A Bear-y Special Visit: Segovia

After a fun day exploring The Forks, it was time to supper. Having a former medical school colleague of ours visit was excuse enough to get together and catch up in our busy lives. And so the troops were amassed for an meal at Segovia.

Segovia is a popular restaurant in the Winnipeg food scene. Located on Stradbrook nary a stone's throw from Osborne Street, Segovia focuses its talented chefs on creating Latin American inspired tapas style cuisine. Its head chef, Adam Donnelly, is a well regarded chef who has stints working at Michelin Star Restaurants under his belt and is renowned for his vision in assembling simple, unique and tasty dishes. Thus it should be no surprise that Segovia is one of the most popular restaurants in Winnipeg. It's popularity, though, outstrips itself and finding a seat, especially on a weekend, can be tough and a test of endurance. Not taking reservations, it is not uncommon to see hour-long waits for seats and while some view this as prohibitive, the majority stay and are handsomely rewarded for their patience.

Having blogged previously about Segovia, we had a good basis on their food and drink. Touting their Latin inspirations, we had no choice but to order one ... or three ... pitchers of their house Sangria. Red wine, fresh berries and citrus are the basis for this pungent, smooth and almost juice-like like drink. Light and refreshing this started a constant low-pitch background growl of our stomachs as we enthusiastically lapped in conversation while waiting anxiously for our food.

We started with a simple dish, Patatas Bravas. Thinly sliced white potatoes are fried crisp and served with a house aioli and a basil tomato sauce. These potatoes, nicely fried crisp, were little vehicles for the even more delicious sauces. The aioli had smoothness and creaminess that was intersected wonderfully with the tart spicy tomato sauce.

Chorizo & Apples was next to arrive. A personal favourite of mine, the combination of spicy chorizo, tart apple and sweet honey sauce all scream umami in this excellent dish. Today I thought Segovia overcooked the chorizo a bit resulting in some charred black portions of sausage that unfortunately gave a hint of bitterness to the otherwise tasty apples and honey sauce.

Next into the gladiator pits of our stomach was the Albacore Tuna Crudo. A nice fillet of briefly seared tuna was paired here with pineapple salsa, pine nuts and raisins. Beautiful presented, the seared fish had a tenderness that simply melted in your mouth. Unfortunately the salsa topping, while excellent on its own, was a tad strong and overpowered the delicate fish.

Spicy Venison Tartare was our next dish of choice and was served with crispy potatoes and a Tandoori Hollandaise. A bit difficult to imagine at first, the curry based Hollandaise was the most inspired part of this dish. Working perfectly with the exquisitely tender lean meat, the sauce added needed fattiness to the dish. I was amazed at the lack of gamey-ness of the dish and applaud the chef for crafting such intense depth of flavours here.

BBQ Mackerel was a instant pick from our fellow fish loving resident. The moderately sized grilled fish was paired with a curried cashew granola and celeriac remoulade. The crisp celery root had a vast depth of flavour within the aioli like remoulade. Unfortunately the fish was devoid of flavour and was disappointingly overcooked, lacking any dedicated BBQ sauce within the dry fish. This was the only misstep of an otherwise excellent meal.

This dish brought the table down, Roasted Beef Short Rib, and left us wholly satisfied. Here Segovia stacks superbly tender short rib with soft peppery cauliflower mash, sharp onions and a fresh salsa verde into a dish that amounts to one of my favourite of all time. The different notes of each component harmonize with one another and elevates the entire dish into magnificence.

Our last main was the Smoked Lamb Rump. Taking some Mediterranean influences, the tender rump is topped with chickpeas, a raita (Yogurt based Indian dip) and a large piece of flatbread.  The lamb, tender and expertly cooked, went well with the creamy raita and crisp bread. Although the chickpeas added a nice crispy texture to each bite, I was missing some herbal or vegetable freshness to cut through the fatty lamb.

For dessert, we started off with the Bunelos. Popular in Latin America, these fried dough balls were finished with drizzled hot chocolate. Similar in flavour and taste to a churro ball, this was a great dessert. Segovia does a nice job here making the Bunelos crisp on the outside but soft and light on the inside. The chocolate, while an obvious pairing, was tasty and complimented the deep fried dough balls well.

Finally we ended this vast supper with a Apple & Rhubarb Crumble, served with a rosemary ice cream. Beautifully plated, the crumble had a good contrast in sweet, sour and salty. The fruit added much needed balance to the dough and the ice cream added a textural creamy element that finished the entire dish off nicely.

Overall Segovia reminded me again of its inspired Latin American tapas style cuisine. Although there were some clear highlights of the supper, each dish (Mackerel aside) had some moments of inspiration and brilliance. Dining on such skill reinforces how important the mixture of flavours is in food and showcases the chefs skill and ability in spades. A definite recommendation for anyone looking for something new to try in Osborne, even with the associated hour long (or longer) waits.