SubscribeDINNER February 28, 2009
Two meals at Europea during the Montreal Highlights Festival? Seems a bit much. But the opportunity to sit at the chef’s table for a ten course meal from one of the city’s finest could not be passed up. The chef’s table in this case is actually three tables set outside of the pass with varying views of the action in the kitchen. In our case, it might better have been referred to as the staircase table as it offered a fantastic vista of the area under the staircase leading up to the dining room. Still, beggars can’t be choosers and we were glad for the opportunity to sample what was essentially Europea’s everyday tasting menu on steroids.
A complimentary glass of bubbly with wild strawberry liqueur starts us off followed by a selection of lovely rolls with a tangy Echiré butter. As an amuse-bouche, the cauliflower panna cotta topped with a chervil jelly and Abitibi sturgeon caviar was interesting but on the heavy side. It was followed by Europea’s signature lobster bisque cappuccino with shaved black truffle. I have had it before but usually with truffle oil and this version was much cleaner and more complex. Loved it.
The first substantial course consists of three Côte-Nord scallops on the half shell topped with nuggets of crispy veal sweetbread and served on a parsnip purée with a vin jaune reduction and a steamed leaf of baby bok choy. Each of the shells was a delicious mouthful with the mineral sweetness of the scallop and the crispy, creamy sweetbreads both complemented by the creamy combination of vin jaune and parsnip and the bok choy set up as a slightly bitter palate cleanser. Really a well constructed dish.
Next came a crab salad remoulade on which slices of apple and a square of seared maple smoked salmon (mi-cuit, mi-fumé) rested under a poppyseed lattice. The salmon was absolutely divine and the elements of the dish worked well together. My only criticism would be that there was a lot going on on this plate in terms of flavour (there was also a smear of aioli and a herb pesto) and it distracted from the salmon which was the focal point of the dish. I might have been happier eating a more simple dish that really focused on that delicious salmon.
A little bite of bison tartare served on a spoon with a parmesan tuile acts as an entremet. It doesn’t pop much and the parmesan tuile could have been crispier. It seemed a bit more like an afterthought than anything else.
Next a cromesquis of parmesan (yes, that week did represent a record of sorts for me in terms of cromesquis consumption) served on one side of a shallow eight-shaped bowl. In the other half of the bowl a rich onion soup which our waitress pours over the cromesquis. Great tasting soup, fragrant, savory and rich, but the cromesquis was a little too hot causing all the parmesan to escape as soon as it was breached. Probably not what was intended but nice flavor nonetheless.
The ”experiment in molecular gastronomy” was a deconstructed Caesar salad, pureed, loaded into a whipped cream dispenser with carbon dioxide and piped out into a creamy greenish mound topped with a piece of crispy bacon and parmesan. Molecular is one type of cuisine that I think is usually horrid because you have to really understand the subject matter to pull it off. I don’t think anybody in Montreal does it well and this salad didn’t change my opinion. It really just tasted like pre-chewed romaine and was an odd outlier on an otherwise strong composed menu.
Panfried sea bass served with poached rice lettuce and crosnes mousseline is topped with a beurre blanc that is redolent of vanilla. The beurre blanc really links the flavours together turning a severe dish into a luxuriant one and the fish is, unsurprisingly–my only complaint with this well thought out fish course.
A mulled wine granité serves as a palate cleanser and is absolutely heavenly with notes of cinnamon and orange. I can’t recall tasting a granité I liked more. But my favourite dish of the evening is the braised Kamouraska lamb on aligoté potatoes. It is topped with so much carrot foam that you can’t really see the dish but each forkful pulls up melt in your mouth lamb, stewed tomato, fresh cilantro, intensely sweet strips of dried carrot and those creamy, pungent potatoes. A really impressive taste sensation but I’m sure we could do some brainstorming on the presentation.
Desserts were a marathon and were almost uniformly excellent. We started with a trio consisting of a passionfruit crème brulée, a coconut blanc mange and an orange blossom bouchon. I especially loved the moist freshness and subtle flavor of the bouchon. Next came a duo of desserts consisting of a lemon meringue pie, which was plenty pleasing to the eye but a little on the sweet side, and a mega lemon macaron. While we were working our way through these five desserts, we were also delivered mignardises which included chocolate craquelins, candied orange peel dipped in chocolate, maple marshmellows, pistachio financiers with raspberry marmelade and apricot macarons with coconut ganache. Did I forget to mention the homemade cotton candy? And then, as an afterthought, a little scoop of the rosewater ice cream with rose petal confit we sampled at the Veyssiere lunch. They must have been cleaning out the pantry.
To be honest, the meal wasn’t as flawless as I had imagined it would be, but it was still extremely good. My nitpicking is, finally, really just nitpicking and everything that I ate, with the exception of the space-age Caesar salad was really quite good. As usual, good service is the name of the game at Europea and the charming team of waiters and the maitre d’hotel were up to the task again. From my vantage point under the stairs, I also marvelled at how Jerome Ferrer runs such a professional kitchen. As someone who has seen the inside of a few kitchens, this one is almost eerily calm. No yelling. No cursing. No horseplay. No cooks in the weeds scrambling around and throwing pots halfway across the room. Just a bunch of people looking focused and busy. Was it just because they were being observed? Maybe, but I suspect it is rather that Mr. Ferrer has his crew well in hand and that the easy charm and attention to detail that characterize Europea and its food run very deep indeed.
Restaurant Europea
1227 De La Montagne
514.398.9229
Question, what do they charge for the chefs table?