2011-07-27 Lunch @ Wild Salmon (VCC)

250 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC

604-443-8352

When Crispy Lechon mentioned Wild Salmon (an aboriginal pop-up restaurant from the culinary program at VCC) to Buddha Girl, she knew she had to try it.  So, with the clock ticking towards Buddha Girl's vegetarian month, she booked it immediately for lunch.  The restaurant is only open until August 26th and is only open weekdays for lunch.

Staffed with students of the program, the student-servers were constantly being graded.  Our server was friendly and pleasant, but was extremely nervous.  Once seated, a plate of deep-fried Bannock was placed on our table.  This tasted and felt similar to the Chinese deep-fried doughnut 油條, a bit oily, but better tasting.

I started with a Spicy Seafood Croquettes, Smoked Tomato "Jam".  For $4, this was a nice appetizer.  The seafood cake was nice and crisp, a bit overcooked, but not to the point of being too dry.  I thought the star of this dish was the tomato, which had a natural sweetness with a bit of smokiness.  I enjoyed this dish.  This was a bit small, but for the price, hey, I'm not complaining.

Crispy started with a Smoked Trout, Rhubarb, Dandelion Greens, Wild Mushroom Vinaigrette.  I really liked the smoky flavor of the trout.  The meat was a bit tough, but it's quite common because to get a good smoking flavor on such a small fish, it's not easy to maintain the soft texture.

Buddha Girl ordered a Fire-Roasted Corn Chowder and she loved it.  This was creamy and sweet.

For our mains, Crispy and I each ordered a Crusted Sunflower Seed Halibut, Watercress Sauce, Crispy Sunchokes.  This was cooked perfectly, moist and flaky.  Unfortunately, the crusting wasn't as crisp as I would've preferred and it was overall bland (some salt and pepper to season would be ideal).  I did not pay much attention to the vegetable nor the sauce.

Buddha Girl was more adventurous and went with a Rabbit Sausage, "3 Sister" Cassoulet, Wild Rice & Cranberry Stuffing.  The sausage was a bit gamy but it's expected.  Without any strong pronounced flavor, the sausage meat did burst out of the casing.  Buddha Girl enjoyed the dish, especially the stuffing.  I thought the dish was just okay.

What's with everyone spoiling Buddha Girl?  Yes, Crispy spoiled Buddha Girl with a jar of Ube Spread and a pack of Pounded Sweet Rice.  Thank you Crispy for always thinking of us!