Wild Side
When you’re ascending the steps from Banff Avenue into the historic Mt. Royal hotel you may not know it, but you’re about to experience what might be one of your most memorable meals.
The latest offering by Pursuit, Brazen celebrates the gutsy, bold and … well … brazen pioneers that tamed the west and made this wilderness haven accessible to us all. The result is a menu that takes risks, pushes boundaries and has a terrific sense of humour that will take you on a culinary adventure.
We begin with an imaginative cocktail menu full of whimsical and colourful concoctions to suit any taste - including zero proof options. The My My Lemon Pie is an eye-catcher with a crispy meringue on top and the Smokin’ Warden old fashioned is poured table-side with smoke. One of the most unique cocktails we saw was the garden party, which begins with a glass of cotton candy, which dissolves as the cocktail of Botanist gin, peach liqueur, lemon and ginger kombucha is poured table-side.
The menu is full of small, medium and larger options that are meant to be shared. We loved the beautiful and briney pickled devilled eggs, which features a saffron mousse and fresh dill nestled into a beet-stained egg white making this dish a looker too.
The sherry cream mushrooms are delicious beyond description with Fox Farm mushrooms in a creamy bath of sherry, cream and a mouthwatering blend of herbs on local sourdough toast. Don’t miss this dish.
The smoked beef tartare arrives tableside cloaked under a burlapped tray cover. On arrival, the server lifts the cover, revealing a gorgeous tartare with dark, crispy quinoa cracker. The tartare itself is infused with cognac and truffle oil and topped with a garlic aioli as opposed to the typical raw egg and zippy pickled onion.
The chefs evoke the East Coast with the salt cod dish. Crispy fish cakes are served on a creamy dill remoulade and topped with lemon caviar, tobiko and served with gaufrettes. Delicious!
The ginger beef is a must-try dish as Brazen’s interpretation of the Alberta-born dish is both delicious and a bit of a spectacle as certified angus beef hanger steak, blistered shisito peppers and onion are set ablaze tableside with a sweet ginger syrup.
For dessert, treat yourself to the mango passionfruit cheesecake, deconstructed with blueberry, almond crumb, mango puree, passionfruit gelato and mint. Do yourself a favour and order the creme brulee. The presentation is genius…we’ll leave it at that.
Visit Brazen online for hours and reservations at brazenbanff.com.
