Friday, January 31, 2014

Dine Out Vancouver 2014 at Twisted Fork Bistro



There is a group of lovely ladies that I typically do one Dine Out Vancouver meal with every year. Our group changed a wee bit this year because we decided to meld the DOV tradition with celebrating someone’s birthday.

After careful review of the DOV menus, the birthday girl picked Twisted Fork. I called to make a reservation and the lovely hostess explained they didn’t take resos, but had a great “call when your table is ready” and assured me that they had the space to seat our party of 8.
On the night of the dinner, this was definitely the case. Our name was put in, we went to a nearby pub for some drinks, and approx 1.5 -2 hours later we were seated.



Now I’ve heard about Twisted Fork and their awesome brunches (although I’ve never been) but haven’t heard anything about dinners. Their DOV menu was set at $28 and the menu sounded good.

Twisted Fork is located in downtown Vancouver on the Granville strip, close to Davie St. The restaurant is quite small and narrow, so you could miss it walking by…Look for the big fork! The inside of this bistro is long, narrow, with mellow lighting, creating a relaxing vibe. They’ve got high ceilings, rustic wood tables, and cool touches of décor and art (an old door, a wall lined with their own jams, jellies, canned goods, preserves, an old kitchen mixer as a vase).



Complimentary rolls:
Liked the presentation! (served in a colander with whipped butter in a shot glass)

The appetizers:


Cream of potato and leek soup garnished with pancetta crisps
I really really liked this soup. It was rich, warm and full bodied with a delicate smooth creamy texture and a slight peppery kick. The pancetta crisps were essentially two thin bacon chips, crispy, salty, awesome.


Warm beet salad mixed with goat cheese, arugula, carrot and almonds tossed in a sherry vinaigrette

Gruyere and caramelized onion tart with a hint of nutmeg served with pesto dressed greens and pear chutney
No one in our group had the tart

The Entrees:


Vegan Lasagna with layers of yam, eggplant, zucchini, basil, almond ricotta and tomato sauce served on top of braised swiss chard
I liked this dish okay but didn’t love it. I found it a bit boring flavour-wise. The textures were pretty one-note too.

Pan seared Sablefish on herb couscous, cauliflower coulis and raspberry balsamic reduction topped with leek fries


Herb and brie stuffed Chicken Breast, served with wild mushroom risotto, roasted herb cherry tomatoes finished with chicken jus

The Desserts


Pumpkin spiced cheesecake served with sour cream topping and fresh mint
LOVED this dessert. Definitely not your average slice of cheesecake. Served in a mason jar, this was a layered creation with loose graham crumbles at the bottom with a main layer of a creamy whipped pumpkin pudding, then lightly topped with a thin layer of slightly sweetened sour cream.



Frozen chocolate terrine served with raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries and almond tuile


Caramel mousse served with fresh raspberries, raspberry coulis and almond tuile


All in all, an enjoyable DOV experience. The company was fabulous. The food was solid (with no complaints from a diverse group of 8). I would say that this was well cooked west coast bistro food in a tasteful, cozy, intimate setting. Portions were reasonable. Service was friendly and warm. And again…I am dreaming that one day I will have my own wall of pickled goods and preserves. 

Twisted Fork Bistro on Urbanspoon

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