I’m just waiting for Oakwood Canadian Bistro’s able, young chef Mike Robbins to compete for Top Chef Canada. In the meantime, he’s a Kitsilano gem and his talent is shining once again on Oakwood’s new spring menu. Get the goods while you can.
As usual, you can count on Oakwood to deliver what matters: All dishes are made from seasonal and locally sources organic products. The meats are organic, local and free of hormones and antibiotics; the seafood is sustainable and Ocean Wise certified. Breads, pastas, butchery and sauces are all done in-house.
About the new menu
New dinner menu highlights include fried octopus komatsuna ($7), mussel and clam ‘chowder’ ($16), vegetable tagliatelle with pesto and patty pans ($16), beef tartar with garlic wilted pea shoots ($17), braised boar and potato agnolotti ($19), Cornish hen and wild mushroom roulade ($21), brick cut ribeye with potato croquette ($24) and whole Nova Scotia branzino ($30).
I have tried the braised boar with agnolotti. It wasn’t easy. My husband ordered it and I kept sniping at his bowl in an undignified manner un-befitting a food writer. The tender boar meat falls gently into the hand-made, potato-filled pasta, and benefits from the 3D, hedgehog mushroom enhanced sauce.
My husband retaliated admirably, stealing bites of my tender cornish hen, which comes with seared breast, decadent, bacon-wrapped mushroom roulade and cauliflower puree. There were other infant veggies on the plate, but they were gone too quickly to note.
We ended by trying the bumble berry (rhubarb, cherry and blackberry topped) cheesecake – a fresh, spring dessert that comes in a mason jar.
And you can dine in such style while watching hockey. I can’t think of an easier way to please everyone.
The Oakwood Canadian Bistro, 2741 West 4th, 604-558-1965, TheOakwood.ca
Last modified: March 6, 2012
