The last Travelzoo voucher I purchased was for dinner at Bridges, where my experience seemed to be a true representation of the restaurant; food and service wise. So, when I noticed another good deal on Travelzoo which included two appetizers, entrees and dessert at Edible Canada in Granville Island for $59.00, I snatched it up. Normally I am not a fan of bistros because there are not many amazing ones in Vancouver, but with many positive reviews on Urbanspoon; I had to try out Edible Canada. Plus, it was the perfect opportunity because of the voucher.
Edible Canada has outdoor seating along with a dining room, and seating arrangements at the bar. Furthermore, there is also a retail store at the back of the restaurant. When we walked in, the hostess was friendly and mentioned how she remembered taking my reservation a couple of hours earlier.
POP SHOPPE COLA ($4.00).
After seating and taking a look at the menu, none of the appetizers appealed to us and we went for two "sides and shares"; the bone marrow and duck poutine which costs less than the appetizers. Shortly after, our server came back and mentioned because the promotional value for the voucher is $7.00/appetizer, we would have to pay an additional $3.00 for the bone marrow (which costs $10.00). At first, we were a bit confused because this seemed to only apply to the bone marrow and nothing else; IE no need to pay an additional $2.00-$7.00 for any of the appetizers or even the duck poutine. So, we decided to order the bone marrow at the full price for $10.00 and choose a different appetizer.
GREEN PEA SOUP, SMOKED HAM HOCK, MINT, CERME FRAICHE ($9.00).
The soup has a light sweet green pea flavour but unfortunately, the mint tastes extremely overwhelming and there is just too much. As for the smoked ham hock, there are a couple of slices.
DUCK POUTINE AND FRIED EGG ($10.00).
After scooping out the ingredients from underneath the nicely fried egg, I did not understand why some people rave about the duck poutine.
Starting with the gravy, the flavour is very weak and there is not much taste. In addition, there is not much cheese and the shredded duck meat along with the watery gravy, seems like nothing special. As for the fries, there is a faint duck flavour as well as a nice crispiness, while also tasting soft on the inside (the way I like it).
BONE MARROW WITH CRISPY BACON ($10.00).
This is the shallowest bone marrow we have ever had. Although to be fair, the table behind us must have received the other half of this bone because while they kept digging, we kept scraping. There was even barely enough marrow for two slices of bread, despite using sparingly. Honestly for the kitchen to serve this, it does not make the restaurant look good. However, perhaps the kitchen assumed we were using a voucher and paid an additional $3.00 rather than the full $10.00, which was not the case. Furthermore, the cook who executed the dish clearly knew how shallow the bone is, and should not have served it. Or, simply not include four slices of bread. 
At least if there were only a couple slices of bread, you can throw off customers and let them believe when used sparingly, there may be a fair amount of marrow for two slices. As for the taste, the crispy bacon seems to be missing and since there is so little marrow, we did not taste much of the richness. In a way, we were stupid because we should have ripped a slice of bread in half to share with the marrow, than having a slice each. The reason is, the amount of marrow could not even cover a bit more than half a slice of bread for the both of us. I mean, I will not even compare the bone marrow to what Pourhouse ($11.00) or Wildebeest ($13.00) serves. But, when we feel like even a fine dining restaurant such as Le Crocodile ($15.00) serves more than double the portion?
HERITAGE ANGUS STEAK FRITES, SOUS-VIDE MEDIUM RARE, BONE MARROW BUTTER, PEPPERCORN JUS, ARUGULA, DUCK FAT FRITES ($26.00).
After a good forty minutes since the last appetizer arrived, the entrees shortly followed. Starting with the bone marrow butter, there is not much of a fatty richness. Of course incomparable to Hawksworth's crispy marrow considering the different class of restaurant, but it is not even comparable to their bone marrow puree! The butter does not have much of a marrow flavour whatsoever.
The steak is medium rare as stated on the menu, and tastes tender but not very juicy. As for the duck fat frites and unlike the poutine, the fries are crispier and more hollow on the inside. In addition, the housemade mayonnaise actually tastes very similar to McChicken sauce, which I was obsessed with as a child!
HAIDA GWAII HALIBUT, DILL POLLEN, WHITE TURNIPS, LONG TABLE GIN CARROT PUREE, MARINATED CUCUMBER, SPRING GREENS ($33.00).
Although I would have personally preferred a more even crust, the halibut is not overcooked and the meat tastes fairly moist. As for the puree, it tastes very simple, creamy and rich, along with a light natural sweetness. If anything, there were no marinated cucumbers and the spring greens do not look appealing.
CREME POSSET, WILD BERRIES, HAZELNUT BRITTLE ($8.00).
The hazelnut brittle is properly done and tastes very crunchy. As for the posset, the wild berries have a sharp tartness which is toned down by the rich cream. The creme resembles a light refreshing yogurt taste.
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, MAPLE SPONGE TOFFEE ($8.00).
The maple sponge toffee is a different variation than I am used to; instead of a crunchy texture, it is very soft as well as chewy like marshmallow. As for the strawberry shortcake, the density of the cake is too much. Furthermore, the cake tastes extremely sweet and overwhelming. As for the strawberry sauce, fortunately it is neither too sweet nor tart. The highlight is definitely the whipped cream because whipped cream always tastes good, but we had to leave the cake behind.
TOTAL: $59.00 (VOUCHER) + $25.00 (EXTRAS) + TIP $15.00 = $99.00.
Overall, the food was average; however, the bone marrow was a disappointment. No cook should ever serve a bone with such a little amount of marrow, which could easily be used for something else such as the marrow butter. Furthermore, by promoting through prepaid vouchers for guaranteed customers that could potentially lead to repeat clientele, the restaurant needs to be on top of their game. Service wise, it was great. Our server did her part of the voucher (and job) which was to provide attentive as well as friendly service. But on the kitchen end, not so great. The restaurant was half full at most and a forty minute gap between the appetizers and entrees? That is too long.
If a restaurant cannot handle the extra volume of customers during the peak season, they should have offered the promotion during the off season. Especially for a restaurant in Granville Island that relies on the summer for high traffic.
POSITIVES
- Professional and friendly server
- Located at Granville Island (for those who care)
NEGATIVES
- Bone marrow incident
- Pricey with or without the voucher
- Entrees took too long to arrive
LITTLE THINGS
- Farm to table concept
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
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