Happy Half-Birthday! Published on Main

Best part of this picture is the big spill of sauce on my top I clearly forgot about haha...

Published on Main is one of the highest rated restaurants in Vancouver, if not the highest. 

Every year for the last few years, my parents have taken each of us kids and our partner out for a nice dinner on our half-birthday instead of our actual birthday. Last year we went to Nightingale, and the year before that was Savio Volpe (this was a re-do after my 30th birthday attempt at going there when the chimney caught fire while we were being seated). 

This year, it was my turn to get taken to Published. We reserved our date months in advance as you have to in order to get in there. I had heard amazing things, but could hardly imagine it living up to the hype. All that was promised is that "it would live up to the hype." Can confirm. It lived up to the hype :)

The restaurant is a sort of fancy cafe style. Very open and airy, with really cool interior design. Everything is meticulous and thought-through. The service is absolutely top notch. The servers and sommelier were super knowledgeable. It's the kind of place where you get up to go to the bathroom and come back to see your napkin folded into a perfect little triangle and placed by your spot when you come back again, but nobody at your table even sees it happen (that actually happened). 

The food is all served family style instead of a la carte, which I love. You get to try so many more things instead of committing to just one dish. Mom & Dad have been there a few times for my siblings' half-birthday dinners, so they had a pretty good idea of some of the things we should get, and then we selected some more that just tickled our fancy. 

First off... we started off with some cocktails!

Dave ordered "The Adrien" - oban little bay, los siete misterios doba yej mezcal, campari, coconut bitter blend (smoky, rich, complex). 
This was so good he ordered another one for with dessert :)

Dad ordered "The Published Martini" - botanist gin, amabuki strawberry yeast sake, esquimalt kina blanc, dry vermouth, chrysanthemum (delicate, floral, comforting).

I ordered the "There & Back Again" - sheringham akvavit, 20yr port, cranberry, douglas fir, scandinave (bright, adventurous, festive).

Many of their cocktails came with a story/explanation in their cocktail menu booklet. 
"There & Back Again is an ode to returning from another journey to Iceland, and like Bilbo, returning with a quiet confidence from all I've seen and done along the way..."

Cheers!!

I cannot for the life of me remember what the white wine we ordered was called, but that's 

what Mom started with instead of a cocktail. 

This is the red we got later on - very very delicious!

Now into the food. They recommended ordering 8-10 dishes for a group of 4, and including dessert we hit 10 dishes!

Chips & Dip - potato, smoked fish & onion

Oh my gosh. Highlight of this dish was that dip. It was absolutely addicting. Imagine the best chips & dip you've ever had, and then multiply it by 100. SO fresh and balanced. 

BC Fiddleheads - spruce, brown butter holly

Fiddleheads are baby ferns, and we discovered these can be eaten because Mom & Dad got this dish with Scott & Ash last year. They have a similar texture to asparagus, but without the bitter taste. The sauce these were served with was to die for. That'll be a common theme. The sauces... Every single plate was literally licked clean. 

Chicken Fried Maitake - chicken fried maitake, garlic scape ranch

Dave branched out BIG TIME with what he ate at this meal (a lot of mushrooms). These chicken fried mushrooms were so incredible. Far exceeded my expectations/hopes. I like mushrooms, but it seemed a little strange. If you ever go here, these are a must. Just trust me. Again, we were licking out the leftover sauce long after the food was gone. 

Lightly Smoked Micuit of Steelhead - flowers and whey

I remember taking a bit of this and just staring at it. First of all, it's so beautiful, but then trying to dissect what was in the sauce to give it such complex levels of flavor. This dish was my protein highlight of the evening I think. 

This next one was off-menu as it was one of their specials. I cannot remember what it's called, but they're essentially little pyramid shaped pastas stuffed with morel mushrooms and covered with a... sour cream and onion sauce (if my memory is correct). Remember how I said Dave doesn't like mushrooms? This was actually his favorite dish of the night! Magic. Pure magic. It was in my top 2 as well!

BC Fire Morel Gnocchi - truffle, moon bay kelp

This is the other dish that made my top 2. The mushrooms were amazing, the gnocchi was perfect, thinking about the sauce is making me drool as I type. 

Bee Pollen Milk Buns - japanese style milk buns with bee pollen and whipped butter

We ordered these to pair with our gnocchi as a vehicle for sopping up the extra sauce. So sweet and savory, warm and fluffy... perfection.

Carrots - roasted carrots with a cashew cilantro sauce and a coffee, cumin condiment

We were discussing while we were eating where the South Asian flavors were coming from. We got cilantro, and we had guessed cumin. We also guessed turmeric based on the color. Whatever it was, these are definitely the best carrots I've ever had. It's hard to even call the dish carrots. Everything is really just a vehicle for the flavors the chef wants us to taste. 

Doesn't look overly appetizing in the picture does it... Oh well haha!

Roasted Fraser Valley Duck - strawberry and rose

This dish was so fruity and pretty and tasty! Wasn't my favorite dish of the night, but still the flavors were outstanding.

Dessert!

Coffee - coffee mousse with caramelia, toffee discs and a malted barley crumble

Love the little birthday candle for my half-birthday. They gave me a card too haha. 

This was light and fluffy and we strongly considered ordering a second one, but in the end decided this would be a great end to our eating journey! 

Of course we had to finish off with some port to go with our dessert!

Thank you Mom & Dad for bringing us on this amazing dining experience! My palate is now spoiled. Good food and wine is 100% my love language. Sharing that with good company is even better! 

After dinner we stopped in at Adam & Aly's for a quick visit and I challenged Dave to a bum war on their trampoline. I think if my bladder could hold like it used to it would have been more of a fair challenge haha. Alas. It was fun!