Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
DISH OF THE WEEK: House-smoked salmon at Canoe
When people rave about a dish, often they comment about taste. There was a perfect pitch with regard to sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness or umami – or a combination of those. Texture, it seems, is less talked about – unless it's of the creamy, comforting sort that takes one back to childhood and the happiness that comes from bowlfuls of mac-and-cheese or slices of chocolate cake with inch-thick icing.
Yet, before took a single bite of the house-smoked salmon at Canoe, my brain registered texture when I stared at the elegant composition set before me. Generous slices of house-cured salmon sat atop crispy potato cakes – fritter-like delights made all the more crispy having been rolled in a tangle of shallots before being fried. Tucked between the beautifully pink fish and that bumpy bed of potatoes was a swathe of creamy goat cheese. Uniting it all was light, airy creme fraiche, briny capers and herbaceous dill stirred in just so, and a splash of green-tinged basil-infused olive oil.
It’s a superlative dish for its color and interplay of flavors, but every bite offers a combination of textures that surprise the senses: The crunchy potato pancakes, the velvety goat cheese, the tender salmon, the liquid-y crème fraiche and olive oil. When I gave complements to the kitchen on a fine appetizer, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find out it is one of Canoe’s signature dishes. From now on, I’m starting every meal at Canoe with an order of salmon.
House-smoke d salmon, Half-order: $7; Full order: $15. Canoe. Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; Dinner: 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Sundays; Brunch: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sundays. 4199 Paces Ferry Road, S.E., Atlanta. 770-432-2663, canoeatl.com .
More Dish of the Week picks:
Toasted CBJB from My Parents’ Basement
Fish filet from Wrecking Bar Brewpub
Kale pakoras from Chai Pani in Decatur
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
