Central Social Hall

Okay, it’s definitely been way too long since I blogged. My apologies! I’m slowly getting back into it… Let’s start by having at least one post a week. I promised myself I’d make a post about my first chef’s table experience, so… here it is! This was way back in August. I was invited by my old foodie in crime, mshangryfoodie, thanks Steph! Although the reason for the invitation was due to their poor food and service, Jesse and Vance did an excellent job hosting us.

We had our own personalized menus and unlimited mimosas (my personal fave of the night!) I had about 20 mimosas that afternoon before breaking a glass… oopsie!

belgian waffles

The first dish to come out were the belgian waffles with house made berry compote and chantilly cream. The waffles had a crisp exterior and was light and fluffy on the inside. The tart berry compote balanced the sweet chantilly cream.

avocado + tomato benny

oil country benny

Next, we shared the bennies. Both egg bennies were topped with a roasted poblano and white cheddar sauce instead of the regular hollandaise sauce. According to Vance and Jesse, they try to differ themselves from other restaurants by this since you could get hollandaise sauce anywhere. The avocado and tomato benny would be a great option for vegetarians. Oil country benny is topped with Italian sausage, bacon, and caramelized onions. Both bennies were under seasoned and a little bland.

crispy potatoes

The potatoes also come with the eggs benedict. This was the winning dish at our table! Mmm… I could still remember that taste. Crispy, crunchy, and delicious. They’re baby red hash-brown potatoes that were first lightly mashed and blanched before frying to perfection. It’s mixed with a rosemary thyme herb so there won’t be a need for ketchup. They’re also flash fried to order right before plating to maintain its crispy texture.

albacore tuna tataki + won tons

The albacore tuna tataki is one of their biggest sellers. There’s a thin layer of ponzu sauce on top of the tuna tataki. Beside is the avocado with pickled ginger and cucumber, and wasabi aioli spread on the plate. The tuna is imported from Portland and farmed from ocean wide. It’d be a nice and light summer appetizer to share.

the beautiful salad

My first thought: w-o-w. This is one of their signature fresh dish for anyone who wouldn’t want to be bloated after lunch/dinner. There’s a lemon herb pesto chicken breast, ribbon cut carrots, grape tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds, apple sider vinaigrette, radish, spinach, and avocado hummus on the bottom.

dessert trio (from left to right): seasonal fruit crumble, nutella cheesecake, lemon cream pie

The nutella cheesecake was similar to an oreo cookie crumble. There’s hints of nutella and hints of cheese. Nothing overpowering. I thought it was too sweet for my preference but my friends really enjoyed it. Not the lightest dessert after a heavy meal… The fruit crumble has a strawberry rhubarb topped with vanilla bean gelato and maple pecans. It’s a little tart and again, a little too heavy for dessert. They change this per season, depending on the fruit. Last is the lemon cream pie. As you can tell by the name, it’s going to be sour. It has a lemon curd under some almond shortbread, and topped with some chantilly cream.

top: santana, bottom: cucumber gimlet

These are both Brandon Fisher cocktails. The cucumber gimlet is a very light and refreshing drink. Made up of Hendricks gin, house lime cordial, and soda. I could easily drink 5 of these! The Santana is a Jose Cuervo Tequila with fresh grapefruit, lime, white chocolate, and spritz with rosewater. I almost threw up on the first sip… Highly don’t recommend this if you hate tequila as much as I do…

I can’t thank Vance and Jesse enough for hosting us, and mshangryfoodie for inviting me. I had a lot of fun learning about new food concepts and knowing how technical each dish is.

Central Social Hall

10909 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J3L9