Forage (Dine Out 2014) - Pretty Decent Food

On the second last day of Dine Out Vancouver 2014, my friends and I went to Forage for their $28 DOV menu. This restaurant has garnered so much hype over the past year that it was impossible not to give it a try.

Forage is located on Robson and Jarvis which is crazy because I've never noticed it before walking down Robson street.

I love the wooden oak type of feel. It's classy yet homey.

 All six of us ordered their Award Winning Seafood Chowder with soft poached quail egg and crispy pork rind. While the soup was smokey, full of flavour, it was too thick and tasted a bit more like sauce than soup. The quail egg added a certain richness to the soup too which was nice.

 Meta Knight chose the Pacific Provider Spring Salmon which was served with potato, leek, onion hash and a celery root remoulade. The salmon was perfectly cooked and flaked off with every bite. It was a little salty for Meta Knight but overall it was a great entree.

The Foraged and Cultivated Mushroom with Sage and Squash Gnocchi was exactly what I was hoping for. The gnocchi was fluffy yet slightly crispy on the outside, the mushrooms and kale were perfectly seasoned, and the dish didn't leave me suffocating in a food coma. I would totally get this again.

Now here's the bad thing. I eat slow so the rest of my table were finished when I was around the 3/4 mark. Because Dine Out is limited to a 1.5 hour seating at Forage, they completely rushed us, and started serving all of our desserts while I was still eating my main. That put me in an incredibly awkward position where I wanted to finish eating my delicious entree, but couldn't because my friends are now all on their dessert without me. I understand if they are trying to serve everything fast, but at least let everyone at the table finish their meal before serving the next course. I only needed an extra 5-10 minutes but sadly I wasn't given that time. After that experience, it left a bad taste in my mouth throughout the entire evening.

 Most of my friends went with the Gelderman Farm Pork Belly with crackling and braised cabbage, celeriac potato puree, and apple chutney. It was an absolutely sinful meal and god was I jealous. The pork belly had a 70/30 fat ratio though so I was content after trying just one bite. My friends also said the crackling was also a bit too oily. Nonetheless, the potato puree was fabulous and I'd still go for this piece of meat if I was craving something guilty that day. :)

Having read some reviews beforehand, I opted for the Blueberry Hazelnut Financier served with membrillo creme, hazelnut praline, and quince jelly. This was a solid dessert and I really enjoyed the presentation of it.

However, I should've gotten the Crumb Crusted Maple Rye "French Toast" with tonka bean drinking chocolate and Forty Creek whipped marshmallow. The server warned us beforehand that the tonka bean chocolate is as bitter as coffee so only people who like either coffee or dark chocolate would like this dessert. I should've taken the hint and got this because it was SO GOOD!!! The french toast balls dipped in espresso dark chocolate and whipped marshmallow is like my ultimate dream. I have no idea why I didn't pick this dessert. 

I will be forever sad because this isn't on their regular menu. 

Anyways, I think Forage captured the Sustainable Dining aspect of the restaurant business and they have some really innovative dishes. I just wish I wasn't rushed in and out of there so quickly because that disabled me from fully sinking into the deliciousness that they offered. Forage would be a great place to have girl's night and spend a few hours drinking and eating snacks so maybe I'll do that in the future, NOT during Dine Out.

Service Rating: 3/5

Food Rating: 3/5

Price: $$$$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!