Fuel Restaurant

Rarely do we get the opportunity to dine out super fancy, but last night was a special night with friends.  Hubbs, Froggers, the Igloo Coder, and I checked out Fuel Restaurant for the first time.  The night was all the more special because it marked the first time that the Igloo Coder dined at his cousin's restaurant.  We were hoping to catch more than a glimpse of the owner/executive chef but he apparently had a charity dinner to attend to.

Anyway, the restaurant was lively and filled to capacity when we arrived.  Intimate soft lighting and a very sleek, modern look characterized the interior of the place.  We had many many libations ranging from the very tart to the very sweet, and slowly got around to ordering our grub: the 5-course chef's menu.  

Before our dishes even came out, servers brought us an amusee bouche, compliments of the kitchen.  It was a bit of some sort of shredded vegetable with roasted sunflower seeds mixed in.  It's not on their menu and I don't remember the name of it but it was incredibly delicious and an excellent way to kick off the night!

The first courses served were 4 different appies for the 4 of us, which up to this point I'd never seen before in a set menu.  Generally when they require everyone at the table to order the same host menu, they do up the same dishes for the entire table.  This was an unexpected delight, made more so by the Igloo Coder's insistence to our server to surprise us with the dishes.  In the end we were able to enjoy things that we probably wouldn't

 have otherwise ordered.  The four appies served were the Cauliflower Soup with cured salmon (Hubb's), the Ultra Rare Albacore Tuna (Frogger's), the Traditional Brodo (Igloo Coder's), and my Heirloom Beetroot Salad with a lemon-citrus creme fraiche.  Igloo Coder nearly had an attack over the deliciousness of his broth, Froggers couldn't stop smiling about her tuna, and Hubbs thought that his soup was an excellent balance of flavours between the cream and the salmon.  I enjoyed my salad, but truth be told I think the other three appies were better.

Course two consisted of two different dishes: the Duck Confit and Foie Gras Mousse Terrine for the ladies and the Carnaroli Risotto for the guys.  I tasted Hubbs' risotto and it was perfectly done; not too heavy but still hearty, and smooth textures that blended well with the more-chewy crab.  I loved my terrine too (I did share half of it with Hubbs) though I think Froggers found it a bit heavy and salty.  I love just about all things foie gras, so this was no exception.  The terrine was pate-esque with a slightly more rich flavour, and it paired well with the toasted bread and the sliced apples.

Next up were the mains, which we each had two of (in reduced portions).  First we had the Roasted Wild BC Salmon, which was done well - cooked thoroughly but still moist, and yet with the crispiness of the skin intact.  I particularly loved the two little perogies that came with the dish, as did Hubbs.  The watercress cream was a hit and miss with our table; some of us found it a little bland for our liking while others of us appreciated the blandness relative to the chantrelle mushroom-watercress saute.

Our second entree was the Fraser Valley Free Run Lamb, seared rare and served with a glazed lamb shoulder (Igloo Coder was in heaven over this part of the meal).  I thought the lamb was tasty and not gamey, and the shoulder was really moist and smooth-textured (like the fatty dark meat from a turkey).  Yumm-o!

Finally, our desserts were served.  I had been looking forward to this all night long.  The guys received portions of their Gravenstein Apple Cake, and Hubbs thought his cake was really soft and pretty good.  I ate his ice cream (ceylon cinnamon) and thought it was sweet and creamy, but really subtle flavour-wise.  I think I would've loved to have a more strongly-flavoured gelato.  We were served their Carnaroli Rice Pudding; the rice pudding itself had a slight almond taste to it, which I really enjoyed.  The pistachio sorbet and chocolate crumble were good pairings for it.  I wasn't as keen on the preserved apricots, though; I found them tart and would rather not have had the sourness of the preserves taint my otherwise sweet warm dessert.

Overall the dinner was lovely and the company even better.  The drinks were also very tasty and in the end, we felt that we had experienced a fine dining sort of meal befitting the formal attire we sported for the evening.  The bill was a little on the steep side though, due mostly to the sheer number of cocktails added to the bill over the course of the 3 hours.  The blow was softened by the sweet morsels of delight that they served to us along with the bill, though.  In retrospect, I think that if we had been completely sober water-sippers, the meal would have been very appropriately priced considering the quality of the food.  It's the booze that cost us dearly!

In the end, we'll come here again.  We thought this was a first-class establishment and the food was fresh and delicious.

Service: 4 / 5

Food: 4.5 / 5

**PS Food images belong to Urban Mixer on flickr. They're not mine. :)