Went to Canlis for a friend's 50th Birthday. 3 of us had the Chef's Tasting Menu.\r
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#1 - Peas with morels and mint\r
If there were morels in this espresso cup of peas, I couldn't find them. Certainly couldn't taste them. Lot of mint, that was for sure and they bound the peas together with a bit of gelatin, kind of aspic light. Very problematic texture if you ask me. This dish should have been a wonderful taste of Spring. Instead, it was minty peas with snot. Disappointing.\r
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#2 - Yellow fin tuna with spring onions, garlic and bonito flakes. \r
The fish looked like very high quality tuna, but you couldn't tell by tasting since they absolutely overwhelmed it with very strong onion and garlic. Tasted like sashimi that someone smacked with way too much wasabi. Very amateurish.\r
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#3 - Sea Bass with saffron and tapioca\r
Nice piece of fish, but the saffron was as absent in this dish as were the morels in the first. And for the record, I don't like bubble tea. And these were those big tapioca pearls, swimming in a very rich, butter upon butter reduction. Forget the rubbery and slippery texture of this dish for a second, take bouncy tapioca pearls, have them swimming in a rich and buttery sauce and hand the diner a fork. Congrats, you have created a culinary version of the game marbles. Maybe dinner-plate pinball is a better description. This didn't work on so many levels.\r
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#4 - Lamb with artichokes and Moroccan spices. \r
Very nice bit of lamb loin with a little link of very tasty lamb sausage but are you ready for this: Canned artichoke hearts. I was speechless. I still am. Did the chef apprentice at The Olive Garden? This is simply a capital offense by the kitchen.\r
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#5 - Rhubarb Napoleon\r
I have always found Napoleons to be boring. They always look much better than they actually taste. This was no exception.\r
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Wine: Their wine list is one of the most impressive in town both in depth and breadth. All you need are deep pockets. \r
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Service: Trying hard to please, but have their priorities askew. Wine glasses left empty too often, requiring you to request that someone come and actually fill your glass with wine that you brought or purchased (wine was in a decanter that was kept on a sideboard), coffee cups brought but no coffee to actually pour into them for 20 minutes. A side of pomme frites were forgotten, requests would be made and rather than having it attended to, they special person who is in charge of that specific request was summoned, giving you the opportunity to voice the request again. However, if you get up to go use the restroom, or to say hello to someone a few tables away, a staff member will sweep in like a hawk within 20 seconds and quickly gets your napkin folded into some origami shape that greets you upon your return. Not snooty, just way more complicated than life needs to be. And while I like a leisurely dining experience, this dinner came in at 4 1/2 hours. And with corkage and champagne and tax and tip, it penciled out to $150/person I would guess. \r
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Pros: Beautiful Setting
Cons: Poorly executed food, confused service, comically overpriced
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