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As part of the birthday festivities, my family and I went to Edible Canada at the Market. I have been wanting to eat there since Edible Canada moved out of the Granville Market to a stand-alone location.

Edible Canada at the Market Bistro

Food

The menu looked really interesting, with a good variety of dishes offering something for everyone. The four of us decided to share two appetizers and ordered an entree each.

The first appy that we shared was the Alberta Bison Meatballs. Interesting choice of using a rather lean type of meat to make meatballs! The meatballs needed a bit more fat, but the gravy made up for moisture. The gravy was rich and luscious, combining with the meatballs it would make a very good pasta sauce. The shoestring potatoes added another layer of texture with some crunch.

Alberta Bison Meatballs – cooked medium, crispy shoestring potatoes, lingonberry gravy, fresh herbs

We ordered Helmi’s Potato & Cheese Perogies simply because we saw it at our neighbour’s table and it looked amazing! It tasted really good too! I’m not really a huge perogy fans because I don’t eat very much carbs, but I quite enjoyed this one. I liked that it was pan-seared with a crispy exterior, and the Kielbasa sausage added some savouriness and meat to this dish. Eating this alone can actually make it an entree plate, but sharing among the 4 of us was perfect as an appy.

Helmi’s Potato & Cheese Perogies – Kielbasa sausage, caramelized onions, sour cream, grainy mustard honey vinaigrette

For entree, I ordered the Rangeland Leg of Elk. It caught my eyes when I was researching on the restaurant and I knew I was going to order this. Not surprising the meat was quite lean, but it wasn’t at all gamey. It had a nice spice rub on the outside, but some part of it was a bit burnt. I liked the shredded Brussels sprouts and roasted parsnips, but the chunky root vegetable mash reminded me of baby food.

Rangeland Leg of Elk – root vegetable mash, shredded Brussels sprouts, roasted parsnips, huckleberry jus

The Heritage Angus Steak Frites was really good! Because the flat iron steak was sous-vide, it was tender and moist. It just melts in your mouth! It was cooked in such a way that was as enjoyable as a very expensive cut of meat. The duck fat frites, gosh, was addicting! It was double-fried, crispy with richness probably from the fat. Sooo good – highly recommend!

Heritage Angus Steak Frites – 8oz sous-vide flat iron steak, arugula, chimichurri, red wine jus, duck fat frites

The biggest surprise was probably the Canadian East Coast Fish Pie. It was described to us as the Shepherd’s Pie but with seafood. Boy, this was better than a shepherd’s pie! We found chunks of seafood cooked in a rich cream sauce, topped with this crispy, yet super duper creamy mashed potatoes “crust”. It probably had a bit too much mashed potatoes but it was really good. Recommend getting this dish!

Canadian East Coast Fish Pie – Oceanwise seafood, winter vegetables, fennel, pomme purée, cheese, mixed salad

The most disappointing entree that we had was the Commercial Drive Lamb Pasta. It was good, but there was nothing special about it. It’s a rather ordinary lamb pasta dish.

Commercial Drive Lamb Pasta – braised Peace Country lamb shoulder, pappardelle pasta, chili flakes, arugula, fresh mint, cream

We were debating whether or not to order some desserts. With the impressive appetizers and entrees, it was hard to resist. Now I wish we ended at entrees. Desserts, in my opinion, are not their strong suit, at all. We ordered two desserts and to me, they both flopped.

The French King’s Cake sounded interesting, but it had this really hard puff pastry on the outside, and dense cake inside. You can’t really eat it with just a fork. There was a lot of chewing happening. The glazed oranges were nice, but felt out of place. This needed some liquid, a sauce or even just some whipped cream to moisten it.

French King’s Cake – almond frangipane,
glazed oranges, puff pastry

Creme brulee is one of my desserts of choice, but the Chai Creme Brulee was just not up to par. You can usually break the caramelized sugar easily, by just tapping on it. Not this one. I had to like hammer in to break the sugar crust. It was about half a centimetre thick, which is the thickest by far that I’ve ever had. The chai flavour was quite prominent, but the texture of the custard just wasn’t silky smooth like most other ones I’ve had.

Chai Creme Brulee – housemade with Chai from the Granville Island Tea Company

Service

It was around the holiday season and the restaurant was quite busy. Have to say our server didn’t give us the equal amount of attention that he did with other tables; he did a good job nonetheless. The restaurant isn’t very big but would be perfect for 2-4 people (at most 6). I believe diners are given 10% discount on Edible Canada Market purchase on the day of dining.

Final Thoughts

I appreciate that Edible Canada uses seasonal products and changes up its menu on a regular basis. I think this is the best way to highlight local product and showcase the culinary talent in the kitchen. I will return for sure, and would recommend you to check it out, but maybe staying away from the dessert menu would be best.

Edible Canada at the Market
1596 Johnston Street, Vancouver
604-682-6681
www.ediblecanada.com/bistro.php