My second weekend off of my rural rotation and this time I
was headed down to Calgary to visit my cousins, get in some more snowboarding
for the year (with the new GoPro I got for Christmas!), and Calgary’s annual
“The Big Taste” event (recommended by friend and fellow blogger, Shannon). My
cousin-in-law, Howie, is a self-proclaimed foodie and was as excited as I was
for The Big Taste event. Since it was his city, I asked him to choose a couple
of restaurants that we could all check out while I was in town for the last
weekend of The Big Taste; we both mutually settled on Emcarcadero Wine &
Oyster Bar and Charcut Roast House (which I will be trying on Sunday).
It was a busy weekend for Embarcadero – being the last
weekend of The Big Taste – and the only reservation we could get on such short
notice was at 9:00PM. Incidentally, this worked out quite nicely as both of my
cousins were working until 8:00PM that night. After struggling to find parking
in and around 17th Ave., we finally made it to Embarcadero at
9:15PM. Unfortunately, there was already a table of six waiting ahead of us and
we were promptly, though politely, informed that there was a bottleneck for the
9PM reservations and we would be seated within the next 10-15 minutes. True to
their word, after a large party of six left, we were promptly seated. The
evening actually started out pleasantly with a knowledgeable and friendly
server and a great looking Big Taste menu. However, things quickly went south
after we were seated at around 9:40PM: a diner at the table next to us was very
particular about the temperature at
the restaurant and continually complained about how warm it was (it wasn’t).
The server actually ended up turning on the AC several times for the entire
restaurant and my cousin and I spent the entire meal freezing to death. Not only
that, but our food got cold quite a bit faster than it was supposed to at the chilly
temperature (which the diner continued to complain about throughout the night)!
While it is good to be accommodating to customers during a meal, Embarcadero
should realize that there is usually more than just one diner dining in a restaurant. The temperature of the entire
restaurant, especially on a chilly day in Calgary, actually ruined my
experience at Embarcadero quite a bit.
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| Fanny Bay Oysters and Mignonette |
After perusing the set menu of Big Taste ($35/person), we
decided to order different combinations from The Big Taste Menu and the oyster
special of the night – the Fanny Bay from Baynes Sound, BC ($1.25/each). We
were told that the Cold smoked Albacore tuna dish was no longer available for
the night, a big disappointment for me considering that was my appetizer of
choice after perusing the menu. As we were left with no choice, the four of us
ended up with the Beef Tenderloin Medallions & Jumbo Prawn appetizer which
was topped with snow crab, béarnaise sauce, and white truffle oil drizzle. The
service at Embarcadero that night was quite slow and it was quite a while
before either our oysters (which are traditionally served raw) or our
appetizers came out. It was almost 10:30PM – almost an hour after we were
seated – before our platter of oysters was served. The Fanny Oysters was served
with a mignonette side of chopped and diced red onions, garlic, and horse radish.
The Fanny Oysters were disappointingly small, but had a great, fresh seawater
taste. The mignonette side ended up being the star of the dish, surprisingly! The
mignonette was infused with garlic flavour with a hint of red onion which
complimented – without overpowering – the oysters. My cousin, who is not a fan
of raw food (even in sushi!) and who had never tried raw oyster before, found
the oysters as well as the mignonette delicious enough to try two.
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| Beef Tenderloin Medallions and Jumbo Prawn |
The appetizer quickly followed the oyster dish. I was a
little disappointed that the beef medallions came out medium rare as opposed to
just rare. However, tenderloin was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and acted perfectly as a vehicle to the snow crab, béarnaise sauce, and white truffle
oil. Both the tenderloin and snow crab were cooked to perfection and the béarnaise
sauce and white truffle oil added great accents to the dish – very “truffle-y” in flavour which I enjoyed
immensely – without overpowering the beef and crab flavour. My cousin, Nam,
said it was “the best steak” he had ever tasted. The jumbo prawn, while cooked well, was outshined by its beef counterpart.
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| Lobster-stuffed Fillet of Sole & Steamed PEI Mussels and Thai Coconut Milk Curry Sauce |
It was quite a while before our mains came out and I was
famished by this point. The only good thing about the wait was that it left
ample time for dinner conversation with my dear cousins. It was almost half an hour
before our mains came out. As they served the first three mains, our server
informed us that the chef had “dropped” my cousin Ni’s duck and was currently
remaking the entire dish. As such, she would have to wait an extra five minutes
(it ended up being 20 minutes) while the rest of us ate. As I had ordered the
duck dish for the past three meals, I decided on the Fillet of Sole which was
stuffed with lobster, topped with crab and served with steamed PEI mussels in a
Thai coconut milk curry sauce, jasmine rice, and winter vegetables. The
portions, especially of the sole and lobster, were quite generous. Both the sole
and the accompanying lobster was cooked very well. However, I found the sole
and lobster to be a bit under seasoned. The Thai coconut curry sauce, though
interesting at first, did not pack enough punch or flavour to seep through to
the sole and lobster. In addition, the sauce was only layered on top and I
quickly ran out of sauce to eat with the rest of the sole, my rice, and my
vegetables. The PEI mussels were well cooked, but nothing special. All-in-all, though the elements were well prepared, together it was
a mediocre dish that was not unified or at all memorable.
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| Seared Duck Breast |
After a long wait, my cousin Ni finally got her Seared Duck
Breast which was served with a black cherry port wine reduction, roasted baby
potato and winter vegetables. The duck was cooked very well, with the inside
being rare and the surrounding skin and fat seared to a delightful crunch. The
port wine reduction could clearly be tasted throughout the duck and added a
nice, deep red wine flavour without being overpowering. The black cherries also
added a nice acidity to the dish and balanced out the wine reduction and fattiness
of the duck. My cousin Nam stated that the potatoes and “winter vegetables” –
which was actually just broccoli – was quite average in taste, however.
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| Caramelized Banana Crepe |
The two desserts offered on The Big Taste Menu were the
Caramelized Banana Crepe and the Crème Brulee. As I am not usually a fan of Crème
Brulee (I almost always find it too rich and heavy), I opted for the
Caramelized Banana Crepe which was served with French vanilla ice cream and
chocolate drizzle while my cousin Nam went for the Crème Brulee. The Banana
Crepe was well-prepared but nothing special in my opinion. The Crème Brulee, on
the other hand, was well-torched at the top – the caramelized top had a
delightful “burnt” sugar taste (without tasting bitter or smoky) and a light,
whip-creamy taste throughout. I definitely enjoyed this Crème Brulee much more
than most other Crème Brulees.
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| Creme Brulee |
Rating:
3/5 Erics'
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