Andrew N. Byrne
Google
Just finished eating here for the first time and what a fantastic spot. I have been in Fredericton for several years and I feel like 11th Mile for me is the same thing as those classic movies that everyone says they love, but you for some reason just never get around to watching. Well, this was our first day of my vacation Advent calendar I created for my wife for us to discover and eat our way around new spots (to us) in town and it's going to be hard to top this.
Having travelled extensively in our lives, my wife and I both agreed that this felt like the trendiest place in town with an all around great vibe.
The service was great and you could tell that the owners truly care seeing as how they were also out on the busy floor serving occasionally. That's always the first step to a great restaurant.
Then of course comes the food. I've heard many say that while the food is fantastic, it's pricey. We would agree, but pricey for a good reason. You can tell that the ingredients are top notch. The cooking was perfect. The flavour combinations, often unique for Fredericton.
The beef tostadas were a single bite but a myriad of flavours. The scallion pancake was reminiscent of our lives in China, but for folks who've lived there, it's a bit more doughy than we're used to. That said, delicious. The accompanying sauce was perfect. The flank steak at medium rare was cooked perfectly and unbelievably tender while the chimichurri sauce added a nice punch of slightly spicy flavour. Pork belly is a dish that is extremely popular in East Asia where my wife and I met and lived. This one was on par with some of the best dongporou I've ever had (it's not 东坡肉 for those who know the dish). The only thing I would say is it would be nice if there were either a salty or acidic addition to the dish to balance out the various sweet elements. The sauce does a nice job, but a little more could have perfected things I think. We also had one of the best white wines I think we've ever tasted here and are now hoping we can find it outside this restaurant. Finally, we finished things off with the peanut butter semifreddo which was Lucious, smooth and had the perfect balance with the crunch from the candies pecans.
Well done 11th Mile, I should have come here a lot sooner.