Dine out 2011 @ Culinaria

In case you guys don't know what Culinaria is about, it is actually where you become guinea pigs for the culinary arts students of the Art Institute of Vancouver.   I wanted to try Bistro 101 on Granville Island but they do not open on weekends, so I went for Culinaria instead. After walking by there so many times, I said why not give it a try?


I went on a Saturday night at 7pm - very slow for a Saturday Dine out night.  There were still 5 tables vacant.  This restaurant is very tiny - there were only about eight 2-tops max.  A large window to the kitchen allows you to witness the future Robert Feenies fixing up tuna tatakis.  With a warm lighting, atmosphere was nothing spectacular, though I did appreciate the fresh Gerbera Daisies sitting beautifully on each table top.


Service was pleasant and friendly.  There were only 2 servers and a manager that was hosting as well, but they seemed to have managed fine.  Our glasses were always filled and the manager and our server frequently checked up on us.   Food was very slow; we were waiting 15-20 minute in between every course.  Our server kept us informed throughout the night of wait times as there was a new student preparing our dishes.  I noticed that the two couples that sat down after us were served with all their courses before us.  I guess it was bad luck that we got the "new" student.  I appreciated that the server did inform us about the new student but I think if they knew that the student was going to be slow, they could've better managed their time by starting to prepare our next course right after the previous course was delivered to our table.  


So with the $28 menu, we had an appetizer, entree and dessert.
Both my husband and I had the Canadian Albacore Tuna Duo (Togarashi Capriccio and Traditional Tartar)

The tartar was perfect.  The greens eaten together with the tartar were phenomenal.  My husband noted that it would've been even better if they served it with flatbread.  The pepper crusted Capriccio was delicious; it was cooked perfectly.  The center part was tender and fresh which contrasted perfectly with the peppery crispy exterior.  We had a hard time figuring out what the green sauce was - tasted like some sort of yogurty aioli.  If they were a little bit more generous with the aioli, it would've enhanced the taste to a perfect 5 out of 5.


For dinner, I had the Grilled Salmon, with Roesti Potato, Rosemary Beurre Blanc and Winter vegetables.

The salmon was not spectacular but I enjoyed it.  The rosemary butter went perfectly with the salmon.  The fish tasted just a tad overcooked but my husband thought it was cooked perfectly.  It could've been because I had tuna capriccio as an appetizer as there was a huge difference in texture.  Most people would say that I am really not a "sauce" type person.  When I order a salad, I get dressing on the side and I dip my veggies in the dressing.  So i use minimal amounts of sauce.  However, again, on the entree, they were not generous enough with the sauce.  The Roesti Potato was phenomenal.  I dislike potatoes but this was SO tasty - crispy exterior, soft shredded potato in the center.

My husband had the Osoyoos Larose Lamshank with Squash and Sage Risotto and Orange Gremolata.

The lamb shank was quite a generous portion and yes, with generous sauce.  The meat fell off of the bone easily and the timing of cooking was perfect.  I'm not a huge lamb fan as I am not overly fond of the particular lamb taste but I still had a couple bites.  The lamb taste was not too strong.  Paired with the risotto, it would be lamb-lovers' heaven.


For dessert, I had the Poached Pear Melba.

When I asked our server what this dessert was all about, she told me that it's poached pear with ice-cream.  I specifically asked her to define what "melba" was.  She told me it's just the name of the pear and ice-cream together.  Sounded strange but ice-cream and poached pear?  Seemed like something I might enjoy.  When I took the first bite, I realized there was no ice-cream in there whatsoever.  It was whipped cream.  Melba was actually the sponge cake/cookie type pastry on the bottom.  It was nothing like what she described to me.  Regardless, it wrapped up the whole meal nicely.  The contrast of the textures and sweetness of the pear and melba complemented each other.


My husband chose the Caramel Cheesecake.

I do not usually prefer cheesecake but this cheesecake was delicious.  The cheesecake had a strong but not too over-powering taste.  I think that the crust could have been more packed/crunchy as it was a little flakey.


The following is my take on Culinaria:
Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 4/5
Value:3/5
Service: 4/5 (5/5 if the wait times in between the courses were shorter)