mindless ramblings

We had our second Dine Out outing last Friday at Il Giardino. It’s located right in between the Burrard and Granville Street bridges at the junction of Pacific Boulevard and Hornby Street. We got there early for our 6pm reservation and they didn’t seem all that ready for the dinner rush yet. Despite that, we were promptly seated in the main dining room and presented with the menus by our friendly waitress, which I have listed below. The have a large wine list to choose from too, with a whole book of wines, both local and Italian.

Appys:

• Minestrone della Casa drizzled with Villa Delia extra virgin olive oil and fresh sweet basil.
• Spaghettini tossed with black Thai prawns, fresh green asparagus, sauteed cherry tomatoes, aglio e olio.
• Baby spinach topped with julienne of roasted Fraser Valley duck and sauteed shiitake, portobello and oyster mushrooms in warm balsamic vinaigrette.

Entrees:

• Free Range Lamb Shank with braised red cabbage; zest of orange.
• Baked Alaskan Black Cod filet with cannellini bean, caper,black olive and tomato salad.
• Arborio Risotto with roasted local butternut squash, oven dried tomatoes and organic baby vegetables.

Dessert:

• Lavender Orange Creme Brulee
• Three Nut Torte
• Il Giardino Tiramisu

I had the spaghettini to start, followed by the lamb shank while Esther had the baby spinach salad followed by the black cod. I also had some red wine to go with the lamb, the name escapes me now but it tasted strong and it would go well with the lamb. We both chose the tiramisu to end the meal.

The bread arrived shortly after with a plate full of butter (yay!). There were 2 different breads, 1 which resembled slices from a small baguette, another which looks like it came from a large loaf instead. Both were delicious, but I preferred the large one as the crust was just so tasty. Our appys came a couple of minutes later and we were surprised by the generous serving size. My spaghettini dish was large enough to almost serve as a mini meal by itself! The pasta was perfectly cooked to al dente, while the prawns were large and tasted like they were fresh out of the sea. Even the asparagus (which I do not enjoy normally) was tasty and I devoured most of it before Esther could get her hands on any! As for the spinach salad, both of us have never seen spinach like that before. The only spinach I have ever had is the kind my mom stir fries, so it was a refreshing change to see a staple like that in a salad. The duck skin added a nice dose of fat and the various mushrooms just made the already delicious dish even better. These appetizers really exemplify what an appetizer should be to me: light, tasty and prepare you for the (hopefully) better entree coming up.

The lamb shank was very tender, the meat just fell off the bone with gentle prodding from the fork. Absolutely tender and the accompanying sauce provided a slight sharpness that complimented the lamb very well. Just like the appetizers, I was surprised by the size of the lamb shank. I don’t expect big servings at promotions such as Dine Out, but I would be absolutely satisfied paying regular price for a portion of that size. The cod had the same tenderness, with a salty and crispy exterior. It reminds of the cod I had at Feenie’s back in 2004 and I wouldn’t be able to choose between the two as they are both excellent to me.

The dessert didn’t fail to deliver too. The marscapone was rich, thick and sinful! The Lady Fingers provided a light accompaniment to the mascarpone and it was all topped off with cocoa powder and a hint of liquor. Delicious ending! Although it was more expensive than our first Dine Out outing, I think it was definitely worth the extra $10/person. The service was excellent all night long and we felt much more at ease and as a result had a much better experience. I’d definitely come back again, budget allowing of course!