The dinner we were lucky enough to have at this intimate First Nations Vancouver bistro was a singularly unique and inspiring experience I won't soon forget. Not only delicious but deeply enlightening, educational and nourishing to the soul. Indigenous preparations and ingredients are at the forefront of the delicious cuisine on offer, and history and culture is relayed on the menu and the plate as well as in the explanations and land acknowledgements read at the start of the meal by the fully First Nations staff, and further brought home by the indigenous art decorating the walls of the cozy, dimly lit, lived in space, the type you would die to have back in your own neighborhood, the kind of place it seems impossible to find most anywhere now..
The most revelatory deliciousness of the meal for me was undoubtably among the apps, namely the Pemmican Mousse. This was my first experience in any way with Pemmican in general. For those as unenlightened as I, is a traditional pan-indigenous preserved mixture of dried meat and animal tallow, often along with any number of wild berries or other fruits. The mousse here deviously served a very blueberry forward Pemmican mixture whipped to perfection with cream cheese that hit the sweet and savory sweet spot in an altogether new way, served with crackers from the eponymous house specialty of Bannock, think basically a thicker, denser indigenous biscuit.Pro tip; While the Bannock is undeniably delicious and highly addictive, as well as subsequently infuriatingly beguiling once you realize after the fact, as we did that it is apparently not offered at any retail or restaurant anywhere close to back home, it is served often alongside not only most every entree but also a great many of the apps, so surely no need to order an order of them alone unless you are seriously starch addled. All of the other apps were uniformly delicious including mousse appearing again in salmon form as a part of the salmon sampler, along with candied and smoked and pickled preparations, and an unctuous wild game charcuterie board, chock full of various meaty and cheesy gamey goodness.
Moving onto mains, high lights of the meal, perhaps not surprisingly considering the Squamish' deep connection to the bounty that is offered from the nearby cold Pacific waters, were the fish dishes, namely a simply and perfectly prepared Wild Salmon along side some profoundly earthy and delicious wild rice, nothing short of top ten best lifetime rices so far, and a smokey and sumptuous smoked Sablefish, with a rich and creamy white sauce. A Bison Pot roast was gamey and rich with a meaty and delicious gravy, with along with the aforementioned white sauce we lapped up with the bountiful and delicious bannock at our disposal. The lasting vibes and memories were only enhanced and made shinier by the warm buzz generated by tasty and refreshing cocktail and earthy red wine sourced exclusively from First Nation producers. We were too stuffed to sample the desserts, but are very much looking forward to trying them on a future visit, as this place is surely a must on any Vancouver itinerary, whether on the first visit and/or one of many. read more