Eat with Sharon

I am way, way overdue on this blog post because school and life has kept me very busy.. this post has been sitting in my drafts for quite some time but I promise it’s a good one! For my boyfriend and I’s anniversary this year, we decided to check out Hardware Grill for dinner. Located right on Jasper Ave, Hardware Grill offers a fine dining experience with upscale and tasteful dishes. Short review – intimate atmosphere, great service and delicious food.

To start off dinner, we ordered the Kobe Style Beef Carpaccio and Truffle Mac and Cheese. Both gave me an impressionable start to our meal.

The Kobe Style Beef Carpaccio ($18) featured thinly sliced beef, parmesan shards, sea salt potato chips, EVOO and truffle aioli. When taken altogether in one bite, it was like I was having a small slice of heaven. I could see this dish being a little more on the salty side but I didn’t mind. Although I don’t believe this is actual kobe beef, it was still extremely tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

The server joked that it would be hard to share this dish (since it was so good) and suggested that the kitchen could split it in half so that we would each get our own plate. I’m glad they did because I definitely would’ve fought my boyfriend over the last bite.

We also got the Truffle Mac N’ Cheese ($12). This one was extremely creamy and cheesy with just the right hint of truffle. It was good but I don’t think I would order it again because it was pretty simple for what it was and I would love to try another appetizer instead.

For entrees, I tried the Porcini-crusted Sea Bass ($48). Surprise, the girl who doesn’t like seafood got a fish entree. I’m not sure what made me want to get this… perhaps one of the main reasons was because our server said it was the best thing on the menu.. could have also been because this dish had lobster-truffle potato crepes. Who knows what made me have a change of heart. I am so glad that I did order this dish though because it was ahhhh-maazzzzing.

The sea bass was cooked well and crusted to perfection. It was also accompanied by an arugula-corn sauté which I loved… I ate it down to every last piece of corn. Oh and the lobster-truffle potato crepes.. if the kobe style carpaccio was heaven, these crepes were heaven 2.0. I’m not sure how else to describe it honestly. They were just the perfect pairing to everything else on the dish. I would hands down order it again.

My boyfriend got the Bacon-wrapped Elk & Slow Braised Short Rib ($46). As the name suggests, the meats were definitely the star of this dish. The elk was a bit out of my comfort zone so I didn’t get a chance to try it. I was told that it was gamier than beef but not as gamey as one would expect (if that makes sense..?). He claimed it may have been a little better if it was cooked a bit more as it came out a little rare. The short rib, on the other hand, was delicious and extremely tender. He definitely enjoyed his meal but did admit that my dish was better!

We finished off dinner with dessert, of course. Hardware Grill has a pretty large dessert selection so it took a while to choose but we ended up with the Warm Soft-Centre Molten Chocolate Cake ($13). The cake itself came with salted caramel ice cream, caramel popcorn and crème anglaise. In comparison to the rest of my meal, the dessert was so-so. I was really craving for a chocolate cake so that was definitely satisfying! I enjoyed the ice cream with the cake because who doesn’t love the warm/cold duo for desserts?! However, the caramel popcorn felt out of place so we didn’t touch it too much. I’d opt for another dessert next time.

Overall, I honestly thought that this was one of the best dinners that I’ve indulged in thus far.. a big statement to make! But we really did enjoy our experience. The food was great, the service was top notch and the ambiance was definitely fitting to celebrate a special occasion. Prices are definitely on the higher end but the food is definitely worth it. I can see why Hardware Grill has such high ratings and has been a long standing spot in #YEG.  If you haven’t yet been, I highly recommend checking it out if the opportunity ever comes!

Hardware Grill 
9698 Jasper Ave, Edmonton