The four of us enjoyed a night out at Escoba to sample the Big Taste. We started with an appetizer of apple and fennel salad which was refreshing. My main came out hot, but the jerk chicken was dry. The tastes were good, though. The place was popular; it was just about full as we were leaving. I would definitely give this place a second chance, hopefully when they are not so busy.
Apple and fennel salad with citrus vinaigretteJerked Chicken Breast Jamaican rice pilaf, roasted vegetables & pineapple demi-glazeRaspberry & lime cheesecake with berry compote Spiced banana & blueberry bread pudding with rum caramel sauce & vanilla ice cream
The Big Taste is on this week; the former Downtown Dine Out week. Tonight I decided to try downtownfood. It’s been on my hit list for a while. I suspect Mondays are generally slow, as we were the third party in the restaurant. Most of us ordered from the prix fixe menu.
I started off with the beet tartare. Some of my party thought it was beef tartare and were perhaps a little disappointed. I quite enjoyed it. I tried topping the cumin crisp with the beet, but the crisp was so delicate that it fell apart. It was tasty any way it went down.
Beet Tartare Roasted yellow, pink and red spiced beets, garlic aioli, mustard greens, and cumin crisps
Next up, the trio of pork. The pork shank reminded me of crispy pork belly. Yum. The pork loin satisfied my hunger for something substantial. The crispy skin was quite a treat, as it sat on top of some sriracha sauce which made that and the loin beneath suddenly spicy. Perhaps a bit too spicy. The BBQ sauce was perfect for my sweet tooth. I should have mixed the hot sauce with the sweet and it might have been the perfect balance.
Broek Acres Pork Trio Braised pork shank, pork loin, crispy pork rinds, kohlrabi puree, shmeji mushrooms, and asian BBQ sauce
I enjoyed the grapefruit sorbet. It was light and refreshing; it paired well with the lemon tart. The pastry is shaped “dtf” although looking at the one served to my dining companion it looked like something else. It resembled a woman kneeling in a dress holding up a cross. Sort of like the Virgin Mary on French toast.
Heath Lemon Tart Crème brulee’d lemon in a shortcrust pastry with grapefruit sorbet
At the beginning, I thought the portion sizes were a bit small, but I was corrected as the meal went on. It is perfectly portioned to satisfy and not so much that you leave overly full. It speaks to portion sizes at other restaurants which are probably too large. The service was generally good, except for a few times where our server was slow to refill the drinks. I really liked the atmosphere and there were fewer people so it was not so loud. The pictures of Calgary on the walls were quite nice.
