Published on Main

Here we are at Published on Main...  for the 8th time.  You might be wondering why I keep coming back to the place right?  Is it because it is has a Michelin Star?  Believe it or not, that has nothing to do with my decision to come here.  I've been enjoying the intricately-prepared and beautifully-plated dishes since they opened - all on my own dime.  It is because the food is inventive, creative and just different.  I've never had a bad meal here and I don't expect that to change.

This time around, we were a bit disappointed to see that they have temporarily removed the Chips & Dip from the menu (something to do with not being able to source the right potatoes).  So we added the Chicken Fried Maitake with garlic scape ranch as a replacement.  This is a favourite of mine and although the dip isn't exactly the same as the chips & dip, it has some similar elements without the smoked fish.  As for the mushrooms, they were buttery and light with an equally light seasoned flour with some cornmeal.  These ate much lighter than they appeared with a super crispy exterior.

One dish that they have had on the menu since the beginning is the Aebleskiver filled with stewed herbs and pine nuts.  These donuts were fluffy, yet still slightly dense at the same time.  It was a desired form of density where it added texture without being heavy.  The outside was slightly crispy.  Inside, the herbs were tender and flavourful.  What brought this all together was the herb emulsion underneath.  So creamy and subtle, but bright.

The previous 2 dishes were actually added midway through the meal since I really wanted to eat them.  We actually started with the cured Scallop with oyster cream, smoked crème fraîche, sea asparagus and summer herbs.  This was a very delicate and dish with buttery soft scallops that were intensely sweet.  The cream and crème fraîche were subtle enough to let the scallop be at the forefront.  Definitely a background smokiness and brininess, but ever so slight.

Progressing to another light and refreshing dish, we had the Dungeness Crab topped with lettuce root, and buckwheat.  It sat in a herbal tisane.  The ample amount of crab meat was fluffy and a bit bouncy.  It was sweet and briny while complimented mildly by the herb paste underneath and also the tisane.  The thinly-sliced lettuce root was bright and provided just the smallest of texture to the plate.  However, with a bit of buckwheat, this provided some unexpected crunch. 

Onto something more robust, we went with the Wagyu Carpaccio topped with sorrel, shiso, fudgy yolk, garum, crispy shallots and garlic.  As with any raw Wagyu, this wasn't exactly melt-in-my-mouth tender.  Rather, it was buttery with some chew.  The reason for this is the amount of fat.  When not cooked down, it can tend to be a bit chewy.  However, the meat itself was flavourful due to the fat and it was further amped by the garum.  There was restraint with this as it can be overwhelming salty and pungent.  Loved the silky yolk as it provided some great mouth feel.  Some background bitterness and tang was provided by the shiso and sorrel.

One of my favourite dishes of the meal was the Summer Squash atop pepita mole and topped with pepita cream and pepita & sungold macha.  The halved zucchini were cooked masterfully where it was firm, yet still completely cooked-through and tender.  Absolutely loved the seed mole where it was nutty, earthy and lightly sweet.  The macha was the star of the show here where it was mildly spicy with a smoky nuttiness.  Loved the sungold tomatoes as they had pops of sweetness.

Heading to the heavier items, we had the Chargrilled Octopus with smoked castelvetrano, chorizo vinaigrette, crispy potatoes and shaved radish.  Loved the texture with the tentacle as it was soft yet while retaining a bite and chew.  The end of the tentacle was a bit crispy and nicely charred.  Impactful with a touch of spice, the chorizo vinaigrette sported bits of meaty sausage while being nicely acidic.  The smoked olive puree was smooth, mild and of course smoky.  Adding some texture, the crispy potatoes went well with the vinaigrette.

One of the featured dishes for the night was the Summer Beans in a Maggi emulsion.  Charred and cooked perfectly, the beans were still a bit crunchy and plenty vibrant.  I could get the smoky char with some of the beans.  As for the emulsion, I was a little on the fence about it.  On one hand, I love Maggi sauce.  I practically grew up with it (love it on eggs!).  However, the creaminess of the emulsion made this dish too heavy in my opinion.  I did enjoy the umaminess though.

With our choice of fish, we went for the Roasted Manitoba Pickerel with artichokes, radish, elderflower sauce and verjus.  This was an excellent dish with the pickerel sporting uniformly crispy skin that was well-seasoned.  The fish itself was flaky and moist.  Oh that elderflower butter sauce was lightly creamy, fruity and floral.  The acidity was provided by the verjus in a balanced manner.  It complimented the buttery sauce well.

We had one last savoury dish in the BC Fire Morel Gnocchi.  Bathed in a lightly creamy truffle sauce, the gnocchi were nicely seared.  Hence, there was caramelization and also a faint smokiness.  The texture was on point being pillowy soft but not airy.  Naturally, with a good amount of morels, there was definitely earthiness and nuttiness.  However, all of this was lightened up a bit with some lemon notes.  We also found some kelp, shallots and chives in the mix.

Onto dessert, we tried one of the newer options in Le Disco.  This featured discs sitting in cassis sorbet and black currant leaf oil.  I really liked the sorbet as it was almost creamy.  I found it melty and full-of-depth.  It was only lightly sweet, but with a strong currant flavour.  The oil was thick and rich while tasting like its colour.  I found it green-tasting and rather strong.  Now about those discs...  I am on the fence with them as the texture of dark one (was that black sesame?) was pasty.  The green (matcha?) was a bit better with some grittiness while the pink (strawberry yogurt?) was creamier with some iciness.  Did I like the discs?  Not really, but I did enjoy the rest of the dessert.

However, the ol' standby, Hay, was right there to end the meal perfectly.  This classic dessert (at Published) consisted of aerated hay custard with green apple and chamomile granita.  Airy, fluffy and a bit nutty, the semi-sweet custard was brought to life with the tangy sweetness of the apple granita.  Each scoop of this encouraged us to keep eating it.  We did and that didn't take long to finish!  In fact, we gobbled up everything that was put in front of us because it was delicious and eye-catching.  This is nothing new for us and that is what keeps us coming back.  I can guarantee that it won't be long until I'm back again!

The Good:
- Creative, delicious dishes
- The plating
- The service

The Bad:
- Well things aren't cheap, but worth it IMO  

Published on Main

Here I am at Published on Main once again.  This is my 7th visit and if you know me, a restaurant has to be damn good for that to happen.  I truly believe it deserves all the accolades it receives.  Recently, it was named #3 restaurant in Canada by Canada's 100 Best.  #1 is Mon Lapin in Montreal and I dined there a few weeks ago.  Spoiler alert - I know I haven't posted Mon Lapin yet, but for me personally, Published wins hands down.  Love their creative dishes with equally unique plating.

This time around, we had to start with one of their classics - Chips & Dip featuring smoked fish and onion mixed within the creamy dip.  Some fresh dill on top finished this concoction.  Absolutely love the viscosity of the dip as it adhered to each chip with a certain richness.  The chips were semi-thick and uniformly crispy with enough saltiness.  The smokiness of the fish came through while it provided body to the dip.  Naturally, the onions provided a fresh and bright sharpness.

Believe it or not, for all the times I've been here, it has never occurred to me to try the Aebleskiver.  Very shocking as this is one of their classic menu items.  It consisted of 3 savoury Danish donuts filled with stewed herbs.  One bite and the cake-light texture of the donut was not exactly light, but it was appealingly moist.  The herbs offered up plenty of flavour but the herb emulsion really put the dish over the top with a creamy and bright condiment.

To get fill our veggie quota, we had the Grilled Summer Vegetables with miso bagna cauda.  On this plate, we found charred broccolini and snap peas that were pretty well-salted.  Hence, they ate with a well-seasoned smokiness even without the bagna cauda.  However, the fermented saltiness really help bring out the natural flavours of the crunchy snap peas and broccolini.  Impactful veggies, beautiful dish.

Not to be outdone, we were also served the Summer Bounty with both yellow and green zucchini atop a tasty paste.  Edible flowers and truffled marcona almonds finished off the dish.  Tender with still a buttery crunch, the zucchini slices were perfectly prepared.  We felt the tasty paste had a particularly Asian flavour and the texture of pureed beans.  It has was on the saltier side with hits of sweetness and spice.

I guess we didn't delve heavily into the meats for our initial dishes, as the Ravioli alla Vodka featured a creamy fresh cheese filling.  The pasta itself was fairly thin while still tender and al dente.  It was bathed in a rich and creamy vodka sauce where the alcohol was properly cooked down (and also restrained in the amount).  So I could taste the essence and that was it.  Love the chanterelles as they had a buttery texture with bite while offering up the usual light fruitiness. 

Off to our first protein, we had the colourful and beautifully plated BC Halibut with fresh summer veggies and a vierge dressing.  The combination of grape tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs really made this dish bright.  The citrus segments provided another layer of acidity as well sweet juiciness.  We found some tender, yet firm pieces of squash that had slightly soaked up the sauce.  However, the star was the halibut (as it should be).  It was flaky and buttery, as with perfectly prepared and fresh halibut should be. 

You can never go wrong with any form of Scallops at Published.  So we got their current iteration, which consisted of expertly-seared scallops that were caramelized on the outside while still rare on the inside.  The result was a buttery and sweet scallop with proper seasoning on the outside.  In the middle, we found fresh corn in a smoked garlic popcorn butter.  This was aromatic, sweet and had the essence of popped corn.  This was our favourite dish.

As always, we also go for the beef dish, whatever it is and this time around it was the Beef Striploin with chanterelles and grilled kale in a cowboy sauce.  As you can see, the steak was prepared a perfect and uniform medium-rare.  It was properly rested too, so it was juicy and tender.  The combination of chanterelles (and their jus from the saute) and the cowboy sauce added body, earthiness and buttery tanginess to the dish.

We were also served the Lamb Belly with gem lettuce with a cilantro dressing.  This sported fatty and super tender lamb belly that practically melted-in-my-mouth.  It was grilled enough to have a smoky char and resulting caramelization on the outside.  It was sauced with a sweet BBQ glaze that helped balance the savouriness.  On the side, the crisp lettuce was tangy and sweet with a cilantro-forward dressing.

For dessert, we went for the ol' standby being the Hay featuring aerated hay custard with green apple, meringue and chamomile.  If you ever wondered what hay tasted like, this would be the perfect way to do it.  In addition to some dry grassiness, there was earthy and nutty notes.  The custard was light, creamy and purposefully sweet.  The key to this dessert was the broken meringue as it added an airy crunch.  As you can see, this was another delicious meal at Published.  We come here so often that 2 of the dishes were comped. I truly think that they need to return to their #1 ranking for the following year.

The Good:

- Expertly-prepared dishes that shows attention to detail

- Intentional flavours that are impactful

- On point service

The Bad:

- Need to order lots in order to be full, but not a bad thing if you want to try more