The Roast Duck Breast at Juniper in Vancouver was nicely roasted and came with some lovely accompaniments. It got a solid 4 out 5 Rating.
I previously mentioned the Juniper Bar and Kitchen in Vancouver in my review of their Bone Marrow Appetizer. I wasn’t taken terribly with that dish, actually, but the Roast Duck Breast you see pictured above, however, was very nicely prepared and I enjoyed it a good deal more.
Before going for the Duck Breast, I sampled a very nice little Pickle Plate. These were all house-made pickles, and included cauliflower, cornichons, red pepper, ramps, and purple heirloom carrot. All were clearly prepared by the ‘short-pickle’ method, meaning they were lightly salted and then marinated in a light vinegar-based medium.
The medium was very subtle, with a pleasant sweetness, and it allowed the natural flavors and freshness of the pickles to come to come through very nicely. The carrots had a lovely earthy taste and the ramps were especially sweet with a terrific garlicky flavor.
The duck consisted of sections of roast breast served with fennel, pickled peach and beets. The beets were excellent and I loved the pickled peach with the duck meat. I was less keen on the fennel, however. It was raw and, while very nice by itself, I didn’t find that the taste, nor the texture, paired with the rest. Had it been sautéed, say as a bed for the duck pieces, I think that would have worked better.
As for the duck, the meat was very tender and the skin nicely crisp. My only quibble was that it was more rare than I like. I find that duck needs to be cooked just a little more to really develop the flavor. That is only a matter of personal taste, however, and I enjoyed this selection and thought it well conceived and executed. All in all, I though the Roast Duck Breast at the Juniper Rated a 4 out of 5.