red Delciious Apply. It was too powdery in texture especially after it was cooked. It was almost like an old apple texture.
  

• The apples were “glued” onto the plate with a nice caramel sauce. It was a very cooked caramel so the flavour was very intense and rich and it hardens – more like a candied hard caramel than nougat caramel .
• The butternut squash puree was one of my favourites of the nite! DELISH! Seriously. I had to pass compliments to the chef because it was so good.
• It was very thick and creamy and hard to swallow and had the texture of butternut squash whipped with marscarpone cheese…although there was no marscarpone cheese or any cheese for that matter.
• The texture is beautiful and it was slightly sweet with lots of butter and subtle seasonings. The flavour was pure butternut squash, but it was so smooth and creamy you think there is a whole complex production to it – but there isn’t.

Don't miss out on the Chambar Restaurant dessert post tomorrow - there was a lot :)

Vita Bella Ristorante

Restaurant: Vita Bella Ristorante

Cuisine: Italian/West Coast
Last visited: February 4, 09
Area: Burnaby, BC
4544 Hastings Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 4.5
Service: 4.5

Ambiance: 3.5

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Italian cuisine with West Coast flare
• Italian husband and wife operation - Chef Leonardo Moschetti
  
• Local BC seafood
• Extensive wine list – Italian/BC wines
• Friendly, family owned service
• Attracts locals/neighbourhood/ages 45+
• Affordable/casual fine dining
• Spacious/comfortable
• Old Italian tradition music
• $9.98 Take-out pasta specials
• $25 3 course menu (Sun-Thurs)
• Vegetarian/Gluten free options
• Charges $1 for hot water
• Minimum $15/person
• May be surcharge for split orders
• Dinner only – from 5pm
• Closed Tuesday
• Dine in/Take out
• Cash/Visa/MC/Debit

**Recommendation: Linguine Fumante, Zampina (more so because you can’t get it anywhere else)

Vita Bella Italian Ristorante has been around for 4 years and they specialize in Italian cuisine with West Coast flare. However taking a look at their menu I thought the items were on the whole Italian with minor West Coast influences in a couple of their sauces such as orange cranberry compote and cranberry vinaigrette.

Chef Leonardo Moschetti (husband/owner/chef) is born and trained in Bari Italy (Southern Italy) and continued his training in Vancouver (hence the West Coast flare). For me the food was more Northern Italian with Southern influences. Everything was homemade but also quite hearty and rich which is not common of Southern Italian cooking. The food was really good however it left me quite thirsty because of the richness and saltiness.

It was actually really nice because near closing time he actually came out of the kitchen to meet and greet every table for that evening. It was such a nice touch and it made the experience so much warmer. Vita Bella Ristorante serve great food at reasonable portions and prices compared to downtown. It’s family owned affordable fine dining.

On this occasion I was joined by fashion blogger Nicole. We were supposed to come here a month ago, but realized it was closed on Tuesday so ended up at El Inka Deli instead. We ordered a whole crap load of food and ended up finishing everything. We shocked the staff and even ourselves…we were even contemplating another dessert but my tights were starting to dig…

On the table:

Complimentary Freshly Baked Foccacia 4/6

• With balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
• They serve it complimentary, but it's also an appetizer for $3
• The Foccacia was served warm and it was lightly toasted and quite fluffy with lots of flavour from fresh basil, black pepper, oregano and a little bit of melted butter. The bread is good.
• The olive oil they served it with was not good – 1/6. It looked rich and flavourful, but it wasn’t at all – they need a better quality/brand.

**Veal & Beef Sausage "Zampina" 4/6

• House made, grilled atop tomato caper Bruschetta $20
• The zampina sausage is supposed to be one of their specialties. It’s a homemade traditional Southern Italian sausage. This is the only Italian restaurant I’ve ever seen it serve at, so I would recommend trying it because it is authentic.
• The zampina is made with minced veal, beef and some chopped sun dried tomatoes and some dried herbs. I felt like there were some jarred pimento peppers or pecorino in there too. It’s very slightly spicy and tastes mainly like minced beef.
• It actually reminded us of those Chinese sausages – it was a bit dry in texture and the meats were really lean so it wasn’t a juicy type of sausage. I actually liked eating the sausage by itself rather than with the Bruschetta.
• The Bruschetta was loaded with toppings such as tomatoes, capers, red onion, basil and green onion. It ended up making the bread soggy and a crostini mght have been better.
• There was a strong smoked salmon taste and I think they put little pieces in it and it wasn’t necessary. There were too many flavours going on and the smoked salmon taste was a bit overpowering and it took over the sausage. It was a bit salty too because there were so many big capers in it.
• The focaccia was also burnt and I could taste the bitterness.
  
• I could have used more balsamic reduction, they used it for décor, but the sweetness and tang made the dish better.

Gnudi 3/6

• House made ricotta cheese gnudi tossed with roasted peppers, butter and fresh sage $20
• I asked to order it as an appetizer and it was $12 which is a bit steep for the 4 we got. I think $10 would have been more reasonable, but it was a special request so I didn’t really mind.

• As an appetizer 3/6 as a main 2/6 because it would be too rich and I’d get sick of it before I’d finish it.
• Gnudi is basically a big version of gnocchi. They’re very fresh, handmade and were almost like ricotta stuffed ravioli.
• It’s really soft, almost like pizza dough or very soft bread stick. It’s very creamy and there’s a lot of ricotta stuffing so it’s very rich, filling and hearty.
• They served it with a sage butter sauce but all I could taste was melted butter. They needed more sage, I couldn't see or taste any.
• They serve it with pepperonatta which are sweet red pimento peppers cooked in olive oil, garlic and butter. I needed way more of this though because there wasn’t enough for the 4 pieces. The tangy sweetness helped to break up the creamy gnudi and gave it more flavour.
• I’ve had something similar at Lupo Resaurant + Vinoteca: The Ricotta Gnocchi – they’re not really comparable though.

**Linguine Fumante 6/6

• House smoked duck breast, sun dried tomatoes, assorted mushrooms in Grand Marnier demi-glaze cream sauce, drizzled with truffle oil $18
• Ding! Ding! Ding! This is the one. This was the star of the night and this is the one I would recommend and come back for myself.
• The duck is a star anise hickory smoked locally grown Fraser Valley heritage duck. It almost tasted like ham or bacon! It looks like the only give you a little, but it’s actually a lot when you start eating it.
• The duck skin tastes like those skins on European wieners – they almost snap back. I liked it!
• Since it’s smoked it’s not as juicy or sweet as duck can be. It was still good though.
• The sauce was a rich duck demi-glaze and it was delicious! It tasted like duck gravy drippings with a red wine reduction and then cream. I couldn’t tell it was Grand Marnier. It was so creamy and rich in flavour I loved it. It was surprisingly thick and sticky, very well reduced, so it stuck to the pasta very well.
• The pasta was cooked perfectly – al dente! People may think it’s undercooked, but it’s not! If you go to Italy they cook their pastas for 6-7min not 8-9min.
• The dish was delicious overall. I could smell the truffle oil and they used more than I thought they would! It was delicious with lots of juicy strips of mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. The sun dried tomatoes should be cut a bit thinner though because at times they were overpowering and very salty and tangy. A little goes a long way…

BC Golden Trout 4.5/6

• Rolled in mascarpone cheese and toasted almonds, in lemon cream sauce $21
• All seafood entrées served with risotto and seasonal vegetables. All seafood is from local BC waters.
• This was another rich and hearty entrée. It was even richer than the ricotta gnudi and that says a lot! The richness came from the sauce and the mascarpone cheese stuffing.
• It was a big piece of boneless trout with the skin on so there was a lot of flavour. However the skin wasn’t crispy which really bothered me because it was a bit slimy and didn’t go with the texture of the creamy stuffing.

  

• There is so much stuffing in this trout and it was almost pure mascarpone cheese! It was so rich and thick and it was actually hard to swallow, but it was really good! It had a lemon flavour and was ultra creamy…it was almost like eating a fluffy lemony melted cream cheese with salmon.

  

• The toasted almonds were ground up in the mascarpone cheese stuffing but I couldn’t taste them at all. They were the size of rice so it came off as uncooked rice or even fish bones. I think they should crust the trout with slivered almonds, or instead of almonds use pine nuts in the stuffing. It would have been a better match as the nuttiness was masked by Mascarpone.
• The lemon cream sauce was almost like a béarnaise sauce or a hollandaise sauce. It was really thick and rich and I could definitely taste the fresh lemon in this as well. It was quite tangy, almost like it had sour cream. As good as it was, I think a lighter sauce might have been nice since the mascarpone stuffing was so thick and rich already. To put it into perspective, after the mascarpone stuffing the buttery lemon cream sauce comes off as light!
• The veggies were tender and grilled with a little olive oil. They actually had a smokey flavour to them as well.

Saffron Risotto 4/6

• It could have been creamier, but the flavour was there. This was a super cheesy risotto with lots of parmesan cheese. It was actually stringy instead of creamy and came off as sticky rice or even mac and cheese. It was still really good though. I like the texture of the saffron risotto at Lupo Resaurant + Vinoteca better, but the flavour of this one was stronger.

Dessert

House Special Tiramisu 2.5/6

• Traditional Italian cheesecake made with savoiardi biscuits soaked in our secret mixture of espresso and liqueurs, layered with creamy mascarpone filling and dusted with pure Dutch cocoa $8
• The piece was fair but for $8 I think it’s a bit steep. It was worth $6-7 for me.
• It was obviously premade and sitting in the fridge…which isn’t the part that bothers me. But if you’re going to do this then you have to dust the cocoa powder on last minute before serving otherwise it actually looks like it’s been sitting in the fridge! That bothers me.

  

• I couldn’t taste the Rum or the espresso. Real tiramisu should use espresso and not a mixture of espresso and liquors – it came across as sweet syrup, so it wasn’t a “sophisticated” Tiramisu – although not bad either.
• The Mascarpone was creamy but not thick enough and it came across as whipped cream almost. They also didn't use enough and the middle layer was too thin.
• The Savoiardi biscuits were soaked quite nicely and it was a very moist Tiramisu, but I really missed the richness of the Mascarpone – which is weird because they used so much of it for the BC Golden Trout.