Ernest's Dining Room

Ernest's Dining Room
NAIT
11762 - 106 Street
(780) 471-8676

I had first gone to Ernest's Dining Room about 10 years ago. I remember rather enjoying the experience back then but the thought to go back had fallen off my radar until recently. After making the reservation, I perused the menu online and I was eagerly anticipating the day we would go.

When we got there and upon making our meal choices, we were presented with a pea and mint gazpacho amuse bouche. I thought it was heavy on the pea taste and texture and didn't care too much for it.

gazpacho

I ordered the Okanagan Ice Wine Cured Tourchon of Foie Gras ($12) as my appetizer. The foie gras was creamy, smooth, and wonderful and was served with cubes of ice wine gelee and 2 crostini triangles. While I enjoyed the flavour of the crostini, what I didn't like was how fragile they were (they crumbled each time I tried to handle them). I also didn't like how there were only 2 on my plate. I had to resort to using bread from our basket to partner with the rest of the foie gras and jelly. I was slightly disappointed because the name was a bigger mouthful than what was on my plate!

foie.gras

We had planned on sharing the foie gras as an appetizer, but when the French Onion Soup ($8) with a fluffy topping was served to the guests at the table beside us, Andrew's curiosity was piqued and he had to order it. There was a giant golden puff of gruyère soufflé  topping the bowl of soup. Unfortunately, it was overall lackluster. Both the souffle and soup were lacking in flavor. Andrew would have liked to have more cheese in the soup and I thought that there could have been more onions.

french.onion.soup

A pineapple sorbet was brought to us next to cleanse our palates between the appetizer and entree. It was fruity with the right amount of creaminess. It prepared us to look forward to our next course.

pineapple.sorbet

surf.and.turf

Andrew ordered the Surf and Turf ($29). The surf was a dry aged bison tenderloin and the turf was a butter-poached lobster tail topped with caviar. They were served with a leek and bread pudding and carrots and broccolini on the side. The tenderloin was tough, even though it was cooked to Andrew's request of medium. The lobster was more enjoyable than the bison, but in some sections it ended up tasting far too salty. The bread pudding was fantastic. It was buttery, moist, and savoury. The broccolini and carrots were yummy and cooked to our liking.

surf.and.turf

My entree was the squab ($23). Since I've never tried squab before, I decided that this was my chance to order it. But I didn't enjoy the taste - it was too gamey. While I enjoyed the texture of the buckwheat, more salt than flavor came out as the taste. This dish is not something I would order again, but I'm still happy I gave it a try. I would have squab again in the future to give it another chance in hopes of coming across one that's less gamey.

squab.breasts.with.hen.of.the.wood.mushrooms

Lastly, our shared dessert was the Feature Clafoutis with Devonshire Cream ($7). I was extremely excited to have the clafoutis for dessert since the only time I've had it was at a French-themed work potluck several years back. Tonight's clafoutis was made with pears. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't made with cherries, as it traditionally is and it is how I remember eating it. However, the use of pear was not a letdown. There was a perfect balance between sweet, spicy (cinnamon) and fruity. The batter portion was light and custard-like and had the right amount of sweetness. Andrew's opinion is that it would have tasted better with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

pear.clafoutis

I also had a glass of Peter Lehmann Layers white wine from Australia. The menu description states "A flamboyant blend of semillon, muscat and Gewurztraminer that delivers a wine loaded with smells of lychee, rose water, musk and ginger. In the mouth, it’s clean, rich and surprisingly dry." The only thing I agree with is that it is a surprisingly dry wine with a crisp finish. I was content with it overall though.

Ernest's is one of our city's hidden gems. The entire restaurant is run by students in NAIT'S Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management students. The menu consists of photo worthy gourmet creations. A major difference between Ernest's and other fine dining establishments is that the menu is reasonably priced. Although tonight's meal wasn't quite spectacular, I would try it again in the future, and hopefully not wait another 10 years before coming back. Based on tonight's meal, I give Ernest's 3.5/5. I am hopeful that I will be more pleased with a future visit.