Imagine this. You're on a flight, reach into your bag and realize your worst nightmare. You forgot your headphones. *Cue bloodcurdling scream.*
Now, if you don't want to give the airline more money for cheap throwaway headphones, there's always sleep to pass the time. Buuuuut, if sleeping upright with little to no leg room isn't your thing, you can reach into the seat compartment and pull out Air Canada's enRoute magazine.
While most people don't read enRoute 'just for funsies', it's always exciting when they release their Canada's Best New Restaurants nominees list. Reading about food never gets boring. That's why you're here right?
In 2017, Edmonton was super fortunate to have not one, not two, but three restaurants crack the top 10. Alder Room at #10, Cafe Linnea at #6, and at #5, darling Clementine.
Clementine sits on the ground floor of Pearl Condominium Tower, close to the likes of Ikki Izakaya and Bru Coffee + Beer House. Once you're in past the second door, it's a cozy and intimate space. There's two high tables situated by the windows, a communal table in the centre, and a fluted bench on the left side of the restaurant. Although reservations are recommended, the bar has plenty of seats available for walk-ins.
The menu is certainly dominated by drinks, as Clementine is a bar (a classy one though). Fancy cocktails, beers, ciders, wines, even absinthe, which, I hear, is not for the faint of heart. As for actual solid food that requires chewing, plates are conducive to sharing, as portions are on the smaller end (like tapas, but not really). Perfect for when you just want a small nibble while imbibing on your cocktail. If you want to make a full meal out of it, simply order more (but do be prepared to shell out a little more dough).
Although I don't drink, it felt like a waste to come to Clementine and not order something other than water. Thankfully they have a couple of 'refreshments,' which are non-alcoholic options. Our server actually recommended the drink I had my eye on, a tropical number with pineapple, cinnamon, lime, habanero, and seltzer ($5.00). It's quite a sweet drink; fruity from the pineapple and tart from the lime. I couldn't detect any cinnamon notes but I really enjoyed the slight habanero aftertaste. KN went for an off-menu number, a rosemary lemonade ($5.00) which comes adorned with a whole rosemary sprig.
Also, shout out to Clementine for ditching the plastic straw -- every little bit helps!
Onto the food! We started off with an order of crispy potatoes ($10.00), little nuggets twice-fried in duck fat. Double frying ensures that the potatoes are crispy on the outside but soft and tender inside. The potatoes come on a bed of canola aioli, and then draped with shaved pickled potatoes. It's recommended to eat all the components together in a single bite. The potatoes were a bit unevenly seasoned but besides that, it hits all the right points: crispy, creamy, salty, vinegary.
On our next plate, slices of kanpachi sashimi ($22.00) came marinated in an aged red rice miso. Shaved cucumbers and microgreens accompanied, lightly dressed in a beer vinegar. Kanpachi is a yellowtail fish, a bit firmer and meatier than say, tuna. Nothing particularly stood out about this dish but it was light and a refreshing change of pace from the heavier stuff.
Clementine's menu changes according to what's in season, but an item that been a mainstay is their stuffed Aveyron pancakes ($16.00). Breakfast for dinner. This recreates that experience but certainly with more elevated flavours and ingredients. Sourdough rye pancakes come stacked with jambon de Paris, swiss chard, fromage blanc, and a drizzle of clover and tonka bean honey. I didn't care for the tanginess of the fromage blanc but the other ingredients created a nice blend of savoury and sweet. The pancakes are definitely on the heavier, denser side so a plate of these will certainly fill you up.
And last but not least, my favourite dish of the night, hands down, was the rabbit & haskap berries ($22.00) with wild mushrooms and cipollini onions. The rabbit is cooked confit-style, and served in tender shredded pieces. It was my first time trying rabbit and just like other exotic meats (ie. frog legs and alligator), it kind of tastes like chicken. Who knew? KN actually didn't care for the taste of rabbit but that just meant more for me!
I've also come to realize that my dislike of mushrooms are only of the button variety, because I've grown to love wild mushrooms everywhere that I've had them so far. The morel mushrooms were nice and meaty, and the cipollini onions were sweet and caramelized. There was also a side of whipped mashed potatoes that was super smooth and light.
Prior to visiting Clementine, I read a lot of online reviews which were all really mixed. In a way, that may have lowered my expectations but I definitely think it's always worth trying out places for yourself. It also helped that we came on a slower Sunday night where we could really take our time, chat with our server, and have comfortable conversation without straining our voices or feeling rushed.
All in all, it was a fine time at Clementine.
Clementine
11957 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB
(780) 756-4570
- CT
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