Vancouver 2015 Wedding - L'Abattoir

Weddings are a time for celebrations. I find that whenever I attend a wedding I cannot help but be in a good mood. The atmosphere, the music, the food and, most importantly, the lovely couple all come together for happy and joyous events. Weddings take on a larger importance when they involve a close friend. I had the pleasure and luck to meet some incredible people in Edmonton and so I begin this series on my dining, wine-ing and celebrating in Vancouver for a close friends' wedding.

I arrived in Vancouver on a Friday night. Staying with a friend in downtown Vancouver afforded me the opportunity to explore a bit of the city before the wedding on Saturday. After taking some time to reconnect with old friends, we quickly set our eyes on finding food. Exploring Vancouver was incredible. The litany of wonderful restaurants, pubs and eateries were awe-inspiring. We ended up at L'Abattoir, an upscale eatery in Gastown Vancouver.

Unbeknownst to us, L'Abbatoir was celebrating Dine Out Vancouver 2015 that weekend, a celebration of local restaurants where they offer a arrangement of dishes at a set price. We were excited! Usually these types of meals offer significant value and allow you to try a litany of dishes, often without breaking the bank. I have to take the time to commend the service staff who were attentive, approachable and quick to answer any questions.

Feeling the need to refresh myself after sitting on an airplane for three hours, I went with a Four Winds Saison. A light beer crafted similarly to the Belgian Hoegaarden, this beer exudes a light hoppy flavour accentuated with a floral undertone (yes, I know how pretentious this just sounded). Being a fan of lighter beers, I have to give high marks to this refreshing start of our meal.

Two of us started with the Duck Raviolo. A huge piece of al dente pasta covers a delicious mixture of pulled duck breast, mushrooms and squash. This was excellent! The perfectly cooked pasta was an excellent vehicle for the meat and vegetable mixture while the light gravy helped pull the entire dish together.

A fellow diner loves her fish and thus ordered the Cured Albacore Tuna to start. The springy and fresh fish was paired with fried polenta, corn, grapefruit and a jalapeno dressing. I admire the chefs creativity for the dish and am impressed that the jalapeno and grapefruit flavours did not overpower the dish. The star of this dish, as it should be, was the tuna.

Our final dining companion started with a Salad of Winter Vegetables. A mixture of oven roasted beets, squash and carrots are expertly mixed together with toasted oats and homemade yogurt. The tart and smooth yogurt gave a cooling effect on the dish while accentuating the underlying sweetness of the root vegetables.

For my main I went with the Milk Braised Lamb Shoulder. I think I was in heaven. The lamb was exquisitely tender and bursting of flavour. Complimenting the fatty protein were some of the best Brussels I have ever had. A slightly crispy charred outside was met with warm and slightly bitter interiors and together helped to cut down the fattiness of the lamb. Incredible!

The star of the night was the Smoked Filet of Pacific Ling Cod. Vancouver is blessed with fresh fish and this ling cod could have been alive a mere few hours before we had arrived. Its sacrifice was not in vain in this dish. The unbelievably tender fish was paired with a cauliflower risotto. I loved the bite and texture of the cauliflower as it contrasted with the smoothness of the fish.

Finding the space for dessert we ordered between the four of us: Yogurt and Vanilla Pannacotta, Ricotta Cheesecake, and Sticky Toffee Pudding. All three were tasty but my preference was with the pannacotta. It had a great divergence of flavours with the tartness of the apple, the smoothness of the pannacotta topped with the sweetness of butterscotch.

Overall this was an incredible meal to start off a weekend of discovery, friendship and love. I could not be more blessed to be surrounded by incredible people and this weekend was a quick reminder of just how awe inspiring these individuals are. And so after we finished this meal, we were off to explore Vancouver and fill our stomachs with more joy, laughter and fun.