It's always a treat when we visit Burdock and Co. whether it is for Brunch or a Chef's pop-up dinner. We love Chef Andrea Carlson's organic small plates and Naturalist wines in a casual setting. After their recent Platinum award for Wine Program Excellence at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, Burdock & Co has decided to switch things up to celebrate the season. Starting this week, the wine list will be in full bloom with orange and pink wines only, with a fresh harvest of spring ingredients to complement.
Burdock and Co.'s Spring Menu is crafted with select wines in mind and seasonal greens such as fiddleheads, knotweed and spring asparagus. Salads include foraged greens like watercress, ox-eyed daisies, shooting stars, sorrel, monad and blossoming currents. Of course, the dish changes each week depending on what the foragers bring in through the kitchen doors.
Spring Menu includes a la carte selections as well as Family Style sharing menu for $56 per person.
We started the evening off with some cocktails and non-alcoholic mocktails.
Burdock's Boilermaker: saison beer, whiskey, gingerbeer, burdock root, sour ginger, plum and rootbeer bitters. Any drink with gingerbeer is always good in my books!
Lavender's Blue: lavender and hibiscus flower, lemon, grapefruit and hops bitters, sparkling water. Rigorously refreshing and not too sweet. If you insist, ask about adding some gin.
House Milled Sourdough Bread 6: this sourdough bread with rye is deliciously insane and served with cultured butter. Lightly salted for the irresistible that you'd want to order seconds just eat alone and to soak up the sauces from the other dishes you're going to consume.
2014 Denavolo "Catavela" Coli Piacentini, Emilia Romagna ITALY
funky stonefruit, limestone minerality, orage blossoms, bright and textured
Grilled Humbolt Squid 17: perfectly cooked squid is tender and has a marvelous toothsome silky texture. Anyone knows that it cooks very quickly and once it's overcooked it will taste like erasers. Who wants to eat rubber bands? Not me!
Served with picked ramps and marinate in fermented barley chilli, lemon, and ginger.
Roasted Knotweed with White Proscuitto 16: Pictured above does not include proscuitto as pregnant ladies should avoid cured meats and cold cuts. It is served with duck hollandaise! We loved the balance of acidity, texture and the smokiness from the grill. Suddenly this it puts a whole different meaning to this invasive species of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) in British Columbia.
2014 Le Soula "La Maceration", Cotes Catalanes, FRANCE
bright floral stone fruit, cantelope, plenty of tannic grip for a brilliant drying finish.
Fried Goat Gouda and Roasted Endive Salad 19: served with charred radicchio, sundried olives vinigrette and watercress.
Spring Asparagus 18: cured bergamot, chilli, malted rice butter and puffed rice for texture.
2015 Heidi Schrock "Rose Biscaya", Burgenlad, AUSTRIA
red licorice, intense strawberries, soft on the finish.
Miso Caramel Glazed Duck Leg 23: fried brassica crumb with cauliflower and broccoli, garlic mirin glaze.
Chocolate Mousse: Chilled chocolate mousse is mildly bitter with a smooth finish.
The most popular pairing du jour is the fettuccini tossed in a sea urchin butter sauce and cured egg yolk, paired with the popular 'Ageno' from La Stoppa. The umami of the pasta brings out the stone fruit freshness of the wine, and it is noted that when this pairing hits the table, the conversation usually stops - it's a good kind of quiet.
I'm also looking forward to other dishes like the Crispy Chicken with Dill Pickle Mayo and also the Udon in Sesame Seed Broth with fiddleheads from Vancouver Island.
The new wine program will remain at the restaurant while quantities last - upon wine stock completion the restaurant will return to its original award winning list.
I was invited by Burdock & Co. for their Spring menu tasting.
Burdock & Co
URL: http://www.burdockandco.com/
Cuisine: Canadian, Tapas Bar
Hours:
Mon 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Tue 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Wed 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Thu 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fri 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Sat 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Sun 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
2702 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5T 3E8
(604) 879-0077
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