Le Bernardin

When making reservations for restaurants I was planning to visit in NYC, I debated over whether to do lunch or dinner at Le Bernardin.   We ultimately decided on lunch as our schedule was rather packed.   For $137.00, it includes 3 courses plus amuse bouche, bread and mignardise.  If you don't already know, Le Bernardin is one of the best restaurants in NYC with a 3-Michelin Star designation.  Headed by Executive Chef Eric Ripert, it is well-known for it's seafood-focused menu.

We began with an Amuse Bouche consisting of 3 bits including Raw Fluke with cucumber and green apple, Hamachi Tart with watermelon radish and Lobster Capuccino. The green apple and diced cucumber "sauce" was almost like a gazpacho.  The raw fluke was delicate and sweet with the crunch of the cucumber being a nice contrast. The hamachi was buttery soft and had the sweetness of the sea.  My favorite of the trio was the lobster cappuccino.  The combination of lobster essence and truffle exuded luxury.  Some texture was provided by bits of lobster.

Moving onto some Bread, we had a choice of 4 different ones including brioche, mini-baguette, raisin walnut and focaccia.  We were able to try all of them, and the best of the bunch was definitely the focaccia.  With a prominent rosemary essence, the focaccia was flavorful and aromatic.  Texturally, it was fluffy with a chew.  We found the brioche to be pretty solid as well with layered butteriness to go with the crispy exterior.  The mini-baguette was a bit too hard for our liking despite the interior being soft and chewy.

For Viv's first course, she had the Black Cod Nobu San, which was an ode to Nobu.  Prepared in a similar fashion, the buttery black cod was full-flavored due to the miso marinade.  On the outside, there was caramelization to heighten the sweet saltiness.  In addition to this, we found baby turnip with yuzu kosho which added crunch and acidity.  That was further enhanced by the citrus olive oil dressing.

For myself, I went for the Scallops with Sea Urchin.  If there was anything to truly represent the seafood being served at Le Bernardin, this was it.  The precision and clarity within this dish was obvious with each component.  The sliced scallops were buttery and soft while just slightly touched by heat.  They were sweet and had the brightness of the sea.  Natural flavors and textures were highlighted, but then accented by the buttery sauce.  It provided the fattiness and silkiness that helped the creamy and sweet uni meld with the rest of the dish.

For her main, Viv selected the Pan-Roasted Merluza with stuffed baby sweet peppers and a lobster gumbo sauce.  Gently-prepared, the fish was so buttery and delicate.  This exemplified the high level of cookery we were enjoying.  That lobster gumbo sauce was so rich and concentrated.  Briny, sweet, aromatic and just a touch of spice.  Super delicious.

Seeing how the whole menu was seafood except for 2 dishes, I went for the Filet Mignon.  It was prepared medium-rare as requested and properly-rested.  Despite being properly-seasoned, the steak was also blessed with a red wine shallot sauce.  It added some tangy brightness.  On the side, we had celeriac "bone marrow" which featured it as a pavé.  Adding the silky richness of bone marrow, this was actually not as heavy as I thought.  Rather, by using celeriac, it was lighter and softer than using potato.  Loved the crispy top and edges.

Onto dessert, Viv ordered the Spiced Coffee which was a spiced date-coffee cake.  It was slightly dense due to the date, which also made it sweet.  However, the coffee and spice helped balance things out with slight bitterness and earthiness.  The crunch from the tuile helped add texture while the cold coffee ice cream provided creaminess and temperature contrast.

I went for the iconic warm Peruvian Chocolate Tart beautifully-plated with 3 different chocolate tuiles with a lattice design.  Beyond the crispy chocolate treats, we found creamy Tahitian ice cream atop the aforementioned tart.  It was so chocolaty and rich with bitter dark chocolate.  Contrasting this was the firm tart shell that was only slightly sweet with another dose of chocolate.

Our final bites included Apple Butter Financier, Dark Chocolate Passionfruit and Salted Caramel Macaron.  Loved the buttery and sweet financier while the passionfruit really came through with a tangy sweetness to go with the silky and bitter dark chocolate.  Wasn't a fan of the macaron as it was a bit dense, yet it tasted good.  Overall, our visit to Le Bernardin was a bit hit and miss.  The food was generally fantastic, but the service was not representative of a Michelin 3-star establishment.  Having to ask for something twice and only getting it right on the 3rd try is unacceptable.

The Good:

- Intricate execution

- Lovely dining room

- Generally on point service

The Bad:

- For Michelin 3-star, one shouldn't need to ask 3 times for something

Mastard

Here we go with my only Michelin-star restaurant for this trip to Montreal.  I was lucky enough to snag a reservation for Mastard but not Sabayon.  I didn't even bother with Europea as their reviews are all over the place.  As for Mastard, Chef Simon Mathys is at the helm and he uses as many local ingredients as he can.  He is also the master of sauces where each dish is composed and flavours are thoughtful.  We were excited to experience their reasonably-priced tasting menu (available in 5 and 7 courses).   Go big or go home, there was no hesitation in deciding for the 7 course tasting menu.

It started with an Amuse Bouche consisting of fry bread stuffed with cream cheese and topped with coppa.  A very nice start to the meal with varied textures including the crispy and light fry bread.  It was contrasted by the creamy cheese in terms of temperature and texture.  The heavy-lifting was provided by the coppa as it added a sweet savouriness with a touch of spice.  That in itself also offered up a different texture with its pleasant chewiness.

Onto the blind tasting menu, we began with the Nova Scotia Scallop.  It was hard seared on one side and sliced into 3 pieces.  Hence, we were treated to a progression of flavours and textures.  Buttery and rare, the 2 bottom slices were the soft introduction to the sweet scallop.  When we got to the top slice, it was crispy on the top while still soft on the bottom.  Best of all, the caramelization afforded an intense brininess.  Very clever.  We found a corn puree and white onion foam that offered up different types of natural sweetness to further supercharge the dish.  There was also a white wine sauce with trout eggs on top. On the side, we found some charred bread with butter and what I thought was lettuce custard (from his famed tart).

If the scallop wasn't a great enough start, the hits kept coming with the Braised Cabbage with an emulsion of smoked clams with guanciale.  Delicate and packed with flavour, the cabbage was salty and smoky.  With some ying and yang, we found 2 different sauces including a emulsified matsutake-infused sauce and sea urchin & pepper sauce.  Both sauces were packed with umami.  I found that they complimented each other well where we had an oxymoron of effects - subtly impactful.  Completing the dish, the 2 pieces of buttery sweet sea urchin added fresh sea vibes and raw thinly sliced matsutake with its natural woodsiness bite.

A little surf & turf followed but not in the traditional sense.  Instead of steak and lobster, we had Braised Rabbit with 2 smoky oysters.  Tender and sweet, the rabbit was presented in its own juices.  Exhibiting briny smokiness, the buttery oysters provided a gentle jolt of the sea to its land-based partner on the dish.  Adding some bright sea sweetness and tanginess, we found a prosecco and oyster seafoam on top.  Adding some texture and a vessel to soak up the delicious sauces, a crispy and flaky feuilletée sat atop the dish.

As a supplement to our tasting menu, we really didn't hesitate to add Chef Mathys signature dish, the Bluefin Tuna with lettuce tart.  It featured a beautiful and large piece of fresh bluefin atop his famed lettuce tart.  Creamy and almost airy, the lettuce custard shone in a bright green.  It was subtle tasting with some sweetness.  Contrasting the custard, the crispy tart shell was flaky and buttery.  Ah yes, then we had the beautiful bluefin from Gaspé with its meaty butteriness.  The inherent sweetness exuded bright and clean sea vibes.  Just a touch of salt on top and it helped highlight those flavours.  Finished off with a nutty camelina oil, it meshed well with the salt to give the dish some silkiness and flavour.  There was a hit of acidity for balance as well.

At this point, we were thoroughly impressed with the intricate and thoughtful execution of our dishes.  That was further reinforced by the Nova Scotia Swordfish that was cooked to perfection.  Just a touch rare in the middle, the fish was tender and soft.   On top, the miso and koji sauce was silky and full of depth.  It had a rich saltiness that was balanced off by its creaminess.  Accenting the components, we found eggplant and a zucchini puree with a basil curry.  Combined together, they offered a complexity to compliment the miso and koji sauce.  We found the slightest bitterness combined with sweetness and anise-like flavour of the basil.  Served on the side, we found some Agnolotti stuffed with chicken and pepper.  Pasta was firm with a nice chew and the ample chicken filling was tender.

Moving onto the heavier dishes of the tasting menu, we had the Lamb with cheese, mint puree and lamb jus with Swiss chard.  The piece of lamb was cooked to perfection being medium-rare.  It was juicy and full of natural lamb meaty flavour.  However, it was a bit on the chewier side.  Bordering on salty without going over, the jus was full-on lamb essence with the slightest bitter influence from the chard.  I felt that the mint puree really helped cut the saltiness and add some classic compliment to the lamb.

Our final savoury course was the Duck from Ville de Carignan.  Much like the lamb, it was prepared with precision where it was evenly cooked being medium-rare and sporting fully-rendered skin.  It was sufficiently flavourful by itself, but it was further elevated by the tomato puree that was cooked on the barbecue for 10 hours.  It was intensely concentrated in flavour as well as being smoky.  We also found a herring emulsion that was quite mild.  There was a side dish consisting of Fried Potato with heirloom tomato and a smoked tomato sabayon.  This was delicious with brightness and natural sweetness.  It was also lightly tangy while the potato was super crunchy.

For our dessert course, we were served the Meringue encapsulating mini-cantaloupe melon balls.  Superb and strategic, this refreshing dish helped balance off the rich ending to the blind tasting menu.  Once we broke through the crispy and sweet meringue, the melon balls were sweet and juicy.  Complimenting all this was a marigold ice cream that was bright and creamy.  However, the most impactful part of the dish was the cantaloupe water and lemon vinaigrette.  It added a real kick of tanginess and intense sweetness.

To completely end off the meal, we shared an Apricot Tart with vanilla and salted caramel.  This was also excellent with a semi-firm tart shell that was buttery with a nice mouth-feel.  Sweet with a soft texture, the apricots were further enhanced by the saltiness of the sweet caramel.  We also found some house-made chocolates that had a pleasant bitterness from the ganache in the middle.  I have to say that Mastard was one of best, if not the best meal we had in Montreal this time around.  Considering the reasonable pricing, precision and a Michelin Star, it is no wonder securing a reservation is so difficult.

The Good:
- Lives up to its Michelin Star
- Reasonable pricing
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- Hard to get a reservation

 

Restaurant Pearl Morissette

So when I was originally planning out which restaurants to visit while in Toronto, it was stressing me out a bit that I was going to miss out on this year's #1 restaurant in the country according to Canada's 100 Best List.  Moreover, they have been awarded one star by the Michelin Guide. Restaurant Pearl Morisette is located in Niagara region situated on a farm that is also a winery, orchard and bakery.  So I made the decision to rent a car and do the 1+ hour drive and back (each way) so I could see for myself if they were worthy of the accolades.  Let's just say right off the bat, the place is gorgeous with an old barn converted to a restaurant.  It overlooks the farm and has a setting that is both unique and vital to the whole experience.  Many of their dishes consists of components grown on the farm.

We started off delicately with the Poached Nova Scotia Lobster.  It was a beautifully plated dish with an array of colours.  The lobster was prepared properly where it had a nice rebound but was still light in texture.  It was sweet being harmonious with the lobster & scallop consommé.  It was spiked with rhubarb juice, which gave it a nice tanginess.  Textural crunch was provided by the daikon and radish.  Floral notes were not only provided by the flowers, but also the black current wood.

Coming from a strategically gentle start to the meal, we moved onto the Carrot Crisp with scallop roe pâté and dried chili.  I found these to be spicy and earthy with a balancing amount of sweetness.  There wasn't as much brininess as I was expecting, but the harmony of flavours and textures was definitely there.  These were definitely crispy and a nice progression from the previous dish.

Now looking at the picture above, you might not be very excited about a few pieces of bread.  However, the Sourdough was made with einkorn and iron fife flour.  Hence, the bread inherently had some real sweetness and nuttiness in addition to the usual tang.  It was firm around the edges, but totally fluffy with a nice chew everywhere else..  However, the star of the show was the St. Brigid's butter which was silky and very smooth.  It had a slightly higher milk fat content and hence was more pronounced in flavour with just a subtle background tang.

Stunningly plated, the West Coast Dungeness Crab was fluffy and had all of the goodness of crab brininess.  There was some textural contrast from the crunchy fried cranberry bean crumble while the pickled garlic emulsion offered up some tangy sharpness.  The most impactful component was the hay and alder custard as it had an earthy nuttiness to it.  What was moist important is that none of the components overwhelmed the delicate and delicious crab.

Staying with seafood, we were served the Lake Erie Pickerel fried Matsukasa-yaki style.  By pouring hot oil over the fish scales, it completely crisped them up.  Unlike the one we had at Alo, the scales here were light and easy to eat.  The fish itself was super moist and buttery, cooked to perfection.  Although it was properly seasoned, the emulsion underneath was earthy and bright with the combination of asparagus, coriander, chervil and false cardamom oil.

Apparently we weren't done with the fish courses yet as the next dish to arrive was the Slow-Grilled West Coast Halibut.  It was expertly prepared where the texture was delicate and flaky.  With the honey glaze, we did get some subtle sweetness, but the buerre monté was the dominant flavour with a butteriness that was also tangy and aromatic.  We found some peach leaves on top as well as some poached hakurei turnip and green mizuna.  This greenery did give some bitterness.

Onto a vegetable course, we were presented with the Pot Roasted White Asparagus topped with Acadian Emerald caviar.  Just looking at them, they seemed to be caramelized and indeed they were.  There was a deep amount of sweetness that was quite delicious.  In addition to that, the asparagus still had a snap texture.  In addition to the caramelization, there was balancing saltiness, tanginess and brininess.  Some of it was thanks to the tender razor clams (and the caviar) which had a pleasant chew to them.

Moving back to the meat courses, we had the Back to Nature Organics Roasted Duck.  As you can clearly see, the duck was cooked perfectly and was super tender.  Fat was rendered and the skin was not flabby.  The haskap glaze was a bit salty, but still delicious.  Next to the duck, we found cucumber, green strawberries and bambi gem lettuce.  Nice crunch and brightness to lighten up the dish and toning down the saltiness.

Our last savoury course was the Roasted Pork from Linton Pastures.  If you look at the picture, you can clearly see that the pork was just barely cooked with a bit of pink on it.  Hence, it was super juicy and succulent.  Once again, the demi was on the saltier side, but had plenty of meatiness.  Morels were crispy and earthy while filled with pork and lobster mousse, which had some mustardy notes.  The horseradish leaf oil and mitsuba herb brought things down a bit with some bitterness.

Just before we hit the sweets, we were presented with a Beef Consommé with a wealth of edible flowers on top.  The broth itself was full of umami and natural beef flavour.   This was seasoned well and there was some earthy root veggies underneath.  They were still a bit crunchy, which was a nice texture.  Normally, I would expect a sorbet of some type as a palate cleanser, but this acted as one in a savoury manner. 

So onto dessert, we had the Fraser Valley Rice Tartlet with marinated strawberries and black currant leaf rice pudding.  Being made of rice, the tart shell was lightly crispy and had some toasty notes.  The herbs on top were noticeable and the with the flowers, we got some floral aromatics.  The rice pudding was sweet and creamy while the strawberries offered up some tanginess.

Our second dessert was the Salsify Mille Feuille with a salsify tuile, marinated apple, black koji pureé and toasted oat chantilly.  I found the whole thing super light with crispy tuile.  The apples offered up some extra crunch albeit a wet and sweet crunch.  I found the sweetness to be on point.  The chantilly was airy and really, eating this dessert was very easy.  The creaminess was also equally aromatic from the toasted oats.

Our third dessert was a Toasted Sourdough Ice Cream Sandwich.  This was a nice little bite with creamy and smooth ice cream accented by the rich and nutty brown butter caramel.  Extra crunch and sweetness was provided by the candied sourdough bread.  We really got Danish cookie vibes from this!  Finally, we were presented with some Madeleines with whiskey and miso while dusted in allspice sugar.  These were so fluffy and light while the fermented flavour of the miso really came through whereas the whiskey was beautifully subtle.  When it was all said and done, we agreed that the meal at Pearl Morissette was special.  From the converted barn to the lovely farm setting, things were already unique before we even got to the food.  The whole experience, including the personable service, reflects its one-star Michelin rating as well as top spot in Canada's 100 Best Restaurants.

The Good:

- It is about the whole experience

- Excellent food

- Superb service

The Bad:

- A bit out-of-the-way for most people, but worth the drive

Alo

In March, when we were in Toronto, we had enjoyed a delicious meal at Aloette on Spadina.  Its approachable menu with well-crafted eats made us curious about their bigger and older sibling upstairs.  Alo, which is headed by Executive Chef Patrick Kriss, dishes up modern French fare that is globally-inspired.  So this time around, we made resos.  The dining room is simple, yet elegant, leaving the emphasis on the intricate dishes.  Service is focused while at the same time, not intrusive.  Even before we got to the food, the whole outfit exuded Michelin-Star quality.

Now, we do need to get to the food and they offer a blind tasting menu for $225.00 per person.  Reservations are a must as I was barely able to get one where we dined at 8:45pm. We started with a trio of canapés including the Spot Prawn Tartare topped with prawn shell mayo, Thai lime and pomelo.  This was a bright little bite with sweet spot prawn that was amped further by the briny mayo.  Hits of acidity was provided by the lime and pops of sweetness from the pomelo.  Great way to whet our appetites!

The next was the A5 Waygu Tart with masutake shoyu while topped with Osetra caviar and purple shiso.  Loved the textural contrast of the crispy shell with the buttery wagyu (surprisingly not chewy despite the uncooked fat).  The use of shoyu was percise as the beef flavour still came through and was complemented by its umaminess.  Of course the caviar added pops of salty brininess while the purple shiso provided earthiness.  The last bite was a Foie Gras Parfait done with apples 3 different ways.  First method was the puree with apple calvados, second was the apple gastrique done with brandy and last was a disk of granny smith with an upper leaf cress.  This was a study of contrasting textures with the crispy exterior giving way to a creamy and rich silkiness inside.  There was a certain sweetness complimented by butteriness and only slight liver taste.

Our next set of dishes consisted of a Bluefin Tuna Tasting with all 3 cuts including Akami, Chutoro and Otoro.  With the leaner Akami, we found it wrapped around cucumber and radish sitting on yuzu relish and black vinaigrette.  Due to the lack of fat in the akami, the impactful vinaigrette did the heavy lifting in terms of earthiness, tang and umami.  Loved the crunch from the veggies.  The Chutoro sat on a piece of crispy nori, tapioca and miso barley.  Since Chutoro is buttery and sweet by itself, it didn't need much to be good.  Hence, the simplicity of the compliments allowed the fish to shine.  Only a bit of sweet and tangy notes came through as well as some earthiness.

Being the fattiest cut, the Otoro was wrapped around uni with some hot sauce and a marigold leaf on top.  Since it was so fatty, it melted in my mouth and had the taste of the sea combined with the sweetness of the fish.  With Hokkaido uni in the middle, it doubled-down on the brightness of the sea as well as the intense inherent sweetness.  Loved how they dialed down on the compliments to this dish as the otoro could totally stand on its own.

Sporting a lovely shade of orange red, the piece of Kinmedai was hard-seared skin side with the scales.  Inside, it was medium-rare and served with a champagne sauce and foam on top.  Some snow pea leaves dressed in wasabi, salt and wasabi oil finished off the dish.  Loved the crispy skin but the scales were a bit hard to eat.  The champagne foam was buttery and bright while the salt level of the dish was precise.  The fish itself was buttery soft.

Staying with the seafood theme, we had the Dungeness Crab with poached egg yolk, pureed buttered spinach, black truffle, smoked butter and shaved cured quail's egg yolk.  It was finished off with a scrambled egg emulsion.  As much as there was a lot of components in this dish, the delicate crab was not lost amongst them.  Fluffy, slightly briny and sweet, the crab was at the forefront while the silkiness of the egg provided texture.  Only a background bit of truffle and smokiness came through.

My favourite dish of the night had to be the Nova Scotia Lobster with shiitake mushrooms, 3 different types of seaweed, dashi broth and finished off with the Koshihikari rice.  The sliced lobster was barely cooked through.  Hence, it didn't even have a chance to become rubbery.  In fact, it was buttery soft with the unmistakable essence of lobster.  There was a lot of umaminess due to the mushrooms, seaweed and dashi where flavours were bordering on salty.  We also found a bit of nutty smokiness.

Moving away from seafood, we had the Hudson Valley Duck with morels stuffed with duck mousse, grilled white asparagus, ramps and basil ramp pistou finished with mustard cream.  Cooked to medium, the duck was tender while maintaining a pleasant meatiness.  Once again, we found umaminess with earthy notes and brightness from the herbs.  The morels were at their woodsy best with a springy texture.  Inside, the duck mousse was a bit meaty and totally duck-forward.

For our second meat course, we had 2 different versions since I'm the only one that wanted lamb.  So for mine, I had the New Zealand Lamb with an Ontario lamb roulade with pistachios.  The lamb sat atop a salsa verde consisting of cilantro, tarragon and parsley.  It was finished off with a lamb jus seasoned with the salsa verde.  Accompanying this was asparagus, fava beans, goat's milk yogurt and citrus jelly.  As you can see, the lamb was perfectly medium-rare and succulent.  Perfect seasoning on the meat.  The roulade was nutty and had a beautiful muted gaminess.  Due to the heaviness of the meat, the salsa verde was exactly what it needed to brighten things up.  

The other dish was the A5 Wagyu Ribeye and Rib Cap.  This came with grilled maitake mushroom, pan-seared ginger, beef jus seasoned with wasabi.  On the side, we found pickled mustard seed, freshly grated wasabi and hot Japanese mustard.  Yah, this A5 was legit as it melted in our mouths.  Lots of beefiness and we could adjust the sharpness of the dish with the mustard and wasabi.  The rib cap was a bit meatier, but due to the fat, it was so flavourful and beefy. Both dishes came with bread and cultured butter from Normandy.  The bread was light and airy, yet with some structure.  However, the star of the show was the creamy and totally beefy-tasting butter.

From these heavy dishes, we moved onto dessert with the Loquat & Matcha.  We found some creamy matcha ice cream that was balanced in terms of bitterness and sweetness.  The tang and stone fruit vibes from the loquat compote was a nice compliment.  More brightness was thanks to the Meyer lemon as well as the sparkling sake and elderflower foam.  Next, we had the Rhubarb prepared 6 different ways with a Greek yogurt parfait   So this was less of a sweet dessert, which was fine by me.  Lots of tang and acidity from all the elements.  I couldn't even keep track of all the forms of rhubarb, but some did stand out.  One was the vanilla rhubarb salsa and the rhubarb pieces poached in simple syrup.  Aromatic with tangy sweetness and some crunch. Finally, some ginger and lime gelée afforded some contrast to the predominantly rhubarb forward dish.

Finally, we were served Petite Fours including a Canelé, Macaron, Chocolate Bonbon, Peanut Butter Cup and a Pavlova.  It wasn't as if we were hungry anymore, but we couldn't pass these up.  The canelé was textbook with a crispy smoky caramel crust and a tender custardy centre.  With a delicate, but crisp shell, the mini-macaron was soft and chewy.  It was floral due to the orange blossom and apricots.  Filled with a coffee ganache filling and tiramisu flavoured, the bonbon was sweet and aromatic.  We also had a peanut butter cup filled with spicy mango and passionfruit curd.  These were so up my alley with tangy sweetness with a kick as well as a crunch from the peanut brittle.  On top, we found a vanilla chocolate cremeaux.  Lastly, we had a coconut pavlova with coconut cream that was sweet and tropical-tasting.  Some shishito added another flavour element to the dish but it was subtle.  Wow, I have to say this tasting menu at Alo exceeded my expectations.  For the #3 restaurant on Canada's Best 100 Restaurants, it certainly did not disappoint.  Not only was the food expertly prepared and utterly delicious, there was a lot of it and we went away happy and full.

The Good:
- Precision in execution
- Professional service that is not pretentious
- More than enough food

The Bad:
- It is pretty dark and if you don't have the right table, you won't be able to see your food clearly