Amber Road

What if I told you there is this new stylish European restaurant that features cuisine inspired by the ancient trade route connecting the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean?  Head Chef and owner Jarek Jaroslaw has crafted a menu that touches everywhere from the Mediterranean to Eastern Europe.  Consider this, would you believe it is located in the Holiday Inn & Suites Vancouver Downtown?   Yes, it isn't the first place that comes to mind when guessing its location.  That would probably explain the inclusion of some more recognizable North American dishes and breakfast on the menu.  However, we came here to experience the unique cuisine at Amber Road!

We started off with things I've never had before including the Elk Pyzy Of The Northern Forest which were Polish potato dumplings filled with elk and sauced with light cream, bacon and chanterelles.  These were stealthily delicious as they initially didn't give away how flavourful they would be.  Once past the soft potato casing, we found tender and surprisingly non-gamy elk.  But the strongest part was the aromatic woodsiness of the plentiful chanterelles combined with the cream and salty bacon.

Another surprising item was the Polish Croquettes because they didn't look like how I envisioned what would be classified as a croquette.  Featuring folded golden crêpes filled with mushrooms, spinach and cheese, these reminded me more like a spanakopita (at least the filling that is).  Oh and how delicious was that filling...  It was creamy and cheesy with tender spinach and the umami of mushrooms.  The exterior was crispy and light.  This was served with traditional red borscht on the side.  It was earthy, sweet and tangy.

Something much more recognizable was the Arancini Dell'ambra.  These were quite massive and featured a slightly crispy breading that was seasoned.  Inside, the risotto was somewhere between firm and soft, so it was quite easy to eat and had silky texture.  There was plenty of cheese inside that was melted and quite stringy.  Underneath, the marinara sauce was tangy with a bit of sweetness.

Another classic dish was the Mediterranean Calamari.  This one is the Italian version and really, it has been debated if the fried version is Italian or Greek.  Well, both have grilled, stewed and fried dishes.  Whatever the case, this was good where the calamari was tender with a slight rebound texture.  The light batter was crispy and properly seasoned.  It came with a lemon aioli and a fresh herb tartar sauce.  Both were good, and depended on whether you liked a tangier dip or more herbaeceous one.

I'm pretty sure the Galician Free-Range Chicken Wings were on the menu to satisfy local tastes.  However, with us choosing the Mediterranean herb flavour, it could be considered Hungarian-style.  Of course one could order them as BBQ, garlic or Buffalo-style as well.  These were well-prepared wings with a crispy exterior and rendered skin.  No flabby skin on these ones and they were well-seasoned too.  Inside, the meat was tender and moist.

Our last appetizer or small plate was the Rollatini Di Melanzane which consisted of baked eggplant rolls stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella in a marinara sauce.  This was quite familiar as it had similar elements to an eggplant parmigiana.  I happen to love that dish and this was no exception.  It had a tangy tomato sauce with plenty of ricotta and melted mozzarella on top.  The slices of eggplant were tender, but not mushy.

Onto our main dishes, we had the Amber Road Cheeseburger.  Once again, this was mainly catered for those less adventurous.  However, it was a solid burger with a nicely charred grass-fed beef patty that was lean and meaty.  Some melted Swiss cheese helped add some European content while the portobello mushroom provided another layer of meatiness and earthiness.  That thick-cut bacon was lean with big flavour.  This could be had with a beer for only $20.00 on Tuesdays!

Heading over to Executive Chef Jaroslaw Faryna's native Poland, we had the Galician Pierogis.  These were really good with a thin dumpling wrapper that was tender with appealing elasticity.  Inside, we found a creamy and soft potato and cheese filling which was plenty flavourful on its own.  However, it sat on a bed of creamy and thick sour cream while topped with crispy guanciale.  Classic salty bacon vibes with sour cream.

Sitting in a rich champagne and saffron cream with fresh herbs, the Mediterranean Lobster Ravioli featured a firm house-made pasta that was still cooked through.  I found the filling slightly dense, but still impactful in terms of lobster essence.  I found the sauce to be heavy, so a little went a long way.  I did like the addition of champagne as it provided a bit of brightness.  The little smattering of ikura did add little pops of brininess.

Going with some of the biggest hits, we head to Austria with the Viennese Schnitzel.  This was a pretty thick piece of pork cutlet which was quite meaty and firm.  The breading was not too thick and fairly crispy.  It was topped with a runny sunny side egg and bacon.  That in itself made things a bit breakfast-like, but hey, that is how I like it!  We found tender red cabbage and hasselback potatoes complementing the schnitzel.

One of my favourites from the meal was the Crown Roast of Lamb.  This featured 4 Frenched lamb chops that were grilled to about medium.  They were juicy and super tender.  Maybe it is because I love eating lamb that I didn't consider it too gamy.  Although properly seasoned and sauced, the carrot-ginger puree really added a bright sweetness and bite.  On the side, we found a beautiful potato gratin that was layered with tender slices that had crispy edges.

Arriving with 2 really large and meaty bones, the Braised BBQ Ribs had some Romanian inspiration with a smoky tomato coffee sauce.  This had plenty of depth with the smoked paprika and slight aromatic bitterness of the coffee.  The ribs super tender where the meat had not shrunk considerably.  This way, it retained more moisture and the meat maintained its structure and didn't tighten up.  This was served with some fries and slaw.

One of the more surprising dishes was the Classic Beef Wellington.  Despite the flaky pastry being a touch dense in spots, the entirety of Wellington was well-executed.  Firstly, the beef tenderloin was a perfect medium-rare.  It was soft with its juices intact.  I know this might be bold to say, but I enjoyed this one more than Gordon Ramsey's version at the River Rock (mind you, the one in Vegas was better).  Veggies were also good being cooked just enough.

Onto the sweets, we tried all of them including the Limoncello Tiramisu.  Loved the light and creamy mascarpone that was balanced in terms of sweetness.  Ladyfingers were soft and moist without being soggy.  Of course the bright citrus flavour of the limoncello was welcomed as well as just a touch of booziness.  Some lemon rind on top provide an extra hit of lemon and slight bitterness.

Hands-down, my favourite dessert was the Flambéed Crêpe à La Mode.  The thin and tender crêpe was delicate with an appealing elasticity.  It was buttery and caramelized.  Inside, we found some sweet slices of apple and pear.  On the outside, this was topped with a black currant compote and a scoop of ice cream.  Sure, with all these components, the dessert ate on the sweeter side, but it was still balanced.

One can't get anymore classic than a Crème Brûlée.  This was indeed a textbook version with a silky custard that was aromatic but not all that sweet.  Perfect really since it allowed the on point torched layer of sugar on top to do the heavy-lifting.  That it did with a proper thickness and uniform texture.  It cracked with a firm strike with our spoon.  There was definite caramel vibes and just the slightest of smokiness.

Finally, we had the Panna Cotta that was beautifully presented.  The panna cotta itself was silky and soft without being too firm nor dense.  It was semi-sweet and sat atop a sweet raspberry sauce and berry sorbet.  Loved the textural contrast of the thin cookie accents on the side.  Overall, the food at Amber Road was interesting and diverse.  Sure, there are some universally recognizable hotel menu items, but hey, they need to take care of every customer.  For me, I would go for the unique items and experience the European touches Chef Jaroslaw Faryna incorporates into every dish.  Very large portions here also.  Best to bring some friends and share.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- The unique European dishes stand out

- Large portions

- Comfortable and upscale dining space

The Bad:

- To satisfy all customers, there is forced fusion of more recognizable dishes (totally understandable being in a mainstream hotel)

French Creek Pub (Burrard)

Despite my recent obsession with doing some of the top restaurants wherever I've been travelling, I'm always down for casual comfort eats.  Everything has a place and time where they can all be equally delicious.  This takes me to the newly opened French Creek Pub on Burrard across from the soon-to-be-closed St. Paul's Hospital.  If the name sounds familiar to you, the original location is in Parksville on Vancouver Island.  One look at the menu and it is clear they go hard into the classic pub favourites as well as some interesting spins on some dishes too.  We came here to mainly try their viral Party Boat! 

So let's get to that Party Boat shall we???  This monstrosity goes for $119.99 but can feed 4-8 people.  From my experience, this  can easily feed 4 hungry people and comfortably feed 6.  If you aren't big eaters, then it can feed 8.  Underneath at floor of the boat, we had a good helping of Calamari, Popcorn Shrimp, Fries and Onion Rings.  These were all fried just right where the calamari was crispy with nicely seasoned batter.  The squid itself was tender with a bite.  Although I'm usually not a fan of tempura-battered onion rings, these were quite good with a uniform crunch and tender onion in the middle.  The popcorn shrimp were more like fried shrimp as they were large enough to be detectable beyond the crunchy breading.  Fries were crispy with plenty of potato texture within.  The one last item sitting in the middle was a big bowl of Coleslaw.  Sporting big pieces of cabbage and carrots, this was crunchy, fresh and pleasantly tangy, but just a bit watery.

Moving onto the top part of the boat, we had 3 pieces each of Fried Cod and Fried Halibut.  These were legit where the cod was flaky and moist with a crunchy batter that was fully cooked through.  However, the halibut was even better where it was thick-cut and buttery soft.  This indicates that the fish was fresh and cooked perfectly.  We found 3 Shrimp Skewers that were grilled just enough that the shrimp still had a juicy bounciness.  Lastly, we had 3 Lobster & Shrimp Rolls at the aft of the boat.  The mix was appealingly textured with bits of onions to add crunch and brightness.

Of course we needed beverages to go with all that fried goodness right?  We had it all under control with the Mimosa Tower.  Yes, this is enough for as many people that are sharing the Party Boat!  We went for grapefruit and it was plenty refreshing and perfect with our food.  Another bevie came in a cute fish cup in the Limoncello Puffer Fish Drink.  As expected, this was also refreshing very easy going down.  Great summer cocktail!

To get a better feel of the menu other than what was included in the boat, we had to get an order of their Lemon Pepper Wings (because wings are some of the most important things on a bar menu!).  Good thing we tried these because they were great!  These were gigantic with crispy, well-rendered skin (without any breading).  There was more than enough lemon pepper seasoning for a great tang while the meat inside was juicy and tender.

Another prominent item on the menu is their mac n' cheese.  Hence, we went for one of the many choices with the Hot Chick Mac n' Cheese.  This was served in a large bread bowl and it was totally overflowing with saucy cheese.  Therefore, the whole thing was completed coated and plenty satisfiying.  There was a combination of real cheesiness and saltiness.  We found the noodles to be decently firm while the chicken was crispy and mildly spicy.

Finally, a pub is not a pub without a burger.  But this was no ordinary burger though.  It was the Surf n' Turf Burger with house sauce, bacon, shredded lobster roll mix, cheddar cheese and topped with a garlic aioli shrimp skewer.  Beyond all the festivities of the other components, the actual burger patty was lean and bit firm while being evenly seared on both sides.  Bacon was crispy while the lobster roll mix added creaminess and more texture.  Burger was huge and more than enough for one person.  In fact, everything at French Creek Pub is huge and you will definitely get your money's worth.  However, the most important thing is the food itself is well-prepared.  I most certainly will be back to share some food with my friends and/or sport teams.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Large portions

- Well-prepared comfort food

- Oh that mimosa tower...

The Bad:

- Yes, there are some gimmicks here, but for me, the food itself is still good

- Parking in the area can be challenging 

Kann

I've been trying to get reservations for Kann in Portland for quite some time.  For those who don't know, 2-time Top Chef finalist Gregory Gourdet is the owner and puts his Haitian roots into the cuisine.  By employing a live-flame, the food exhibits a rich and impactful smokiness normally not present at most restaurants.  We were fortunate to answer the phone when there was a last minute opening for a late dinner.

We began with their Plantain Brioche Buns with epis butter.  With a firmly crispy exterior, the buns were a bit denser than typical brioche.  However this sturdiness afforded a certain chewy fluffiness.  The plantains also imparted some natural sweetness.  Beyond this, the epis butter made this dish.  It was creamy with noted spice, rich herbaceousness and some sweetness.  Since the buns were firmer, it gave me all the reason to use up all of the delicious butter!

Next we had their stunning Summer Fruit Salad.   In addition to the blackberries and strawberries, we found heirloom tomatoes, pickled cantaloupe balls, cucumber, avocado and charred pineapple in a passionfruit vinaigrette.  This was so refreshing and full of natural sweetness.  That passionfruit vinaigrette was tangy and sweet but balanced so it didn't overshadow the components.   The charred pineapple was deliciously sweet and smoky.

Not looking like much, we were concerned at first with the dark exterior.  However, the Akra or taro fritters were really crispy and had a somewhat mochi-like filling which was dense and chewy (in a food way).  The flavours were nutty, sweet and somewhat earthy.  However, the remoulade was the key to the dish with its spicy creaminess. It also added the necessary moisture as the fritters (even though they were great on their own) were in need of a sauce. 

Hands-down, the best thing we had was the Head-on Prawns.  They infused so much smokiness and depth-of-flavour, that this was a flavour bomb.  Combined with the brininess of the prawns and sweetness of the pineapple along with the spicy sweetness of the African pepper sauce, there was a lot going on.  Things didn't end there as we also had pickled peaches and lime zest.  This helped provide acidity and freshness to the dish.

Onto the meat of the meal with the Ribeye that was prepared a beautiful medium-rare.  Loved the rub on the ribeye as well as the char.  Definitely had blackened vibes.  Lots of smokiness and rich flavors where the steak was delicious on its own.  Since it was cooked evenly and rested properly, the juices within the meat ensured that each bite was moist and tender.  Just in case we needed some tang and acidity, there was some blistered tomatoes as well as aromatics from the shallots and confit garlic.

We got some sides to accompany the steak with the Peanut Creamed Greens and Diri Ak Sos Pwa.  The mustard greens were tender but not mushy while being nutty and sweet.  Initially, I thought the peanuts would be too heavy for the greens, but they were perfectly soft and tender. As for the beans and rice, it was interesting to hear about the it being near and dear to Chef Gregory's heart, but it was just okay for me.  I did get some of the garlic and slight heat from the tender beans, but otherwise, it wasn't as mind-blowing as the other dishes (but comparing apples to oranges here though).

One other vegetable we had was the whole head of Cauliflower with jerk spices and sour coconut cream.  The cauliflower itself was cooked perfectly being tender with a crunch.  The jerk spices were low-rolling and kicked in at the end providing plenty of heat.  This was heightened due to the cauliflower being roasted.  On the bottom, we found the coconut cream, which cooled things down and provided tropical aromatics.

Onto dessert, we had 2 including the stunning Baked Haitian which was a nod to a Baked Alaska.  Evenly and beautifully torched on the outside, the meringue was fluffy and smoky.  I'm pretty sure you have seen the theme here as they embrace the live flame cooking!  Inside, we found some firm cake and that delicious charred pineapple.  It was a lot lighter than it appeared and it was quite refreshing with balanced sweetness.

Also refreshing and light, the Shaved Soursop Ice featured a blanc mange base.  It seemed so familiar because it has similarities to Cantonese almond pudding.  Hence it was aromatic from the almond and slightly creamy.  On top we found peaches and strawberries combined with the soursop to create a tangy and sweet compliment to the blanc mange.  Nice finish to an excellent meal.  Love their take on Haitian cuisine and highlighting the traditional cooking over a live flame.  Things were so smoky and full-of-depth.  Highly recommended.

The Good:
- Smoky from the live flame
- Well-seasoned food
- Things were prepared properly

The Bad:
- Loved the story, but the rice and beans were just okay

Les Faux Bourgeois

Gosh, the last time I visited Les Faux Bourgeois must've been like 13 years ago!  I haven't blogged about it for 16 years...  Well, things have definitely changed since then as it was closed for a bit before reopening in early July.  There has been an ownership change as well as Chef Brent Thornton taking over the reigns of not only Les Faux, but also overseeing the entire Gaia House Hospitality Group (Selene Aegean, Nammos and AMA Raw Bar).  Mijune and I decided to check out what's up at Les Faux since the change.

We ended up doing the Premium Tasting Menu for $105.00pp which includes roughly 5 courses shared between the people participating.  They started us off with some Brioche and Foie Gras with cherries.  Loved the crispy exterior of the brioche giving way to a fluffy interior.  We could pull-apart each bun into 3 separate pieces, which was perfect for accepting the buttery foie gras to form a delicious bite.  Naturally, the sweet and slightly tangy cherry was a perfect compliment.

Next up was the Rotating Ice Plate that featured (for this night at least) 2 BeauSoleil oysters and 2 Sunseekers along with 2 Cherry Stone Clams and Mussels Escabeche.  This reminded me slightly of the Ice Box from Penny in NYC.  Loved the oysters, they were fresh and shucked properly.  The BeauSoleils were sweet and clean while the Sunseekers were brinier but still sweet.  Those clams were a flavour bomb since they were dressed in a brine from the bar, topped with olive and anchovy.  Those plump and buttery mussels were sweet and benefitted from the tanginess and smokiness of the escabeche.  

The Tartare de Boeuf was served as a pretty large portion along with house-made chips.  We loved the chips as they were light and crispy, however, something a bit sturdier would've held up better to the tartare.  With that being said, this was a delicious dish with a heaping portion of tender diced beef that was buttery, yet meaty.  The whole thing was dressed classically with shallots, chives, parsley, cornichons, capers and egg yolk.  On top we found some grated mimolette cheese which added some background sharp nuttiness.

The most stealthily delicious item for the entire meal was the Oeuf Mayonaisse.  This featured a halved lightly boiled egg topped with a brown anchovy mayo, brined olive and kefir.  It was finished off with marinated white anchovy and sturgeon caviar.  Once we got past the soft egg, we to the full hit of the brininess from the mayo.  Beyond that, the anchovy added another layer of brininess and then the caviar did its briny and salty thing.  So much flavour in one to two bites.  Delicious. 

Since we had the Premium tasting menu, we were served the dry-aged PEI Blue Dot Striploin with garlic scapes and padrón pepper.  Sauce au poivre was served tableside.  This was a substantial portion of meat that looked like 10 to 12oz to me.  It was prepared a perfect medium-rare cooked evenly on both sides.  There was a substantial smokiness to the charred exterior and it was seasoned well too.  Steak was succulent and tender.  Sauce was flavourful enough without masking the natural essence of the meat.

The side of Heston-Style Fries were the sexiest thing I've seen, in terms of food, lately.  These thick-cut fries were triple-cooked perfection (made famous by Heston Blumenthal).  Outside, they were so universally crispy while revealing soft and fluffy potato which melted in my mouth.  The addition of dehydrated chicken skin salt added an umami punch as well as some texture.  On the side, we found some creamy and slightly tangy dijonnaise. 

To go with all this indulgence, we were served something that offered balance in the Salade de Tomate with heirloom tomatoes, peaches, anchoïade, bleu d'Auvergne and steak spice.  Loved the sweetness of the tomatoes combined with a contrasting sweetness from the peaches.  Talking about contrast, the salty brininess of the anchoïade and the sharpness of the blue cheese helped compliment the sweetness of the other components.  The use of steak spice was restrained, so that it didn't overwhelm the tomatoes.

Finally, we had a massive Apple Fritter in a St. Leger maple whiskey glaze.  On top, we found some old cheddar from France.  To top it off, we found a large slice of smoky brie.  Although a bit dense, the fritter was just sweet enough with aromatics.  The addition of cheese really worked here with the cheddar having some sharpness while the brie acted almost like a cream of some sort.  It provided creaminess as well as smokiness.  Overall, the meal at this current iteration of Les Faux Bourgeois was a good one.  In keeping with its original ethos of delivering well-portioned and delicious food at a reasonable price, they definitely succeeded here.  I would recommend having the tasting menu as it gives a great overview of the menu.  However, if you just want a casual drop-in dinner, then the Steak Frites for $38.00 is a good bet.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Ample portions

- Well-priced

- Delicious

The Bad:

- You most certainly can drop-in, but reservations are needed as it was packed, on a Monday night...

Published on Main

After enjoying a delicious meal at Elem, we were right back at it the next day at Published on Main.  I've yet to try their tasting menu and this meal, the drought would continue as we went à la carte.  As much as it can cost more money (not all the time by the way), à la carte gives more control over the dishes ordered.  Published is one of our favourites right from day one in its existence.  I still love their original launch menu and many of the subsequent menus up until 2023, hence the #1 ranking in 2022 on Canada's Best 100 Restaurants.  I am looking forward to them ranking in the top 5 again and am always on the lookout for new dishes from them.  This time around, we had some classics as well as some seasonal items.

My prayers were answered when our double-order of Aebleskiver arrived.  I've always wondered why they didn't offer up their tasting menu version of the dish.  Small one-biters that capture the deliciousness without committing to the 3 large ones in the à la carte menu.  These were excellent with a mildly crispy and aromatic exterior giving way to a soft pancake texture on the inside.  The stewed herbs on the inside and herb emulsion on the bottom offered up the herbaceous notes while the generous dollop of caviar added saltiness and brininess.

Next, we had another classic dish in the Chips & Dip.  Other than that time they took it off the menu due to a lack of the right potatoes, this has been on the menu from day one.  Although advertised as "sturdy", these chips were far from being heavy.  However, they more or less stayed in one piece when dipped into the smoked fish dip.  Combined with the sour cream, onions and dill, this dip could be put atop anything and it would taste good.  The cooling smokiness with a bit of tang really lightens up an otherwise perceived heavy snack.

At Published, they have created many different versions of the Dungness Crab.  Last time we were here, they had Sungolds and preserved tomatillos.  For this iteration, we found a flying tiger sauce with serranos, lime, basil and cilantro.  Triangles of crunchy kohlrabi were neatly placed on top with angry bird seeds finishing the dish.  Definitely a bit of spice and lots of herbaceous notes while the tang and brininess of the sauce came though.  But none of it overwhelmed the delicate and fluffy dungeness crab.  

Despite my protests against ordering the Glorious Greens Salad, we ended up with it anyways.  Well, turns out that I was wrong as the salad was rather delicious.  Consisting of 25 different greens and veggies, this had plenty of different textures and crunch.  Furthermore, the greens really had inherent flavour on their own (appealing bitterness as well as sweetness).  We had some sweet crunch from the praline and candied walnuts.  This was all brought together by the tangy and floral elderflower vinaigrette.

Normally, there are never any bad dishes at Published, however, our order of the Kentucky Fried Maitake was a miss.  We've had this dish countless times before and it has always been on point.  Unfortunately, these were fried far too long and/or the mushrooms lacked body.  The result was extremely crunchy batter but no mushroom texture could be found.  Hence, it also ate greasy and despite the delicious garlic scape ranch, it felt like we were eating batter only.

Back to our regular programming with the GBP Gnocchi.  This was a fantastic offering with pillowy small pieces of gnocchi.  Despite being soft, the gnocchi still retained a chew.  Although the sauce was buttery, it didn't eat heavy.  Shallots added sweetness and brightness while the white wine kept things light.  We went for the extra shaved black truffle and it didn't overwhelm the dish.  In fact, it added the proper amount of woodsiness.

The dish I was looking foreword to the most was the Smoked and Candied Sablefish and oh did it deliver.  That fish was a flavour bomb with sweet smokiness that had an appealing saltiness.  It was perfectly balanced by the aerated sweet corn dashi.  We had some charred corn which also provided another layer of sweetness and a bit of smokiness.  Crunch was added in the form of puffed rice on top.  Nice textural contrast.

Bringing things down just a notch or two, we were served the Badger Flame Beets.  These were so plump and juicy being sweet and not exhibiting any earthiness.  To compliment the sweetness, we found a sunflower seed miso underneath that was rich and exhibiting unmistakable fermented saltiness of miso.  Nice balance between salty and sweet while the crunch from the pralines on top added textural contrast.

Ending off the savoury portion of our meal, we went for the PEI Blue Dot BBQ Beef Striploin prepared perfectly medium-rare.  It was well-rested where there was no residual juices on the plate.  Underneath, we found a burnt onion soubise which was buttery and smooth with a touch of smokiness.  We had some chanterelles for both texture and flavour while the potato dumplings were a bit chewy on the outside, but tasty on the inside.

Of course we had to finish off this delicious meal with another day one classic in the Hay.  That aerated hay custard was so light, yet creamy at the same time.  Definite grassiness with mild sweetness.  The green apple granita surrounding it was key for texture and flavour.  The refreshing and cold crunch of the ice complimented the less cold custard.  Secondly, the green apple tang and sweetness provided another layer of flavour to the mild custard.  Lastly, some chamomile provided a bit of floral notes.

We had one more small dessert in the Total Currant Dilly Bar.  This was an interesting creation that tasted like things I would find in the forest.  We found hits of black currant leaf, wood and flowers.  I was thinking fruity when I first saw it and it did have tartness, but the true flavours were the elements of the forest for sure.  Of course there were a few treats accompanying the bill as always in some Brown Butter Caramels and Sweet Tea Pâtes de Fruits.  Once again, a delicious meal at Published where we enjoyed fan favourites as well as some stellar new dishes.  Too bad about the maitakes though.  I'm sure that was a one-off.

The Good:

- In typical Published fashion, dishes were well-thought out where components did not conflict with each other

- Layers of flavour

- On point service

The Bad:

- Too bad about that Maitake dish...