Carben Food + Drink

It's Valentine's Day today. Hooray!

[silence]

[crickets chirping]

OK so maybe I'm not a Valentine's Day booster -but I'm not a hater either. I'm more indifferent really. But this past Saturday, Glosette Girl and I decided to get into the spirit and went out for a "Valentine's Day" dinner a few days early. The place: Carben Food + Drink.

If there is a restaurant that best showcases the potential of this neighbourhood it's this one. It's urban yet understated. Original yet unpretentious.

Glosette Girl and I first went there a couple of years ago and had a really enjoyable experience. We were a bit hesitant to book again as we've re-visited restaurants in the past that we thought we loved and been less than thrilled during the encore. But this time, the repeat performance didn't disappoint.

First, the appetizer: wood ear mushrooms. Think baby bok choy, eryngii, miso glaze, turmeric aioli, edamame, and shiso. I didn't even know some of those were real words before coming here. But in a word: sumptuous! 

The mushrooms did not last long on our plate

Second, the mains. Glosette Girl went for the Atlantic Salmon with cauliflower puree, rapini, coconut squash puree, squid ink quinoa, pickled mustard seed, chili lime chinese okra and crispy curry leaf. I felt like exploring the vegetarian option and tried the brown butter and chive arancini, including the celeriac puree, almond gremolata, confit cipollini, compressed tomatoes and apple cider gastrique.  Is your stomach grumbling yet? No? Go back to your peanut butter and soda crackers.

The surprisingly filling arancini

We finished it all off by sharing the "Winter Wonderland" - a combination of walnut joconde, nougat mousse, sweet apple cider gel, confit saffron apples, white chocolate almond crumble and peppermint Meringue. Mmm..... decadent.

Dessert with Simon's maple whiskey digestif in the background

It's a fairly expensive restaurant but it makes for a nice splurge. From the attentive yet not pushy service to our water glasses never being empty, Carben hit the right notes. It doesn't hurt that it's literally down the street from our house either, which had a nice bonus: both Glosette Girl and I could enjoy a drink!

p.s. Glosette Girl here: the ceramic plates were made exclusively for the restaurant by a local neighbourhood pottery studio.