While on a jaunt through the Valley and the Acadian Shore for our tenth (!!!) anniversary, my wife…read moreand I had dinner at Juniper on our first night in Wolfville.
It was a lovely and warm, late spring evening, but we ate inside since we were on the later side, and there's still a big difference between dining al fresco in June versus July or August. The interior was subtlely decorated with a light sage green paint that paired well with some mirrors and frames that give an art deco vibe, with just a dash of country decor to keep things from getting too pretentious.
The menu is compact, but how enticing nearly everything sounded was encouraging! We ended up getting one of the daily specials - roasted king oyster mushrooms - as one of our starters, as well as baked potato beingets, and the spring risotto and Hopgood's Hot Chicken Sandwich for our mains.
The toothsome mushrooms had a great, savoury taste, while the snap peas popped with their signature crunch and bright, vegetal flavour. Wisps of rasped cheese added salty goodness, and some edible flavours brightened the dish up further.
I had ordered the baked potato beignets to flesh out my meal since the chicken sandwich is a la carte, but you don't really need a reason to get these other than the fact that they are absolutely incredible! The beignets themselves were fantastic; having never been to New Orleans, I don't have a good point of reference but they were wonderfully crispy on the outside and soft and doughy on the inside, so it's hard to see where they might gone wrong.
The baked potato-style toppings amped it up further, with sour cream, smoked cheddar, bacon and chives. I could swear that there was some serious garlic flavour in there was well, but maybe the smoky cheese was throwing my taste buds off.
My Hopgood Hot Chicken Sandwich (TM) was a top-notch, fried chicken sandwich. The big piece of thigh had a thick, ultra crispy breading, and pleasant layer of heat from a dousing of hot sauce.
Some coleslaw brought a little bite and the creamy "comeback sauce" evened out the heat of the chicken. The toasted, sesame seed-dotted bun held up admirably well to the delicious hot mess within.
My wife's spring risotto wowed as soon as we saw the verdant green dish, with asparagus and wild leeks lending their signature, springtime flavours, with further bright bursts from the preserved lemon and pear shoots.
Service was relaxed and friendly thought our meal.
It's especially satisfying when a destination meal lives up to the hype, and Juniper was firing on all cylinders for our meal with spot-on flavours, execution, ambiance and service.