SubscribeLUNCH December 17, 2009
As a rule, I don’t like to spend my own money at Queue de Cheval, but news of a $27 lunch menu was too intriguing to resist. Although it had been a few years since my last visit, I had become pretty comfortable thinking of Queue de Cheval as Montreal’s best steakhouse. This isn’t to say that I particularly like the place, but in the world of steakhouses you can’t play in the big leagues without dry aged beef, and you can count the number of Montreal steakhouses serving dry aged beef on one finger. Steakhouses have a very simple business model: you buy the best products, prepare them in a simple manner, serve them in big portions and present a hefty bill at the end of the night. One look at the dry aged steaks at the take-out counter , and you know Queue de Cheval undersands the first step. But, surprisingly, there were a few more issues with the second step than I anticipated (steps three and four went pretty much as planned).
The $27 lunch menu includes a choice of main and a salad and dessert chosen by the kitchen. We get off to a good start with the salad. A thick wedge of iceberg with a creamy blue cheese dressing topped with crumbled Stilton. This modern take on the simplest of salads is a dolled up version of classic steakhouse fare and I like it a lot. The lettuce is crisp, the dressing is well balanced and the rich saltiness of the cheese brings it all together. This is the kind of dish all good steakhouse should be trying to serve. Mains leave me a little less enthusiastic. My prime rib, served with a creamy horseradish sauce on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, packs a ton of flavour and features a nice peppery, garlicky crust. But instead of the slice I was expecting it is actually a collection of ragged odds and ends piled onto the potatoes–like practice slices gone wrong. I can’t complain because it is really quite tasty, but can’t deny my disappointment at not getting a real slice of prime rib. I actually fare better than my dining companions. The JJ opts for the “steak bavette de mignon” which is a nice label for the tapered end of the filet that is too small to be portioned as filet mignon but has nothing to do with bavette. Her steak ordered rare, is served raw on one side and is obscured by a puddle of a nasty one-note brownish wine sauce studded with green onions. If Heinz tried to bottle something this foul, they would be out of business in no time, and smothering a 6 ounce steak in it is predictably unappetizing. Liberated from the saucy mess, the meat, though poorly cooked, is flavorful and actually does recall the mouthfeel of bavette. Mea culpa. The accompanying ratte potato fries, seasoned with sea salt, are either undercooked or cut too big (your call) but not bad. My other dining companions opt for a bacon wrapped fillet mignon and seared bay scallop combo. While they like the scallop, neither is blown away by the steak and both find the accompanying truffled veal stock underwhelming. Things pick up again with dessert. A clever individual tiamisu: itlooks like an eclair and features a just soaked enough ladyfinger and a dollop of mascarpone crowned by a brittle thin sheet of chocolate. Although I’m quite full at this point I don’t think twice about polishing it off. For once, a plate at Queue de Cheval that isn’t massive.
Putting aside the issues with the food, I would say the problem with Queue de Cheval is that it is not a generous restaurant with the result that I tend to leave grumpy even when Ieat well. I often end up feeling more like an ATM machine than a patron, although that may be a byproduct of running a place that lives and dies by the expense account. And it isn’t just about the prices. Eating at French Laundry is much more expensive but you feel as though the kitchen and the service staff are vested in your satisfaction. Not so at the Q, but what do you expect form a restaurant owned by a company that made its fortune with mediocre chain restaurants?
I always find the service at Queue de Cheval grating and this lunch was no exception. The waiter seems to be channeling Joe Pesci (granted without any of his subtlety and charm) and spends a looong time talking up the jumbo shrimp. Now, if you remember anything from this review, remember this: the waiter at Queue de Cheval is not your friend. Everytime I have been to the Q the waiter has tried to steer me away from my choice in favour of a special recommendation (the first time I ate here, I fell for it and ended up with a sirloin that was so aged it already had one foot in the garbage can). We order water and he manages to open up two bottles of San Pellegrino for four people before we have even touched our glasses. The $55 Chilean cabernet sauvignon I order ( incidentally it is one of the cheapest bottles on the lunch wine list) turns into a cab from Washington State (incidentally, it is from California). They charge us the same price and we decide to take a chance on it but it tastes like a $15 wine (because it is) and not a good one at that. Finally, the waiter refuses to accept RBC Visa cards from two of my dining companions because “they don’t accept Avion cards on Thursday, Friday or Saturday”.
Decidedly an underwhelming visit, but does it change my assesment of the best steak house in Montreal? I had already factored crappy service into my assessment but was not expecting the food to be so lackluser. My better instincts tell me that the lunch special is not really a cheap way to get a taste of Queue de Cheval, so much as it is a chance for Queue de Cheval to serve you a cheap meal. The $27 set menu doesnt have much in common with the dry age marvels in my memories. Of course, the only way to verify it would be to spend more of my money at Queue de Cheval. Quite the dilemna.
Queue de Cheval
1221 Rene-Levesque Blvd W.
514.390.0090
http://www.queuedecheval.com/
Dude,
Excellent review, as usual. I really admire the care you take with the site and the reviews; you’re one of the best writers around.
Exceptional.
–Nick
Thelonious,
As usual, great review. The low-cost lunch menu at Queue de cheval sounds like an oxymoron to me. Let’s take our expense accounts somewhere else!
d’Artagnan
dude
40 westt has dry aged beef as well and is in some cases better than the Q
Agreed. I don’t want to hate on the West Island but there is no way I’m driving out there to go to a steakhouse.