Salmon n'Bannock: Worthy of being first post of the year!

Just been super busy with school, work, and life-- sorry I've been MIA! But 2015 was a wonderfully food-filled year, with many great and memorable moments! Starting 2016 is a restaurant participating in Dine Out Vancouver 2016 of course!

Restaurant: Salmon n'Bannock (visit their website here)

Location: 1128 West Broadway, Vancouver
Cuisine: First Nations
Price range: $40/person (Dine Out Vancouver)



Date of visit: January 19, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 3.5/5

For Dine Out, they offered a $40 set menu and only have two seating times: 6:00-7:30pm or 8:00-9:30pm. It was a quaint little restaurant, seating was spacious and decorated with many First Nations artwork. Staff were attentive and kind, but it did take them a while to figure out I was standing awkwardly at the door before being seated.

First, I started with their West Coast Wild Sockeye Bake with Smoked Sea Salt and Seaweed Emulsion. Plating was simple and I liked how it was placed on top of a grill where the sea salt could continue smoking the salmon after it arrived. Could definitely taste the smokey flavors and the salmon was cooked perfectly. It also came with cucumbers, nothing special; the seaweed emulsion was too salty and just there.

MaCherie and KHomey ordered the Grilled Venison Striploin with Spinach and Caramelized Onion Salad, Blackberry Vinaigrette. Good veggies for the meal, they felt the venison was very gamey. It reminded me of pork liver. I liked the flavors but felt the meat itself was quite tough. We felt the salad would have been well complimented with some sort of cheese on it (ie. feta or blue cheese).

Just a random picture of the appies together =P

On the side was, as their name suggested, Bannock with Whipped Butter. Bannock, for those who are unfamiliar, is a Native version of a scone (unleavened bread). It was chewy and moist inside, the outside was crispy. Normally I avoid bread-like items, but these were good enough for me to order extra for takeout!

Onto entrees, our waitress highly recommended the Braised Free Range Bison Back Ribs with Scalloped Potatoes, so I got it. Glad I did! The bison was not gamey, tender, and fell off the bone. The sauce overwhelmed the flavors of the meat itself, so unfortuneately I could mainly just taste sauce. Scalloped potatoes were tasty, fluffy, and cheesy!

MaCherie went for their Alder Smoked Bella Bella Halibut with Roasted Yam Mash and Organic Cranberry Reduction. I tried some and the halibut was cooked nicely, flakey and moist. I got a chunk with lots of bones and almost choked though xD It went well with the yam mash and cranberry reduction heightened the flavors.

For dessert, a Layered Ojibway Wild Rice Pudding with Signature Berry Compote. It reminded me of creme brulee because of the crispy sugar coat on top. Flavors were interesting, it started as a creamy mixture that was more watery than your normal creme brulee along with the crispy texture of the sugar.

Then came the tangy flavors of the berries, which I actually enjoyed. I was disappointed with the wild rice however, it felt out of place and didn't fit in with the creamy dessert. The rice was too hard and felt undercooked.

Overall we enjoyed our first experience of First Nations cuisine. Stepping out of our regular comfort zone in terms of meat, it was memorable. The staff checked on us frequently, they made it feel homey and welcoming!