lecker's Profile
Two days solo dining in Seoul
Lloyd: As long as you can point, you will be able to eat in most places in Seoul.
Street food is everywhere, but areas with Universities usually have plenty of restaurants and street food stalls. Try the Ewha Womans Univ, Sinchon, Hongik Univ stops on the green subway line, or Hyehwa on the blue line. Gangnam on the greenline also has tons of eating places where you can walk by, see the menu, or see what people are eating and then try a dish.
If you go to the myongdong area, which is full of street food, shops, and restaurants, there are lots of restaurants for handcut noodles, andong chicken stew, and everything you can imagine. The service people in the area usually speak Japanese and English. I usually go to myongdong for andong chicken stew and xialongbao (Chinese soup dumplings). Unfortunately, I don't even know the names of the restaurants because I go to the same place or just walk around, see which one is crowded, and give it a try. Another fun area to walk around and eat is Insadong. If you head into the alleys within Insadong, there are plenty of authentic Korean restaurants full of Korean people. These might be easier to navigate if you can't read or speak Korean. Or you could just venture into a packed restaurant that you stumble upon throughout the city, point at something someone else is eating and give it a try. That's usually how I go boldly into unfamiliar restaurants and environments.
Other dishes you may want to try is samgetang (chicken soup), jiajiamiang (noodles with black bean sauce), champon (noodles with spicy seafood), fatty pork belly, spicy tofu soup, spicy chicken stew. Of course, there is also dog soup (haven't tried it and have no interest), blood soup (have tried it and it wasn't to my liking), among others.
Good luck!
France/Alsace reviews: Au Tilleul, Le Strasbourg, L'Arnsbourg
You are so lucky to live in that part of the world! I miss it! Thanks for the additional recommendations. I'm really disappointed that there isn't enough time in the day to have more than 3 full meals! Unfortunately, we can't extend our stay in Alsace because we have family plans for the rest of our trip. I checked out the websites and they all look great! I am just counting the days...
Thanks again for the insight and tips!
France/Alsace reviews: Au Tilleul, Le Strasbourg, L'Arnsbourg
Thank you all for this great thread! My husband and I are flying to Frankfurt in a few weeks and based on your recommendations, we decided to hire a car and spend a few days in Alsace instead of going to Berlin. Yes, our friends think we're crazy for planning our destinations based on restaurants we want to eat at.
We are doing a night stay/dinner at L'Arnsbourg, then heading down to Colmar/Riquewihr for another night. I'm thinking that we could stop and have lunch at Wohlfahrt, Le Bistrots des Saveurs or le Cerf on our way to Colmar. If anyone has been to any of them, what would you recommend? Bear in mind that we will most likely have just eaten the breakfast at L'Arnsbourg, unless we are so stuffed from the dinner from the previous night that we don't, but I doubt it. We will spend a night in Colmar and will likely do dinner there. It soundsl like l'auberge de l'ill is everyone's favorite there. Are there any other stellar places that you would recommend or should we do l'auberge?
This trip back to Europe is basically an eating extravaganza/visiting family for the holidays. We now live in Asia and although we enjoy all the great Asian cuisines, French cuisine still holds a strong hold over us. My most recent French meal was at Pierre Gagnaire's in Seoul. He opened a restaurant here in 2008. The meal was fine but, I would be lying, if I did not say that I was a bit disappointed. I've had better meals at non-Michelin restaurants in Tokyo, Quebec, NYC, Singapore, Beijing and San Francisco. Again, thank you all for these tantalizing threads on the great eats in the Alsace/Strasbourg area. Happy eating!
Emma's great, Aberdeen not so...in White Plains
Thanks to everybody who recommended or mentioned X20 as a good dining experience. My husband and I just enjoyed a great deal of foie gras, quail, lamb, belly pork there and Belgian chocolates there. The menu reminded me of the menu at Harvest Supper in New Canaan. If you have a chance to get up to New Canaan, definitely try to do dinner at Harvest Supper. I prefer the small space and atmosphere of Harvest Supper to bigger venues, but I really enjoyed the meal at X20. The service was excellent and we were pleasantly surprised by the wine choices. We ordered a bottle of Rockpile, 2006 Zinfandel from Cemetary Vineyard in CA. It was delicious and very very fragrant. We're thinking about trying to order a case from the vineyard. Let's see if they will ship it overseas.
Emma's great, Aberdeen not so...in White Plains
Thanks for the tip about reservations at Nanase. We're also going to try and do X20 again, as you recommended. We like to have a fabulous 'last supper' before leaving an area. We're hoping that X20 will be it. Thanks again!
Emma's great, Aberdeen not so...in White Plains
I don't know if it was reviewed in the Times or not. I stumbled upon Emma's because it was mentioned by several chowhounds. It's rather out of the way from the main drag in White Plains so I doubt that I would have just stumbled upon it by chance. However, it's definitely worth the 5-10 minute drive to get there. Their mac and cheese was especially tasty and memorable.
Perhaps Aberdeen was just having an off night or we just ordered the wrong dishes. I ordered take-out from Bao's one night and found that I liked their food better than Aberdeen's.
Emma's great, Aberdeen not so...in White Plains
Many chowhounds mentioned Emma's Alehouse in White Plains so when we could not get a brunch reservation at X20 today, we headed over to Emma's to give it a try. We're glad that we did. As soon as we sat down, they brought us three warm donuts, which quickly disappeared into our eager mouths. The donuts were not too sweet or overly flavored with additives. The light dusting of powdered sugar was enough to impart a slight sweetness to the warm, moist donuts.
We started off with the mac & cheese, which was surprisingly good. I loved the fatty pieces of bacon and the fresh peas. They balanced out the creaminess of the parmesan quite well. For mains, I had the duck confit sandwich with warm potato chips and my husband ordered the open-faced dry-aged steak sandwich with gorgonzola, which was served with a nice side of fries. I helped myself to most of his fries. The lamb confit was tasty, but I could not finish it all so I got the second half of the sandwich wrapped to go. We wanted to try their desserts so we ordered a creme brulee and the apple cobbler. My husband's creme brulee disappeared quickly and then he helped me with the apple cobbler. The apple cobbler could have been a little less sweet for my taste buds but I'm sure most people would not mind. The apples were delicious and warm.
All in all we enjoyed brunch at Emma's and would recommend it. I noticed a lot of other patrons ordering the bloody mary, which I also would have ordered had I not been driving. Unfortunately, another place that was mentioned often on these boards, and which we tried for dinner earlier this week, did not leave such a good impression.
After reading everyone's recommendations on Aberdeen, we decided to give it a try.
I ordered the jumbo shrimp with black bean sauce and water spinach, my husband ordered the braised duck with black mushrooms.The jumbo shrimp was cooked perfectly but that did not do much to help carry the rest of the dish. I usually love black bean sauce and water spinach, not necessarily in that combination, but my dish was bland (there was hardly any flavor to the black bean sauce) and not very tasty or memorably. The braised duck was equally flavorless and not as tasty as we'd hoped. We ate a few pieces of the duck and mushroom but the majority of the dish remained on the plate when we asked for the bill. My husband ordered a bubble tea, his favorite drink whenever we're in China. They served it just like they do in China, in a plastic cup with a plastic seal so that you have to pop an opening with the thick straw that comes with it. He said it was tasty and managed to finish it even before our first entrees arrived.
I know that many chowhounds rave about Aberdeen but we just didn't experience what all the hype is about. We thought it was mediocre Cantonese food, at best, and very overpriced to be sure. I see now what so many chowhounds were saying about Westchester eateries being overpriced for what you get.
We've eaten at 42 (okay but nothing special), via quadronno (average food, high prices). And we're planning to do Nanase later this week. We are in White Plains until Sunday and then we move out of the US. If there are places in White Plains or the surrounding areas (I have a car) that we should try before we leave this area, please let me know. Thanks in advance!
Posting Delay Problem Seems to have Resolved
Thanks. I just checked my email. I didn't realize that was the reason why it wouldn't post. I thought I was losing my mind or my computer was playing tricks on me. Thanks for the clarification.
Posting Delay Problem Seems to have Resolved
I tried three attempts to post a review but none of them are posting. It's very odd because right after I post, it shows up at the top of 'my posts'. however, when i come back later or the next day, what I posted is no longer on the top of my post. When I search for it, I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know how I can fix this? I've posted the same thing three times now but none of it appears.
Thanks,
Jfoods visit Harvest Supper (New Canaan) - Delicious
I haven't tried Schoolhouse but will definitely look into it. Thanks for the tip.
Jfoods visit Harvest Supper (New Canaan) - Delicious
My husband and I ate dinner there last night and really enjoyed it. I don't know why it took us so long to get over to New Canaan to try it out. Compared to the other restaurants in the area, it's on a different scale. So far, Harvest Supper and Pasta Nostra (in SoNo) are restaurants worth mentioning for something different, special and a standout. Yes, they have an extensive wine menu. We started with a glass of Champagne to wet our palette as we reviewed the menu. They offer a $50 tasting menu, which included 5 courses, I think. It's quite a deal but we opted to order a la carte. I started with the crispy oysters and my husband ordered the foie gras. I love oysters and usually prefer them raw but the dish was nice nonetheless. After I took a bite of my husband's foie gras, the dish quickly disappeared. I guess my husband enjoyed it. For our mains my husband ordered the crispy short ribs/hangar steak and I went for the lamb loin. It was a brief toss up between the lamb loin and the sausage stuffed squid but, especially in the winter, I try to eat as much lamb as I can get. My lamb loin came with lamb sausage, crispy lamb belly and a pickled vegetable that I had never eaten before. We asked Grace what it was and she said that it's called Crosne in French. It's part of the tuber family. The tart, crunchiness of the Crosne was a nice contrast to the richness of the other flavors. We washed down our meals with bottle of pinot noir from Dundee in Oregon. It was a nice simple wine that went well with my lamb and my husband's ribs/steak. We also ordered a side of the fried risotto. We originally thought a side of vegetables would be nice but I'm glad we got the risotto. It was very flavorful. My husband didn't have room for dessert but I ordered the artisansal cheese plate. It was served with couple slices of toasted bread and a tart confit of some kind. When the waiter came to clear the plate, there was nothing left. As we paid our bill, Grace brought over two small glasses and poured us some Sauternes, our favorite dessert wine. It was truly a memorable experience. Harvest Supper is one of those places that we want to go back to over and over again. I can't really say that about a lot of the other restaurants that I have tried in the Fairfield County area or even in NYC.
What's the plan for restaurant week?
Monday evening, four of us did Molyvos and were rather disappointed. The food was mediocre at best. The highlight of the evening was the bottle of Greek wine that the Sommellier recommended. For starters, we tried the lentil soup (nothing special), the four spreads (Mikri Pikilia), salad and the dolmades. Of the four, the dolmades were the most flavorful. For entrees, two of us ordered the Roasted Chicken, one ordered the Marinated Lamb Shanks and the fourth ordered the Grilled Monk Fish. Both the roasted Chicken and Lamb Shanks dishes were too salty. We figured that the chef that night must have been too generous with the salt. Dessert was another disappointment. We ordered the Ravani (Vanilla cake) which was too sugary and sweet). We each took a few bites but could not finish the rest of the dish. The Galaktoboureko (semolina custard wrapped in phyllo) seemed to be better balanced in flavor and taste. All of us agreed that Molyvos does not deserve a repeat visit.
Japanese lunch spots in Midtown East?
I second Sakagura-less than 5 min walk from GC. They do have lunch specials and good desserts. Each time I go there, I feel like I'm back in Tokyo, right down to the warm towels they serve when you sit down and after you have finished your meal to the computerized toilets in the restroom.
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
No problem about posting later and yes I will be careful about Restaurant Row options. We're going back into the city this Friday to see another show so we may try DB Bistro, which several chowhounds recommended, or the Modern (I'm intrigued by their menu). Has anyone tried the Modern yet?
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
Given more time, I would have ordered the chocolate fondant. However, I enjoyed a delicious glass of Tokaji before we had to rush off to the show.
What's the plan for restaurant week?
Are you doing lunch or dinner? How was The Modern? I see that they're only doing dinner.
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
Thanks for the recommendation on Maze. Everybody in our party enjoyed their meal at Maze. The seared foie gras was especially tasty. We didn't have enough time for dessert so we took Rhea58's advice and stopped by Thalia after the show for cocktails/drinks. It was a great choice as well.
New Year's Eve 10-course at Laurie Raphael (long)
The meal lasted almost four hours. It definitely filled the bulk of our evening. And yes, we managed to walk up to Grand Alle just in time to see the fireworks lighting up the sky over the St. Lawrence River. The timing worked out perfectly. Our waiter informed us that a Laurie Raphael had just opened in Montreal. We haven't been to that one but I guess they are doing similarly innovative things there as well.
To-die-for tasting menu in Quebec or Montreal?
Althought LR was good, my top three still stand-if you ever have a chance I recommend those and would love to hear your experiences with each. As I mentioned in my review of LR, the last two dessert courses at the end left a bad impression. It just wasn't in keeping with the rest of the meal. If the meal had ended with the Smoky Ivory and avocado truffle with a little something extra-ordinary to tie it up, we would have been more than pleased, sated and impressed. I think Mr. Vezina's strength lies in his innovation and creativity. It makes me wonder if perhaps someone else was responsible for the desserts. I enjoyed most of the courses and I enjoyed the experience.
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
Rhea58 thanks. that sounds like a good idea. dinner will be a little tight (on time) so if we skip dessert and have it after the show at Thalia, it'll give us an opportunity to try two places in one night.
To-die-for tasting menu in Quebec or Montreal?
Okay, you asked for it. I posted my review of LR. Unfortunately, I'm still a novice so I'm not sure how to link that post here so that you can get to it easily-Sorry. The post is titled, New Year's Eve 10-course at Laurie Raphael. Again, thanks everybody for your replies and suggestions.
New Year's Eve 10-course at Laurie Raphael (long)
After looking through the windows of Toast, Le St. Amour and Laurie Raphael, we decided to cancel our reservation at Le St. Amour and try to get a table at Laurie Raphael for New Year’s Eve dinner. Luckily, they were able to squeeze us in.
We arrived a little before 8pm and were quickly seated at a two-top table along the wall that separates the bar from the long side of the dining room. Each table was decorated with festive balloons and the place was packed with a mix of well-dressed diners decked out for the Opera as well as casually attired locals hungry for a good meal.
We reviewed the regular menu but it did not particularly stand out so we decided to try the 10-course degustation. Given the diverse nature of the 10 courses, we opted for the wine pairings and hoped for the best.
Before our course began, the waiter offered us caviar with a shot of Chopin Vodka. I declined but my husband said, “Oui.” I need to be in the mood for caviar and at that moment, I was not.
The caviar soon arrived, enthroned on a bed of airy potato foam. My husband took a spoonful and then offered me a taste. The rich saltiness of the caviar provided the neutral potato foam a nice flavor. I thought it was interesting to match the potato vodka with the potato foam but it wasn’t anything spectacular. I wondered what else could have gone nicely with it.
As my husband enjoyed his caviar, I examined the wooden place mats that reminded me of Tokyo and the many splendid meals that we had enjoyed there. I hope that this place would not disappoint.
1st course: Fresh “Raspberry Point” oyster with grapefruit juice, Labneh cheese and salmon trout roe.
My husband is not an oyster fan but he actually liked this dish. It was a safe way to introduce him to fresh oysters without going full-blown on the naked half-shell. The waiter explained that the grapefruit juice was made with nitrogen. I assumed that he meant liquid Nitrogen was used to freeze the grapefruit and then pulverize it but with his limited English and my minimal French, I didn’t question him too much.
The wine pairing for the oyster was a 2005 Lis Netis, Pinot Grigio. It accompanied the oyster well without overstepping its boundaries. It was a nice starter wine; not too heavy, not too distinct, just mild.
2nd course: Lobster inclination with ox-eye daisy capers and lemon vinegar.
The delicious lobster was served in a cylindrical shot class, inclined to about 45 degrees from the table surface by a wooden base. Little bits of succulent lobster sat on top of a lobster bisque jelly. It was only a few spoonfuls but I enjoyed each bite of this dish. It was simply sublime.
3rd course: Foie gras tartare, ice cream and meringue, figs and vanilla oil
This sweet dish had little bits of foie gras swimming in a creamy lane of fig and vanilla ice cream, with pecan floaters here and there. A decadent dream for the taste buds.
There was no wine pairing for this course so I ordered a glass of 2005 Tokaji and my husband ordered a glass of Sauterne. Although my Tokaji had a beautiful floral scent like Sauterne, when I tasted it, it was sweeter than the Sauterne and accented with hints of apricot. Yummy! My husband reminded me that I had enjoyed Tokaji when we were last in Hungary, but to be honest, I couldn’t remember. It was so many meals and so so many wines ago. I hoped that we could find some in the local SAG shop to take back with us.
4th Course: Poultry broth and scallops Yet Ca Mein
When the waiter brought out this dish, she was carrying a gigantic syringe. After placing each of the small ceramic and earthen bowls in front of us, she opened the lids and squeezed out the syringe substance into each of our bowls. Then she quickly replaced the lids and told us to wait 30 seconds, remove the covers, mix and eat.
My husband and I just looked at each other and I said, “It’s like the ramen they serve on United: add water, put the lid back on and wait for the dried noodles to expand into a bloated mess.” Let’s hope it tastes better than ramen from a paper cup.” After what seemed like 30 seconds, we both opened the lids and peered inside.
Indeed the scallop, which is what was in the syringe, looked like curly waves of noodles and tasted good. The earthy broth was bold and even more delicious. It was too rich to be chicken. My husband thought it tasted like ox; I thought it smelled and tasted a bit like duck. We asked the waiter what the broth was made from and he replied that he needed to go and check with the chef because he didn’t know. When he came back, he announced, “It’s duck.” I was pleasantly surprised that I had guessed right because usually my husband detects flavors better than me. The duck broth provided a nice base for the floating radishes, zucchini and baby bok choy. I patiently scooped spoonfuls of broth into my eager mouth and relished the wonderful flavors that something so simple as a broth could deliver. If we had been in Asia, I wouldn’t have thought twice about putting the ceramic bowl to my lips to tilt back the last few drops of soup into my mouth. However, in that setting and environment, I just couldn’t’ bring myself to do it, no matter how much I wanted to.
Second wine pairing was a true surprise and interesting wine. The waiter poured us Les bruyerres, Chardonnay, Arbois 2005 Stephan Tissot. It was an intriguing and funky wine, very different from the norm. Its strong scent of alcohol was seasoned with something provincial, earthy and alive; went well with the duck broth and scallop. It was a wine that definitely stood out for us that evening because it was so different.
5th Course: Braised veal cheek and homemade blood pudding and caramelized shallots, deep fried potato ring and Redcort apple puree.
Third wine pairing was a Domaine Ostertag- a pinot noir from Alsace. It was a good choice for the veal cheeks. I’ve never been a big fan of blood pudding and this experience did not convert me. However, I loved the veal cheeks, which were perfectly cooked to reveal tender morsels in each bite. The tart apple puree provided a nice contrast to the rich veal cheeks.
6th Course: Piglet from Gaspor Farm, flavored with mountain cranberry compote, beet gnocchi, roasted fingerling potato, petite corn and mushroom.
Unlike the previous five courses, this dish was substantial and perhaps a bit too generous for my stomach. My husband enjoyed his piglet and commented that it was his favorite dish thus far. I found it average and reminiscent of piglet dishes with vegetables that I’d enjoyed before. I usually like the sweet taste of beets and well-made gnocchi, but I wasn’t really sold on the beet gnocchi. They were a tad dry and flavorless to me.
Fourth wine pairing was a Rioja, Tempranillo, Marquis de Cervais- 1985. Okay, I have to be honest, by then I was feeling a nice buzz and could not really appreciate the Rioja as I would have had it been my first glass of wine that day.
7th Course: Blue cheese espuma from Quebec , smoked duck, gingerbread tile, pear purée.
Unique interpretation of the cheese course was original, tasty without being too indulgent. I found the smoked duck too salty but my husband did not seem to mind. By now, I realized that the diversity of the wine pairings was too much.
The fifth wine pairing was a surprisingly sweet Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz von Alsace. It worked fine with the seventh course:
8th course: Smoky Ivory and avocado truffle
This dish came out smoking. Once the smoke started to clear, a small lollipop emerged, sitting on top of a tall cylindrical shot glass. White chocolate lollipops filled with avocado crème. I’m not a fan of white chocolate but I have to admit it was pretty darn tasty. I appreciated the explosion of avocado crème inside even better. The waiter told us to drink the liquid on the bottom of the glass after the smoke cleared from the glass. Expectantly, I looked forward to drinking the clear liquid, wondering what it could be, but alas when I tasted it, it just tasted like tepid water.
The sixth white wine pairing offered was sweet. That’s all I remember of the wine. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what it was. As I washed down the wine, I filled my mouth with:
The 9th course: New Year’s Eve mountain ash cake
This dish included a ball of delicious maple syrup cotton candy, a small piece of cake and a sorbet. Of the three items, the maple syrup cotton candy was the most memorable and the only one that I finished. I’m not a fan of sorbet and the cake was nothing outstanding. By this time, after three and a half hours of eating, I felt well fed and ready to bear the cold to walk back to our hotel, stopping along the way on Grand Alle to watch the fireworks at midnight. However, the meal wasn’t quite over. The waiter brought out two classes of Champagne and the final dessert:
the 10th course: Snowball with wild strawberries and barley water jelly.
Everything was white: the plate, the round meringue snowball and even the two smaller rectangular-shaped jelly; not a very interesting or appetizing presentation. As my spoon broke into the meringue, red strawberries oozed out. I enjoyed the taste of the sweet berries but in combination with the sweetness of the meringue, it was too much sugar and sweetness for even my sweet tooth. I tried one of the rectangular barley water jellies but it didn’t thrill me or delight me so I stopped eating it. I felt a bit let down. After so many wonderful course in the beginning and middle of our meal, I expected the finality to be an explosive climax. Unfortunately, the last three courses were not as grand as I had hoped.
Firstly, three sweet desserts were two too many for my taste buds. Even my husband, who has the most incredible sweet tooth of anyone I know, thought the three sweets were too much. If the chef wanted to offer all the dessert options, he could have combined it into one course, executed smaller portions and presented a cornucopia of dessert tidbits on one plate, freeing up two other courses to do something more magical and experimental. Instead, the three separate presentations of very sugary and not too exciting offerings only made me wish that the dinner would end sooner than later. When the waiter asked for feedback on our meal, we shared our concern with him.
I would have preferred to see more of the interesting offerings that the chef presented at the beginning of the course, also be presented at the end. That would have been a better end to an otherwise good evening. Additionally, the next time we do a 10-course meal, instead of wine pairings, we would order our own wines. Although the allure of trying different wines with each course is tempting, by the middle of the meal, it’s hard to keep track of all the competing tastes and truly appreciate the different wines. Therefore, we would probably start with a bottle of Champagne, and then order a bottle (or two) of wine to complement the bulk of the courses. And then finally end with some dessert wines or after dinner drinks.
I apologize if I have bastardized the spelling of the wines. I should have taken better notes or at least asked to see the wine bottles more closely to get the names and spellings correct. Instead, I relied on memory and recall. There are a few photos attached below.
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Restaurant Laurie Raphael
117 rue Dalhousie, Quebec, QC G1K 9C8, CA
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
My friend has already been to Marseille so we're trying to find another place that none of us has tried. Has anyone tried Maze? If so, what did you think?
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
Marseille it is. I just checked out their menu and they have a lot of duck options, which my husband will appreciate. Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!! I'm also going to try Thalia and the others on my next trip to that part of town.
Great places to eat in Seoul, Korea (long)
Thanks for your suggestions. I'm moving to Seoul in a few months and will definitely try all the places that you recommended.
Great food near 44th & Broadway?
A friend is treating my husband and me to Equus at the Broadhurst Theater next Friday. We want to take him out for a nice dinner before the show. I'm not too familiar with the options in that area of Midtown so I would love any suggestions for restaurants:
Criteria: no seafood (friend doesn't like fish, he prefers steak or meat), moderately priced, nothing touristy, showy or sports-bar oriented, no chains. I'd like great food, not too noisy and boisterous, and close enough to the Broadhurst Theater to walk (within 20-min walking distance). I noticed DB Bistro Modern, Chez Josephine, Breeze, Hell's Kitchen and Virgil's BBQ from the NYTimes but have not been to any of them and am not sure how good any of them are.Thanks for any suggestions you can share.
Good wine pairings at 'Utopie- Quebec City
Carswell, you're right, I screwed up and switched the champagne and the first wine pairing. Sorry about that! Thanks for catching it! the memo option on my iphone is not the best format to take notes during my meals. I need to do a better job of taking photos and asking the sommelier to leave the wine bottles so that I can write down the names without having to resort to pure memory. I wish we had bought a few bottles of Quebec wine to bring back home with us but it didn't work out this time. Perhaps the next visit we'll have a better opportunity.
Good wine pairings at 'Utopie- Quebec City
Because I wanted to have lunch at utopie, we trudge through the snow from our hotel on Grande Allee to rue St. Joseph Est in the St. Roch area of Quebec. Rue St. Joseph’s is a cozy street lined on both sides with cafes, shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, many places, including Café du Clocher, were closed for the holidays. Fortunately, Utopia was one of the few restaurants open. We were the first patrons to arrive, but after we were seated, a table of four followed us in. It was nice not to have the entire spacious restaurant to ourselves. Others followed soon thereafter.
For lunch, utopie offered a set menu of appetizer, main and dessert for $22. It seemed like a reasonable deal so we ordered couple glasses of Champagne (Louis Coucardi) to wet our palette as we reviewed the menu offerings and looked over their wine list.
Their wine list is long and impressive. It starts with local Quebec wines from $36 and runs all the way up to the thousands of dollars for bottles of Pomerol, Bordeaux and even a Chateau Petrus. If only I were the CEO of a bankrupt company so I could afford such extravagances.
After reviewing the menu and realizing that my husband would choose the deer and I would choose the skate, we could not decide on a bottle of wine so we opted for wine pairings and left our wine decisions up to the knowledgeable waiter.
For starters, they offered two options. Luckily, I chose 2 and my husband 1 (see below). I say luckily because I hate it when my husband chooses the same thing as me. And even when I try to convince him to select the other choice, so that I can try them both, he’ll opt for exactly what he wants. He’s rather stubborn that way but I love him just the same.
1.Rillette de lapin aux noisettes (rabbit)
Pulled rabbit hazelnut, Apple chutney, currants, onion puree,
2. creme de courge butternut, cumin dusts, seeds
Butternut squash soup with seeds, dusts of cumin
My soup tasted like pure butternut, without any added embellishments. It was rich, simple and quite delicious, served with a few toasted seeds on top and a single strip of cumin dust across the plate’s side. I probably could have eaten another serving of that soup but thankfully the cooks knew better than to fill my stomach with soup. My husband wasted no time devouring his plate of delectable offerings. Halfway through my soup, I looked up and saw that his plate was cleaned perfectly, not a drop of anything for me to taste. His only respond to my accusing eyes: “but…you don’t like hazelnut.”
For our first wine pairing, the waiter started us on the same wine: a Rhone Valley white from a mix of Rhine and Rhone valley grapes. I think it was from Legouge-Copin. I’m familiar with reds from the Rhone Valley but not the whites. It was a nice, subtle wine that went well with the simplicity of my soup. I can only surmise that it also went well with my husband’s starter because he didn’t complain.
For the mains, utopie offered a choice from four selections: Morue poele (codfish), Bavette de cerf (deer), aile de raie (skate) and filet de porc (pork). I chose the skate and my husband, carnivore that he is, chose the deer.
To complement my skate, the waiter chose a Chardonnay and Seyvall blend from Farmham, Quebec. I was not aware that Quebec was a wine-producing region. Our waiter explained that it was not common knowledge but that some producers did indeed make good wines in that cold climate. I had never heard of Seyvalls but the blend was surprisingly tasty. I usually don’t like Chardonnays, especially the ones that are yeasty. This blend was clean, a bit buttery and went well with my skate. My skate dish contained a rather generous portion of skate sitting on top of a zucchini puree, flanked on both sides by popped rice filled rolls of aubergine. I wasn’t too crazy about the way that the popped rice looked nor about its taste but the aubergine was surprisingly good. I am usually not an aubergine fan but when the waiter came to clear my plate, all that remained was the last few bites of skate, which I could not finish because I was getting so very full.
My husband’s deer was also generous served with potatoes and mashed turnips: definitely a manly man’s meal. My husband noted that the deer was cooked perfectly. He washed his deer down with a glass of full-bodied red wine from Cahors. He was delighted with the choice. Many years ago, we toured the Cahors region of France, visiting vineyards, enjoying the wines from that region and lugging home cases of wine. It’s rare to find Cahors wines offered in restaurants and the fact that our waiter had chosen one to accompany the rich flavor of game meat boded well for his tip. My husband was more than pleased with how the gorgeous wine suited the heady richness of the deer. He was in heaven.
Sadly for me, the rest of our three-course meal was a letdown. The dessert was a green tea, lemon and black-sesame cake, served with a scoop of black cherry sorbet. I’ve never been a fan of sorbet or fruit ice creams, with the exception of banana gelato in Italy (yummy!). I prefer my ice cream fatty, creamy and fatty, not tart and slimy. As for the cake, it reminded me of so many cakes you see in the window of so many generic cafes in Tokyo. And the taste was as bland and uninspiring as if it were one of a million generics. It lacked pizzazz, punch or pep. I want my dessert to be a crescendo and a cap to a wonderful meal. Is that so hard to achieve? It just such a letdown. I only took one scoop of the ice cream and one reluctant scoop of the cake before I quickly grabbed my over-foamed cappuccino to try and rid myself of the lingering dessert tastes. My husband, the lover of all things sweet, did not seem to mind the dessert and finished off his plate before I even took my first bite of cake.
In conclusion, the smart wine pairings that our waiter put together for our meal were the highlight. Although I enjoyed the butternut soup and the skate, the disappointment from the dessert was hard to let go. I’ve heard such raving reviews of this restaurant from other chowhounds that I can only surmise that their offerings for dinner or for their tasting menu is on a different tier than what we experienced at lunch. If that is the case, I am definitely open to giving that a go the next time we’re in Quebec City. I've included a few photos below.
Nice Sunday dinner at Pop!
I wish I could get back up to Montreal before I move again, but I don't think I'll have time. I'll add Au Cinquieme Peche, A L'Os and L'express to my list for CA eats. Thanks for those tips. I had another bone marrow dish when I was in Quebec City at Cafe du Monde. I haven't had a chance to write that review up yet but their bone marrow dish was a tasty, comforting soup, which I also made disappear PDQ. I am SO envious of all you folks who actually live in Montreal and get to eat great food all year round.
Where to buy fresh gooseberries near Norwalk?
Tried Stew's. They said that they don't carry them either. I guess I must resign myself to eating them again when I'm out of the US. Thanks for your suggestions.
