Fried buttermilk chicken, caribou and boudin noir were but some of the offerings at last night’s soiree celebrating the country’s top new restaurants. After sundown, a well-heeled (and presumably well-traveled) crowd headed to the Storys building to celebrate Air Canada’s enRoute magazine’s top new restaurants.
Up on the third floor, visitors shrugged off the cold, either beelining it to the bar (which turned out heavy-handed cocktails) or heading straight to the grub, which beckoned from the far wall.
The gala applauded Canada’s best new faces in the restaurant biz, three of which are our city’s very own. Bar Isabel — helmed by our resident chef, Grant van Gameren — took the crown, Electric Mud BBQ stood proud at number 10, while Shōtō was sandwiched between the two.
Not all the restaurants served up grub however there was plenty of food for all. Maison Publique (number seven) produced a relatively simple dish of Italian sausage, pickles and a garlic aioli, which, while tasty, was a tad underwhelming when compared to the other offerings.
Over at Le Bouchon du Pied Bleu (number eight), dishes included the pig’s ear with roasted red peppers, onion and a smear of chevre. But it was the so-called tarte tatin de boudin — a.k.a. rounds of silken blood sausage served atop a wee bit of apple pie — that knocked our socks off. While some found the combo to be a bit much (visions of blood dancing in heads), we found the mousse-like texture of the sausage paired with the sweetness of the pie to be quite something, returning for seconds and thirds (and fourths?).
At Vancouver’s Vij’s Railway Express (they scooped up the People’s Choice Award), bite-sized pani puri were filled with lentils and a heady coriander chutney, conjuring up Indian street food. We were told that originally they’d planned on using rice cakes as the lentil vessel, but the pani puri ended up being a deliciously superior replacement. To the side, cups of fresh chai tea — bursting with cardamom, fennel and brown sugar — were taken to the next level with the inclusion of a pistachio and almond nut medley. Decadence in a cup.
Over at at Bar Isabel, chefs van Gameren and Brandon Olsen turned out huge hunks of cold buttermilk chicken with buttermilk dipping sauce laced with jalapenos, giving it a hint of a kick. The chicken itself was brined, soaked in buttermilk, tossed in a spice mix, fried, re-tossed and re-fried, making for a super moist bird enrobed by an oh-so crispy crust. Van Gameren noted that they opted for fried chicken so the team could just serve the goods outright and enjoy the party.
The most exciting dishes of the night may have come from Newfoundland and Labrador's Fogo Island Inn (number three), exemplifying their seasonal “survival cooking” techniques.
The first, titled “Caribou and What it Eats,” offered just that: caribou and its dinner. Chef Murray McDonald treats food as one would back in the day: curing, salting, preserving. (This year they made 1,200 jars of preserves!) For this dish the caribou, which they procure directly from hunters, was slow-braised and topped with caribou moss, wild sorrel, some wild berries and served in hand-hewn spoons that McDonald made himself.
The second dish was devoured more rapidly: salt cod cakes. The cod, fished from right outside the inn, was soaked and salted for three weeks, washed, dried for five more days, and then soaked in water for an additional day to bring out the salt. The fish as then cooked with potatoes and onion, making a patty, and topped with a sweet–tangy mustard and a plume of sorrel. Newfoundland has never tasted so good.
All in all, a very inspiring night. Now only if the Michelin folks would take note and make their way to Canada…