I was recently invited to try the new winter menu at Oakwood Canadian Bistro – which has been praised alongside Edible Canada as one of Canada’s best “Canadian” restaurants – and I jumped at the chance.
While reviewers tend to obsess over the Kitsilano-based restaurant’s brisket topped-poutine, it’s dishes like flawlessly cooked arctic char with smoked applewood caviar and flank steak with chimichurri, sunchoke chips and roasted marrow that demonstrate the heights Canadian comfort food is capable of reaching, with the right chef.
In fact, 28-year-old Oakwood chef Michael Robbins might be the Vancouver dining scene’s best kept secret. Born and raised in East Vancouver, Robbins is the type of soft-spoken wunderkind that will take Top Chef by (silent) storm, someday very soon. I jokingly told the humble fellow to work on his TV personality, but in all seriousness, he prefers to work on his menu, not to mention the canvases displayed on the Oakwood’s whitewashed brick walls. Before he transcends to local celebrity, get thee to Kitsilano and eat at the Oakwood. Continue reading:
Oakwood Canadian Bistro — A Fresh Take on Canadian Cuisine