ciao! reviews
be the impressive list of natural
wines – conviviality comes easily
with a glass in hand.
Natural and pet-nat (sparkling)
wines have gained popularity in
recent years as growers harness the
surprising, full, and funky flavours
that come from embracing the
grapes’ inherent qualities. Any night
of the week, Oxbow’s bar seats are
lined with eager sippers sampling
from the globe-spanning selection,
by the glass or bottle.
The importance of terroir is car-
ried through to the menu, where
“farm-to-table” is literal: one of
the restaurant’s owners also runs a
small farm, and its bounty makes it
to the kitchen. It’s all about seasonal
eating, and the ever-changing menu
sports local favourites like pickerel,
beets, root veggies and Arctic char.
Chef Sean Bernard previously
honed his talents for well-edited
menus of small plates at Corydon
Ave hideaway, The Roost. Despite
more room to spread out in The
Oxbow’s spacious open kitchen, his
menu shows thoughtful restraint.
Each dish is an homage to its cen-
tral ingredient, with preparations
and accompaniments selected to
draw out new, surprising flavours.
Smoked beets are whipped into
a light and airy dip hit with yogurt
tang, ready to be slathered on a
chewy pillow of flatbread. Thick
wedges of pork belly, crisp on the
outside and buttery with molten fat
on the inside, are set on a tower of
gingery slaw and a barbeque sauce
touched with apricots’ jammy
sweetness.
Typically overlooked, the humble
turnip becomes the star of a dish
that highlights its candy-like sweet-
ness and earthy undertones. After a
char on the grill, it is bathed in nutty
browned butter, topped with a cloud
of miso-laced sauce, and topped
jauntily with gloriously indulgent
sheets of aged parm.
Fried chicken is the dish of the
moment. Oxbow’s entry is juicy
and sports a crackly crisp skin, the
bird’s umami flavour taken to new
heights with a soy sauce caramel
– sweet, salty, and sticky. To bring
things back into balance are brightly
acidic housemade pickles, on one
visit, mild shishito peppers fresh
from the garden.
It’s easy to nibble through most
of the menu on one sitting, but
dessert shouldn’t be skipped. One
is an ode to blueberry in a bowl:
silky blueberry mousse topped with
pomegranate gelee, blueberry panna
cotta, and an icy granita made from
chevre. Underneath the careful plat-
ing and cheffy components, what
transmits in each bite is a depth of
understanding, of respect, for the
dish’s ingredients. That may just be
what Oxbow does best.
Oxbow is open Sun-Mon and
Wed-Thu 5:30 pm-11 pm, Fri-Sat
5:30 pm-12 am.
Unique, handmade gifts by
Manitoban and Canadian artists.
Lily earrings
by CJ Tennant
of Winnipeg, MB
Winnipeg Art Gallery Gallery Shop • 300 Memorial Blvd
WAG@The Forks Johnston Terminal • 25 Forks Market Rd
Doowah Design Inc.
Client: WAG / Insertion: Ciao! magazine - 2018 Holiday issue
Complimentary
wrapping!
ciao! / dec/jan / two thousand eighteen
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