Sunday I went for a motorcycle ride up the Fraser Canyon. Of course on my way back home I stopped for dinner at the 293 Wallace Street Restaurant in Hope.
It had been a really long hot day of riding so I wasn’t too hungry; time for a salad.
I had the Blue Cheese, Spiced Almond, and Hazelnut Salad.
Romaine lettuce coated with house-made ranch dressing, LOTS of blue cheese, and piles of spiced almonds and roasted hazelnuts.
It was very filling. You can order a half size for $8 or the full for $12. I could barely finish the full order. It was very filling (I know right – a salad that is filling?!)
I wasn’t even going to look at the dessert menu but the server told me that the kitchen team have been working on a new dessert and they wanted to know if I would sample it before they add it to the menu. How can anyone say no to an offer like that?
The new dessert they have created is a cheesecake with verbena jelly.
Quickly googled verbena jelly and – I learned that verbena is a herb. Chef Takeda used the herb to make a fermented kombucha-like mixture that he then turned into a jelly.
The verbena jelly has a strong, almost like a classic ginger beer, snap to it. The fermented snap in the jelly makes for a perfect balance to the creamy richness of the cheesecake.
The tiny cubes of Granny Smith apple on the dessert also add another tartness to the otherwise sweet dessert.
If the team at the 293 Wallace Street decide to put their verbena jelly dessert on the menu, I would strongly recommend you giving it a try.
293 Wallace Street Restaurant is located in Hope BC. If you are going into the interior of BC, it is definitely worth visiting.