Vero Bistro
There were two changes for us - they were out of the bolognese, and substituted a ravioli stuffed with milk-fed veal in a porcini mushroom sauce. Also, for a $10 surcharge they were offering a venetian stew. I went with the latter.
Coriander Crusted Tuna Nicoise Salad with Poplar Bluff Potatoes, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives, Balsamic
Seared ahi tuna is perhaps my favourite cold appy. Maybe the best dish I ever ate was based around it, in West Van at a place called L'Emotion that doesn't exist anymore. So yeah, I'm a fan. This version wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was very good even grading on a curve. Nicely seasoned and very good quality stuff, of the melt-in-your-mouth variety. The potatoes were a bit different but I thought they provided a good base if maybe a bit more acidic than I would've liked. The roasted pepper though was essential. Overall, up there with the best of the first courses I've had this week.
Venetian Seafood Stew with Monkfish, Prawns, Scallops, Calamari, White Wine Tomato Broth
Excellent! And available on their normal menu, so you can go try it! In the running for best seafood dish I've had in Calgary. I was slightly hesitant, because first of all I don't order seafood here. It's just never anywhere near as good as it is on the coast. Second, I'm not usually a bouillabaisse guy even when done well - the broth is too thin for my liking. Thankfully, this broth was not only deliciously flavourful, but hearty and substantial, great for eating with bread. And the seafood? Amazing. Huge scallops, prawns and mussels, and the fish cooked exactly right (you really need to cook it separately and add it at the right time to make seafood stew work). Had an Anchor Steam Brekles Brown with it. Can't go wrong.
Soft Mango Cheesecake with Fresh Mango, Malibu Sponge, Marscapone
I'm not usually big on fruit cheesecakes, so the caveat is that this wasn't really up my alley. It wasn't great, for me. Too much pure sweet, and no relief in sight, nor anything surprising. Wasn't a big fan. My girlfriend though loved and devoured hers, so this is probably just a matter of taste. But they don't normally do dessert here as far as I know, so this was probably not up their alley, either. I don't know why places like this and Ox feel the need to do something they're not set up for instead of just doing cold appy, hot appy, main. Meanwhile a place like River Cafe does that in spite of having a ridiculously good pastry chef hanging around? Just weird. Anyway, the first two dishes were so good I left totally satisfied.
Next up: Vintage, today for lunch.