Dining in Quebec
Nov 21, 2009 22:11:27 GMT
Post by imec on Nov 21, 2009 22:11:27 GMT
Here's a "taste" of what we ate on our recent 4 day trip to Quebec City...
First evening we opted for something very casual but near ad dear to my heart - Pizza. We shared an antipasto platter and a greek salad - as we were all a bit hungry, we dove in before i remembered to take the pics. Then we were so excited when we saw the pizzas that I forgot to take pics at all.
Next day we had breakfast in the hotel executive lounge, lunched on poutine and had a splashy dinner at Toast!
The menu at Toast! is a "formule" type of affair where you select either 3 or 4 courses - we all went the whole hog. (sorry, it's obvious some of the plates are not pristine - we would just start eating when someone would shout WAIT! he hasn't got a picture!)
Forgot to get a picture of the amusee - and forgot what it was. We drank a prosecco as an aperitif
Fresh mixed leaves with smoked duck, aged balsamic, Regianno, garlic croutons
Torchon of foie gras, grilled homemade brioche and a very thick whipped cream flavoured with xeres vinegar, date and walnut oil - me and the Mrs had one of these each - should have had 2 each (although it may have triggered an instant cardiac arrest)
Lobster Risotto
We drank and Alsatian riesling with our starters.
The mains...
Rabbit cooked with black blood sausage cooked "sous vide"
Homemade gnocchi, confit leg, Meaux mustard (not that disgusting florescent yellow shit) and sage, braised shoulder wrapped in bacon, warm salad of brussel sprout leaves and balsamic (mine - divine)
Seared Pacific black cod in an almond crust, herbs and lemon
Garlic aubergine puree, endive "meuniere", asparagus (stinky pee later), brown poultry jus with melted feta, capers, thyme and brown butter (very good, if a bit over wrought)
Duck Confit and its giblets "pot-au-feu"
crispy breast, butternut squash puree and bubbly foie gras jus, confit cipolini, shiimeji, micro potato and confit tomato (looked good but was Mrs I's BIL's - guys don't share with guys)
Milk fed piglet "cassoulet" with foie gras
Rib a "l'escabeche", roasted leg, smoked bacon, coco beans, confit garlic and tomato (Mrs I's - unreal - I wanted this)
We drank a red from Languedoc (I think) with our mains
Our cheese course:
"le Secret de Maurice", warm fig and rye bread, homemade grape preserves. (sensational - the idea is to cut a hole in the top rind and spoon out the cheese which in its ripeness had become liquid - truly, sex on a plate)
The other plate consisted of three Quebec cheese - the names of which I have since forgotten (although I do have some of the goat cheese in the centre in my fridge)
Dessert - we all went for the dessert of the day which was a beguiling concoction of warm apples, riopelle cheese, a cinnamon (I think) ice cream, some crispy stuff, various bits of citrus rind... it was so exciting, it almost acted as an eppetizer to start a whole new meal - but then we realized how completely stuffed we all were (we'd been eating for 3 or 4 hours).
We drank a 10 year old tawny port with our cheese and dessert (a whole damn bottle!)
Here's my half eaten buckwheat crepe with ham, cheese and mushrooms at le Billig at Saturday lunchtime it was fantastic washed down with some local draught cider.
Saturday evening we ate a another place recommended by lagatta - a casual Vietnamese place, la Campagne. Forgot to take pics for the most part but here are the Imperial Rolls and the Ginger Chicken (lemongrass beef in the background). On the way back to the hotel, we discovered le Moine Echanson where we would dine the next night.
le Moine Echanson is a comfy little place owned and tun by a Belgian with a passion and flair for pairing food with wines. The wine selection is ever changing and focuses in biodynamic wines from France. Here are a couple of shots of the blackboard menu (yes, thst's me trying to play Kilroy). We let the owner select all of our wines (by the glass)
I started with some wonderful oysters from New Brunswick - the others had a couple of cheeses - we enjoyed a Cremant de Bourgogne with this.
Next we shared a plate of wonderful charcuterie - from top left... Head Cheese, A caper cream sauce (a bit like tartar sauce), some dried sausage, rillettes, a balsamic reduction, some terrific ham (the same one I purchased at the market on the way home) and in the centre, some sort of terrine (my favorite of the bunch) - a red from Rousillon to accompany.
As none of use were overly hungry (but were all intrigued by the selections on offer), we opted to order an appetizer each for our next course in stead of a main.
I had the snails with rilletes and apple, Mrs I's sister had the garlic sausage salad, Mrs I had the butternut squash soup (so called on the menu, but introduced as Pumpkin by the owner - and, indeed accompanied by toasted pumpkin seeds - either way it was one of the best soups I have ever tasted), Mrs I's BIL had the soup as well. I've forgotten what wines we were served but they were each different according to our dishes.
I could not leave this place without having the Foie Gras "Creme Brulee" with Xeres Mousse - it was STUNNING - I actually got my tongue into the bottom of that little jar to get the last of it (not showing you that picture - you're welcome). I was served a mindblowing sweet French wine with the odd name of "Wine Shot #2" from Domaine Ombre and Soleil.
We didn't need dessert but when I saw there were macarons avaialble there was no way were not having any - just one each was perfect - washed down with a really pretty, off-dry petillant wine - the perfect ending to one of the most exciting dining experiences I can remember.
First evening we opted for something very casual but near ad dear to my heart - Pizza. We shared an antipasto platter and a greek salad - as we were all a bit hungry, we dove in before i remembered to take the pics. Then we were so excited when we saw the pizzas that I forgot to take pics at all.
Next day we had breakfast in the hotel executive lounge, lunched on poutine and had a splashy dinner at Toast!
The menu at Toast! is a "formule" type of affair where you select either 3 or 4 courses - we all went the whole hog. (sorry, it's obvious some of the plates are not pristine - we would just start eating when someone would shout WAIT! he hasn't got a picture!)
Forgot to get a picture of the amusee - and forgot what it was. We drank a prosecco as an aperitif
Fresh mixed leaves with smoked duck, aged balsamic, Regianno, garlic croutons
Torchon of foie gras, grilled homemade brioche and a very thick whipped cream flavoured with xeres vinegar, date and walnut oil - me and the Mrs had one of these each - should have had 2 each (although it may have triggered an instant cardiac arrest)
Lobster Risotto
We drank and Alsatian riesling with our starters.
The mains...
Rabbit cooked with black blood sausage cooked "sous vide"
Homemade gnocchi, confit leg, Meaux mustard (not that disgusting florescent yellow shit) and sage, braised shoulder wrapped in bacon, warm salad of brussel sprout leaves and balsamic (mine - divine)
Seared Pacific black cod in an almond crust, herbs and lemon
Garlic aubergine puree, endive "meuniere", asparagus (stinky pee later), brown poultry jus with melted feta, capers, thyme and brown butter (very good, if a bit over wrought)
Duck Confit and its giblets "pot-au-feu"
crispy breast, butternut squash puree and bubbly foie gras jus, confit cipolini, shiimeji, micro potato and confit tomato (looked good but was Mrs I's BIL's - guys don't share with guys)
Milk fed piglet "cassoulet" with foie gras
Rib a "l'escabeche", roasted leg, smoked bacon, coco beans, confit garlic and tomato (Mrs I's - unreal - I wanted this)
We drank a red from Languedoc (I think) with our mains
Our cheese course:
"le Secret de Maurice", warm fig and rye bread, homemade grape preserves. (sensational - the idea is to cut a hole in the top rind and spoon out the cheese which in its ripeness had become liquid - truly, sex on a plate)
The other plate consisted of three Quebec cheese - the names of which I have since forgotten (although I do have some of the goat cheese in the centre in my fridge)
Dessert - we all went for the dessert of the day which was a beguiling concoction of warm apples, riopelle cheese, a cinnamon (I think) ice cream, some crispy stuff, various bits of citrus rind... it was so exciting, it almost acted as an eppetizer to start a whole new meal - but then we realized how completely stuffed we all were (we'd been eating for 3 or 4 hours).
We drank a 10 year old tawny port with our cheese and dessert (a whole damn bottle!)
Here's my half eaten buckwheat crepe with ham, cheese and mushrooms at le Billig at Saturday lunchtime it was fantastic washed down with some local draught cider.
Saturday evening we ate a another place recommended by lagatta - a casual Vietnamese place, la Campagne. Forgot to take pics for the most part but here are the Imperial Rolls and the Ginger Chicken (lemongrass beef in the background). On the way back to the hotel, we discovered le Moine Echanson where we would dine the next night.
le Moine Echanson is a comfy little place owned and tun by a Belgian with a passion and flair for pairing food with wines. The wine selection is ever changing and focuses in biodynamic wines from France. Here are a couple of shots of the blackboard menu (yes, thst's me trying to play Kilroy). We let the owner select all of our wines (by the glass)
I started with some wonderful oysters from New Brunswick - the others had a couple of cheeses - we enjoyed a Cremant de Bourgogne with this.
Next we shared a plate of wonderful charcuterie - from top left... Head Cheese, A caper cream sauce (a bit like tartar sauce), some dried sausage, rillettes, a balsamic reduction, some terrific ham (the same one I purchased at the market on the way home) and in the centre, some sort of terrine (my favorite of the bunch) - a red from Rousillon to accompany.
As none of use were overly hungry (but were all intrigued by the selections on offer), we opted to order an appetizer each for our next course in stead of a main.
I had the snails with rilletes and apple, Mrs I's sister had the garlic sausage salad, Mrs I had the butternut squash soup (so called on the menu, but introduced as Pumpkin by the owner - and, indeed accompanied by toasted pumpkin seeds - either way it was one of the best soups I have ever tasted), Mrs I's BIL had the soup as well. I've forgotten what wines we were served but they were each different according to our dishes.
I could not leave this place without having the Foie Gras "Creme Brulee" with Xeres Mousse - it was STUNNING - I actually got my tongue into the bottom of that little jar to get the last of it (not showing you that picture - you're welcome). I was served a mindblowing sweet French wine with the odd name of "Wine Shot #2" from Domaine Ombre and Soleil.
We didn't need dessert but when I saw there were macarons avaialble there was no way were not having any - just one each was perfect - washed down with a really pretty, off-dry petillant wine - the perfect ending to one of the most exciting dining experiences I can remember.
,big lobster guy 
