Three Restaurants to Check Out During Dine Out Vancouver
WildTale Dine Out Selecteions (Photo Credit: Tara Lee)
Over 300 delicious establishments are participating in this year’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival (January 18 to February 3, 2019). This wealth of restaurants means that, over the course of 17 days, you can affordably sample a wide variety of cuisines and styles of dining from all that the city has to offer.
I had the opportunity to preview the menus of three restaurants that are well worth checking out. Your palate will thank you!
Jamjar Folk Lebanese Food
Located in the sleek South Granville neighbourhood, Jamjar (1488 West 11th Avenue) is a cozy space offering home-style Lebanese cooking ($35 dinner menu for Dine Out). Their name comes from the jars of addictive dips that they sell to their customers.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
You’ll get to sample them with a first course that consists of hummus mohammara, sweet potato hummus, and assorted pickles (e.g. cauliflower, carrot). The colours of this course are vibrantly appealing.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
The next course, a raw beet salad with arak raisins, roastedwalnuts, and a sumac yogurt dressing is lovely, with a great play withtextures.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
For mains, there’s a choice between braised lamb shank withroasted green freekah, shankleesh, chermoula mint pesto, and almonds; Pacificcod wrapped in grape leaves served with kale samkeh harra and butter beans; andeggplant rolls, black bean broth, and za’atar roasted tomatoes. Out of thethree, I particularly enjoyed the lamb shank, which was wonderfully tender. Theeggplant was also deliciously aromatic.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
The culimination of the menu is the snoud al sitt, an Arabickeshta served with spiced caramelized apples. Encased in light, flakey phyllo,it was an ethereal dish. Jamjar’s menu will appeal to those with a variety ofeating requirements/preferences (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free).
WildTale
Both locations of WildTale (165 West 2nd Avenue; 1079 Mainland Street) are participating in this year’s Dine Out, offering a menu of incredible value ($45). I visited their new location in Olympic Village and was really impressed by the interiors, with its dark wood paneling and gorgeous vintage-style tin ceilings. It has the feel of an invitingly swanky supper club. WildTale, owned and operated by the same group behind the Flying Pig (the Olympic Village location is part of Dine Out), is so popular due to its accessible menu and consistent showcasing of fresh ingredients.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
You will definitely leave the restaurant satisfied and veryfull. The appetizer choices are creamy butternut squash coconut curry soup;Dungeneses crab and baby shrimp cake with pickled fennel salad, lemon and dillaioli; and venison carpaccio with watercress, parmesan, and horseradish. Whilethey were all excellent, the latter was perfectly executed. Don’t forget tosample the accompanying grilled bread.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
The main course offers a selection between herb crusted BCsturgeon, with maple glazed golden beets, carrots, cauliflower and boursincheese purée; a AAA California cut beef striploin with lobster, mashedpotatoes, charred broccolini, and cabernet jus; and jumbo tiger prawnpappardelle with crispy pancetta, black olives, roasted tomatoes, whiteanchovy, and garlic bread crumbs. If you’re craving well-executed surf andturf, definitely go for the steak and lobster, a combo that really can’t bebeat.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
Lemon and rum cheesecake with cherry compote is a classic dessertwith a slight twist. Silky forkfuls cap off a great meal.
Verre Restaurant
In December, Verre (550 Denman Street) opened in picturesque Coal Harbour to great anticipation. Internationally acclaimed chef Liam Breen had returned to Vancouver and launched a seductive and sophisticated French/Mediterranean menu.
Photo sourced from Verre Restaurant
The glass walled room is utterly gorgeous, doing fulljustice to its Vancouver-side location. Previous restaurants in this space feltcold; however, Verre exudes modern style while feeling warm and inviting.Greenery accents and an eye-catching smoked glass and black marble bar reallyfinish off the interiors. It exudes a boutique feel, perfect for cocktails andeats, or an intimate dinner with a date, friends, or family.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
The Dine Out menu ($45) is equally as impressive. The amusebouche is an earthy mushroom and black truffle duxelle. You then can choosebetween a seafood soup with prawns, mussels, and clams or a beet and chevresalad.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
Pork ragu tajarin or gnocchi arrabiata with parmesan is thenext course before moving onto either duck cassoulet or lingcod with beurreblanc and fingerling potatoes. Chef Liam’s cooking is confident, with adelicate attention to flavour combination, technique, and the quality ofingredients.
Photo Credit: Tara Lee
Both desserts (key lime tarte with vanilla meringue andchocolate crème brulée with salted rosemary caramel were divine. You’ll befighting over the last tastes of each.
Further information about each of the restaurants can be found on the Dine Out Vancouver website.