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MONTREAL
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PADUA
Winter
ISSUE 12
CAD/US $6.95
2014
INCREDIBLE
INDIA
ROAD TRIP
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GATEWAY TO
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TASTING
TEQUILA
UNPLUGGED
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Beautiful
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FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO
, LOVE TO
AND LOVE TO
DINING
CANADA
Montreal
WHERE ON EARTH
FAIRMONT THE QUEEN ELIZABETH
M
ONTREAL…
72
by
the dining experience
ANITA STEWART
TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL  JANUARY–MARCH 2014
DINING
CANADA
FAIRMONT THE QUEEN ELIZABETH
When soft snow banks drape sensuously
over the hard Canadian Shield and blue
ice ribbons weave together the rocky
Laurentian outcroppings, Quebecers take
to the highways to ski... and to dine.
TOURISME MONTRÉAL, STÉPHAN POULIN
THIS SPREAD
CLOCKWISE FROM
Montreal
at night; The
Beaver Club;
Outdoor
staircases in
winter.
LEFT
Q
QUEBEC IS A MAGNIFICENT
region...of wild rivers and thick maple
forests; of flowery meadows and rich
farmland; of apple orchards and fishing
fleets. For all that, when the bloom of
summer fades and the first snowflakes
flutter earthward, it is winter that, for
centuries, has shaped the province and
her people. In the early days, colonists
had to dig in and hope to simply
survive. They clothed themselves
in furs and took to the wilderness
to hunt and fish. Quebec is winter.
Quintessential magical winter.
But whatever the season, in
cosmopolitan Montreal the restaurant
scene is hot… very hot… with young
chefs who toss convention to the
winds and who can hold their own
with any on earth.
The lauded and honoured Toque!
was among the first Montreal
restaurants to really embrace the
regional foods of Quebec. Now a
fully-fledged Relais Gourmande, it is
one of the finest dining experiences
in eastern Canada. Several other
restaurants have gained considerable
notoriety with the advent of nose-totail cooking. There’s Martin Picard’s Le
Pied de Cochon made famous by his
heart-stopping foie gras poutine, and
Frédéric Morin and David McMillan's
Joe Beef, known across North America
for no-holds-barred creativity. But
there are other chefs, often young and
always feisty, who are worth searching
out. Their cuisine stands on its own.
JANUARY–MARCH 2014  TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL
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DINING
CANADA
…Quebec is winter. Quintessential magical winter…
MAISON PUBLIQUE
Chef Derek Dammann is
master of charcuterie and
an expert in Canadian wine.
Hailing from Campbell River,
BC, the ’salmon capital of
the world,’ he’s also well
versed in the finest seafood.
His pickled herring are
the best I’ve ever tasted.
The innovative Alex Cruz,
founder of Société-Orignal
(Society of the Moose)
supplies Maison Publique
with foraged ingredients
that are among the most
interesting and unique in
Canada — from gathered
seasonings like myrica
gale and green alder cones
to Arctic rose buds and
gourgane flour made from
heritage broad beans
saved from season to
season in the Charlevoix.
The history of the public
house in Canada goes back
centuries. They were road
houses, station stops and
inns. Many of us remember
74
the time when there was an
entrance for Men Only and
another for Ladies & Escorts.
They were/are gathering
places... no reservations...
real local hangouts. And
that’s precisely where
Dammann and superstar
business partner Jamie
Oliver are heading. This
food, in many respects, is
the future.
PASTAGA
A decade or so from now,
we’ll look back and realize
what a game-changer Chef
Martin Juneau really is.
Quebec-born, collaborative
and exceedingly talented, he
is setting a new bar for the
Province. His Royal
Canadian Monday events
featuring guest chefs from
around the country are a
brilliant addition to the
Montreal dining scene.
Juneau trained at Montreal’s
l’Institut de tourisme et
d’hôtellerie du Québec, one
TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL  JANUARY–MARCH 2014
of the best schools in the
nation. In Vancouver he
worked at Rob Feenie’s
now-legendary Lumière. The
serious local food
movement was just
bubbling forth and Juneau
was in the centre of it.
To cut a long story
short, Juneau returned to
Quebec, won the national
culinary competition, Gold
Medal Plates, in 2011 and
then opened Pastaga in
Little Italy with his partner
Louis-Philippe Breton. The
restaurant is renowned
for having one of the best
brunches in Montreal. Dinner
is just as exciting. His menus
overflow with Quebec
ingredients! Arctic char and
turbot from Sustainable
Blue, the Gaspé-based
organization that promotes
sustainable fisheries; his
version of Montreal smoked
meat using Quebec bison;
beef from the Laurentians
and tons of local produce,
from espelette peppers
to wild mushrooms.
MONKLAND
TAVERN
This is what a ’local’ looks
like in Montreal. Stylish,
great food and very, very
comfortable! Monkland
Taverne is an institution in
Notre Dame de Grace and
the team of owners —
Barbara Irwin, Stephen
Leslie, Boris Schweers and
Donald Lovell — has been
focused on the great
ingredients of Quebec for
years.
Chef Josh Crowe turns
his talent to dishes that are
becoming the comfort food
for NDG. There’s pasta in
many variations, including
one that incorporates a lot
of wild mushrooms, sage
and porcini stock. Great
Quebec pork is wrapped
in bacon and stuffed with
fennel and orange. Salmon
is pan-fried and served
DINING
MTTQ, BENOÎT CÉCILE
Seared
scallops at Van Horne;
Van Horne window;
Artisan pizza at Les
Pains Dans Les Voiles;
Seasonal salad at Van
Horne;Crescent Street;
Chef Derek Dammann
was presented with the
University of Guelph
Good Food Innovation
Award in 2012.
THIS SPREAD FROM LEFT
TUCK SHOP
First and foremost, Tuck
Shop is a neighbourhood
restaurant. Owner Jon
Bloom writes “We are
proudly located at 4662
Notre Dame Ouest in the
heart of St-Henri.
Historically, the
neighbourhood is known for
its working class residents,
leather tanning shops, jazz
music and the railroad.
Today, St-Henri is still known
as a centre of creativity and
quality small businesses in
Montreal.” The commonality
amongst those businesses is
CANADA
atop white beans, black
kale, butternut squash and
almond emulsion. A recent
dessert was a Lac St. Jean
blueberry and Quebec red
corn cornbread sweetened
with Frost Village maple
syrup, served with
spoonfuls of crème fraîche
and a pool of blueberry
and rosemary coulis.
“passion for what we do.”
He’s also embraced
technology; his seasonal
menus are updated on
Twitter daily. It’s fun to scroll
through them. You may find
beef tartare with a porcini
aioli or crispy pork belly
with oyster mushroom
sauce. There’s Kamouraska
lamb and organic salmon
and always a cheese plate
that celebrates the dynamic
artisan cheesemakers of
Quebec.
VAN HORNE
RESTAURANT
Named after the railway
baron and industrialist Sir
William Cornelius Van
Horne, this is one of my
favourite new restaurants in
this marvellous edible city.
Chef John Winter Russell is
absolutely in tune with the
seasons and the wild. His
food is also very beautiful…
perfect for a bistro coowned by Sylvie LaChance
who is not only an artist and
actor but spent years in
Ottawa at the National Arts
Centre promoting many of
Canada’s talented creators.
Chef Russell’s written
menu is quite understated
— just a few words to
describe the structure of
the dishes. The first ’amuse’
was a woven globe of
lichen with honey yogurt.
Amazing. Chewy. Delicious.
Then small renditions of
three main courses on one
plate, “just so you can taste
them.” Seared pickerel with
grilled cucumber, tiny bits
of deep fried wild ginger, a
tiny kerchief of sea lettuce
and bottarga, house-dried
sea urchin roe. A plump,
golden-fried scallop served
with sweet carrots and sea
buckthorn emulsion. Lamb
accompanied with maitake
mushrooms, day lily shoots,
sunchokes and Cortland
apple. For a mini dessert, he
wove ribbons of parsnip to
create a parsnip hazelnut
cake balanced on a spoonful
of brown butter ice cream.
LE CLUB CHASSE ET
PÊCHE
Let’s face it, the real cuisine
of Quebec began in the
backwoods and the rivers. It
was, and still is, a hunting
and fishing society that
LOVES to dine well. Before
the current trends in
wilderness cuisine hit the
mainstream, Chef Claude
Pelletier was cooking it in
his elegant restaurant, Le
Club Chasse et Pêche.
Pelletier is a perfectionist
and one of the finest
restaurateurs in the
Province. The restaurant has
an intimate clubby
atmosphere, fine service
and absolutely fabulous
food!
The menus vary, of
course, with the seasons.
How could anyone not enjoy
huîtres avec personnalité
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MTTQ, CHRISTIANE HAMELIN
DINING
CANADA
Visi
t
it
Maison Publique
www.maisonpublique.com
Pastaga
www.pastaga.ca
Monkland Tavern
www.monklandtavern.com
Tuck Shop
www.tuckshop.ca
Van Horne Restaurant
www.vanhornerestaurant.com
Le Club Chasse et Pêche
www.leclubchasseetpeche.com
Le Filet
www.lefilet.ca
Les 400 Coups
www.Les400Coups.ca
Le Bremner
www.crownsalts.com/lebremner
Le Pain Dans Les Voiles
www.facebook.com/le-pain-dans-les-voiles
The Beaver Club
— Fairmont Queen Elizabeth
www.fairmont.com/queenelizabeth
Montreal Tourism
www.tourisme-montreal.org
THIS SPREAD FROM LEFT
Saint-Denis Street;
Van Horne dessert;
Fresh eggs; Entrance
to Le Bremner; Menu
board at Les Pains
Dans Les Voiles.
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TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL  JANUARY–MARCH 2014
A sincere thank you to Chef Nancy
Hinton of Les Jardins Sauvages and
artisan-baker guru James MacGuire
for their help with this article!
DINING
CANADA
…This is what a ‘local’ looks like in Montreal…
("oysters with charisma")?
There’s a fritto misto of snow
crab; foie gras with hydromel,
the honey based wine of the
province; wild boar, char,
lamb, venison... all cooked
with imagination and typical
Pelletier flair. Desserts are in
the same league but if you’re
a maple fan like me, it’d be
hard to go wrong with a
maple syrup parfait with red
berry sauce and chocolate.
LE FILET
A second restaurant by the
creative hand of Claude
Pelletier, Le Filet is a seriously
happening place with a menu
to match. Here you can taste
the food that’s helping to
make Montreal one of the
nation’s most interesting
culinary destinations. The fish
soup is fragrant with fennel
and pastis; there’s a great wild
mushroom and snail tart with
bacon and arugula pesto. The
beef is from Prince Edward
Island and all the desserts are
made in-house.
LES 400 COUPS
With Marc-André Jetté as
the executive chef, and
Marie-Josée Beaudoin as
sommelier, Les 400 Coups is a
very real feast for the senses.
With high, vaulted ceilings,
an active elegance, a great
marble bar and one of the
most talented culinary teams
in eastern Canada, there is a
spirit of pride of place that
infuses the restaurant, from
the decor to the ingredients.
Not only do the chefs play
with flavours, they have a field
day with textures, aromas and
colour. Beef tartare topped
with mustard ice cream and
anchovy mayonnaise. MarieJosée paired it with Venice,
a made-in-Quebec cabernet
with rich tobacco overtones.
Then a series of small dishes…
a snow crab and squid ink
waffle; another laden with
chunks of lobster on a bed of
steamed leeks with a crispy
chicken skin. To cleanse the
palate, a fluffed-ice litchi
granité with white chocolate
spirals, fresh bits of grapefruit
and some campari jelly that
pirouetted on my tastebuds.
For dessert, unsweetened
pear sorbet was a perfect
match with rich chocolate,
sweet candy cap mushrooms
and a meringue sponge
toffee. Out of the park!
LE BREMNER
When you finally find Le
Bremner, it’s almost as though
you’ve joined a secret club.
Hidden down an ancient hewn
stone stairway with only the
number 361 atop the arched
entrance, the restaurant
is reminiscent of the old
speakeasies that populated
many parts of urban
Canada during Prohibition,
with an apothecarylike bar and outrageous
house-made cocktails.
Chef Danny Smiles is at the
stoves — you may recognize
him from his appearances on
Top Chef Canada. Danny grew
up in the kitchen of his
parents’ small hotel. His
culinary heritage is rich and
deep with influences of both
Italian and Egyptian ancestry.
No wonder he loves flavour!
The menu at Le Bremner is
always simple and sustainable;
a single page of perfect, very
seasonal choices. Raw oysters,
a lobster tail cocktail, albacore
sashimi, Magdalen Island snow
crab kimchee, halibut gravlax.
From appetizers to desserts,
Danny’s creative touch is
everywhere.
LE PAIN DANS LES
VOILES
Owner/bakers Martin
Falardeau and François Tardif
located their bakery near
Jean Talon Market. Already
winners at Le Mondial du
Pain in France, they serve
forth creative pizzas, perfect
coffee and their globally
renowned baguettes.
THE BEAVER CLUB
Pure elegance. A cart of
chilled champagne and a
menu that sings the praises
and flavours of Canada and
Quebec. This is the true
experience of dining with an
eye to the future — foams and
intensely concentrated
flavours — and an eye to the
best of the magnificent classic
past — flambées and cloudlike soufflés so delicate that
they quiver. The crystal is
crystal, the silver is silver, the
mirrored room is richly
paneled, the service cannot be
better.
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