Its a boys trip to the Okanagan. There’s going to be lots of wine. Lots of beer. Lots of Gin. And lots of food.
Tonight is dinner at the Hooded Mergancer. Named after a bird, if you don’t know.
We tried to go here on one our boys trip a year ago, but it was full thanks to the Canucks who were in town. This year they are in Seattle. No problems getting a table tonight.
The restaurant is located right on the lake behind the Penticton Lakeside Resort. It’s a contemporary, comfortable space with a wrap around patio and big windows that open right up giving the whole place a airy, almost outdoorsy feel.
Needless to say it has some pretty amazing views.
Anticipation has been building for a year now. I hope I haven’t made expectations too high.
We have a lovely table on the patio, and it’s a beautiful warm evening in the Okanagan. A perfect night for a lovely meal.
For dinner I am having Parmesan crusted Halibut with a buerre Blanc sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables, which turned out to be zucchini tonight, always a good choice.
Almost everything was perfect about this dish. If I had one complaining it’s just the presentation. Not a lot of color going on here.
However everything was amazing. The fish was cooked perfectly. The zucchini still had a bit of a bite to it. The potatoes were not gloopy at all. The buerre Blanc added a nice acidic finishing touch to everything.
But even as good as the halibut was the best was still yet to come.
Dessert, a lemon curd, was another mind blowing moment for me.
A fresh lemon curd is one of those great joys for me.
And this one was incredible.
The Italian cake was delicious and complemented the curd so well. The fruit and citrus was another outstanding pairing. Throw a little mint to jazz it up a little. Add some baked meringue droos and you have an absolutely perfect dessert.
That’s gonna be on my list to copy cat very soon.
9.5/10