It’s Dine Out Vancouver time. Today I plan to get out there and give one of the special menus a try.

When I looked through the restaurant list it looked like there’s around 400 different establishments offering special deals on their lunch and dinner menus.

It did not take me long to choose today. Once I saw Hawksworth on the list it was a done deal

I had dinner here in September to celebrate a birthday and it was fantastic. Read that review here.

My daughter Amanda is joining me today. I suspect this is the first time she will have been in a Michelin quality restaurant. Hopefully her palate can handle the more complex dishes she will experience today.

As we are here for Dine Out Vancouver there is a set menu with fewer choices than the usual lunch menu.

My comments follow, I asked Amanda to give me her thoughts on her first fine dining experience. I will add them at the end of my review.

On first glance of the menu I was mildly disappointed. None of the options offered were anything I was too excited about.

For a starter I decided on the Celeriac soup. Celeriac, or its other name, celery root, is a root vegetable I am pretty familiar with, having had it a few times over the years in various dishes. I also use celeriac puree as mashed potato alternative occasionally or throw it in some soups. It’s quite versatile, with a mild celery like, earthy flavour. I’ve never had a Celeriac soup though.

The bowl arrives at your table with a few greens and roasted hazelnuts presented nicely in the bowl and the soup is poured in front of you.

The soup was excellent. The hazelnuts surprised me most, not only with the textural component, but their nuttiness enhanced the natural nutty flavour of the Celeriac.

I went with the Rockfish for my second course.

it was coconut crusted and fortunately wasn’t too coconut forward. It’s not my favorite flavor. It certainly raised a simple white fish to another level. The kitchen cooking it perfectly also made this an excellent choice. The crispy noodles added a nice crunch. There also was a few Enoki mushrooms in there too. Mild and slightly crunchy, it’s one of the few fungi I actually like.

Dessert wasn’t much of a choice. Carrot cake or sorbet.

Those little blobs are pineapple jelly, the quenelle is Mascarpone ice cream and the ribbon cream cheese icing.

The ice cream was perfect, the cake was light and the cream cheese icing not overly sweet. An amazing treat to end a lovely meal.

Now I’m typically of the opinion that carrots belong on your dinner plate, not your dessert plate.

But if it’s always Carrot Cake like this one I’ll have to change that opinion.

And so while at first I was a little disappointed with the dine out menu, in the end it turned out to be a delicious meal. And so well worth the measly $36 charged for such fine food.

10/10

Amanda’s comments

The celeriac soup was delicious—well balanced and a little salty, but in a good way. For my main I had the ricotta cavatelli (with no mushrooms) and loved it; the sauce was bright, lemony, and herby, and made the whole dish feel fresh and comforting at the same time. I finished with the carrot cake and mascarpone ice cream, which was excellent, and a Rum Jungle cocktail that tasted like banana and pineapple. Yum!

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Hawksworth had been on my culinary bucket list for a few years now but somehow a visit has been overlooked, until now.

David Hawksworth is a local Vancouver chef who trained in some of Europe’s top kitchens before starting his own venture, Hawksworth, in 2011.

Quickly becoming known as one of Canada’s, nevermind Vancouver’s, top restaurants, it is now on the Michelin recommended list. Soon to be followed by a Michelin star I’m sure.

And while you will find the food near the top of the quality spectrum, you won’t find any of the pretentiousness or stuffiness that often comes with the “fine dining” experience. It’s not quite come as you are, but it’s not far off.

We have eaten at Nightingale, his other Vancouver restaurant a few times, enjoying each experience. The food has always been amazing and the service top notch.

We especially enjoyed the Chef’s Table experience there. The pizza at Nightingale is amazing!

And while the food at Nightingale is wonderful, it isn’t at the level you’d expect in a Michelin star restaurant.

Hawksworth however is at that level.

The menu is surprisingly diverse with a larger selection of starters and mains than I would expect in a higher end restaurant.

As usual we try different dishes and share them so we can have as varied a meal as possible.

I’m starting with mixed Heirloom tomatoes while Merilynn went with a favorite of ours, Ceviche.

This “salad” is a selection of different tomatoes topped with feta cheese, green olives and shaved green peppers.

What was particularly surprising about this was the olives, which I actually enjoyed. Normally I can’t stand the things, but the flavour of hese olives weren’t overpowering like I find most olives.While tomatoes can often be acidic, these were not. The sweetness of the tomatoes and the shaved green peppers juxtaposed nicely with the salty feta.

The Ceviché was absolutely delicious.

The particular fish changes from day to day depending on availability, and unfortunately I don’t remember the variety on this particular evening. Regardless it was fantastic.

Fresh citrus flavours with a slight kick from the jalapeños. In my experience Ceviché is usually served with tortilla chips. I guess that doesn’t really fly at a high end restaurant. Endive is the choice here, and it really elevated it to another level.

Not only is it healthier than fried chips, the slight bitterness adds a beautiful contrast to the sweet/citrus flavours of the fish, with a nice added crunch for texture.

Here at Hawksworth they take an interesting approach to the main course, a bit like a steakhouse. Main dishes focus on the protein. Sides are ordered separately. In one way I like this approach, I can customize my meal to my preferences. On the other hand, is it a bit of a cash grab?

But whether you think it’s good or not, one thing you cannot complain about is the amount of choice you have to pick from. There were so many appetizing dishes that it was actually quite difficult for me to make a final decision. In the end I settled on the Sablefish from northern BC coastal waters.

Marinated in miso, it was perfectly cooked, moist, shimmering almost. The inexperienced would call it undercooked. It wasn’t. The slightly sweet and tangy glaze complimented the fish very well.

Salmon Cake with Lobster bisque was Merilynn’s choice.

Normally served on a bed of wilted spinach, we skipped this due to allergies. The cake was tender and moist, and paired very well with the bisque. Was as delicious as it was beautifully presented.

Then we had to choose a side, which there were many delicious looking options to choose from. We went with the crispy rice.

Not exactly what I was expecting, brilliant nonetheless.

A crispy, crunchy exterior, soft interior and slightly spicy, these were hard to stop eating, somewhat addictive. While they were hot anyways. Less so as they cooled. Is crispy rice the fad right now? I’ve seen it twice lately now that I think about it.

How to finish off what is turning out to be a fantastic meal? Dessert is something I often skip after an average meal. I don’t need the calories. But for a Journeyman baker in a restaurant such as this it’s almost mandatory. The opportunity to see creativity elevated to levels this high in one’s chosen field is always fascinating.

And lofty levels it was.

Caramelized Okanagan peaches on a Financier with marscapone in a browned butter sauce.

To say this was nothing short of spectacular would be a disservice. Fresh Okanagans peaches are a treat unto themselves. Juicy and bursting with flavour. Add a Financier and some browned butter and you have dessert perfection.

And as amazing as this evening has been it’s not over yet.

A trio of mignardises, or to the non French speaker, small bites.

A caramel, a fruit jelly and a chocolate. The fruit jelly being particularly special, bringing back memories of Christmas and my Grandparents. Treats to finish a wonderful meal.

A delicious latté with our mignardines.

The big question of the evening, did Hawksworth live up to what were admittedly high expections?

Often restaurants don’t. But Hawksworth certainly did. Exceeded them even.

Excellent food and top notch service made for a wonderful evening.

10/10

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There are some very good steakhouse here in Vancouver. World class in fact.

Recently we had a Gordon Ramsay Steak restaurant open locally and of course we had to try it out. Top notch food and service, as you’d expect from a Ramsay restaurant. You can read my review here.

We have a local chain of steak house restaurants here called The Keg. While the Keg isn’t considered a top tier steakhouse, it is very serviceable. I’ve rarely been disappointed there.

At that top end of the scale we have Gotham. I haven’t been myself, yet, but always heard good things about it. Price not withstanding. i will get there at some point.

And somewhere in there fits Black and Blue. I have eaten here a few times over the years, and in my mind Black and Blue is closer on the spectrum to Gotham than the Keg.

Today is a beautiful day in July and we are sitting on the rooftop patio. The glass ceiling is open, a slight breeze is blowing and the temperature is perfect this evening. An absolutely amazing location.

To start our evening we have a bottle of red, a Chateau Roix Mouton Bordeaux Superieur.

This is a pleasant, approachable, medium to full body fruit forward red from the Lugon region on the Ile de Carney. Its comprised of mainly Merlot with some Cabernet Franc.

I immediately took a liking to it, I am a Bordeaux fan after all. It opened up well in the glass and paired perfectly with our steaks.

We decided to start our meal with the Calamari appetizer.

I’m no calamari expert, but I didn’t think it was all that good. Calamari is hit or miss at be best of times. This was a miss. It was very bland. Did no one bother tasting the product before it left the kitchen? A bit of salt could have easily fixed it.

Now a good quality slab of meat? That’s another story.

The biggest question of the evening was going to be what steak to order. The regular Angus tenderloin or am I going whole hog and getting the Japanese Wagyu filet?

It’s not as easy a choice as you might think. The 8 oz Canadian Prime is 80 bucks. The Japanese Wagyu is $38. Per ounce. Minimum 6 ounces. After you do the math that’s a difference of $140.

Could the Wagyu possibly be three times better than the Canadian Prime?

Doubtful.

But let’s answer that question. Well I’ll happily spend more than the average person will on good food I’m still not one to normally order a $230 steak. So I came up with what I thought was a good compromise to be able to try both.

My buddy Jason and I decided to get one of each and split them 50/50. That will give us the opportunity to try each one side by side. Fortunately we both like our steak medium rare.

So they make a big presentation out of it when you order a $230 steak. It comes out on a small cutting board for your approval.

What am I gonna say? No like it’s a corked bottle of wine? Just cook the damn thing so I can put it in my stomach already

Look at that marbling though. That’s a beautiful chunk of dead cow. Sorry all you Vegans out here.

It was very interesting to try them side by side. It was pretty easy to determine which was the more expensive steak, the Wagyu being both more tender and more flavourful.

But they were both great in their own way.

Is the Wagyu three imes better though? We both agreed no. We both would happily eat the Canadian Prime Filet and save $140.

There actually is even a higher quality steak on offer, which is Kobe beef. I wonder if it’s worth six times the price? I doubt I’ll ever find out the answer to that question. I would end up divorced if I came home and told Merilynn I spent $400 on one steak.

To complete our steak dinner we also shared a Lobster mashed potato.

Not what I was expecting. When I’ve had lobster mashed potatoes in the past the lobster has been mixed into the mashed potato which really imparts the flavor of lobster throughout. This is just a chunk of lobster stuck in some mashed potato. Okay it’s Lobster. But it certainly wasn’t anything special.

Dessert on the other hand certainly was.

My only complaint about this was the size. It was just too much.

Who needs that much creme brulee? The fresh fruit, not something you see often on a Creme Brulee was a great touch. Nice presentation. The custard itself was excellent.

The cherry on top of all this wonderful food was a perfect latté.

Great food, an even better locale and awesome company with friends made for an overall excellent experience.

Black and Blue, especially the rooftop during the summer, has got to be one of Vancouver’s prime dining experiences.

9/10

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This will be my second visit to Gordon Ramsay (henceforth referred to as GR) Steak, my first being many years ago at the Paris, Las Vegas location.

It was excellent then. Here’s hoping it will be excellent again.

The restaurant isn’t particularly busy tonight as it is a Tuesday, and right after a snowfall. That of course means traffic mayhem in Vancouver. Weather aside, we discovered they are slowly ramping up operations as they head towards the Grand opening in a couple weeks.

First impressions? It’s a nice space, even though it technically is a section of the lobby of the hotel.

One thing we noticed, being in a direct line from the front door of the hotel, was the occasional draft of very cold air. It is unusually cold in Vancouver today, this wouldn’t be an issue on a warmer day.

One note that’s not as positive, the chairs are not the most comfortable. The angle of the seat feels almost sloped down a bit. As the meal went on though it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. They are also extremely heavy whick makes them a bit difficult to move should you need to get up.

Overall the space is well appointed and  a pleasant place to relax and enjoy.

But we are here for the food, not the chairs.

Staring with a Notes from Gordon cocktail.

It comes with a quote from Mr Ramsay. Mine read “if that lamb was any more undercooked it would follow you home.”

The drink is a fancy Gin and Tonic. London dry gin, lime, green tea, Mastika and elderflower tonic.

It was very nice. The Mastika enhances the juniper flavours and the lime adds the citrus I like in a gin. Which is complemented by the subtle sweetness of the elderflower tonic. Overall a well balanced cocktail.

Merilynn went with The Obligatory Vodka Drink, which I guess says something about how GR feels about that particular libation.

It had various notes of citrus, but the balance that my drink had wasn’t in hers. Too much on one end of the flavour spectrum for me.

Thinly sliced tuna served raw with crispy rice pearls, Aji Amarillo, crispy Nori and Creme Fraiche.

Really wonderful textures and flavours going on here. Very tender tuna with crunch from the crispy rice and seaweed, complmented by a little heat and tang from the Creme Fraiche. Spoiler alert, this was the best dish of the night.

Merilynn went with the Crab cake, a favourite of hers.

Apparently it’s better than mine, though I guess that’s not surprising. GR does have 17 Michelin stars more than I.

The biggest thing I noticed was the amount of crab versus mine. Yet still being very moist. I add corn and peppers and this just seemed to be straight crab. It really was a delicious crab cake. One of the best I’ve tasted.

John had the Shrimp Cocktail.

The photo does not do justice to those shrimp.

Some of the largest shrimp I’ve ever seen. I didn’t try one but both Merilynn and John said they were a bit chewy.

As Merilynn has never had it we decided to have the Beef Wellington for our main. It is one of his signature dishes after all.

At Gordon Ramsay Steak Vancouver it is a portion for two and it’s bloody huge. Better be for $150.

It’s a lot of food, twice as much as we need.. But look at how well that’s cooked. And other than maybe the Japanese A5 Wagyu I’ve had that is one of the most tender cuts of beef I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat.

I even enjoyed the Duxelles, and I normally hate mushrooms. A red wine demi on the side, which was very beefy, added a beautiful touch.

We paired a Burrowing Owl Syrah with dinner, full bodied with notes of vanilla and berries.

Let’s finish things off with dessert.

And in a GR restaurant you know what we are having.

Apparently it’s the only dish that’s served in every one of his 91 restaurants.

If you have never tried it, it’s a must. Fair warning. It’s very sweet. But unlike some sticky toffee puddings it very light. The caramel is delicious and goes oh so well with the ice cream

But let’s not stop there. They have a chocolate torte.

I’m a sucker for chocolate. Especially really good chocolate. Which I would expect here.

And it did not disappoint.

First off that’s a lovely presentation.

GR’s version of a chocolate torte is pudding like in consistency. It’s very rich. Almost too rich. It’s actually too big in my opinion. Quite difficult for me to finish.

Which was left to me as the other two aren’t fans of dessert.

But I persevered. I powered through. I ate every last bite.

Did I suffer later that evening?

I sure did.

But it was worth it.

In fact, the whole evening was worth it. Yes on the pricey side. When it come to food though, when has that ever stopped me?

The ambiance is pleasant. The cocktails are very good. The food was excellent. The service was very attentive.

As for the highlight of the night, the Hamachi stole the show for me. Everything I look for in a dish in a high end restaurant.

Gordon Ramsay Steak is definitely worth considering for your next evening out.

9/10

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