SubscribeLUNCH February 18, 2008
Well it didn’t take long for me to come back. A new colleague. A new welcome lunch. A new shot at the $25 lunch menu. The starter is guinea fowl rillettes. A beautiful square of rillettes topped with a savoy cabbage remoulade (creamy with big grains of mustard) sitting on a pool of juniper infused beet puree. The rillette is not too fatty with a good mouthfeel and a nice meaty taste. The puree and remoulade fully exploit texture contrasts and the atypical mixture of flavours works very well together. A modern take on a classic dish that actually works. This is one of the most enjoyable rillettes I have had. I love it.
But being bold can easily backfire. The main course, featuring bison flank steak served with a barely cooked sunny side up egg, a potato croquette and a kimchi mayonnaise does not really work for me. The bavette is well grilled and flavorful. The potato croquette, with hints of hot pepper and cumin, is cripsy on the outside, moist on the outside and vaguely reminiscent of a samosa. Eaten together, though, the elements of this dish are hard to enjoy. I see it as a reconstructed Korean dish (a bit like bibimbap) but while that dish mixes together easily in this case it is a little difficult, break the egg yolk and it bleeds into the mayo while you’re trying to cut the croquette and steak. The flavours are nice but eating it was a bit of a chore.
Another nit is the sommelier popping by our table with the bottle he recommends in hand without discussing our wine preferences first. The 2005 McManis merlot from California is very enjoyable and I suspect anything more tannic would be disconcerting with the kimchi but isn’t the sommelier suppose to dispense wine advice (as opposed to being a vending machine)?
For dessert, I am tempted by the unusual pain d’epice (spice cake) with citrus salad and confit carrot topped with a yuzu granita. The carrots are basically raw, the cake is dry and the combination is forgettable. Net time I come, I’ll remember to opt for something a little more traditional
Cost:No idea, but suspect it was $25 plus the cost of a glass of wine, tax and tip.
Decca 77
1077 Drummond
514.934.1077
