Thank You Rob Feenie

Iron Chef Rob Feenie of Cactus Club

Rob Feenie is a Vancouver icon and he is Canada’s Iron Chef. He used to run Lumiere and Feenies, but ended up losing those signature restaurants in some kind of nasty business deal. (Go figure). It was interesting that for a long time after this, it wasn’t mentioned that he was no longer the chef there and they continued to run the place as though representing him. I’m not sure how business is now as I don’t go to such high end restaurants when I want to eat out.

Last night we went out to eat at Cactus Club. Rob Feenie is now the head chef there and he uses it as a “training ground” for new chefs. We ate at the location on Broadway and Cambie which is their test kitchen. You can often eat things there that haven’t yet been introduced at other restaurants as they test them out.

We started out with an appetizer of beef carpaccio. It was fabulous. The beef was perfect, the crostini bread was delicious and everything about it worked fabulously together. For the main course I had spaghettini with scallops and prawns in some kind of butter sauce. To say it melted in my mouth is an understatement. It was delicious, and there was a generous portion of scallops (4) and prawns (5). The sauce was perfectly cooked, very tasty and the flavours all enhanced each other. My partner had a serving of butternut squash ravioli and scallops. The presentation was great, being served on a giant plate with each ravioli having a scallop on top. I taste it, and it too was delicious. We finished the meal with a serving of peanut butter and toffee chocolate bar with caramel sauce, chocolate pearls and vanilla ice cream. It was delicious, but I was hoping it would be a little crunchier. I found it delicious and delectable but wanted a little more crunch.

I have gone to Cactus Club many times over the years and I have liked it. However, I always found myself ordering the same thing (chicken teriyaki bowl). Since Rob Feenie took over, I have probably been there three or four times and enjoyed it immensely each time. However, last night was an exceptional meal. It was made all the more pleasant by the fact that I could talk to my partner. While the restaurant was loud, we didn’t have to compete with the booming music in the background. We could hear it, but it wasn’t overwhelming. That was such a nice change.

The service was great. We had fun with our waiters and as they say…a good time was had by all. On a scale of one to ten, last night at Cactus Club was definitely a ten.