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Taste

Just a month-and-a-half old, Taste, which bills itself as a small-plate eatery and wine bar, is busy. The small restaurant is situated on the east side of First St. S.W. It’s a fully formed flower in this re-blossoming area. An attractive, compact room, its open kitchen is adjacent to a four-stool stained-concrete bar. Its south wall is done completely in wood grain and features a glass-fronted meat-and-cheese cooler. It’s an industrial-flavoured and well-considered design that puts the food forward and makes the best of a small space. Suitably, our gregarious server knew the menu inside out and spent ample time describing the wines and dishes.

Taste’s unifying hook is its wine menu. The list of six red and six white vintages changes monthly. The list is directed by sommelier Brad Royale who has done likewise for Divino Wine and Cheese Bistro (see “Painting the city red and white,” Fast Forward Weekly, July 2, 2009). Royale’s bona fides are impressive; he also serves as wine director for Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts.

On a Friday evening visit to Taste, my guest and I started with Spanish white wines. I chose the 2004 Marques de Gelina ($8) with its sweet bubbles, while she went for the 2006 Jose Pariente ($13). Both paired like a million bucks with the succulent lamb riblets ($10) and ravioli ($10). The riblets’ subtle coating of fireweed-infused honey, rosemary and sea salt played up the equally subtle meatiness of the smooth, perfectly cooked lamb. I regretted that evolution has equipped me with teeth too puny to eat the bones.

The butternut squash ravioli was served nicely al dente, its filling dense, creamy and salty. It was drizzled with sage-infused oil and topped with grana padano (not technically a Parmesan cheese, we were informed) shavings and a single, fitting exclamation-point-like fried sage leaf.

For our second wine selection, we turned to the French reds. I ordered the 2003 Marc Kredenweiss Carignan ($9), described as “very close to Burgundian Pinot Noir with roasted black cherry and rich plowed earth.” I happen to be a rich plowed earth man and so really enjoyed its light, lingering flavours. My guest ordered the 2007 Borie de Maurel ($10) largely for its advertised “hints of bacon.” Though it was more full-bodied than the Marc Kredenweiss and our server suggested that it was the strongest of the bunch, we found it light, fruity and fast.

For our main dish, we ordered one of the restaurant’s three tasting boards. The fish board ($20) (served on a paddle-blade-shaped bamboo board) features trout prepared three ways: smoked, candied and as pâté. These Lake Diefenbaker rainbow trout are prepared in Pincher Creek — Canada’s inland fishery produces some astounding products. It’s a treat to find a menu featuring local (or relatively so) freshwater fish when so few do. Though these three styles of fish tasted a bit similar, all varying degrees of smoky, they were also mouth-wateringly delicious. Besides, pairing the fish with the earthy bite of dried olives and the zing of red-pepper jelly provided a taste change-up, as did our order of spiced almonds ($5). Also provided was a small bowl of crostini that we quickly ate and had refilled.

I could taste the delicate pâté before it hit my tongue; a cloud made of fish. The candied trout was soft, unlike typically leathery candied salmon. It was super-mellow, the sweetness nicely understated. The jelly was the wind beneath the smoked trout’s fins, enhancing and completely changing its flavour.

The smoked duck ($15), served quesadilla-style in tortillas, was the weakest of the dishes we tried. We simply couldn’t taste the duck behind the flavours of bean paste and cilantro salsa, though each was pleasant. The bean was rich, not overly salty and the salsa was fresh and mild.

Taste is quickly hitting its stride. Intimate and comfortably stylish, it wears its love of food and drink on its sleeve, making dining there an adventure.