Adventures in Montreal: Europea

Europea wasn't on the list of places to visit in Montreal originally, but after doing some research I knew it'd be the perfect counterpoint to Au Pied de Cochon. The place is a little more upscale, the food is a little more fun, the portions are smaller so you can add some variety to your meal. 

I knew it'd be a great dinner, but I can't say I expected it to be quite so memorable. With the parade of creative amuse bouches, it reminded me of our dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, only more fun, less pretentious, and oh yeah -- way more affordable! Three of us had the $70 pre-fixe and shared everything. Since we got to choose from three appetizers and four mains, we got to try almost everything in this range (in case you're wondering, the only thing we missed out on was the cornish hen). 

The amuses started with Parmesan lollipops and truffled popcorn. Putting their playful foot forward. 

Next, Canadian prosciutto hanging on a miniature clothes line. The smiles had already started by now. Such a cute idea, and the pork had this unique texture like it was laminated flat.

Then came the breadsticks. We were fooled into thinking things were regular again...

Until the woman that was not our waiter (but we wished she was -- she was so much fun!) presented us with a cigar box and asked us with a straight face if we would like a cigar before our meal came. We shook our heads. She asked if we would like to take one home for later. Again we said uh, no, thank you. Then she opened the box and asked if maybe now we would change our minds? It was three mozzarella sticks. Easily the best mozzarella stick any of us had ever had. I didn't know anyone had ever even attempted to gourmet-ify a childhood favorite of mine!

Now the bread and butter. I don't think the bread was necessarily better than APC's, but the butters were on par. The plain was great, but there were also three flavors -- a colorful flower butter, a creamy rum butter and a salty seaweed butter. Check out the beauty of the flower power!

You might think the amuses are done, but you're wrong. Now there's a tiny olive muffin. And rice crisps in a takeout container.

And then the best one! A lobster cream cappuccino, which I thought was loads better than the one we had at the Modern a few years ago. It was like a foamy bisque, and the truffle oil added an extra element of decadence.

But we're still not done. My favorite amuse bouche was the final one. Our fun lady jester of the evening gave each of us a book that we were invited to open when we were ready. The anticipation heightened. We opened the books and a cloud of smoke poured out. When the smoke cleared, we saw a tiny freshly-wood-smoked salmon tartlet on lemon cream. Reminded me a bit of the amuses we frequently get at Annisa, but with chicken liver mousse. Something about those little bite-sized cups that get me every time.

Okay. Finally, the starters. As Frank Bruni once said, everyone always has a special affinity for whatever it is they order when sharing with a group. It was true for the appetizers in this case. Soup made with chestnut and porcini cream with artichokes, burrata and crunchy fried quinoa for texture.

Now the surprise of the starters -- the calamari, which I typically cannot stand and was blown away by here. Somehow they make the squid into tender noodles that aren't unlike pasta (it actually is called "tagliatelle of lemony calamari") and topped with a poached quail egg and squid ink. I can't say I was expecting to enjoy it, and then I was left trying not to eat more than my portion.

And, of course, the foie gras. The foie is placed to sizzle on a hot stone at the table. Then it's covered in a glass case and you have to rely on self control to wait out the four minutes while the crispy lobe caramelizes in ice wine sauce. It's worth the wait. And it's so beautiful to watch the steam billow around the glorified goose liver. It's like something out of Willy Wonka. 

The palate cleaner was one of the most memorable parts of the meal. Believe it or not! It's actually one of the few things I knew I had to take notes on because I didn't want to forget. Dig your spoon past the top layer of foam and you'll find bits of granny smith apple with flavors of yuzu and cucumber, and a bit of ice cream at the bottom. Seems like it would confuse your taste buds, right? But really, it sets them up for the second round so perfectly. I would gladly eat a bowl of this for dessert any day.

My favorite main was the scallops wrapped in a "celery veil" with meringue powder, enokis and bleurre blanc. The scallops almost seemed to be enveloped in dough, and the sauce was so addicting it was hard to limit myself to my own two little dollops.

I think I ordered the dud of the group. The tagliolinis were good and all, perfectly cooked and clearly house made, but even with the mushrooms I felt it lacked flavor. There was white truffle oil, but it seemed to disappear as the foam dissipated. There were a few kernels of popcorn, but it seemed out of place. Plus it had that weird consistency of overbuttered-to-the-point-of-stale.

Finally, the veal cheek with salsify roots and more foam. The meaty sauce might have been my favorite, again.

There is no dessert menu. There is only "passport to sweetness." Which sounds a little silly until you realize that the desserts. Never. Stop. And then you don't mind so much. Somebody stamp that sucker ASAP.

First, a GIANT cloud of pink cotton candy. Chocolate lollipops rolled in poprocks. We're kids at the fair again. "I'll be back with the rest," says our court jester.

Then a little pina colada for each of us...

A container full of lemony madelines...

A champagne macaron, a passionfruit marshmallow and a caramel cookie with fleur de sel. One trio for each of us. "I'll be right back with the rest..."

We've circled back around to breakfast: a fried egg and french toast sticks. It freaked me out to see what looked like a peppery egg and tasting...  apricot puree inside an emulsion. The french toast was coated marshmallows. Great presentation. Not my favorite though.

And now the desserts for the ride home. Two freshly-baked brioche. A bag of cookies. FOR EACH OF US. With the leftover madelines and two bags each, we walked back to the car with our arms full.

Then we headed over to Au Pied de Cochon for second dinner. Total rockstar weekend.

Okay, so APC was amazing and all, but I have to admit that Europea will stick out in my mind for much longer. The ongoing parade of carnival treats was endlessly entertaining. There was a lot of excitement of wondering what would come next. And, as I write this post, I realize it incorporates components of some of the best of the best meals I've had. Amuse bouches like at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, lobster cappuccino like at The Modern, madelines like at DB Bistro Moderne, soup with intense chestnut flavors like the ice cream at Nougatine, tartlets like at Annisa. 

I can't think of another restaurant I could recommend more.

Europea

1227 Rue de la Montagne

Montreal, QC

Adventures in Montreal: Au Pied de Cochon

As a good friend said recently, "The cool thing about Montreal is how it changes as we age." To say "it has something for everyone!" is a corny way to put it, but its true. When we were 19, we took trips up there for cheap pitchers of beer and sought hard liquor shots with whipped cream on them. Ten years later, we're taking long weekends up there in search of three major food groups: duck, foie gras and bagels. 

I'll admit, a large part of my reason for wanting to visit Montreal was to finally set foot in the foodie capital of North America, Au Pied de Cochon. Last February we had an amazing meal at Joe Beef that I still dream about, and knowing that APC could be even better has kept me salivating for a good portion of the past year. I'm so happy to report that it was everything I expected. They put so much care and effort into each dish, but with the size of the portions you know they aren't being hoity-toity about anything. It's just good, rich food treated with a lot of care. Everything seems to be house made, from the butter on your bread to the cream whipped on top of your milkshake. It makes all the difference. We visited APC not just once but twice, once for dinner and again for... second dinner, after Europea (review to come). Actually, you could call it third dinner as we had Brit & Chips for a quick pre-dinner. The waiter was so impressed with us that he poured us digestifs and drank one down with us. A pretty good sign, as his first reaction to our declarations of foodie achievement was a French-accented "I do not understand."

For continuity's sake, I'll group everything we had from both dinners into a single post.

To start: amazing sourdough bread with butter. Easy to make the rookie mistake of filling up on this glorious carb.

The first night I had their house beer, which was clean and crisp, a fantastic accompaniment to all the fatty, flavorful foods. But the second night I was really curious to try their orange slushy that spun around in a container on the bar like something in 7-11. They splash it was Compari. It's a bit strong, but for second dinner, I say its ok.

They had a sea urchin special that I will dream about for years to come. I'm learning to ignore sea urchin on the menus at raw bars because its always overpriced, its always boring. Uni on nicely vinegared sushi rice is one of my favorites, but it's never impressed me any other way. I'm glad we were pulled into the waiter's description because here, they did something I'd never seen. They placed the urchin on a heavenly, creamy mixture thick like batter and sweet like vanilla. It was so fantastic I wiped up every last drop with bread like a true Italian.

This place had my heart the minute I saw they had a Foie Gras section on the menu. Both nights we had the cromesquis de foie gras, bite-sized croquettes so hot you have to wait 30 seconds (according to the waiter, but who has that kind of self control?) before popping it in your mouth. Beneath the crusty exterior, the foie is so smooth its almost entirely liquid. It squirts out as you bite down. Then the outside melts. A revelation.

There's also the Tout Nu, hot (seared?) foie with a dark gravy served on toasted bread. And the cold terrine, that you smear on the same toasted bread like meaty butter, and topped with some kind of sweet jam. 

You know what else they considered an "appetizer"? This porky sandwich on French toast, glistening in butter and fat. A quick search on Chowhound tells me that its "maple-custard dredged brioch" with "jambon, turkey, Gruyere, Comte cheeses and guinea hen liver mousse, maple butter, apple jelly and caramelized onions." Silly me, all I had remembered was that it was a monte cristo of sorts with maple syrup on top. It was a face-punching combination of sweet and salt. Appetizer of kings.

Now onto the real food. Seafood, to lighten the mood. One night we had a whole, giant snow crab. We'd crack open the shell and mix the snowy white meat with a lemony mayo. It was worth the work, and there was lots of it.

What better way to follow up a giant snow crab than with a giant lobster roll? Usually I place lobster rolls in one of two camps: with butter or with mayo. This lobster roll was an entirely different beast. There was butter, yeah, but also foie and cheddar and slick greens and onions. It was impossibly heavy. The entire thing seems to be rolled in fat and it helps the insanely rich food just slide down your throat. 

We really wanted to try one of APC's tartes, so we went with the boudin. I was literally speechless when I saw this is what we got -- for $17! I'll admit the blood sausage weirded me out a little, since I don't think I've ever tried it. And this was crazy fluffy sausage that made me feel like i was eating just-congealed blood. Lots of it. The seasoning was really earthy, almost Indian-like, strengthening its effect. The tarte itself was buttery and flakey, and the cheese on top (brie maybe?) helped the boudin go down.

We didn't have the appetite for the world famous duck in a can dish, but hey, its Montreal and we still need our duck, so here it is. The duck breast special with onions and mushrooms in a hearty broth. Can you believe this is one of the lighter things we ate here? And, obviously, it was perfectly cooked and really delicious.

Now for dessert, because even though we were going to bust both times and I was worried that my heart was going to explode, this is Montreal and this is why we drove 6 hours to get here. Our waiter suggested the Lait frappe a la tire eponge a l'erarable PDC. Which I think means "milkshake." It's funny how they don't advertise every little thing they do to their food, but they SHOULD, because holy mother of milkshake was this thing amazing. We asked how it was so perfect. It's vanilla and maple flavored ice creams, probably  house made, with maple syrup and topped with  house made whipped cream and toffee. I don't even like toffee but I found myself sucking down constantly with only a few air breaks because this milkshake seriously was just that good. 

Following the theme of APC converting me to foods I'm not crazy about, this was a particularly good lemon meringue pie with just the right amount of acidity. Finishing this tiny pie with my dining partners was a particularly proud moment. 

Some people climb mountains, but we aspire to road trips of marathon-style gluttony. Actually, make that a triatholon, as I hopped out of our car during crazy traffic to run the rest of the way and make our reservation on time. Almost rented a bike on the way. Would have swam, too, if need be. Hail chef Martin Picard!

Au Pied de Cochon
536 Avenue Duluth Est
Montreal

My First Artist's Date

It was during that freak blizzard last month -- well, one of the freak blizzards -- that I decided to start implementing the Artist's Date into my life. I took the day off work to do a daylong creative writing class, and a few tricks to creativity was taken straight from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. The idea of the Artist's Date is to go somewhere by yourself to take in the experience through your own personal filter. None of this experience can be influenced by your friends' opinions or undermined by conversation. That afternoon, in an old Chelsea building with a winter scene out the window, I made a promise to myself to go out to eat alone, fixate on flavors, and try not to be self conscious about my lonesome status.

My first Artist's Date happened to take place in Philadelphia, at a cute tapas-style spot by Rittenhouse Square called a.kitchen. As a one-time resident of Philly about ten years ago (yikes), it was the perfect spot to spend time time in an old familiar place, viewing it through my adult-ish eyes. Ten years ago I was happy to escape campus for dinner at Johnny Rockets on South Street. This time I was set on finding a place conducive to solo dining.

a.kitchen was a great choice. I got to sit at the bar overlooking the kitchen, away from the crowded bar with the Center City drinkers. The dishes were small, so I had the opportunity to try a few things. And since i was already going to be judged for sitting alone, and drinking wine alone, being judged for overindulging seemed like an afterthought.

I started with the scallops with butternut squash and apple cider. This was the start of a trend I noticed -- the persistent mix of sweet ingredients in savory dishes. Plus, beautiful plating. Scallops are a favorite of mine, and its fun to order them in creative places. They're such versatile little creatures.

 
It was probably around this time that the chef noticed my enthusiasm and sent over this pork dish with lentils. It was not on the menu. It had some kind of maple flavors and two beautiful sauces. After I gestured that I was grateful and very much enjoying the dish, he came by and started chatting with me about how they bought this pig from New Jersey and how they found it and what they were planning to do with it. It felt a little bit like I was in a scene from Portlandia. But I enjoyed the conversation. I didn't let that hamper anything. I didn't judge myself for it. Hey. Artist's Date.

Then the mother of the sweet/salty dishes -- a duck breast on top a freakin' CIDER DONUT. It sounds weird but it worked. It worked really well. I was excited about the generous portion of warm sliced duck breast, with a spiced syrup that brought the meat and pastry together. The chef came over to explain that he wanted to call it Duck 'n' Donut on the menu but was shot down. The name reminded me of Duck Donuts in the Outer Banks. That's when I knew for sure I really liked this place. And I liked the way this guy thinks.

Being done with my Artist's Dinner but feeling ready for my Artist's Dessert, I called over my new friend and asked if I wanted cheese or something sweet. I already had the donut, so did I really need another dessert? I wasn't sure, but I let him talk me into a perfect compromise, the goat cheesecake with Riesling sorbet. It was lighter than I expected. The sorbet melted as the chef and I talked about how Philly has changed in the past ten years and what the food scene is like now.Which places have closed down and which landmarks remain. I was feeling a strange sort of nostalgia. He asked if I'd consider moving back and I said no, I think I want to leave the city just like it is. Special and mostly untouched save for the occasional visit. 

I slipped out and went for a walk. I circled Rittenhouse Square and remembered how I was hellbent on finding an apartment there one day. I went into a Barnes and Noble and checked out the literary magazines I heard about in my creative writing class. I tried not to laugh out loud when I remembered that I applied for a job at the Starbucks upstairs from there. I headed back north and circled the Franklin Museum, the library, a beautiful church, my mind balanced on memories that may have been real or smushed with other memories. Then I checked back into my hotel suite and took in the air on my borrowed balcony.

Best Artist's Date yet.

a.kitchen

135 South 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA

Tasting Menus in Cobblestone Alleys: Cava in Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire has always been my favorite place to get away from the city. Every once in awhile we need that fresh snap of chilly air, a beer flight at the brewery, quiet sleepy nights and tugboats on deep blue water to wake up to. We do a little shopping at Market Basket and prep most of our own meals when we can. But Portsmouth has so many great restaurants and it'd be a shame not to make the most of it. Our favorite spot is a little tapas place down a small cobblestone alley. Cava serves up fantastic Spanish dishes and amazingly, it's completely affordable. On our last visit with friends, two of us ordered the $30 chef's tasting menu, which includes four plates, and we got a few other plates to share. Sidenote -- everything on the chef's menu is doubled, since it was intended for two of us to share.

First on the tasting menu was a crudo. I think this was the yellow tail tuna. Fresh and pretty.

There was beef sirloin with brussel sprouts and a little something extra we couldn't be certain about. The texture reminded us of chestnuts, but were they really? They don't look or taste like what we have at Christmas every year, but the waiter assured us that we were actually correct. 

Then a creamy soup, poured tableside.

There was this. I don't remember what it was. Was it the oxtail chorizo meatball? Maybe.

But how could I forget the poutine?

I think this one was an add-on. I can never resist scallops on the menu. Especially when they're sweetened with vanilla. The cauliflower added a salty contrast.

And the staple of tapas, patatas bravas. Comprendas?

The duck breast. Kumquats. Pistachios. This plate's a beauty.

The dessert was fantastic. I believe this was the almond torta with orange, mascarpone and white chocolate.

It has been a year and a half since our last real visit, so everything had that extra special magic feel to it. This meal fit into our weekend perfectly. We vowed that it won't be that long until our next mini road trip to our favorite zen spot. Who wants to come with us next time?

Cava
10 Commercial Alley
Portsmouth, NY

Also -- the chef has a pretty cool blog with the monthly-updated menu. The backlog is my favorite part!

Milk Burger. Milk Shakes.

You know what's pretty awesome? A burger under $10.

You know what's even more awesome? When that same burger comes with bacon, jalapeno relish and melted cheese with a sunnyside up egg that juts out at you like a star. For $7.75. Behold the El Barrio from Milk Burger! It's like Shake Shack without the wait. Only you have to trek up to East Harlem for it.

Fun tip: take the Java shake for the long walk back downtown. Vanilla ice cream spun with Cafe Patron. Makes your afternoon that much better.

Rumor has it they're coming to Williamsburg this summer!

Milk Burger

2051 2nd Ave, NY, NY 10029
Btwn 105th & 106th St
(212) 360-1988

A New Ippudo Favorite

During our obligatory monthly visits to Ippudo in the wintertime, Rob and I give each other those daring looks that say "YOU be the adventurous one." We rarely get the same thing when we dine out so we can try other things, but the Akamaru Modern is the accepted favorite at Ippudo (still as beautiful and bone warming as it was two years ago). That leaves one of us with the obligation to try a different ramen, and then stare longingly at the Akamaru Modern until its offered. Relationships are all about compromise, after all.

At our last visit the other week, I willingly took the risk for one of the specials -- the Kogashi Miso Ramen with a broth made from blackened miso. Pork, cabbage, greens (watercress, maybe?) and oil. Wow. It tasted like magic crack laced with pork. I asked the waiter, what's IN this? Because it can't just be charred miso. I didn't get a straight answer. Or really any answer.

Anyway, I always order with the nitamago added on -- a soft boiled egg that lends extra richness to the already hearty broth. Not a great picture -- I was clearly shaking with anticipation -- but here it is, in all its oily glory.

I think it's still on the menu. I have a feeling neither of us will be ordering the Akamaru next time.

Ippudo NY
65 4th Ave