Restaurant Toque - Montreal

 

When people thin of fine dining in Montreal, most will first think of Joe Beef, but if you google Fine Dining Montreal, Restaurant Toque' will show up high on the list.  Located in downtown Montreal, it serves seasonal French cuisine a la carte or as a Tasting Menu.  I decided to try their tasting menu so I could try more things.  Located in what looks like an office building, it's pretty unobtrusive and easy to walk past.  It's also located on a side street, but it's opposite a park, so it has good visibility and you have a lot of opportunity to see it.  The dining room is large open and carpeted with a curved bar opposite the window modern looking wine storage.  Located in a glassed in room visible from the dining room, the bottles sit on their sides on modern minimalist shelving.  There is also a stairway in the room, which I imagine, leads to more wine storage.  While their wine list did look good, I decided not to opt for a wine pairing with the tasting menu.  I went with a cocktail called La Detox instead.  It looked and tasted like a vegetable smoothie, which it was, with some booze added.  Starting with Gin St. Laurent, it also had Cucumber Juice, Celery Syrup, Lime, and Egg White.  I am generally not a vegetable smoothie drinker, but this wasn't bad.

Before the dinner actually started, I was presented with an Amuse Bouche.  It was a Cold Cod Soup with Cod Confit, Olive Oil, and Croutons.  It was thick, creamy, and very good.  While I like cod, I was surprised with how much flavor this contained.  I liked it, though think that a larger portion would have been too much.

The first course was also in the seafood vein., but was also very seasonal.  We started with Nordic Shrimp with Cucumbers and Strawberries.  I was surprised that strawberries and shrimp would work together, but the sweetness from each complemented each other and the vegetal flavor of the cucumbers also went well with the shrimp.  It was interesting and very good .  I liked it.

I will admit that course number two really didn't do it for me.  It was a Filet of Hake with Turnips.  Hake, like cod, is also a white fish, so it has a generally mild flavor, but turnips are very earthy, and it brought out the earthy flavor of the hake.  Overall, it kind of tasted like dirt.  I ate it, but it wasn't something I would have chosen.

The next course progressed to the savory and had a lot of combinations of flavors.  Starting with Foie Gras, it also had Raspberry Jam, Mushrooms, Pistachios, Cipollini Onions, and Shortbread.  Individually, everything was very good, but it was also a lot of fun to see how the different elements would taste together.  The Foie, Raspberry Jam, and Shortbread were good, but I think my favorite combination was the Mushrooms, Onions, and Foie.

My first entree was Braised Lamb with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms.  The Lamb was heavily glazed and was very tender.  While we were given a steak knife, the meat was so tender that it flaked apart with a fork.  It sat in a Tomato Puree.  The Mushroom was also pureed, but the Eggplant was folded on either side of the lamb.  It was all tender and very flavorful and was a good entree start.

My next course was Duck, which is generally my favorite protein.  As is typical, the main part was Fileted Duck Breast.  It was served with a Green Garlic Leaf, and Truffle and Foie Gras sauce.  On the side were Pureed Raspberries, Potatoes, and Duck Heart.  This was also a lot of fun combining flavors and textures.  The duck breast went well with the raspberries (as did the potatoes).  The duck heart didn't taste largely different from the duck breast, it did have more of a minerally flavor, but the texture was very different.  It was all good, and I enjoyed mixing and combining the different flavors.

For my pre-dessert I had a choice, I could go with the Cow's Milk Cheese for a Cheese Course, or I could go for a surprise.  While I am sure that the cheese was good, I will always go for the surprise.  For my surprise Pre-Dessert, I got Fennel Jelly, Star Anise Meringue, Celery, Brambleberry, and Brambleberry Sorbet.  Fennel and Anise both have a Black Licorice flavor and Brambleberries are pretty tart.  The variety of textures and flavors made this my favorite course.  It was sweet, tart, licorice, a little bitter, or a combination of these depending on what you tasted.  It was a lot of fun and very good.

Dessert was creative and I liked the way that it looked, though I can't say that I liked it overall.  Starting with a White Chocolate Torte, it was topped with Lemon Creme and White Chocolate and Raspberry Meringues.  On one side was a rolled slice of Cucumber and Raspberry Pudding, and the other side was a Cucumber Sorbet.  The main part of this I did like, even if it felt a little incomplete.  The Raspberry Pudding was okay, but I didn't think that the Cucumber or Cucumber Sorbet worked.

Finishing things off, I was presented with a couple of Mignonettes, both referencing the cuisine of Quebec.  The first was a Maple Candy and the other was a Blueberry Jelly.  They were both nice, sweet, and simple, and were a nice way to finish a good meal.  I was glad to have come here even if it wasn't a home run.        

Jeong

 

Chicago Avenue in Westtown has a wealth of restaurants and even if a favorite restaurant leaves, it is soon replaced by another restaurant equal or greater than that that has gone away.  I was very said when vegetarian fine dining restaurant, Green Zebra, closed.  I became very excited, though, when I found that the people behind Hanbun, which was essentially a Suburban Food Court stall serving amazing Korean food would be coming into Chicago and replacing Green Zebra in their space.  The new place is called Jeong and while the color of the space has changed, Green Zebra was done in greens and Jeong is done in grays and browns, the layout is very similar.  The windows are also different.  The door is on one side and to enter the dining room you walk down a passageway with the glass outer wall on one side and a half wall overlooking the dining room.  We were seated on the side opposite the entryway under a cut in where a stairway is on the other side of the wall.  The menu looked really good.  They have both a Tasting and an a la Carte menu.  While there were several things on the a la Carte menu that looked good, we decided to go with the Tasting Menu.  Before that came our cocktails and wine.  They had what looked like a pretty good wine list, but I decided to go with a cocktail.   The cocktails were all named after key ingredients in Korean cooking.  I got a Gochujang which was a red, gin-based cocktail with, according to the listed ingredients, Junipero Gin, Calamansi Lime, and St. George Raspberry Liqueur.  I also wondered if it also contained Gochijang, because while it had a sweet, tart, and citrusy flavors, as would be expected, it also had a finish that was pretty spicy.  I like spice, but it was a surprise, but the drink was pretty good, despite the surprise.

For our first course we were served Silken Tofu with King Crab, Maesil (Korean Plum Wine), and Chili Braised Fern.  While I have had tofu before and have liked it based on what it was served with.  While tofu definitely has a texture, it essentially tastes like what it has been prepared with.  I would say that that also applies with silken tofu, but the texture is a different animal altogether.  As it sounds, it was very smooth and silky.  The crab was cooked perfectly and was very sweet and tender.  The Maesil added a tartness atop the sweetness of the crab and the chili braised ferns added both a green freshness and a spicy finish.  It was a very nice start.

Our second course stayed with the sea.  We were served Salmon Tartare which was served with Doenjang Yuza Gastrique (mixture of vinegar and sugar infused with a thick Soybean Paste), Bubu Arare (Rice Cracker), and Creme Fraiche.  It had a variety of textures and the salmon was very good.  The gastrique added a tart and savory element to the course which was very nice.

The next course looked pretty simple, but there were still some interesting elements to it and it was very good.  It started with a perfectly Pan-Seared Scallop that was very large, very tender, and nicely flavorful.  Served with it was a Spinach Namul.  I had no idea what a Namul was so I had to look it up.  It is simply a grain or vegetable cooked in a variety of ways and generally served as a banchan.  Our spinach namul was blanched and served, basically as a bale to the side.  The dish was finished with a Clementine Beurre Blanc, a white butter sauce with a nice citrus finish.

Our first entree was a favorite of mine, duck.  It was served rare with a Corn Tea and Soy Glaze and with Yulmoo Rice (cooked with Barley) and a stack of Kimchi.  Served separately, it was easy to try each element individually.  Everything was prepared perfectly and had great flavor and texture.  tried in combination, I found the best way to enjoy everything was to take some rice and combine it with the duck and glaze and finish with a piece of kimchi.

Our second entree and final savory dish was the height of savory.  We were served an A5 Wagyu Bavette (Flank Steak) with Sunchoke two ways, Whipped and as a Croquette, and a Truffle-Kimchi Emulsion.  As might be expected, the steak was very tender, though not the height of tenderness because flank steak is more prized for it's flavor than for it's tenderness.  It was very flavorfull and with the truffle kimchi emulsion, it was like an explosion in my mouth of savory funk and spice.  Sunchokes are from the root of certain sunflowers and remind me of a flavorful potato.  I preferred the croquette to the whipped sunchoke, but the flavor of both was very good.

For our first dessert, we had a Bokbunja (Raspberry Wine) Granita with Ginger Tea Crema and a Ginger Shortbread Cookie.  The granit awas served in the center of the shortbread cookie on top of the ginger tea crema, which was similar to custard.  As a whole, the dish reminded me of a Creme Brulee with the shortbread cookie acting as the crust and the granita as the fruit garnish.  It was very good and I liked the ginger and raspberry flavor combination.

To finish things off, we had what they called a Chestnut Financier.  Generally, I would say that you could eat a financier without silverware because it's basically a sandwich cookie.  This financier, though, while the shape of the cookie was the same, was essentially deconstructed.  There was the oblong Chestnut Cookie that was served with Doenjang Caramel, Smoked Chestnut Cream, and Chocolate, served both as nibs and as a custard.  While utensils were necessary to eat this, it was rich, sweet and savory, and a very enjoyable finish.

While Green Zebra is no longer and I can still see it in the design of the space despite the fact that the furniture is changed, I really enjoyed my meal and my time here and would happily return.           

Temporis

 

I like tasting menus.  They give you the opportunity to try a lot of different flavors and give you an opportunity to see what the chef can do.  There are a lot of restaurants in Chicago that do Tasting Menus and it would be great to be able to try all of them.  Even if that were to happen, there would always be new places opening, so it's a moving target, but I do what I can when I can.  I visited a place recently that is one of the lesser known places, Temporis, though still very good in it's own right.  Located on a side street in Westtown, it has an unobtrusive storefront as do many other Tasting Menu places.  The door opens into a slight passageway that leads to the host station and coat check.  I checked my bag and was seated at the front of the dining room.  The room was carpeted and there was no bar.  The room was very modern and the twisting lines on the wall reminded me of a circuit diagram.  The tables reminded me of conference room desks, with a spot in the middle of the table that looked like it was a place, to plug in a laptop.  I found shortly after I was seated that the center area was for an edible centerpiece which was placed in my table shortly after I was seated.  It contained 5 day Mustard, Radish, and Cabbage Greens that were grown in house, and while I was told that I was free to sample the centerpiece, it would be used in a later course, so be sure to save enough to be used.  I had seen something like this in a couple of other places, so I was both interested and excited.

 

There were two wine lists, a standard list and a reserve list, as well as bottles and cocktails.  I decided to go with the standard list, because while I do like wine, I don't think I have the knowledge to truly appreciate the reserve list.  I would find out about this later.  We started out with bubbles, a brut Champagne, from Reims, that was paired with the Amuse Bouche.  The Amuse Bouche was interesting.  It was a Savory Cheese-Filled Doughnut wrapped in Mangalica Ham (the Spanish version of Prosciutto) with Dill and Kombu.  It was very good.   I liked it a lot and it paired well with the Champagne which, with the bubbles, opened up the taste buds and created a sharper flavor.

 

The first official course was a favorite, but pasta is easy to be a favorite.  It was a Lobster Cappellini with Beech Mushrooms, Champagne Foam, Gooseberries, and augmented with 5 grams of Osetra Caviar.  The wine was a 2017 Eladio Pineiro, Envidiacocchina Tete de Cuvee, Rias Baixas, Albarino.  Other than it being an Spanish white and that it was pretty dry and good, I couldn't say a lot about it.  The Cappellini on the other hand was very savory, had plenty of lobster, and the caviar gave it a briny pop.

 

 

When the next course came out, it initially reminded me of a terrarium.  It was served in a glass dish with what looked like mulch and flowers.  It was obviously not this, but that's what it reminded me of.  When a light colored soy sauce was added, that dispelled any idea that it was a terrarium.  It was a Scallop with Fermented Pineapple and XO Sauce with New Soy Sauce added upon presentation.  The flavors were sharp and tart and the soy sauce, while tasting like soy sauce, also had a brightness to it.  The wine was a 2014 Domaine Thillardon, Chenas Les Biemonts, Cru Beaujolais, Gamay.  It was a savory red and went very well with the course.

As I was finishing the Beaujolais, the wine server poured me a taste of the third wine on the reserve list, a Tempranillo that was just incredible.  It became paired with my next course, a Portobello Omelette with Rye and Sunchoke, that was topped tableside with a healthy amount of Black Truffles.  The omelette was very tender and delicate.  The portobello and the truffle gave the dish a savory funk, which when paired with the Tempranillo, was just incredible.

 

 

 

After the omelette, a server came out and brought what looked like surgical tools.  They weren't explained and my wine server came to bring me out my next wines.  I say wines because in our conversations, I apparently impressed her, so she again brought me a (large) sample from the Reserve list.  She poured me a 2016 Clos Figueras, Font se la Figuera, Priorat, Grinache & Carignan and a Rioja from the Reserve list (I don't have the details from the Reserve Wines other than type, because I didn't have the list).  I will say that the Reserve wines were definitely a step above the standard wines, though the standard wines were very good.  My next course was then brought out and I found out what the instruments were for.  I was served a Rabbit Meatloaf with House Miso, Blue Cheese, Chasseur Sauce (a base demi-glace sauce that often uses mushrooms and shallots), and Pickled Corn.  The server than took the instruments then began trimming the centerpiece (that I had sampled and enjoyed several times), to top the meatloaf with.  The course was very savory and with the blue cheese and pickled corn, kind of funky, but the centerpiece a freshness was added.

 

Our next course was my favorite course.  In fact, it may be one of my favorite courses of all time.  It was simple and referenced comfort food, hitting all of the right notes.  At it's essence, it was Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, but the Toast was Sourdough, the Cheese was Comte, in the bowl was Tomato Sorbet, Balsamic, and Thai Basil, into which was added a Fermented Tomato Soup.  It was incredible and almost brought me to tears.  I don't know if I would eat this for the rest of my life, but if this was the only thing on the menu when I went somewhere, I would happily eat it.

My last savory course was an A5 Wagyu.  A5 is the highest grade of Wagyu and this was like butter.  It was served with White Asparagus, Red Wine, and Nasturtium.  It was savory and rich, but texturally, it was very light and was very good.

After the last entree, as in many multi-course meals, there was a palate cleanser/pre-dessert.  I was served a Meyer Lemon Sorbet, with Poppy Seed, Gin, and a small Buckwheat Pancake on top.  It was light, bright, tart, and very much did it's job as a palate cleanser.

The first dessert was actually kind of surprising because it generally plays on the savory side of the menu.  The course was primarily Foie Gras with Bacon.  It was presented as a Foie Gras Waffle. Foie Gras and Bacon Sorbet, Maple Syrup. and Lemon Balm.  It was very much like breakfast with the bacon and maple syrup flavors.  It was sweet and rich with an interesting savory twist and I did like it.  The final wine pairing was a sweet white from the Loire Valley, a 2011 Domaine Baumard, Coteaux du Layon, Clos de Ste. Catherine, Loire, Chenin Blanc.

 

Our final course celebrated Termporis' birthday.  They had been open for 3 years, so they presented us with a "Birthday Cake".  Presented under glass with a lit candle, it was allowed to build up smoke to infuse a smoke flavor.  The Birthday Cake had many tropical flavors like Coconut, Mango, Pomegrate, and Passionfruit with a Coconut Granita and Passionfruit Creme Anglais,  There were lots of flavors and it was a great finish to a great dinner.  There were a few courses like the grilled cheese that will live in my memory, and I would be happy to return.              

Mabel Gray Kitchen, Hazel Park, MI

 

 

For my last trip to the Ann Arbor/Detroit area, while I started with breweries, food was going to be a major part of it.  I previously wrote about the day in Ann Arbor starting at Zingerman's Deli and ending at Vinsetta Garage.  The next day started with Supino Pizzeria, which I had visited before and liked a lot, but our crowning finish was at Mabel Gray in Hazel Park.  The cinder block building has been a neighborhood restaurant for many years, but it opened as Mabel Gray in 2015 as a scratch kitchen serving local, seasonal, and farm-to-table food with no set menu and a choice of tasting menu or a la carte and it blew up.  It won Best Chef for Chef James Rigato in the Eater Detroit Awards in 2016, James Beard Semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2016, and Detroit Free Press's Restaurant of the Year in 2017.  They take reservations one month in advance and on the day that reservations opened, the earliest we were able to get a reservation was 10 pm, but as we had a large lunch, a late dinner was fine.  Located in the north Detroit suburbs, the road was quiet when we got there despite the fact that it looks like a major road.  The neon sign was on top of the awning, which with walls, formed an enclosed entrance/dining area that was open on one side.  Entering, the space is long and narrow with the bar/grill/kitchen taking up one side behind a counter and a banquette on the other side.  It kind of has the appearance of an old diner or cafe. The lighting was a combination of track lighting and lights that seemed to be built from/supported by recycled lab equipment.  The lights above us were supported by a lab stand.  We were seated and really enjoyed the menu because it was hand written.  While we could have gone either with the tasting menu or a la carte, we decided to go with the tasting menu, because we figured that we would be able to try more things and it would be a better value.

After quickly deciding on the Tasting Menu (we had actually pre-decided to do the tasting menu), the next decision was what to drink.  While there was a beverage pairing for the tasting menu, I had to get up in the morning, so I decided I would take a pass on that, though I did look at the cocktail list.  There were several interesting cocktails on the menu as well as a dealer's choice, where given the choice of liquor, the bartender creates a drink for you.  The prices for the cocktails were fairly standard, in the $11-14 range, but the Dealer's Choice was Market Price.  This worried me a little, but I figured that I was splurging a little, I can splurge a little more if necessary.  I ordered a gin drink and was brought a drink with Citadelle Gin, Lemon, Yellow Chartreuse, Grapefruit, Angostura Bitters, and a few other things that I don't remember.  It was complex, but similar to a couple of cocktails that I like already and I liked it as well.  After getting the bill I discovered that it was less than the cocktails on the menu, so it made it even better.

And then the Tasting menu started.  It started simply enough with an Oyster, Hibachi Grilled, with Chipotle Butter, Garlic, and Bread Crumbs.  It was similar to Oysters Rockefeller with less green and more spice and it was a great one bite wonder.  It was cut from the shell, so it was easy to swallow quickly and with the garlic and chipotle butter, it was a taste explosion.

The use of the hibachi continued with the second course as well.  We got Hibachi Grilled Asparagus,

Fermented Chile Mayo, Green Almonds, and Fried Lemon.  I like asparagus and the grill added a nice char flavor.  The fermented chile mayo was interesting.  It had the spice of chile peppers, though softer and with a tartness.  The green almonds were also very interesting.  I had never had them before.  They are unripened almonds and apparently have a very short season when they taste good.  After that, they get a woody flavor and it's better to eat them after they're ripe.  These have a slightly tart and green flavor with a texture that is much softer than ripe almonds.  The fried lemon contributed both lemon tartness and a char flavor.

The next course stayed vegetarian with Artichoke and Kimchi Salad with Black and White Sesame Seeds, and Sour Cream. I hadn't though about it before, but artichokes and kimchi pair pretty well together.  Artichokes have a tartness (with a little woodiness) and the kimchi is very sour and spicy. The Black and White Sesame contributed to the Asian flavor, and the sour cream contributed to the tartness.

From a Korean-ish flavor, we then wandered over to Japan with a Hamachi Crudo with Shishito Peppers, Grapefruit, Ramps, and Grilled Taro Root.  The hamachi was very tender and flavorful.  Shishito peppers are funny. 90% have no heat at all and taste like slightly sweet bell peppers, but the other 10% have some heat.  It isn't a lot of heat, but there is enough to surprise you.  It is fun to eat them because getting some heat is like hitting the lottery.  My Shishito remained mild.  Ramps are wild onions and have a flavor between a green onion and garlic.  The grapefruit added some bitter tartness and the taro root was similar to a corn chip which added a little texture and a vehicle with which to eat the softer components of the dish.

The next course was an Aged Goat Cheddar Dumpling, which was similar to a Tortellini.  It was served in a Benton's Ham Broth with Chili Oil and Greens.  The broth had a significant amount of Chili Oil, so it had a bite in that respect, but it also had a huge amount of ham flavor and it was like drinking liquid ham and all together, it was like a ham and cheese sandwich presented differently.

Normally, palate cleansers are served after the last savory course and before the dessert.  I do however, understand the logic behind serving a palate cleanser after the previous dish.  It was so savory, it may have overwhelmed any more delicate flavors that came after.  For our palate cleanser we were served a Strawberry Rhubarb Granita (a semi-frozen ice dish similar to a sorbet) with Sesame and Mint.  It was simple, tart and sweet, and very good, both with its taste and the ability to clear the palate.

A dessert would normally follow a palate cleanser, but as I said, the dumpling and broth would have overwhelmed the flavors of the next dish, Quail with Polenta, Fried Green Tomatoes, Greens, Benton's Ham, and Parmesan.  The quail was breaded and the body was boned, with only bones in the wings and legs remaining.  It was good, but I am glad that it was mostly boned, because it is so small that it would have been a lot of work to get the beet off of the bones.  With the breading, the greens, the tomatoes, the ham, and the cheese, the flavors were similar to a club sandwich.

And then we came to dessert.  We were served Chocolate Ganache with Founder's Stout Caramel, Raspberry, Fennel, Graham Cracker Crumbs, and Meringue.  The chocolate was very dense and on the dark side which made sense for the caramel which had a bit of a bitter flavor from the stout.  The fennel added a light licorice flavor, the raspberries brought in a little tartness and the toasted meringue added some lightness.  It was a great finish to a creative and very good dinner.  I'm glad that I had the opportunity to come here.