I've been eagerly awaiting the grand opening of Fable Diner for quite some time since my experiences at Fable have been generally positive. Trevor Bird's second restaurant was to occupy the space left by the long-standing Reno's. I drove by several times to see nothing but ongoing renovations and actually forgot about the place up until I got a message from Ned Flanders. He tipped me off that it had opened on the Canada Day long weekend. Well what a perfect place to eat after our Monday night softball game!
We made it out before their temporary closing time of 10:00pm (hours will change shortly after they are up and completely running). Seeing how R2D2 shares the same ravenous appetite as I do, we decided to share some items starting with a Milkshake made from Birchwood ice cream. We actually got the vanilla, but the picture shows Jude's strawberry. This was actually quite good being creamy (a touch on the milky side) and easy on the sugar. As for our food, we started with the Ketchupless Cottage Pie consisting of ground beef, sour cream, mustard, green onion and cheddar. It sure didn't look like a lot of food for $15.00, but in the end, it was filling and tasty. R2D2 remarked that the whipped potato topping was creamy and fresh, where it didn't leak out any excess moisture. Underneath, the beef filling was tender with just enough silky sauce. It was very savoury and full-of-depth without being overly salty. The tang from the sour cream and sharpness of the cheddar were quite apparent.
We ended up choosing the FD Burger with 2 x 3oz patties, pickles, Fable sauce, iceberg lettuce and tomato over the Reno Burger (with only a single 3oz patty). One look at it and we were super confused how an extra 3oz patty, produce and a bit more fries warranted an $8.00 premium over the $7.00 Reno Burger (for a grand total of $15.00). With that being said, it was a pleasant burger that resembled a Double Caliburger except with a more mild sauce. Burger patties were well-seared and still moist. Fries were on point once again being crispy and hot. Seeing how an appie would cost almost as much as another main, we went for the Grilled Cheezus with onion jam, cheddar, Swiss and fontina. We added the braised beef cheek option to bring the sandwich price to $9.00 + $6.00 = $15.00. Yes, this was not a cheap sammie, but it worth it though. The sourdough was well-buttered and hence, super crunchy on both sides. In the middle, the onion jam was impactfully sweet while the beef cheek was melt-in-our-mouths tender and gelatinous. Even the braising juices were silky and super flavourful with a natural meatiness.
Bam Bam decided to go for 2 items beginning with a bowl of Tomato Soup with grilled sourdough and white cheddar. Creamy and only lightly tart, the tomato soup resembled a bisque. It was well-seasoned without feeling like they used a tonne of salt. However, what brought the whole thing together was the super-crunchy sourdough with a generous amount of melted sharp white cheddar. Dipped into the soup and there was a good mix of flavours that just worked in harmony. For his second item, he went for the FD Poutine with roast duck option ($8.00 + $6.00 = $14.00). Wow, this was on point with the same crunchy fries with pillowy soft potato in the middle topped with a grainy Dijon gravy, aged cheddar and roast duck. Full-of-depth, the gravy had layers of flavour including a light tanginess to go with a rich savouriness. Add in the sharp cheddar and the silky duck, there was not much to dislike about this dish.
Judes opted for the Pulled Pork Sandwich with coleslaw, BBQ sauce and a tempura onion ring. This was actually a pretty good value for $10.00 since Judes couldn't even finish it (well, R2D2 and I could've!). I was able to sample this as well and the pulled pork was moist and not dried out. I liked how it was sauced just enough that the whole thing wasn't a sloppy mess while still providing a sweet tang and moisture. As expected, the coleslaw added the necessary crunch, but the onion ring was a surprising ingredient where it provided an extra layer of crunchiness that was hot in temperature over the cold slaw. Boss Woman went off the board and had the All-Day Breakfast Plate sporting 2 sunny side eggs, thick sliced bacon, toast and smashed potatoes. The highlight of the plate was the fatty thick pieces of bacon that were sinfully rich and super tender. Potatoes were nice too being crispy while totally potatoey and soft in the middle.
Poor Bear had to wait for all of us to finish eating before he got his food due to an error (they took one of the items off the bill as a result). He also had the FD Poutine, but without the duck option and it was pretty much the same except lacking a bit of body due to the absence of meat. Fries were still on point while the gravy was maybe even more apparent since there wasn't any duck silkiness on top. Probably the best thing we had for the entire meal was his Loaded French Toast served with Nutella mousse, candied walnuts and banana slices. The thick cut of brioche was fluffy and well-soaked to create a rich, yet still relatively light texture. There was so much flavour going on with the butteriness of the bread, caramelization of the egg wash, sweet crunch of the walnuts, aromaticness of the banana and best of all, the lightly sweet and completely fluffy Nutella mousse. As you can probably guess, we were pretty happy with the food at Fable Diner. Flavours were developed while execution was generally spot on (pretty impressive for a brand new restaurant). Our only concern would be the price of the FD Burger as it didn't make any sense.
The Good:
- Impactful and developed flavours
- Pretty bang on execution
- On point service
The Bad:
- Portions were generally pretty modest
- Price of the FD Burger wasn't shocking per se, but didn't make sense in relation to the Reno Burger
1 comments:
Wow, you discussed a lot of their dishes! The milkshake looks good and the Ketchupless Cottage Pie interests me.
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