Night Out at Niche

As I write this post, I've just realized the amount of bacon and scallops that I've consumed this week! More on that later. While fully milking my Bday as I do every year, I went out with a friend for my 4th birthday dinner at Niche. Though we aimed to partake in the 1/2 price appy fare served on Friday from 4:30-6 pm, we arrived at 6:01 and we stuck with regular prices. Womp, womp!

All was not lost, however, as we chose a crisp pinot gris to pair with our seafood-heavy menu. We were fairly hungry at this pint, so we let our growling stomachs do the ordering and decided on the crab cakes, prosciutto-wrapped scallops and coconut shrimp. After I pleaded my case regarding my calorie-laden week, we tossed a salad in there as well. Get it? Tossed! Lame, OK.

We started with the Risotto Crab Cakes and the Warm Goat Cheese Salad. These were two great choices to start. With a hearty tomato sauce, and a little bit of spice, the crab cakes were a nice contrast to the lighter salad. A slice of warm, toasted baguette, smothered with the tangy cheese was just the utensil needed to mop up the savory sauce.

Risotto Crab Cakes
crab risotto rolled in panko and served w/ a spicy rose sauce

Warm Goat Cheese Salad
mixed greens, mushroom & tomato tossed in balsamic vinaigrette
accompanied by crostini topped w/warm mix of goat cheese and dill

The first appy was something to gush about; tender scallops with their little jackets of crisp prosciutto, sitting in a garlic butter-bath and sprinkled with nutty creamy cheese. I think the photo speaks for itself here.

Prosciutto Wrapped Scallops
scallops wrapped in prosciutto, baked in garlic butter, topped w/ Parmesan

The shrimp were plump and juicy with a great texture contrast from the sweet, crisp coating. This sweetness was nicely complimented by the citrus sauce with a punch of heat from the horseradish. Though I did love the flavour pairing within the sauce, I have to say I've yet to meet a marmalade that I really like. But that's just my taste.

Coconut Battered Shrimp
Black Tiger shrimp breaded w/ a coconut mix and pan fried
served w/ horseradish marmalade

We didn't eat all of our second round, we barely touched it in fact. As soon as it arrived, a food coma quickly set in. We had our server pack it up and we jaunted home to tuck into another bottle of wine. We may not have finished them in the resto, but they were certainly tasty at midnight... :)