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CANADA’S BEST NEW DINING TRENDS 2004 (p. 3 of 4)

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La Quintessence, Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

Eat Your Sea Vegetables Pickled seaweed is served with BeauSoleil oysters in sesame oil and chilies at Perspectives Restaurant (Kanata, Ont.) and garnishes the leek and gouda soufflé at Quarry Bistro & Wine Bar (Canmore, Alta.). Tiger prawns and scallops are crusted with sea parsley at New Yorx (Regina). Sea asparagus joins lobster, tomatoes, capers and bok choy atop halibut at Toast! (Quebec City). Confounding expectations is Le Petit Treehouse (Montreal): Instead of using nori, they wrap their dynamite roll in rice paper.

Raw Food For bored carnivores, À l’os (Montreal) offers lean, meaty ostrich tartare, while Aix Cuisine du Terroir (Montreal) uses venison. Raw deer meat also makes an appearance in carpaccio at Fire & Water (Victoria).

Best Bathrooms Behind a cedar door, the washroom at Vij’s Rangoli (Vancouver) features a small screen built into the mirror, playing Bollywood musicals. At Bouchons (Kelowna, B.C.), the ladies’ washroom reportedly features a heated seat with adjustable bidet and air-dry settings.

Something for Nothing Delightful amuses-bouche can be simple – prosciutto and melon with crème fraîche at Zest (Fonthill, Ont.); cherry tomatoes with goat cheese at Aix Cuisine du Terroir (Montreal) – or elaborate, like shrimp tempura with five-herb and lemon mayo at Perspectives Restaurant (Kanata, Ont.) and duck rillettes with mushrooms and fresh cucumber at Toast! (Quebec City). We also welcome the trend toward complimentary pre-dessert – such as strawberry mousse with strawberry carpaccio and a nougatine wafer at Jayde Restaurant (Whistler, B.C.) and a strawberry gelée with candied tarragon and aged balsamic vinegar at Perigee (Toronto) – and post-dessert freebies, like the soft caramels at Restaurant L’Utopie (Quebec City) and candy-coated fennel at Culina Restaurant (Edmonton).

Best New Bars The bar at Toronto’s Drake Hotel was red hot from the moment it opened, its distinctive Rorschach-blot wallpaper showing up in the background of innumerable photo shoots. Mynt Ultralounge (Calgary) is all about hedonism: lovelies bearing trays of jelly shooters; glass-caged musicians jamming with the DJ; and a concierge menu offering limo service and something labelled “personal” (hmmm…). Pullman’s (Montreal) exterior is nondescript to the point of near invisibility, but the chic multilevel space offers an appealing wine list and outstanding nibbles.

Canada’s Worst New Restaurant It was during the interminable wait between the generic appetizers and boring entrees – when the waitress said, “Sorry, those guys in the kitchen don’t know what they’re doing” – that it became clear. Sorry, Carpaccio Restaurant & Wine Bar (Niagara Falls, Ont.).

Coulda Been a Contender Great-looking room, affordable menu, eclectic wine list, celebrity chef – what’s not to like at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar (Toronto)? Well, the absurd no reservations policy, which typically means 45 minutes in limbo. And then another 45 minutes for the molten foie gras cake. (Could you mention that on the menu instead of surprising us? Thanks in advance.) Lacklustre spring vegetable curry and inedible fish soup. Staff who make up information about the cheese selection. Yet the braised pork belly with sweet and sour red cabbage was so sublime it almost made up for it. Almost.

Best Desserts The strawberry rhubarb crumble with macadamia nut ice cream at the Drake (Toronto) has the ultimate fruit-to-topping ratio. Jayde Restaurant (Whistler, B.C.) offers four mini-crème brûlees: tea, hazelnut, Izzara and milk jam. deco (Halifax) has a phenomenal chocolate mousse with reconstituted cherries that was the highlight of the meal. But haute cotton candy at Stone Road Grille (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) served in a polka-dot holder is irresistible.

Not Just for Pizza Anymore Pineapple’s fashion moment: in cocktails, like the gin and Chambord combo at Zest (Fonthill, Ont.). In appetizers, such as steamed mussels with yogurt cream at Stone Road Grille (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.). In palate cleansers, like the pineapple basil granita at Perspectives Restaurant (Kanata, Ont.). And, of course, in desserts: in spiced coconut panna cotta at Two Chefs (St. John’s); caramelized with ginger and cocoa at Cocagne (Montreal); and with popped amaranth and lychee granita at Perigee (Toronto). The dessert trio at Ristorante Brontë (Montreal) takes the cake – or, in this case, the pineapple spring roll.

Bad Dessert is Not an Oxymoron Quarry Bistro & Winebar’s (Canmore, Alta.) chocolate and eggplant ganache with Marsala cherries, garnished with deep-fried arugula and fried eggplant that tastes like old grease, has the look and consistency of a cow pat.

The New Ice Wine Quebec’s ice ciders, like Neige and Pinnacle, are already on menus in Montreal at La Montée de lait, Aix Cuisine du Terroir and Bu (Montreal) and deglazing the pan-seared foie gras at Restaurant la Quintessence (Mont-Tremblant, Que.). [ ]

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