Review: The Hooded Merganser

The Hooded Merganser, or The Hood as us locals call it, is located at the Penticton Lakeside Resort here in Penticton. This location has one of the best views in Penticton as it is located on the water near Okanagan Lake Beach.  The atmosphere and decor is very modern and open and the service was quite good and over all the experience was decent.

It was my uncle's 20th anniversary of being 64 (84th birthday for those mathematically challenged), and we had a small family gathering of 6 people. My wife and I have not been here for dinner for a few years as my wife was a vegetarian for a while and there is a very limited amount of options that cater to her former needs. However she is no longer living a vegetarian life and it was a special occasion so off we went for a nice dinner. 

Upon being the first to arrive there was a loud group of about 40 people who were celebrating a retirement right behind us, this created for a loud atmosphere but generally it is a quieter atmosphere and you don't usually have to strain to hear a conversation at your own table, on this night though you did, no fault of anyones just a chance happening.

We have come a few times for breakfast as the breakfast they serves is quite tasty, dinner though in the past had been less memorable. I want to feel that the Hood is the premiere place to go in Penticton but I feel let down so often I just can't say it, I hoped that this time would be the redemption.

Once the rest of our group arrived we ordered some wine and our entrees, no appetizers were ordered. For my wife and I it was approaching 6:30 pm and lunch was nearly 7 hours ago, we were starting to get hangry (hungry / angry for those not hip to the term). Tabitha was pleasantly pleased with the wine selection as they seemed to cater mainly to local wines, as they should in my opinion since we are in wine country!  

I ordered the 12oz ribeye steak and my wife the 6oz filet mignon, not often do I get the chance to order a steak dinner let alone a ribeye steak, so I had to take advantage of the opportunity. Our steaks came, and I have to admit I was put off a bit by the brown dull looking plateware, it reminded me of something you would get at Walmart. the food presentation was okay at best, some roast vegetables and potato with a steak on top. I could tell that the steak was brushed with butter just prior to being plated and sent to the customer, me, and it looked tasty. the steak had good grill lines and was glistening as I cut into it, I was expecting perfection..

What I ended up with was a decent steak with no real seasoning on it. When I personally order or cook a steak in a professional environment I expect the flavors to pop in my mouth. The first bite should include the taste of the caramelization of the meat on the grill giving it the grill lines, it should be properly seasoned so that the flavors burst in your mouth complimenting and satiate one's appetite. You should notice a slight sense, in the very least, salt and pepper, enough to compliment the steak and bring out the flavour of the steak; alas I got nothing. I then had a taste of Tabitha's filet.. nothing. Both steaks were cooked spot on but to me, I feel like there was no real love given to the meals, I felt as if they were made on an assembly line at a hospital, that bland was the objective so that you don't affect anyones medication. 

I don't mean to sound like a dick with this but for the price of the steaks $32 for the filet and $40 for the ribeye it should be seasoned to perfection and i should not see each of my family members reaching for the salt and pepper at the table.  Any chef or kitchen of quality will agree with me that food should always be seasoned to perfection prior to serving ( has no one seen Hell's Kitchen and Chef Ramsay go off on his staff about bland food?).  It bothered me as a chef to see everyone grab the salt and pepper from the table; I expect it from Denny's or White Spot but the Hood should be so much more..

As it was a birthday there was dessert and most of us ordered something, I ordered a chocolate mousse and while it was good, i was expecting something lighter, something less dense. It was tasty and I did like it, I was just thinking more pillowy and delicate. tabitha did not have any dessert but I did have a taste of my cousin's chocolate torte and it was rich and tasty, but for me again it was a bit too dense. We had joked about needing a knife to cut through it as it was nearly pure chocolate.  that was slightly melted on the outside. 

Now perhaps the steaks were under seasoned on purpose due to the aged population of Penticton which I am sure averages somewhere in the 60+ age range, and from my experience in kitchens they are more sensitive to seasonings. However for me being in my 40's and what I like to consider the median age of tourists coming to Penticton and a representative of what their expectations are when arriving I found the Hood let us down again. they are so close to hitting that home run but end up just hitting that pop fly to left centre field, not even at the warning track. 

Overall I give The Hooded Merganser a 3 out of 5  average rating.

On a side note that I can never reiterate enough:

Penticton needs someone to come in and revitalize the food quality and expectations in most establishments here in town. The people moving here are more educated and come from top foody markets where people push the envelope and create exciting dishes and thus the expectations need to be raised to accommodate the growing and changing needs of the people.