151 E Broadway Street, Vancouver (Mount Pleasant)
A new edition to the Main Street strip, Fable Diner brings the diner experience to a whole other level. Ever since opening their doors in early July 2016, the spinoff of Fable Restaurant in Kitsilano aims to bring a classy twist to classic diner foods - think burgers and milkshakes rubbing shoulders with Ancho Salmon and gnocchi. Located in the historic Lee Building, the restaurant interior blew my mind away. Fable Diner tried to maintain the integrity of classic diner furniture. Faux leather booths, chrome frames around mirrors and very 50s-inspired wallpaper prints all with a classy, Vancouver touch: forest green and woody caramel faux leather, birch-coloured wood and clean white tiles. The decor made my heart stop. However, this was as far as it went when it came to being mindblown. Classic diner food aside, many of the dishes that are on Fable Diner's menu are just classic, comfort foods to begin with. I went with my fellow food columnist Gemma to go scope out the place for The Peak and we were slightly underwhelmed at the food. We decided to order one share plate and have one breakfast item (for her) and one lunch item (for me) - all of which can be found on their all day menu. To start, we shared their Baked Macaroni & Cheese, a new item on their menu that was recommended to us. Mac & Cheese is my jam, so I was looking forward to trying this one. This particular version was not totally flawed - the cheese sauce, which was made up of cheddar, parmesan and swiss cheeses, was super creamy and flavourful. In all honesty, they should have stopped it right there, and if they wanted to bake it, top it with some breadcrumbs and maybe some more parmesan, throw it in the oven and voila, there's your baked Mac. However, the chefs went to great lengths for this one - the dish was baked and topped with breadcrumbs, feta cheese, and corn nuts. The feta cheese was a little off, and this is coming from someone who likes feta cheese. The flavour was too strong and frankly distracted me from the cheese sauce. But when I wasn't being distracted by the feta, the corn nuts got me: crunchy chip like chunks that were completely out of place and just ruined the overall texture. I feared that I would chip a tooth with this one. Gemma ordered the Veggie BLT (which is found on their breakfast menu, oddly enough) and I ordered the FD Burger. We both got an order of housemade creamy tomato soup as a side. I tried a few bites of the Veggie BLT, which obviously doesn't have any bacon in it since it's veggie. But the bacon was replaced with something out of the blue - smoked shiitake mushrooms. If you've ever had any dishes with shiitake mushrooms in them, you'll know that they are slimy and slippery and just unpleasant. Biting into that in a sandwich was not a good day. The FD Burger was a standard burger that allowed you the option of a variety of add-ons ranging from $1-2 in price. We're talking basic stuff like a cheddar slice or bacon and really wacky stuff like cola onions and kimchi. I just went classic with a cheese slice in my housemade, double pattied burger that had lettuce, tomato, pickles and a special housemade sauce. There is nothing special about this burger; but then again, I'm not sure what I was expecting. However, the biggest problem that arose with this burger was the fact that the patties are cooked at medium-well. Ground beef in any kind of manifestation should always be cooked well done to avoid food poisoning. Apparently, medium-well burger patties were at one point taboo (because hello, salmonella?), but are now making a comeback as the new hip thing. I didn't notice this on the menu until afterwards. Needless to say, I had a stomach ache afterwards and felt overall very squeamish. We could potentially point fingers in a couple different places, but I think we can all agree on the undercooked ground beef. The one saving grace was the creamy tomato soup. Step aside, Campbell's, Fable has this down. A delicious little soup that is not too sour and just creamy enough to the point where it is so light. There are no words, which might be a good thing after all of the disappointment that I felt already. All the desserts and the milkshakes looked and sounded delicious, but unfortunately (or maybe not?) we were too full to try any of them, nor did we try any of their cute little cocktails. I say cute because each of the cocktails are named after a fable. I will give their service the credit that it is due - their service is phenomenal. Our server was incredibly friendly and helped us answer all the questions that we had about the food. Despite how busy it was that day, all the servers were professional, friendly, and the food came out quite promptly, and frankly much quicker than other places that were much less busy, so kudos to them! I had been waiting to go to Fable Diner for a long time, and the moral of the story (as with many other things in life) is to not put anything on a pedestal. I had high expectations for what was described in the media as a upscale diner experience that brought unique and innovative tastes to the table. Maybe it was the high expectations or maybe we chose the wrong combination of dishes. Don't judge a book by its cover, and of course, take this review with a grain of salt. But maybe steer clear of these dishes and find something else that tickles your fancy. I plan on returning sometime in the future - after my stomach forgives me first.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Tags
All
|
Delicious Destinations