One thing since COVID is the new requirement to provide an amazing experience with take out as well! Restaurants are using biodegradable or reusable containers to send take out home in, writing special notes, packaging nicely or adding special touches like gifts of appreciation including treats or reusable bags. Granted, not all are doing this, but I have seen a new level of “take out”, I shall call it, glamour take out. I define it as a restaurant that is taking into consideration the eating experience their dine OUT diners will experience.
That being said, here is my glamour take out experience provided by Hearth Restaurant
First, as I live out of town, I chose to do pick up. I scheduled my pick up for 5:00pm and unfortunately, they were not ready, at all. So there I sat in the restaurant waiting for my items. First thing that occurred? A big, sincere apology and an offering of a splash of wine while I wait. Well, it’s Saturday and my spawn is at home with the man, so yes! Gimme that adult grape juice! I asked for something similar to a Sauvignon Blanc and was provided with what I believe was their Gruner Veltliner a beautiful dry white. I was delighted, it was perfect.
I received my bags and for takeout, they were adorable! Even had a little tag with my name on it AND a little treat delightfully wrapped and waiting for me! Spoiler alert, they were their handmade truffles!! Each item and sauce was labelled individually with adorable little tags, it was organized well and nothing had been destroyed on the drive home. Clearly care and attention was put into packaging and it was not lost on me.
Now I only purchased appetizers and dessert from them as I had no idea what to expect. I ordered the mushroom appetizer, the bison tartare and the trout cakes and finished with the caramel chocolate tart.
Let’s start with the mushroom dip. Packaged in tin packaging to make it easier to bake should it get cold. This was a beautiful rich dish and presentation was still great despite not having the cast iron pan to serve in. A beautiful mix of various mushrooms, salty and rich melty cheese and omg the bread. I ordered extra as was recommended on here and I’m happy I did. It tasted like sourdour which was perfect and necessary to balance the richness and saltiness of the cheese. I was pleasantly surprised that mushroom was a predominant flavour as sometimes.it can get drowned out by the cheese. Great pairing! Definitely a perfect appetizer as it leaves you wanting something else (in a good way).
The bison tartare. This is legitimately one of the dishes I’ve been dreaming of for months. I absolutely love bison tartare and this was perfectly prepared. Packaged in clear plastic containers, labelled to pair properly, none of my chips were smashed and my tartare didn’t leak. In terms of taste, I was almost disappointed as when I tried the tartare alone I found it under salted. I then reminded myself where I ordered from and put it on the homemade chip provided. That did it! Restaurants do not add food on a plate without reason, and Hearth clearly considered this when choosing how to season both the tartare and chips. The chip seasoning PERFECTLY balanced the fresh tartare. The tartare itself was well chopped, only a couple pieces were still connected. Beautifully hand chopped and consistent in size, clearly done by a skilled hand. It was creamy from the egg yolk, and perfectly balanced with shallots, parsley and capers, while the chip was both salted and had some form of sour, perhaps a mid salt and vinegar chip? I was so happy with it!
Smoked trout cakes. These were packaged in a reusable container with the tartar in a separate little container, separately labelled. In terms of taste, I was satisfied with these; however, probably my least favourite of the three appetizers I ordered, but still excellent. I found a few chunks of potato in it, I would have been happier if they were chunks of trout. I unfortunately did not taste much smoke, I had more taste of potato. Adding the tartar sauce and lemon was perfect. I was not disappointed with the cakes, just the only two dishes were so exceptional and well balanced so it paled in comparison.
Finally the chocolate and caramel tart! The whipped cream came separate which I appreciated, it was great! The best part was the beautifully seasoned toasted pecans! I loved the flavour, I want to say cinnoman and nutmeg, but I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time and only stopped to consider the flavour on my last pecan. If it were me, I would have put more whisky caramel on, but that is because I’m a caramel addict.
Of course the little treat of two handmade truffles was wonderful! The bitter cocoa outside and rich chocolate interior was perfect and totally unexpected! I did not taste sea salt, but that may have just been me.
Overall, my takeout experience was a solid 10/10, the personalization and little details just shows they want to make your at home experience with their food just as exceptional as their in house experience.
The Saskatchewan Foodie 