Dine Out Vancouver runs until February 5, 2012, and while many of the most ideal times may be booked, there are still seats to be had around town, even some left at the more popular spots such as C Restaurant, who have conveniently extended their Dine Out menu until February 12.   Located at the foot of Howe Street, overlooking False Creek, C is known as Vancouver’s most progressive seafood restaurant.

Executive Chef Robert Clark was a the forefront of the sustainable seafood movement in Vancouver, and is almost single-handedly responsible for the availability of the spot prawn to British Colombians. C was the first member of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Program and works directly with local fisherman, farmers and suppliers to ensure your meal is made from the freshest local ingredients.

While it’s all very good to eat ethical, a dining experience is far more than the sum of it’s ingredients, and C delivers on both the final plated product along with service and atmosphere.  At the moment the patio is closed, so you’ll have to sit looking out at the water rather than beside it, but there are two levels to do so, and the upper space even provides views into the open kitchen.

While Chef Robert Clark is often manning the stoves, Chef de cuisine Lee Humphries puts in more hours during actual service and you are likely to catch him more nights than not in the kitchen.  Recently Sarah McCauley was brought in as General Manager and wine buyer; she was most recently at CinCin and is known for her great palate and attention to detail.

During Dine Out Vancouver, C is offering a $38 menu with extra additions should you choose to indulge, which I suggest you do, as offerings such as the mid-course pan-seared foie gras and tourchon are a steal for the additional $15.

We dined last Sunday evening and choose to stick manly to the menu, opting for a few of the extras so we could sample a larger variety of dishes.  We opted for the suggested wine pairings, all BC wines from Jackson Triggs, Nk’Mip, Osoyoos Larose and Sumac Ridge – all part of the Vincor wine group.

The meal begins with the smoked salmon cannelloni, a lovely piece of smoked salmon wrapped around creme fraiche and served on a convenient little stick so you can pop it into your mouth without making a mess.  The sticks made their debut last summer and also include items such as the quail’s egg with bacon and truffle mayo, seared albacore tuna, spot prawn and roast beets.  They’re a treat to look at and a tasty way to begin the meal.

After the amuse the first course from the set menu is a North Arm Farms beet salad, served with foccacia croutons, shaved ricotta salata and a dash of harissa dressing.

You can also opt fo add $9 to the final bill (which we did) and instead have the sauteed spot  prawns, remarkably fresh and holding onto the texture nicely despite the fact these are the frozen edition, harvested during the spot prawn season. These are served with a dabbling of romesco sauce, kale and some zippy lime.

We couldn’t resist the mid-course addition of the foie gras; pan seared with cranberry dressing, toasted brioche along with a foie gras tourchon and a served with a side ginger soda. At the perfect temperature, this foie was hard to split and my dining companion is lucky she got any!

Up next was the seared Albacore tuna served atop a flavourful minestrone ragu – truffles can be shaved tableside for an additional $12 (we passed), or poached lobster could be substituted for $12 (we indulged).  The lobster was cooked perfectly and served atop a decadent rissoto with cognac cream, the extreme richness offset by the addition of citrus and fresh herbs.  We passed on the suggestion of Alba Truffles, of which a decent portion could be added for $40.

For the actual main (hard to believe we weren’t there yet), the offering was a seared Babine Lake salmon sourced from BC’s longest natural lake, home to the world’s largest sockeye run.  This delightful specimen was topped with almond tapenade and served on a smooth and rich squash puree.

We also choose the roasted beef tenderloin cooked a perfect medium rare topped with a dab of tarragon butter.  The accompanying creamy walnut polenta and confit portobello mushrooms added depth to the dish and could have stood on their own as vegetarian option.  The beef is an extra $12 and could be topped off with additional spot prawns for another $12 or the rich poached lobster for $18.

Castle Blue Cheese or Lemon Oil Sorbet could follow, but at this point all we had room for was a bite or two of the Spiced Chocolate Pudding with chantilly cream and puffed caramel rice, and lots of tea to aid in the digestion that our satisfied stomachs were left to work on.

C has withstood the test of time, surviving and reinventing itself while other high-end dining ventures fell to the wayside.  The restaurant continues to be an innovator, maintaining a reputation for turning great ingredients into creative, well- thought out dishes.  Dine Out is a good opportunity to test the waters if you haven’t been to C Restaurant, and while we did go for some of the extra additions, the $38 menu provides you with more than enough taste and variety and will surely have you leaving planning another visit.