Primi Piatti: Creative Italian in Saint-Lambert

These days, it’s rather rare for me to go to the south shore.  However, my cousin recently suggested we go to a restaurant in Saint-Lambert called Primi Piatti.  I don’t generally splurge on expensive Italian restaurants, often finding that they don’t offer as refined or creative an experience as French restaurants, for example.  Nevertheless, anxious to spend time with my cousin, and trusting her judgement, I decided to try it.

The restaurant is located on quiet Green street near Victoria street.  There was lots of parking nearby, though we missed the restaurant at first, it’s storefront being so discreet.  Indeed, the restaurant doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside is very modern and elegant.  Also, it’s important to note that the restaurant has two seatings, one at 6:00pm, and the other at 8:30pm, and there’s also a terasse available in the summer, though we were seated inside.

My cousin and her boyfriend decided to order from the table d’hôte, whereas my boyfriend and I chose from the à la carte menu.  I started with the astice con mango e avocado, that is, half a lobster, mango, avocado, greens, saffran aïoli and coriander oil.  The meaty texture of the lobster was well complemented by the creaminess of the avocado and the sweetness of the mango.  On this warm summer night, this was a very refreshing appetizer, both delicious and generous.

My boyfriend ordered the polipo alla griglia, that is, the grilled octopus, served with dried cherry tomatoes, aragula, marjoram oil and fregola sarda, a type of Sardinian pasta.  The octopus was grilled, yet still very tender, so that it melted in your mouth.  The fregola sarda was a type of pasta I had never had before, and it provided a nice contrast to the texture of the octopus.  I had never had octopus this tender, I had heard this was a house speciatly, and I would definitely suggest this to anyone going to this restaurant!

My cousin and her boyfriend both ordered the beef tataki from the table d’hôte.  It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the piece of meat was minuscule, and incredibly thin.  This ressembled a carpaccio much more than a tataki.  It was served with a creamy celeriac salad.  The mix of textures was definitely pleasing, the smoothness of the steak, the crunchiness of the salad combined with its creamy vinaigrette were excellent, however, this appetizer was way too small.

As a main, my boyfriend had the Guance di vitello brasato, or braised veal cheek served with asparagus and corn polenta, with a sauce made of cooking juice and some truffle oil.  The veal cheek was incredibly tender and cooked to perfection.  The richness of the meat and the sauce was well complemented by the creaminess of the polenta and the crunchiness of the fresh asparagus.  Antoher great plate, recommended!

My cousin’s boyfriend ordered the lobster and tomato penne off the table d’hôte menu.  He felt like they were a little stingy on the lobster, and wasn’t blown away by the plate.  I tasted it too and admit that it felt rather ordinary, just tomato penne with half a lobster thrown in.  Good, but nothing special or worth ordering at the restaurant.

My cousin ordered the veal escalopes with blueberries with a cream sauce, also off the table d’hôte.  Again, it was a good plate, but nothing different or particularly original about it.  Yes, the blueberries were a surprising combination, but they weren’t really incorporated into the dish that well.  My cousin and I both thought this dish was a miss.

Finally, I had ordered the medaglioni di foie gras e manzo brasato, that is, home-made pasta stuffed with foie gras and braised beef, served with portobello mushrooms, slivers of asiago cheese and a demi-glace and truffle butter sauce.  This dish was amazing, not because it was particularly varied in textured, but because it was decandently rich.  The meatiness of the braised beef, which was nevertheless so tender that it melted in your mouth, the saltiness of the asiago cheese, the creaminess of the foie gras, the richness of the buttery truffle demi-glace sauce and finally the chewiness of the portobello mushrooms all made this an amazing meal, that I will not soon forget!

Finally, for dessert, I ordered the crème brulée trilogy, there was a pineapple one, a lemongrass flavoured one, and I forget the flavour of the third one, but it didn’t stand out in my mind.  The dessert wasn’t a strong point for me, the pineapple chunks and lemongrass flavour were interesting, but in my mind didn’t improve the overall taste of the crême brulée.

My cousin took the chocolate mousse with mascarpone cheese.  I didn’t get to taste this dessert, but my cousin seemed to enjoy it.

Finally, my cousin’s boyfriend had the pain perdu with strawberries in balsamic vinegar.  This definitely seemed to be the best of the three desserts, with the strawberries creating a nice contrast to the pain perdu and ice cream.

So, in conclusion, I really enjoyed my experience at this restaurant, my appetizer and main were delicious.  My cousin and her boyfriend, who had been before, concluded that the table d’hôte wasn’t a good idea, and that their choices off the à la carte menu had larger portions and were more creative and perfected.  Moreover, the table d’hôte was not that great a value as compared to the à la carte meal.  What I most enjoyed about this restaurant was that it definitely contradicted my prejudice when it comes to italian food.  This was not simple, and while it was “comfort food”, it was still creative and elaborate.  Highly recommended!

Bon apétit, enjoy!

Primi Piatti

47 rue Green, Saint-Lambert, J4P 1S2

450-671-0080

http://primipiatti.ca

Newtown : Expensive restaurant that doesn’t live up to its award winning chef

As with most people in Montreal, I was aware of the existence of the Newtown restaurant, and had even been a couple of times for an after work 5 à 7 (otherwise known as happy hour).  However, when the chef of the Newtown, Martin Juneau, won the National Golden Plate award I was intrigued.  However, I wasn’t intrigued enough to check it out until I saw a travelzoo coupon for a special deal there announced recently.  100$ for two amuses bouches, two appetizers, two mains, two desserts and three glasses of alcohol for two people seemed like a great deal, and an excuse to check out the restaurant and its award winning chef.

We had reserved for a sunny Thursday evening in early summer, so the first floor was filled with business men and women enjoying a loud, happy hour.  We were directed to the restaurant on the second floor.  We were seated first in the “lounge” area.  I didn’t really understand the concept and asked to be seated at a table, I was told I would be escorted their for the main meal.  So, we decided to have drinks while we waited.  I had a bloody caesar, it was good though a little too spicy, as is often the case at restaurants.  My boyfriend tried to order a “Ricard”, a type of pastis, but our waitress (who didn’t speak very well in French) brought him a Rickard’s red instead…. hmm, this wasn’t starting of so well!

Next, we were surprised while, still in the lounge area, our amuses-bouche arrived, and it was an aragula soup.  Generally, amuses-bouches bring to mind small bite sized portions, not soup.  Nevertheless, the soup was excellent, it was thick and creamy, and the aragula was well represented.

We were then escorted to our table.  I didn’t quite understand the change of seating, especially since the restaurant was half empty, but I was still glad not to be eating in the lounge on the couch.  Next, we had a choice of appetizers and mains from their regular menu.  As an appetizer, I ordered the tuna salad with teriyaki sauce, tuna sashimi and fried onions while my boyfriend ordered the porkbelly with beet salad and caramelized pistachios.  Note that they change the menu frequently, so these choices may no longer be available.

The tuna salad wasn’t great.  The tuna had been shredded and had this strange, stringy texture.  Maybe because of this, I found the tuna didn’t taste like anything, it was too bland.  The taste that stood out from the plate was the teriyaki sauce and it completely overpowered this appetizer.

My boyfriend enjoyed his salad, but also found the salad dressing overpowering.  Nevertheless, he liked the cold pork, beets and caramelized pecans.  It was good, but nothing spectacular.

Next, I ordered the grilled catch of the day, served with lemon caper butter, braised fennel and sweet potato purée.  The grilled catch ended up being salmon.  The presentation was excellent, but the plate arrived cold.  The fish was lukewarm, and the rest of the items were actually cold.  So, even though the plate was good overall with the sweetness of the sweet potato purée blending well with the tartness of the fennel and the meaty texture of the esalmon, the fact that it was cold ruined it for me.

My boyfriend had ordered the grilled flanksteak with “pontneuf” fries and gremolata.  My boyfriend enjoyed his meal, his wasn’t served cold 😉  The meat was rare, as requested, and it was well accompanied with a cheesy sauce and some large fries.

Finally, for dessert, we enjoyed a chocolate mousse served with a chocolate crumble.  While the presentation was again very nice, the spoon I was given didn’t fit the dessert dish, and I had to request a smaller spoon!

Despite this small setback, I enjoyed the dessert.  I found it a little too chocolatey, luckily the chocolate crumble was quite salty helping to counterbalance the sweetness of the mousse.

So, all in all, I was disappointed with my experience at Newtown.  What with the award-winning chef, and the high price (regularly, without a coupon) , I had been led to believe that this meal would wow me, and that wasn’t the case.  Also, the service wasn’t what you would expect from a restaurant that’s trying to showcase its food.  The waitresses were all very pretty in tight red dresses, but they were understaffed for the restaurant and were not used to serving wine or apéritif (hence the Rickard’s…) and did not speak French all that well.  They seemed more like bar staff than actual waitstaff.  What was interesting too was that we recognized the sommelier from Européa who seemed to be acting as manager for the restaurant on this busy Thursday night.  When we spoke to him and mentioned that we recognized him, he promised us some dessert wine.  We were pleased, but he never delivered, so it just added another disappointment, in an evening that had missed all my expectations so far.

In conclusion, this is a place to see and be seen, not for a culinary experience.  I get the impression it’s a bit of a tourist trap on busy Crescent street, so I would avoid.

Bon Apétit!

1476 Crescent Street, Montreal, Qc

514-284-6555

http://lenewtown.com/

Le Saint-Laurent: Excellent dining at the Fairmont Manoir Richelieu in Malbaie

It’s a little bit far from Montreal, but nevertheless an option for a long weekend to head out to Malbaie, north of Québec City.  My boyfriend had won a night stay and supper at the Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix, so we headed out for a long weekend together.  The hotel is very beautiful with a nice view of the Saint-Lawrence river.

There are five restaurants in the hotel, our gift certificate was for the “St-Laurent”, the french bistro style restaurant.  The restaurant’s decoration is a little dated, and there was a decidedly “family” feel to the restaurant, so I was starting to get worried about what the food would taste like.  Not only was the décor  lacking, the wait staff’s outfits were ill-fitting and looked cheap, adding insult to injury.  Luckily, the restaurant has floor to ceiling windows with a view of the Saint-Lawrence, which helped the scenery…

I started out with a home smoked salmon étagé with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes, red pepper emulsion and potato crisp.  I was very happy to see that even if the ambience wasn’t what I had hoped for, the food was exceeding my expectations.  The salmon was thick and what with it being smoked, it seemed as if the taste was condensed.  The goat cheese provided a nice, creamy contrast to the salmon and was well paired with the red pepper emulsion, delicious!

My boyfriend had the smoked duck aiguillettes from La Ferme Basque de Charlevoix, maple beets with yellow fruit chutney.  The duck was served quite cold, but was very tasty and blended well with the sweetness of the beets and the fruit chutney, though I must say the maple taste was too subtle for me to identify.

Next, we had the butternut squash soup.  While a simple soup, I was impressed with how well they contrasted the flavour of the squash.  Often, I find that butternut squash soup ends up tasting too sweet, but this was not the case here.  The salt level was perfect and they had managed to downplay the overbearing sweetness of the squash, without masking it’s flavour.  I don’t know how they did it, but it was excellent.

Next, as a main I ordered the braised Québec veal cheeks with red wine sauce, braised savoy cabbage, and parmesan risotto.  First off, I will say that I detest peas, can’t stand them, so I pushed these aside and therefore cannot vouch for how they tasted at all.  The veal cheeks, however, were amazing.  They melted in your mouth they were so tender.  The meat was also well balanced with the rich, creamy risotto which had that exact, perfect risotto texture, not too dry nor too cooked.  I would definitely order this again!

My boyfriend ordered the pan-fried bison flanksteak served with shallot marmalade and a baked potato.  I must say that the presentation was a bit lacking for both of our mains.  The big, honking potato seemed a little out of place here.  But, the meat was tender and was cooked rare, as per our specifications.  And, the shallot marmalade was caramelized and added a nice sweet touch to the dish.  Not a favourite of mine, but definitely a good option for meat lovers.

Next came the desserts.  I had the nougat glazed with Dominus Vobiscum beer from La MicroBrasserie Charlevoix, orange zest biscotti and caramelized beer syrup.  Despite all the beer elements to my dish, I can’t say that I could distinguish the beer taste here.  However, the nougat was very good as was biscotti.

My boyfriend had some homemade sorbets, I believe they were blackberry and mango.  They were both excellent and tasted very much like their namesakes, the way sorbet is supposed to taste.

In conclusion, while the décor , ambiance, and the wait staff outfits left a lot to be desired, the most important element of any restaurant, the food, was excellent.  I was surprised in such an isolated area to have such great cuisine, and if I ever go back to Malbaie, I’ll be sure to try the Manoir’s gourmet restaurant, Le Charlevoix, in hopes that it can top this food experience, which was already pretty wonderful.  So, definitely recommended if you’re in the area, this is a safe bet!

Enjoy, bon apétit!

http://www.fairmont.com/richelieu/GuestServices/Restaurants/LeSaintLaurentRestaurant.htm

181, rue Richelieu
La Malbaie, Charlevoix, Quebec
(418) 665-3703

Tong Por: Authentic Chinese dim sum in Cartierville

Sometimes, I get a little bored with typical Sunday brunch, omelets and eggs, it can get a little repetitive.  One exotic variant on the traditional brunch is Chinese dim sum.  Normally, I associate my dim sum fix with Kam Fung, either downtown or in Brossard on the south shore.  However, I recently read a great blog post by Mr. Lew’s Great Burger Search on a dim sum restaurant in Cartierville.  What with all the construction going on in downtown Montreal and on the bridges, I figured Cartierville was a great bet!

Also, it’s good to note that they actually serve dim sum every day from 10 to 3pm, so you don’t need to wait until Sunday for your Dim Sum fix.  One good thing is we arrived at around 11:30am on Sunday and didn’t have to wait for a table, the same can’t be said of either Kam Fung locations.  I love the foreigness of the dim sum experience, as all these carts go rolling by with strange offering.  As someone who doesn ‘t speak chinese, the experience can be intimidating but definitely an adventure, you’re never sure what you’ve just ordered!

We started with some pork sui mai, dumplings made up of pork and small pieces of shrimp.  These were very good, while simple and classic, these were a nice start to our experience.

Next, we had some har gow shrimp dumplings.  These are one of my favourite dumplings.  The sweetness of the won ton like dough, rice noodles, have a sweetness to them that when combined with soya sauce makes a really nice combination, delicious!

Next we tried some taro puffs.  These were an interesting choice, they were on the desert trolley, but when I asked the lady pushing the cart, I thought I understood sweet potatoes.  Always adventurous, and having never seen these at any dim sum restaurant, I figured, go for it!

This is what they looked like when cut in two.  I really enjoyed these, though my boyfriend didn’t like the texture of the interior.  Frankly, I’m not sure what was inside.  It had a creamy, smooth texture, and to me tasted a lot like potatoes.  After doing some research when I got home, I realized these were taro puffs, and despite their purple interior, they generally contain pork.  So, maybe these did too…. I’ll never know …

Next we chose some beef meatballs, served over a thin bean-curd skin.  Neither me, nor my boyfriend liked these.  The texture was slightly gellified and did not resemble any beef I’m used to.  We barely touched these, I would avoid these…

This next dim sum was some shrimp, peppers and a scallop served over some fried tofu.  This was also a bit of a letdown.  The overpowering taste was that of green and red peppers.  The fried tofu was too bland, and tasted too much of green and red peppers, and the scallop was much too overcooked.

The next plate was shrimp cheong fun.  This is definitely my favourite dim sum of all, and it was excellent here as well.  The rice noodles were a little bit thick, but this was delicious, and very reminiscent of the gow shrimp dumplings we’d had earlier.

We were both quite full at this point, but when these pork dumplings rolled by, I couldn’t resist.  This was a mix of pork and spices, and had a distinctive taste with nutmeg and ginger flavouring.  My boyfriend thought these were the best dumplings!

Finally, despite being full, we wanted some desert.  We settled on some sesame balls.  These have a core generally made of red bean paste, but in this case, the paste was more brown in colour and had a distinctly peanut taste.  Around this core is a sweet paste made with glutinous rice flour, and the entire thing is fried and covered in sesame seeds.  I was introduced to these a couple of years back and they remain my favourite chinese dessert.  These were particularly good, but we were too full to finish all four, so we took these in a doggy bag to go.

Funny side note, since no forks and knives are given, we ate with some chopsticks.  I’m generally pretty deft with chopsticks, but when I tried to cut the pork dumplings with them, I ended up cracking one in two.  It made a resounding snap that could be heard from tables away.  I felt a little too strong!

But to get back to the food, dim sum is not meant to be an elegant, refined brunch.  It’s fun, surprising, and definitely not run of the mill.  Is it gourmet, no, but it’s exactly what it’s meant to be, authentic chinese cuisine.   I thought this was a fun alternative to Kam Fung, and I would definitely go back.

Enjoy, bon apétit!

http://www.restomontreal.ca/en/1506/Tong-Por

Bitoque : Disappointing Portuguese BYOW in Saint-Henri

As someone who loves to eat good food, I am sometimes limited in my budget for all of these culinary experiences. So, I am always anxious to try a BYOW restaurant that allows me to pinch my pennies a little. So, when I heard of a portuguese byow in St-Henri, I was anxious to try it. I reserved with some friends for a Saturday night at 7pm.

First off, I was a bit put off by the statement on the menu indicating that we should stay no more than 2 and a half hours at our table due to the popularity of the place. I understand restaurants with two sittings, one at 6pm and one at 9pm needing their customers to leave after 3 hours, but this wasn’t the case here, and I must admit, I found it a bit unwelcoming.

Nevertheless, I had decided I was going to keep an open mind.  One thing I appreciated is we were served small plates with olives and broad beans before we ordered our meal.  This was original and appreciated.

Next, the restaurant had a table d’hôte, but I wasn’t inspired, so, the whole table chose from the à la carte menu.  I started off with an entrée of Pastéis de bacalhau, otherwise known as cod croquettes, served over a wakame salad with cilantro aioli.  The cod croquettes were good, though nothing to write home about.  The cod taste was slightly overpowered by the batter they were fried in, and the wakame salad, while good, was a strange combination with the cod croquettes.  While both the croquettes and wakame salad were good individually, the mix of flavours just wasn’t working for me.

One of my friends had decided on three appetizers instead of a main because she couldn’t decide what she wanted.  She chose the cod croquettes and two other appetizers.  The second appetizer she chose was grilled chorizo on smoked paprika coleslaw.  I didn’t get a chance to taste the meal, but she told me she was disappointed.  She was expecting diced chorizo sausage, and instead got an entire chorizo sausage.  She also felt the mix of the chorizo and coleslaw was not a good one.

The last appetizer she chose was the warmprosciutto wrapped brie on a tomato compote.  This was another appetizer that fell flat.  The tomato compote was too discreet, and the brie was overpowered by the prosciutto.  Moreover, the prosciutto was too cooked and had a limp, fatty texture, which was unappealing.

Next, I had chosen as a main, seared scallops and giant shrimp with a smoked paprika and roasted red pepper emulsion,
served with tomato and olive risotto and vegetables.  The dish was 28$ so my expectations were quite high.  Well, I was severely disappointed when my plate arrived.  Two scallops and two shrimp awaited me, and not big scallops, relatively small ones.  Luckily, they were cooked to perfection, as were my measly two shrimp, though the “emulsion” they were served on was not an emulsion but simply a red pepper sauce, nothing special.  This was served with a risotto which was terrible.  Generally, I expect risotto to be rich and creamy with that wonderful parmesan taste.  Here,all I could taste was the tomato and olive competing for each other and completely overpowering the dish, definitely not a good combination.  It was served with some spinach and cabbage which had been roasted, but the overall taste was bland and not complementary.

Someone else in our group had ordered the grilled salmon with salsa verde served with rice and vegetables.  She enjoyed her meal and said the salmon was cooked to perfection.  Though their was nothing particulary original or special about the dish, it was well executed.

Someone else had ordered the chicken supreme with “piri-piri” sauce, served with roasted potatoes and vegetables.  She liked her chicken but felt that the spinach and cabbage mix, same as the one that was served with my scallops, was strange.

Finally, another of my friends had ordered the pan seared veal bavette served with caper lemon cream sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables.  This was probably the best main, the veal was pink and tender, and the lemon & caper sauce was tasty.  However, the same strange spinach and cabbage combo was served here too.

The salmon, veal and chicken portions were all quite large, and I was extremely disappointed with my puny scallops and shrimp serving.  So, I was easily tempted when the waiter came by to meniton the desserts and offered a portugese egg tart, otherwise known as pastel de nata.  The tarts were sweet and delicious and tasted like custard, and I was unable to finish both.

Some of the other dessert offerings included two different kinds of cheesecake.  One was your classic cheesecake served with a raspberry sauce.  It was good but nothing special.

Finally, the other cheesecake offered had some chocolate cookies in it.  I tasted my friend’s portion, and while she thought it was perfect, I felt it was a sweetness overdose, with nothing to contrast the sugary sweet taste.

So, in conclusion, I was unimpressed with this restaurant.  I felt that the meal choices were either too classic and uninspiring or either the product of some strange, uncomplementary mixes.  Moreover, for a byow, it was lacking in the value for your money department.

However, I will say that the atmosphere was warm and inviting, decorated with local art.  And, even if our waiter was not particularly friendly, five girls with five bottles of wine made for a good evening nonetheless, and we ended up spending 4 and a half hours there (2 hours past the recommended staying time!).

So, if I were you, I would stay away from this restaurant, there are much better byow offerings in Montreal.

Enjoy, bon apétit!

http://bitoque.ca

La Tanière : Creative cooking on the outskirts of Québec City – Part 2

If you haven’t previously checked it out, I suggest you take a look at Part 1 of my review of restaurant La Tanière and it’s 20 course menu here: La Tanière : Creative cooking on the outskirts of Québec City – Part 1.  Otherwise, here’s the continuation, with courses eleven through twenty, and beyond…

The eleventh course called nordic wind, was the most dramatic of the courses.  First, they brought a plate of greenery and pine cones to our table.  They then brought out plates of seal cooked with honey and served with different varieties of beets and turnips.  They then came by to bring the nordic wind which created some wind over our plates with a reaction involving liquid nitrogen.  It was all very dramatic, however, I must admit that I did not like the taste of the seal.  I found it too chewy and with too much of a ferrous taste.  My boyfriend liked the taste since it reminded him of veal liver, so he was glad to finish this course for me.  You can find a video of the effect on my site on youtube by clicking here.

The twelfth course, called comfort, was just that, comforting.  It was confit duck gizzards, broad beens, mushrooms, and some parsnip purée.  The parnsip purée was delicious, it has almost a cheese like creaminess to it.  I was a bit apprehensive of the duck gizzards, but they had a texture similar to that of confit duck breast.  The broad beens were a nice touch which reminded me of my youth and shucking broad beens for soup, adding to the comfort food aspect of the course.  A great take on french cassoulet, this was a very tasty course.

The thirteenth course, called northern effervescence, was an effervescent mix of rhubarb, raspberry and elderberry with some labrador tea.  But most interestingly, there was a hard sphere inside which you had to bite down on while drinking.  It was a strange combination, though a bit too similar perhaps to the tea served in the first course, herbal trilogy.

The fourteenth course, silk road, was my favourite of all.  I imagine the name, silk road, references an indian influence to this dish, served with what was described as a miniature naan bread.  I must say, the naan bread did not taste much like the naan bread I am used, it being much too crunchy.  However, the mix of the lighlty seared bison with the crusted parmesan and mustard ice cream was amazing.  And, I know to most people, mustard ice cream seems unappealing but in this combination, it just worked, perfection!

The fifteenth course, called scottish perfume, started with our waiter asking us to smell a scent, on one of those paper perfume swatches.  My boyfriend and I were unable to place the scent, and that scent was whiskey.  We were then served, in a whiskey glass, some wapiti with brussel sprouts, over which our waiter poured some beef consommé.  This was served with some small bread rolls with pieces of boar bacon in them, and some meat butter.  The presentation was interesting, but the taste was not very special, and the taste of the wapiti was discreet, not gamey.  The meet flavoured butter was interesting over the rolls, but at this point, my stomach was starting to protest the amount of food I was ingesting so I did not finish the roll.

The sixteenth course was called the volcano.  It was a piece of foie gras pâté, served with a small bread crouton, some watermelon, honeydew lemon, a stalk of safran and some gellified prune cubes.  The gellified prune cubes were what stood out for me most with this dish, the small cubes were sweet and balanced the lush taste of the foie gras perfectly.  As well, there was a hint of fleur de sel which made the final complement to this blend of flavours.

The seventeenth course, called already breakfast?, was some eggnog, with some caremlized onions at the bottom, served with a small twist of flaky bread for dipping.  This was delicious, the creamy frothiness of the eggnog, and the caramelized taste of the onions were a nice mix.

The eighteenth course, called a midsummer night’s dream, was the first dessert course, we were approaching the end.  It was cheesecake made with goat’s cheese, served with a raspberry sorbet.  The cheesecake was decadent, with the goat taste barely noticeable.  However, the raspberry taste was the highlight of this, it was so sour as to be almost painful, but a perfect balance for the richness of the cheesecake, delicious!

The nineteenth course was called sous-bois, and had probably the most intriguing ingredient of all, candy cap.  Candy cap is a type of mushroom which grows in Gaspé and western Canada that tastes like… maple syrup.  Yes, you read right, a mushroom that tastes like maple syrup!  By this point, I was very full, and this plate proved to be too sweet for me at this point.  What with the creampuffs, chocolate mousse, candy cap flavoured ice cream, chocolate crumble and some confit berries, it was a bit of a sweetness overload.

The twentieth (and final, oof) course was called gourmandises végétales and was a series of bites with a vegetable base; that is, a small shortbread topped with some caramel corn, a carrot flavoured macaroon, some potato and pistachio candy and some chocolate and beet flavoured marsmallow.  Luckily, these were small enough that I was able to finish them, though at this point I was completely stuffed and tired.  However, while clever, none of them stood out to me as being particulary tasty.

One thing I especially liked was that once the meal was over, the waiter left us a cylinder which held the detailled menu before we left, signed by the chef.

In the cylinder were also some biscotti and some fruit jam, to continue the experience into the next day… a nice touch!

All in all, this was an exceptional once in a lifetime kind of meal.  It was incredibly long, we started eating at 7:15pm and finished around 12:00am, that’s almost five hours of eating!  They do offer other experiences though, so you can choose between 12, 16 and 20 courses, but be warned, there is no à la carte menu.  Luckily, we had also taken a taxi, despite the restaurant being on a lonely country road, because with the wine pairing (even with smaller portions and not all courses with wine pairing), we were both left feeling a bit tipsy.  The staff was professional and courteous but not overly friendly.  The ambiance was a bit reserved, and definitely not for kids.

In conclusion, I had a delicious and inventive culinary experience, that I recommend to all, but not as a regular experience.  If you have a special event, and have both the time and the budget, this can be a great meal.

Bon apétit, Enjoy!

http://www.restaurantlataniere.com/

La Tanière : Creative cooking on the outskirts of Québec City – Part 1

I first experienced molecular gastronomy a couple years ago at a restaurant called L’atelier in Ottawa.  There, I had a 12 course meal with wine pairing which was amazing.  So, when I heard of a restaurant called La Tanière near Québec City, I was anxious to try the molecular experience again.  My boyfriend surprised me for my birthday by offering me the best they had to offer, a 20 course meal… with wine pairing!

So, brace yourselves, as I describe the 20 fabulous and inventive courses we had the pleasure of partaking in!

We arrived at 7:15pm, the latest they suggested you arrive for the meal, since 20 courses can take a while.  The restaurant is in the middle of nowhere, on a country road, in a very unassuming converted house.  The interior, however, was much nicer, quite modern, and highlighted local art.

The first course was called herbal trilogy, and included three offerings:

The first was a fried ball of boar head pâté, that is deboned boar head, that is made into a country style bread, served with a branch of rosemary.  We were told by the server that the idea was to breathe in the smell of the fresh rosemary as you bit into the fried pâté.  The pâté was surprisingly creamy and not gamey at all, with a smooth texture.  And, the rosemary smell lent a nice and inventive addition to the bite.

Next, our waiter suggested we have the fresh scallop.  The scallop had just been shucked, so it was served with it’s roe.  I had never had scallop roe before and it was delicious.  It had a taste reminiscent of lobster roe or mussels, but with a smooth buttery texture, which was delicious.  It had that granular sea taste while still being very fresh.  Served with the smooth raw scallop with it’s more delicate perfume, the crunchiness of the mango salsa and the tang of fleur de sel, it was perfection!

Finally, the trio finished with a warm cumin and mint tea.  The particularity of this tea, however, was that it was served with a smooth sphere inside, which when you bit into it, released some cold ginger tea.  The combination of the warm and cold was surprising and delicious.  We were off to a great start, these three amuse-bouches were amazing!

The second course called illusion was an inventive take on caviar.  The idea was to reproduce the look, feel and taste of the experience of eating caviar, without it.  So, small gellified balls with the same texture as caviar were created out of different ingredients, namely squid ink.  They were served with small chips of dried parsnip, and a creamy sauce made of goat cheese and champagne.  The result was delicious, especially the creamy sauce, however, the taste of the caviar was not really reminiscent of real caviar.  The briny ocean taste so present in caviar was much more discreet here.  However, this course reflected the theme of the meal somewhat, where creativity and humour were mixed to create a food experience that is not meant to be taken so seriously.

The third course called marine cloud, was halibut served with asparagus, sea buckthorn and squash purée.  The crunchiness of the asparagus was a nice contrast with the tender halibut that was cooked to perfection.  Likewise, the sweetness of the squash was a nice combination with the tartness of the buckthorn berry.  This was also a larger portion, much more filling than the previous two, and I was starting to have some doubts about my ability to eat twenty courses!

Luckily, the fourth and next course, called on the banks, was much smaller.  It was a very fresh malpec oyster, served with grapefruit and a pansy (which are edible).  Again, teh flower was more decorative, and did not lend much to the taste of the oyster.  However, the presentation was pretty and the grapefruit was a nice comination to the fresh ocean taste of the oyster.

The fifth course called scratchy yet delicate, was a combination of nautilus, mussel and sea urchin served within a sea  urchin’s shell.  I had never had sea urchin or nautilus before, so I was very intrigued.  I found the nautilus bland and chewy, it was definitely more interesting than tasty.  The mussel and sea urchin, however, were grainy yet creamy, with a definite briny taste.  It was served with some jerusalem artichoke.  This was one of the less inventive courses.  While the ingredients were original and unexpected, the presentation was very simple, with very little variances in taste and texture, and not much done to alter the taste of the ingredients.  While that can be a good thing, in this case, it left me a little under-whelmed.

The sixth course was called a royal bite, it was lobster cooked under vaccuum, served with tortellini filled with a lobster purée, and served with dill, over a lobster-like bisque.  This was a delicious plate, with the lobster taste omni-present and saturating the whole dish with it’s rich, creamy taste.

The seventh course called apple snow, was a trou normand of green apple sorbet and white caramel, served with a cube of gellified green apple.  This was a nice break from all that food to help us digest and revive our appetite.  The green apple taste was very present, and the gellified cube lent an interesting texture to the dish.  The white caramel taste however was too discreet for me to clearly identify.  I was also impressed by the restaurant’s attention to detail.  We had mentioned to them that my boyfriend was intolerant to cow’s milk, so they offered him a soy-based ice-cream instead – that was much appreciated and showwed that they put considerable effort in accomodating our particularities.

The eighth course called still life, was an ode to older art portraying inanimate objects, such as fruit bowls or other.  It had some grapes, stuffed with some partridge liver pâté or else a grape paste, served with some dehydrated quinoa, dehydrated black garlic powder and sweet vanilla flavoured rolls.  I particularly liked the attention to the presentation in this plate, with the older wine glasses, the slate plate and even the carafe used to serve the wine was reminiscent of a renaissance banquet.  This was one of my favourite courses as well.  The creamy taste of the pâté, with the tang of the grapes and the sweetness of the vanilla flavoured roll was delectable.

The ninth course called coureur des bois, was some guinea fowl, served with some squash purée, asparagus, balsamic glaze, shiitake mushrooms and some fiddleheads.  I felt that the squash purée and asparagus were a little overused, having been in several of the courses at this point, at the same time, with this many courses, I guess that’s to be expected…  The guinea fowl was a little bland, but there was a nice mix of textures to the plate, and the fiddleheads were perfectly cooked and were different and surprising.

The tenth course called Catherine de Medicis, was an artichoke salad served with diced chorizo sausage and served with sweetbreads.  The course was named after Catherine de Medici since she is the French queen who is purported responsible for the introduction of the artichoke in France.  This course was excellent, a little lighter than the previous course, with a nice artichoke emulsion, crispy and creamy fried sweetbreads and crunchy, spicy chorizo sausage.

So, that was it for the first ten courses, be sure to read the rest of my review of La Tanière.  My review of the next ten courses will follow shortly….

Bon apétit, Enjoy!

http://www.restaurantlataniere.com/

Icehouse: Trendy Texan… but not so tasty…

I had heard a lot about the restaurant Icehouse, via various blogs and on the quebec television show “guide resto voir”.  I had seen how they “dumped” your food on your table with no plates or utensils, so I had an idea of the type of simple place it was going to be.  So, when a friend suggested we go, I was excited.  We arrived at 7:00pm on a Saturday.  The restaurant is minuscule, with only about 15 places inside, and about 20 more on the terrace.  The terrace is separated from the restaurant by a type of garage door with windows.  On this early May evening, the door to the terrace was open and several patrons inside were wearing their jackets.  We luckily didn’t have to wait long for a table, only about 10 minutes.  We were seated on the terrace on a minuscule table made of three slats, and sat on narrow (and sometimes wobbly) benches with no backs.  But, this type of picnic table décor went with the no frills, Texan ambiance, so I was ready and looking forward to the experience.

I started off with a glass of bourbon laced lemonade as did another of my friends, while my other friend took a beer.  He was quite disappointed by the limited selection, but settled on a pint of Creemore Springs.  My lemonade was delicious, the tangy taste of the lemonade combined with the sweetness and kick of the bourbon was perfect, this is definitely a combination I will try at home this summer!  I was pleasantly suprised, and was looking forward to some Texan “comfort food” to go with it.

Next, we decided to start with some appetizers, we chose the popcorn shrimp and sweet potato tater-tots.  This is where things started to go downhill.  The shrimp were very small, deep fried in a spicy batter.  However, the shrimp were too small to be deep fried, and the taste of the shrimp was overpowered.  Also, they were drizzled in red wine vinegar, which did not go well, according to me, with the spicy taste of the batter, and left an unpleasant, vinegary taste.  One of my friends disagreed, and thought it went well with the spicy batter though, so we did not agree on this appetizer.

Also at this time, it was getting quite cold so the door separating the terrace from the restaurant was closed, which unfortunately did not help the atmosphere, making us feel slightly isolate.  To counter the cold, the staff turned on some patio heaters on the terrace.  Unfortunately, the terrace temperature was very uneven.  One of my friends had their jacket on, while the other had the heater behind her and was sweating profusely due to the closeness of the heater, so we were not at our most comfortable.

The tater tots were served next.  The portion, like that of the shrimp, was quite small.  The tater tots were made up of a mixture of onions and sweet potatoes, but the taste of the onions overpowered the subtle sweet potato taste.  These were not particulary delicious, and with only 5 tater tots in the portion, we were not impressed.

Next we ordered our main meals.  I chose the oyster po-boy sandwich, one of my friends ordered the lobster burrito and finally another chose the pulled pork taco.

The oyster po-boy was served in a hamburger bun, with mayonnaise and lettuce and filled with fried oysters.  It was okay, nothing special.  The grainy texture of the oysters was strange in a sandwich, and there was nothing special about the choice of ingredients nor their quality.

One of my friends had taken the pulled pork taco.  It came with a strange assortment of ingredients: pickled watermelon, chicharrón (pork rinds), caramelized pecans, and of course pulled pork.  This was a strange combination, the pulled pork was very tender, and on its own was quite good.  The pickled watermelon did not taste very much like watermelon, it had the texture of a melon, but with the vinegary taste reminiscent of the pickled turnip you find at Amir; the fact that it was pickled completely overcame any watermelon taste so that it was unrecognizable.  The caramelized pecans were delicious on their own as well, crunchy and sweet.  The Icehouse also makes, on site, their own tacos, so they have a very distinctive, authentic taste to them due to the fact that they use traditional corn flower.  Personally, I don’t like the taste of corn tortillas, and I felt it was the most prominent taste that stayed in my mouth when tasting the taco, but this is a personal prejudice, not specific to the icehouse.  The Chicharrón were terrible, I love “les oreilles de criss” as they’re commonly known in quebec, but these were dry and stale and frankly, disgusting; they completely ruined the taco for me.  All in all, this was a terrible plate, with some good elements indivually, but which together, made no sense and were not complementary.  My friend did not finish her taco and left half of it on her plate, uneaten.

Finally, my other friend had taken the lobster burrito.  This was the best meal of the three.  It was more traditional, with lobster, black bean paste, pico de gallo, sour cream and grated cheese.  The pieces of lobster were large and generous, and the taste was very good.  Though, again, nothing special, just a good burrito.

Still hungry after her unfinished pulled pork taco, my friend suggested we try a dessert, so we decided to try the deep-fried apple pie.

It was the only dish served with utensils, but it was also a disappointment.  There was too much batter, and the fact that it was fried added nothing to the dish.  The batter was not salty to create a salty-sweet effect, so the overall effect was boring, and my friend even mentioned that it tasted like the apple strudel you buy at mcdonald’s.

So, in conclusion, I felt the icehouse was greatly overrated!  The food was mediocre, and not worthy of all the hype it’s been getting.  The bourbon lemonade and interesting décor of the restaurant, and the quaint terrace, could make this a nice place to have a quiet drink amongst friends in the summer, but there are better places to eat comfort food in Montreal, with better bang for your buck!

51 Roy Street East, Montreal H2W 2S3

(514) 439-6691

Tasso – Bar a Mezze : Sophisticated Greek Food on the Plateau

I have a tendency to opt for French restaurants when I want a more sophisticated supper.  So, I was happy to branch out for once and try a Greek restaurant.  I saw a Tuango offer for a discount on a 6 course supper, so, I was excited to see how this restaurant would compare to my usual experience with more classic Greek offerings.

The supper started out well.  The interior of the restaurant was bright and airy, and very reminiscent of pictures of a breezy, sunny greek island –  a perfect setting in the summer, but still a welcome atmosphere on this somewhat dreary spring evening.  And, the restaurant was quite full.  We were received at a table near the back of the restaurant, with a view on the fish bar and the kitchens.

We were promptly offered some grilled bread and a choice of olive oil, one sweeter and fruitier, the other one more subtle.  We chose the fruitier choice and it was good, though not exceptional.

The next service was a selection of 1 oyster each, with a beet and goat cheese topping, and some small bites of creamed fennel topped with caviar.  The beet & goat cheese topping was slightly unusual for the fresh oysters, and not one that I would generally recommend, I prefer the taste of fresh oysters with lemon, but given this isn’t the season for oysters, I though it was an interesting option.  Both amuses-bouche were excellent and seemed to indicate that this meal was going to be excellent, we were off to a good start.

Next, we were served a cold cucumber soup topped with a shrimp and tomato salsa, which was delicious and very fresh, a perfect summer soup!  At the same time, we received another plate with a thin wafer like cracker topped with a white fish tartar flavoured with fennel, also very refreshing and light, perfect for a meal with several courses.

We were then served two plates of sardines.  They were large sardines, served whole (skin and bones included) and grilled to perfection.  One was served atop a cauliflower purée with capers, and the other was served over a different base.  Both were perfectly cooked, and the mix of flavours from the accompanying elements were very complementary.

Next came two more plates, the first was a plate of clams served with porc, small potatoes and a creamy butter sauce.  This was one of the less impressive courses, all the elements were good, but it wasn’t as delicate in its mix of flavours as the previous courses.  At the same time, we were served a lightly seared piece of codfish atop some fried polenta with a light tomato sauce.  This was definitely one of the best courses, with the crispy outside of the fried polenta, warm creamy center, fresh fish and tomato flavours all combined perfectly, without one taste overriding the others.

The main course, or meat course, came next.  The first plate was a lightly browned seared magret, cooked to perfection, served with a fig purée.  While the separate elements of this plate were delicious, together, they didn’t quite fit, and weren’t complementary.  The other meat course was a roasted pork foreloin.  I wasn’t used to having pork foreloins, so I was surprised to see them, but excited to see if I would like them.  Unfortunately, this turned out to be the worst plate of the entire meal.  The pork was still bloody and was not edible.  While pink porc is acceptable, and keeps the porc moist, this was not the case and we barely touched our plates.

However, after having mentioned the problem to our waitress, and seeing our uneaten plates be presented to the chefs in the kitchen (since this was an open concept cooking area), we were very disappointed that no amends were offered.  While we did not complain too heavily (we were already pretty full at this point), for a restaurant with this price tag and this sophisticated an offering, I was expecting better attention to service.

Finally, the last service was the dessert service.  This turned out to be one of the best services.  Two plates were brought out, one of a pumpkin cake and the other a chocolate ganache.  The cake was topped with cream cheese and the cake was spicy with hints of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon and very moist, a delicious and surprising dessert, one doesn’t expect pumpkin in Spring.  The chocolate ganache was served with small pieces of orange confit and a side dish of mocha mousse.  The chocolate ganache was delicious as well, not too sweet with just the right amount of cocoa bitterness,and the orange added just a hint of originality to the dish.  The mocha mousse topping however seemed a little superfluous and I admit I left it practically untouched.  Finally, I finished everything off with a cup of english breakfast tea.

Overall, I was in parts impressed and in others disappointed at this restaurant.  The fish courses and dessert were delicious, well balanced and well executed.  The meat courses, however, were not up to par.  The restaurant had a nice wine selection, and we were able to try a greek wine from their private imported selection, which added to the authenticity of the meal.  The service, while good, was not noteworthy in any way.  So, my recommendation would be to try this restaurant if you’re looking for a sophisticated greek option, as there aren’t that many high-end greek options available in Montreal.  Yet, I would choose from the fish selections as much as possible, as that is this restaurant’s strong point.  With that, bon apétit, enjoy!

Tasso Bar a Mezze

3829 Saint-Denis, Montréal H2W 2M4 (514) 842-0867

http://www.tassobaramezze.com/