We finished Poutine Week off where we started - in front of a delicious poutine from Brasserie Kensington. If you read our last post, you saw that at the Gravy Bowl, we didn't actually get a chance to taste the eventual winner's creation. That clearly had to change! If you don't already know, for every poutine sold during poutine week, a meal is provided to a young person in need through Mealshare. The nice thing about Brasserie Kensington is that if you order off of their specials menu at any time, you also help out Mealshare! Everybody wins!
We started our meal with the Fried Brussels Sprouts. Brussels sprouts are pretty much the healthiest thing you can eat, right? Let's ignore that they were fried. We started off healthy! Ok, we're not fooling anyone. Healthy or not, these were delicious! The outer leaves were wonderfully crispy while the center had just the right amount of crunch. What really put these over the top was the garlic aioli they came with. Somehow, it was smoother and silkier than most aiolis we've had. Who knew eating brussels sprouts could be so luxurious!
Our second starter was the Scotch Egg. We're glued to Masterchef Canada right now, and a few episodes ago the contestants had to make these. They looked so good on the show, that as soon as we saw one on the menu, we jumped at it! For those that don't know what makes a Scotch Egg, it's a soft boiled egg, wrapped in sausage and deep fried. How can you go wrong?! Well lots of ways, probably. It seems like a pretty technically difficult dish to pull off. Making sure that yolk stays runny? That takes serious skill! P thought this may have been the best thing he's eaten on our blogging adventure so far. The sausage was deliciously spiced, and the egg was perfectly done. Not only was the egg a masterpiece, it also came with delicious house made pickled carrots and peppers. An all around winner!
For our second course we took advantage of Brasserie Kensington's generosity and got another dish to benefit Mealshare - we ordered the duck tortellini off the specials menu. The tortellini was stuffed with incredibly tender confit duck. It melted in your mouth! The tortellini was served in a delicious deep, sweet and savoury broth. To add to the play on texture, there were crunchy green beans and delicate shallots. And to top it all off, was a heaping pile of parmesan cheese. Overall, a very well composed dish full of wonderful flavours and textures.
Finally, the dish we came here for in the first place! The Fried Oyster Poutine was definitely worth waiting for! Every element of this dish really shone above your typical poutine. The french fries were thin and crispy - perfect for smothering in cheese and gravy. The Dandy Brewing Oyster Stout in the gravy gave it a nice earthiness, and the cheese curds were definitely on point. The fried oysters were the perfect complement to the traditional poutine base. What really stood out for us with this one though, were the little extras that really brought the poutine together - capers and lemon zest. They gave this creation such a wonderful freshness that balanced the rest of the components so well. It's definitely clear why Brasserie Kensington won the Gravy Bowl!
We were quite full be the time we saw the dessert menu, and we hum'd and haw'd about whether to take the plunge. We are so glad we did! We ordered the Hummingbird Cake, and it blew us away! The cake ridiculously moist with flavours from banana and pineapple. The cake was chock full of different nuts and seeds - a party for both hummingbirds and us humans! The bourbon caramel sauce added just the right amount of decadent sweetness to the cake. Sometimes it can be hard to pull off a cake with 'wow' factor, since there's so many different cakes out there, but this one nailed it!
V's Final Word: If you're like me, you pay attention to your meal. If you're like me, you also pay attention to other people's meals. The meals next door were a juicy burger and saucy mussels. They made me want to reach my fork over and try a little nibble. Since that would likely get me banned from the restaurant, I resisted the urged and have decided to go back!
P's Final Word: I'm already looking forward to next year's poutine week. This one went by way too fast. There's at least 60 more poutines I want to try. (Maybe it's a good thing it only lasts a week).
Price Range: $70 for three starters, a poutine, and dessert.
Website: http://www.brasseriekensington.com/
Address: 1131 Kensington Rd NW, Calgary, AB T2N 3P4