Since I am a fan of Chef Michael Robbins cooking, I was in for dinner to taste some of the new additions to his spring menu!

1^st dish:

Fried Octopus ($7) with Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), pickled shallots, bacon aioli

2^nd dish:

Warm Kale Salad ($10) cauliflower, brussel sprouts, lemon parmesan dressing

3^rd dish:

 Canadian Poutine ($10) in-house smoked brisket, cheese curds and gravy

4^th dish:

Mussels and Clam ‘Chowder’ ($16) bacon, carrots, potato, celery, white wine, herb croutons

5th dish:

Trio of Masons ($15)

1 – Apple Pie, sugar pastry, and vanilla ice cream

2 – Bumble berry cheesecake, graham crumb

3 – Chocolate coated honeycomb, vanilla custard

My take:

I loved the Fried Octopus and the Warm Kale Salad equally, both were outstanding and both were very different. The Canadian Poutine dish that I had was actually a smaller version of their usual sized dish as I just wanted a taster, you have to try this dish to savour the delicious in-house smoked meat. The Mussels and Clam ‘Chowder’ isn’t exactly a chowder as its more mussels and clams than broth, it is a good amount of seafood in the pot. The Trio of Masons are actually 3 individual desserts, perhaps best shared with your dining partner, my favourites in order was the Apple Pie, followed by the Vanilla Custard and lastly the Cheesecake.

The Oakwood

2741 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver 

Tel: 604-558-1965

http://www.theoakwood.ca/ 

 Twitter: @theOakwoodKits

By: Richard Wolak