Sherman's Food Adventures: The Roof at Black + Blue

The Roof at Black + Blue

Sometimes, we find that form and function gives way to extravagance and style, much like a convertible in Vancouver (negated by the amount of rain, if you haven't guessed).  So it was a bit ironic that we chose The Roof at Black + Blue to honour Gadget Girl, who selflessly organizes our co-rec hockey team year-after-year.  Why ironic?  Because she is generally quite practical, yet also happens to own a BMW convertible.  Maybe that would be a contradiction in itself.  Whatever the case, we found ourselves at the swank digs of The Roof @ B+B, which ultimately can be much more style than actual function.

After a slight mix-up with our reservation, where we were seated in the lounge area instead of a table, we squished into a cozy table which was really meant for one less person.  I stated off with the crab Louie salad consisting of dungeness crab, romaine, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, eggs, avocado and dressing.  This was fairly substantial with a whole segment of romaine topped by an abundance of fluffy crab meat.  I found that there was just enough dressing for the amount of ingredients.  For my main, I decided to tackle the 24oz Bone-In Rib Eye.  I requested for medium-rare and it was more or less prepared in that manner with a few more rare spots near the bone (which is normal).  The meat was flavourful on its own with a nice crust on the sides.  I was not really all that impressed with the "potato salad" underneath as it was pretty bland with undercooked spuds.

Super Dave and Tutti Frutti decided on the Wild Salmon filet atop a bed of quinoa salad. Both of them remarked that the salmon was slightly overdone where the meat was becoming stiff on the outside.  However, in the middle, the meat was flaky and moist.  It exhibited only a slight char which didn't add much in terms of smokiness. On the other hand, it was still decently seasoned.  Milhouse and Gadget Girl opted for the Beef Tenderloin cooked medium-rare.  These were closer to medium though.  Despite that, the meat was still moist and tender.  It was seasoned mildly while the side of chimmichurri didn't have any significant impact.  Much like my sentiments, Milhouse was not really all that enthused about the potato salad either.

Gordo started with a Caesar Salad which was better than what I had originally predicted (hey, it's only a Caesar salad...).  The crisp pieces of romaine were dressed properly where it wasn't overly wet. He could taste the individual components such as the garlic and Parm.  However, he really didn't like the croutons as they were too hard.  For his main, he went for the Surf & Turf consisting of beef tenderloin, lobster and prawns. His request for medium-rare ended up closer to medium, but the meat required very little effort to chew.  As for the prawns, they were meaty and natural-tasting.  The lobster was done right where it was buttery with a rebound texture.

Emilicious, who incidentally scored us the reservation on the rooftop, opted for the Lamb Chops.  She thought they were fairly large and well-seasoned, albeit quite fatty.  Similar to my order of food, her fingerling potato salad was a bit too large where she only ended up finishing less than half of it. Speedy Gonzales had the seared Ahi Tuna which appeared and tasted fresh.  It was lightly seared evenly all the way around where the centre was still beautifully rare.  As such, it was pretty cold temperature wise, including the exterior.  Underneath, the quinoa was prepared nicely, however, it was completely soaked in butter.  

We ended up getting 4 sides to share including the GRG Fries tossed with garlic, Reggiano and green peppercorn.  Due to these ingredients, the fries did taste great with a salty, garlicky-peppery hit.  However, the fries themselves were a bit stale in texture (they were not actually stale).  So they were not all that crispy and in fact, they were somewhat dense.  On the other hand, the signature Glowbal Group Brussel Sprouts with lemon, capers and Parm were on point.  Slightly crispy while tender, the sprouts had a balance of acidity and saltiness.  As a result of proper frying, there was a nice aroma and nuttiness to the sprouts as well.

Seemingly a simple dish, the Yukon gold Mashed Potatoes were pretty good.  Smooth and creamy while loaded with plenty of butter, the potatoes went down easy.  Lastly, the Roasted Veggies should've been renamed lots of onions and some mushrooms and peppers.  Yes, underneath lay a whack load of onions, which were nicely caramelized, but not something we wanted lots of. Ultimately, our meal was acceptable where the venue was the most impressive feature.  However, for the price point, I could see how some people would be somewhat indifferent.  Therefore, if you want some swank with your meal, style does rule over function at B+B.

The Good:
- Impressive rooftop
- Food is actually decent (despite all of the negative reviews)

The Bad:
- Decent food, but expensive (is it worth the price?)
- A little too much style for some

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