By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

With a name like Blacktail Florist, one would expect floral arrangements. I guess the name change where they dropped the "Florist" has eliminated some confusion. Blacktail is actually a restaurant. Don't think for one moment the flowers have disappeared though. They are still alive and kicking, right beside the edible plant growing in a planter next to our table.
Since the menu encourages sharing, a few items to start include their Duck & Waffles featuring duck liver mousse atop waffles with candy apple gel, hibiscus and brown butter. The sweet waffles crisp and light sandwiched in between a generous portion of creamy duck liver mousse. Everything seemed to be in harmony with this dish. Next up was the Riocotta & Chive Gnudi with cherry tomatoes. The nuggets of ricotta pasta were soft with nicely brown crispy exterior surfaces. The flavour profile matched well with the slight bitterness of the tomatoes.
Onto some larger dishes is the sous-vide Pemberton Pork Chop with pretzel spatzle, red cabbage and pear mostarda. The combination of the mostarda and cabbage went well with the pork. We had another meat dish in the Yarrow Meadow Duck Breast with cabbage aigre doux, apples and carrot puree. The sous-vide duck was rendered crispy, countering the apples and cabbage added balance to the dish.
Our favourite dish didn't have any meat in it at all. The Parsley Brown Butter Pappardelle was prepared where the flavours were apparent without being salty. The combination of Parmesan, kale, mushrooms and shallots created an aromatic profile enough to make an impact. Our last item was the 72-hour sous-vide Heritage Angus Short Rib with scalloped potato pave, brussel sprouts, radish and mushroom resin. The meat practically melted in our mouths. The mushroom packed a punch with an Earthy saltiness. The pave was soft without losing texture.
For dessert, the After Eight consisted of dark chocolate mousse, meringue and peppermint. As the name suggests, it did really taste like an After Eight chocolate with a peppermint hit. The cake was soft and moist while being only semi-sweet. The Eggnog Pannacotta with nouget, honeycomb, pear and sugar crumble was too watery it practically dissolved on contact. The rest of the ingredients only added to the sweetness. After it was all said and done, we were pleased with our meal despite some minor issues. The service was excellent while the portion sizes fair for the price.

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.

Blacktail
200-332 Water Street, Gastown, BC
(604)699-0249

The Good:
• Reasonable portions
• Differing flavours at play
• Excellent service

The Bad:
• Some of the sous-vide proteins were expected to be more tender
• Dessert is not their specialty