Cuisine et Dependance, Montreal

 

Event: Dinner at Cuisine et Dependance
Friday Oct 16th, 2009 5:30PM
Type of restaurant: Mix of Modern and Classic Bistro fare
4902 St.Laurent Blvd, Montreal, QC
http://www.cuisineetdependance.ca/
514-842-1500

 

THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED – THIS REVIEW IS KEPT ONLINE FOR  HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION

 

 

 This is one restaurant which sudden growing interest for (see page 9 of the Chatboard) had caught me by total surprise. Well, I know that their chef was a star back to the days of his old restaurant at St Augustin (I even  highly regarded him as one of Quebec’s best chefs based on the amazing job he did overthere), but when I heard he moved to Mtl and was doing bistro, I never manifested any particular interest since I prefer bistro-centric star chefs (M sur Masson’s Filiatreault, Michael Ross from Old Brunoise, Loiseau from Bistro Cocagne, etc) behind a .. bistro kitchen!

But I owe you a lot from your old time loyalty (already 10 years of following me all around!), so I said “Why not?”, specially for a bistro that has barely been reviewed by the next door foodies that most of us are (there are reviews on C&D by newspapers/magazine’s  food journalists, couple of comments here and there on the web, but apart one article that was once published on montrealfoodie.com — I think the article was retrieved since I do not see it anymore / pls correct me if I am wrong here — I haven’t yet read any next door foodie’s fully detailed review about this restaurant). To that regard, it was kind of interesting to break the ice. So, after the luxurious dinner of last Friday at XO, I was searching for a counter-balance: something more bistro-esque, this time! My heart said “Go to Mas Cuisine!!” (it’s about time I give Ross’s Brunoise successor a try…I can’t believe I’ve never been to this one!!), but another part of me whispered “Don’t forget the girls and boys who have been asking you to try C&D for them”. I went for the latest this Friday evening (Mas, I am coming at you soon!! believe me!).

Decor is minimalist (no heavy distracting decorations) and yet of stylish modern bistro type with an omnipresence of warm colors (green, brown, wall bricks painted in white) and darker ones (black, darker floor, dark roof). Very pretty decor, very airy (even when it is busy, you do not get that uncomfy feel of beeing jam packed)

and welcoming glass windows offering a perfect penetration of natural light:

They have both a fixe menu available everyday (basically, some menu items that were so popular that they decided to make available on a daily basis such as some delicatessen, ray wings, their very popular veal cheeks):

AND also a variable menu that changes daily (written on  paperboards):

The paperboard menus are very accessible and omnipresent, so you wont have to worry about beeing able to read the menu or not (anyway, the waiter re-explains the entire menu at the table).

I started by chosing a wine. As usual, I always go for a wine that I am not familiar with.
I went with the 2007 Corsican Fiumeseccu (Domaine d’Alzipratu)  red wine. This wine really gets better upon decantation. Some wines gets worst after they are decanted, but this was is the total opposite: at first, it sports a strange confusing acidic deep taste barely detectable berries, liquorice and peppery touch (really not that pleasant on the first 5 minutes, well at least not to my tastebuds)…then, it evolved gradually (10,15 minutes after it was decanted) into a  a nice wine suddently characterized by a pleasant light fruity and subtly spiced enjoyable good wine:

I picked a first appetizer of crab, called “Crabe tourteau”:
 This starter consisted of crab meat, nicely concocted in a light taragon-flavored delicious cream of mayo, sandwiched between two very tasty buttery slightly-toasted slices of “dodu du fromentier”‘s bread: the crab meat was amazingly fresh (as if it came right from the sea), tender, nicely seasoned, flavorful and very tasty. It was served along fresh mesclun baby leaves that were ideally crunchy on top of complementing perfectly well the crab meat. Refreshing and Delicious!
PS: Do not search far for what “Crabe Tourteau” is. “Crabe Tourteau” is just another naming for the big majority of some common crab species. It’s just “cuter/more inspired/etymologically richer” to put it as “Crab Tourteau” 10/10

I then picked a second  appetizer called “Tartelette de Boudin”:
 The blood sausage tart was surrounded by nice fresh green salad (amazingly light and tasty vinaigrette, Yeah..I could do that salad  at home, but hey this was very nice nevertheless), topped by tasty crunchy slices of fresh green apples (apple as a salad could be a wow. That is the case here!), a chunk of rich greasy bacon lardon (I could live without it..but it was irreproachably tasty). The two pieces of blood sausages were nicely concocted, had an awesome inside smoothness and was perfectly flavored. They were sitting on a flat savourish slightly enjoyable sweet biscuit topped by an intense rich and all flavorful onion fondue. I liked the precision both in terms of mouthfeel and cooking of that fondue: It was more of a jam of chopped pieces of onions, cooked to perfection with flawless  well balanced tastes and flavors. It’s when simple things are done so well that you measure the grandeur of a chef, and this is a perfect example of just that -> straightforward onion jam-alike fondue that’s very tasty. Not one flavor was outperforming here! The biscuit was light, had a heavenly enjoyable subtle buttery taste and was litteraly melting mouth crispy!A lot of great work here on this appetizer: various layers of tastes that paired so well between one another. 8/10

Then the braised veal cheeks:
 The braised veal cheeks were sitting on top of a nice rich creamy delicious potato purée. The cheeks were undeniably very tender and packed with remarkable flavors. Nicely cooked and delectable mouthfeel on top of being perfectly well seasoned. Not too salty, not too greasy, not lacking at all in terms of flavors. In the plate, there was a nice piece of beet (nicely crunchy,  lightly sweet) with carrots. I am not a big fan of veal cheeks, but since this is one of their signature dishes, I had to try it and this was definitely lovely. 7.5/10

Concluded with a vanilla pot de crème:
 The pot de crème was flawless on all accounts: light, rich  and delicious in taste. Topped by a nice little touch of little slices of nuts. 8/10

I also ended with a nice warm brazilian coffee:

Service:
I really liked the non formal, relax service provided by my waiter, Yves Larose. This gentleman is what I would qualify as an open minded intellectual with lots of outlooks on practically anything. Interesting person to talk to. And really passionate about what he does: he takes proud detailing each product and reminding how pure and natural they stand (I trust him: the freshness of the ingredients here are undeniable! As fresh as if there was a market and a fishermen’s village right in front of the restaurant!).

Jean-Paul Giroux is one of the few Chefs around the globe that I hold in high esteem. If I had to spend the rest of my life on a desert Island with just 3,5 Chefs to feed me, he would be among those very few. Because he has a great palate (not all Chefs do, believe me!), because he knows how to deliver the most important: delicious food. Because he knows how to deliver them: the simple way possible, but with remarkable palatable impact. Where some do  skip  many essential steps and are busy discovering the next trends of the moment, I remain convinced that great food needs no complex interventions but simplicity expressed with tremendous personal culinaric skills.

Bottom line: this is exactly what I am looking for when I go to a restaurant -> food that is profoundly delicious, executed with inspiration and talent by a Chef entirely dedicated to the ultimate purpose of dining: leaving pleasurable imprints on his customers palates.