Joe Fortes

I used to pass by Joe Fortes whenever I lurk around Robson Street but it had never occured to me that I have to go there as it doesn't look too special to me. When the name showed up on the list of restaurants for Dine Out Vancouver 2010, I finally convinced myself to give it a try. As usual, we have several choices for the appetizer, main course and dessert. Since I went a bunch of friends as a social gathering, we were able to sample a little of each others' food. I think we ordered quite a variety of what's on the list but *excuse me* I was too busy sampling food that I forgot to take pictures of some of the dishes we ordered :(

My friend ordered the Casesar salad but when I asked her, "How's the salad?" She replied, "Just salad." I will leave the rest to you. My appetizer is what they called, Joe's Raw Plate. It is made up of smoked salmon and albacore. I am glad that they did give me thin slices of samon and albacore. I get irritated when I am served a chunk of raw fish that I have to chew for ages before I can swallow. Those slices of sashimi melted in my mouth. *thumbs up* They chose a slightly sour sauce, which is not at all bad because it's an appetizer. I do find it a little too sour and kinda "sting" my taste bud.





I don't remember what's the name of the dish but it's grilled chicken with roasted potatoes. I really liked the potatoes. Very nicely done. The homemade tomato sauce was blended with herbs and spices. I am not sure if it's a coincidence as the chicken itself, despite nicely done, was quite bland. However, the sauce that came with it added just the right amount of flavour to it that makes the how dish just nice.



Aye! I remember the name of this dish - fresh shrimp and king crab gomiti with prosciutto, sweet peas and bechamel. Why would I remember such long name? Simply because I would have never ever order pasta in a seafood restaurant. Yep, my friend ordered it because of the "king crab" but in the end there was only a tiny little pieces here and there. It's a very nice combination of ingredients, however. My greatest relief was, the pasta wasn't overcooked.




My friend ordered the steak and prawns with garlic mashed potatoes, veal jus and a side of corn, dried tomatoes and edamame. I didn't try the steak because I can't :( But she said it was not bad although it seemed to be a little dry to me from the look. Maybe the sauce had fixed my concern. But, the mashed potato was very nicely done. I didn't get to taste the prawns because there were only 3 and it would be unfair for the other 3 persons(not including the person who ordered it) on the table if only I eat-ed it. So, no comment on the prawns. Again, but, I didn't sense any wow-effect the dish had on my friend overall.



So, there were only 2 choices for dessert : chocolate cake and creme brulee. The chocolate cake came with a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream at the side. It's probably just me but I found the chocolate cake was slightly burnt and the ice-cream tasted better than the cake itself.



The creme brulee wasn't bad at all except that the sugar coat on top was quite uneven and was slightly burnt when they torched it. The vanilla is so strong that I could even smell it the moment I cracked open the sugar coating at the top. Some might find it a little larger than the usual creme brulee but I am not complaining when it's dessert :)




PS: I forgot to bring my camera. So, you will have to bear with the photo quality of my crappy phone.