Wildebeest- Foie Gras Poutine, Thymus Glands, and Bone Marrow.

I heard they serve bone marrow, sweetbreads (aka thymus glands O.O *gulp*), and foie gras poutine. It’s a foodie’s dream, really.

Wildebeest is located in Gastown on West Hastings Street and next door is the popular Catch 122 Cafe Bistro.

The ambiance reeks of hip, sophisticated awesomeness and it’s clear that this is a hot spot for many people as it was packed when we arrived at 9:00pm.

LOVE the open kitchen concept. Too bad I missed them in action as our table was seated quite far from it. I love watching chefs cook. It’s like watching The Food Network without having to pay for cable.

Both Rae and I ordered an Improved Spagliato ($10) which was a concoction of campari sorbet, Italian vermouth, grapefruit, and sparkling wine. It tasted delicious but I thought it was way overpriced for the amount you get.

The Crispy Pork and Polenta Croquettes w/ Tomato Jam ($6 per dish) was actually one of my favourite items of the night although it was not unanimous across the table.

The stringy pork was plentiful and the polenta was creamy and mildly… corn-ey. Heh heh. I really enjoyed it with the fresh tomato jam since the acidity helped balance out the dish.

The Ling Cod ($15) was incredibly flaky and tender. Overall nice dish.

We were feeling fancy so we ordered the Foie Gras Poutine ($16). For those of you who don’t know, foie gras is french for ‘fat liver’ and is essentially the liver of a duck or goose who have been force fed to get extra fat. 🙁 It’s sad.. I know. Nobody at the table particularly liked the taste of foie gras because it was quite pungent but it was a novelty item that I’m glad I tried.

Guess what these are? The dish is called Roasted Sweetbreads, caramelized buttermilk, wild mushrooms, porcini vinaigrette ($15) but it doesn’t really give you an idea of what part of the animal you are eating. Or in fact, what animal you are eating in the first place. Sweetbreads are thymus glands of the calf. Funny enough, it tasted LIKE glands when I tried a bite. Very chewy, and organ-y in texture.

I definitely enjoyed the caramelized buttermilk and wild mushrooms (cause ya know… those are my fav) but overall I thought the dish was pretty pricey for what it is.

This was probably the most disappointing dish of the night. The Roasted Bone Marrow, parsley gremolata, grilled bread ($13) yielded barely any marrow, didn’t have much flavour, and tasted like liquid meat fat on bread. Bone marrow is pretty popular in Chinese cuisine so I might just stick with eating it Asian style.

Overall, my girlfriends and I thought Wildebeest was alright. It was definitely a cool place to check out despite the higher price point and the hit-or-miss dishes. I’m not raving about this restaurant, but I won’t be completely writing them off either.

Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $$$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://memecrunch.com/meme/5SXY/foie-gras