Summer has finally hit the city and it’s a refreshing change from all the rain we’ve been getting the past 2 months. The sun is starting to shine, summer breeze in the air. Refreshing indeed. Sort of like this new restaurant that I recently came across which utilized a certain summer ingredient in all its dishes. Once I read about that I couldn't run fast enough to book a reservation for the opening weekend.
Atmosphere: A laid back lounge vibe, living true to its name. Glowing lights bring on a cool ambiance, great place for that after work drink with the possibly of staying well in to the evening when the DJ starts spinning.
Price Range: Mid $10s - $20s
Food and Wine: The menu is fairly easy to peruse, highlighting several dishes in each appetizer, salad, sandwich and entrée category. It didn’t take us long to decide what we were going to try (at least one item from each of the above, if not more). One interesting concept at Tyn was that all their dishes either included nectarines or were infused with them, which is a different twist. They were truly living up to their name as The Yellow Nectarine.
We started off with an the Sauteed Prawn appetizer, which featured large saffron buttered prawns topped with shallots, garlic, lemongrass and nectarine cocktail sauce. The prawns were juicy and cooked well. I couldn’t taste really taste the saffron or the lemongrass, but the nectarine infusion really came through in the cocktail sauce and gave it a different tanginess. Next up was the deconstructed Quinoa Salad composed of quinoa and chickpeas served in a butterleaf cup. The dried nectarines, snowpeas and blood oranges were served on the side with a slice of roasted radicchio. I enjoyed the textural contrast between the quinoa and chickpeas, but there wasn’t enough vinaigrette and the radicchio sort of overcame the other ingredients.
For our mains we ordered two pizzas and an entrée dish. The dishes took a little while to arrive but it was worth the wait because they were all scrumptious. The Duck Confit Pizza had (you guessed it) duck confit with caramelized onions, brie cheese, spinach, nectarines and drizzled with garlic oil on top. The Tomato & Herb Pizza was equally light and amazing with roasted garlic cloves, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, artichokes and parmesan cheese. Both pizzas were roughly 8 inches round and came with a crunchy thin crust. I'd say the duck confit pizza was more savoury whereas the tomato and herb pizza was sharp and zesty, both are good options if you're looking for a sharing dish. Our entrée selection of the Duck Breast was seared to a perfect medium rare and served as thin slices (there were quite a few slices, good portion size). It was accompanied by seasonal vegetables, a creamy celeriac mash and lots of nectarine infused duck jus.
By this time we were all ready for dessert and our server mentioned that the daily selection was a choice between a Chocolate Torte or the Nectarine Sorbet served with a side of cookies. We opted for the Chocolate Torte and after tasting it, truly glad that we did. It came as another deconstructed plate, with the torte off to one side, the chocolate ice cream and toffee bits off to the other. The ice cream was a bit suspect and not the best plating design (a lump of chocolate on a plate..use your imagination), but once you got around it and tasted it, it was decadent without overwhelming the chocolate torte. My favourite part of the dish was the chocolate torte itself. Nice creamy dark chocolate reminiscent of truffles. Great way to end the evening.
The wine list at Tyn Lounge, similar to the food menu is simple and straight forward. We decided to try a simple bottle of the Beaulieu Vinyard Coastal Estates 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Nappa Valley. Cab Sauvs from Nappa never disappoint and that continues to be true. Medium bodied, fruity and light. The best part was the price of the bottle. I highly recommend it to those who are looking for something not too intense to start off their evening.
My Pick: Duck Confit Pizza
Overall: Like the idea of infusing all their dishes with the summery goodness of nectarines. The menu is refreshing and a nice new take on some of the old favourites. With its smaller menu, it’ll be interesting to see how each season will be highlighted. Can’t wait to go back to check it out and possibly stay later in to the evening and enjoy a bit of the music as well.
Tyn Lounge - The Yellow Nectarine
100 815 8 Avenue SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 984-9184
Website: http://www.tynlounge.com/
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