Dine out Vancouver is this annual event held in Vancouver where hundreds of restaurants put out fixed menus ($15, $25, or $35) which include a choice of 2 or 3 appetizers, entrées, and desserts. Basically it’s a chance to go t a place where you’d normally pay $100 for such a meal! So Lionel and I went to the CRU last night, and it was awesome. Our menus were as follows:

Kelley - $25 menu
Appetizer Caramilized onion torte with green salad and balsamic reduction
Entrée Wild mushroom and truffle risotto
Dessert Crème brûlée
 
Lionel - $35 menu
Appetizer Smoked tuna with arugula and beets
Entrée Herb crusted lamb with red wine reduction, served with green beans
Dessert Bitter chocolate torte with citrus coulis and crème fraîche

The food was very delicious! The onion torte was tough and the knives were edgeless butter knives and the torte flew onto my lap when the knife slipped, but other than that I was good company :blush: I loved the balsamic reduction, it was syrupy and sweet, but the smoked tuna and beets were better. The lamb was rare and the sauce was good, there just wasn’t enough of it. There were about 6 green beans on the plate, lol. I tried a truffle for the first time and while they are unique (like a really potent mushroom) and have a fantastic earthy flavour, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. The crème brûlée was definitely the better dessert because the torte was very very rich; however, I have never had such an experience as the torte! It was a cake texture, but as soon as it hit your tongue it melted into a liquidy blast of dark chocolate. If you had each piece with a bit of the cream and the citrus coulis it was much better because the tartness of the citrus balanced the richness of the torte.

The restaurant itself was like a long hall - quite small, but interesting and warm decor. The plating was beautiful! It was a bit too fancy for either of our tastes though . . . we asked for bottled water and they gave us the choice of sparkling or non-sparkling, so we chose non-sparkling and it turned out to be this imported French spring water (apparently distilled or reverse osmosis is too lowly for this kinda place, lol) and they put the 1L bottle on our table like they would a bottle of wine. Beautiful bottle, but still! It was $7! We could get 43L of distilled water for that, LOL. Also, the tea they served us ($6) was regular Stash Tea that we have at home! It’s $4 for a whole box! Anyway, the atmosphere was nice, and the presentation was cool, but we won’t be going to a fancy place here again I don’t think, heh. We have another reservation with a $15 place which is supposed to serve larger portions meant for filling you up and not just for display :P