Gettin' it out there
Much like thesis-writing, I've got to get this down on paper to start or else it'll never get done. No doubt about it: this'll be added onto as the days go by.
So way back when, just after Christmas, when there wasn't much snow on the ground and it wasn't yet butt-freezingly cold, we went out to dinner. Was there a reason? Theoretically it could have been for my getting a Real Live Job (which is very fun, by the way), but it's just as likely that it's just because we could.
We had a bit of a tough time figuring out where to go, until Nora suggested we try Les Fougères, just across the river in Québec. It was their thirteenth anniversary, so they were celebrating with an 11-course tasting menu.
Brilliant idea, particularly since we hadn't been yet and they're supposed to be quite good.
Alright, for the time being it'll just be the courses. So sleepy.
So way back when, just after Christmas, when there wasn't much snow on the ground and it wasn't yet butt-freezingly cold, we went out to dinner. Was there a reason? Theoretically it could have been for my getting a Real Live Job (which is very fun, by the way), but it's just as likely that it's just because we could.
We had a bit of a tough time figuring out where to go, until Nora suggested we try Les Fougères, just across the river in Québec. It was their thirteenth anniversary, so they were celebrating with an 11-course tasting menu.
Brilliant idea, particularly since we hadn't been yet and they're supposed to be quite good.
Alright, for the time being it'll just be the courses. So sleepy.
- Québec duck foie gras terrine layered with duck confit and Armagnac prunes
Served with Marcel Deiss (Alsace) 2002 Pinot Blanc. - Lobster and red pepper bisque
- Grand Banks scallop marinated in lime juice, fish sauce, and mint
Served with Dopff & Irion (Alsace) 2004 Gewürztraminer. - Ravioli with a filling of truffled leek fondant and softly poached egg yolk, served in a wild mushroom broth
Served with Coldstream Hills (Yarra Valley, Australia) 2005 Pinot Noir - Pineau des Charentes sorbet
- Seared bison "poutine" with Tellicherry peppercorn sauce, Le Sauvagine, and celery root frites
I'd just like to point out right now that I already discovered a taste for La Sauvagine cheese when Olivia and I bought it for a bread/wine/cheese dinner, and this only served to strengthen my love for it. It's a washed-rind (i.e. kinda-stinky), oozy, briny cheese that tastes like pure socky goodness. I tell ya: I could kiss the Alexis de Portneuf on his rhododendron-beard. What a guy! OK, so that guy probably isn't Alexis.
Served with Domaine Gardiés Les Millères 2003 Côtes-du-Roussillon-Villages - Lamb, apple and coconut curry with freshly roasted and ground spices
Served with Ravenswood (California) Vintner's Blend 2003 Zinfandel - Rassembleu with cassis and thyme jelly and hazelnut crackers
Rassembleu is, as the name belies, a blue cheese, but not that strong a blue. Oh, lovely raw milk of cow. Great counterpart to the salty, fortified love of the hazelnut cracker.
Served with L'Orpailleur (Québec) La Part des Anges (translation: "The Angel's Share") 1997 fortified Seyval Blanc - Apple beignet with cinnamon ice cream
Served with Neige (Québec) La Face Cachée de la Pomme (translation: Apple's Hidden Face) 2004 ice cider - Mignardises: cassis jelly, gingersnap, almond-pistachio cookie, raspberries, chocolate truffles, and praline
- Coffee, tea, Armagnac for Jay and me
Bookended things quite nicely, that did: start with Armag, end with Armag. I stage-whispered that the tiny little, pre-warmed glass in front of me was just the right size to drown an ortolan in, and our waiter started flapping his arms and clucking.
I think I love him.
