Every year, Le Festival en Lumiere offers us a glimmer of hope in winter where restaurants throughout the city serve up some incredible meals and for us the big bonus is that some who normally never do brunch offer a brunch menu. This year was no different and we got a chance to check out the legendary Toque. If you aren’t familiar with Toque, it is the restaurant of world famous chef and godfather of Montreal cuisine, Normand Laprise. This is the guy who put Montreal and ultimately Quebec on the culinary food map. A meal here is usually outside of most people’s casual dining budget. Their wine list is impressive; and, their meals are a roller coaster ride for your taste buds. The only issue is that they don’t do brunch. So, when we saw that they were offering up brunch this year we made sure to book a table.

This year we had 3 bloggers with us: Divas #2 from the Montreal food divas; and two members of Tastebud Society; excitement was high with such a rare opportunity.

This year’s theme was the old soldiers as in veteran members that have passed through Toque. Each dish was created by someone different who had worked there. This makes it very interesting to see what you will get on the menu considering the various views and takes on food.

We started off with a choice of cocktails. There was a blood orange mimosa – this was a different twist on your normal brunch mimosa and was a welcome change to see someone taking a hand on changing an old classic that often sees little change. I still prefer my mimosas classic with orange juice but to see something new and taste good is always enjoyable. The gin cocktail was reliably good primarily because it had gin and I love gin… a lot. So you can tell by that statement that I am biased. Being critical, I felt the lime taste was more pronounced and as others at the table mentioned we did not taste the maple syrup at all, granted it may be understated, but none of us could find it.

Initially, we started off with an impressive seafood platter done by Cherryl Johnson which included sea urchin, razor clams, burbot liver, and a sorbet. The meal came out on a large metal bowl filled with ice and topped with these delights from the sea. The razor clams were one of my favourites and the sea urchin was not only impressive to see but also to taste. This had to be the most visually impressive dish on the menu.

The marinated trout tartar by Mehdi Brunet Benkritly came on a wooden tray with loads of fish roe, mini potato pancakes, eggs and tomatoes. The dish was a delight that tickled out taste buds; the presentation was impressive, the dish itself was light which is generally an issue if you have a large appetite but since there were multiple courses we weren’t too worried.

Next we had the blanquette de veau, which translated means veal ragout – it loses something in translation. The main aspect of this dish is that the meal is cooked in a white stock. This is a classic French dish that I have never seen before. Since I am a fan of the classics, this was my least favourite dish. In regards to taste, it was good but not as impressive as the others and the look of dish did not knock my socks off.

The next dish by chef intern Guillaume Sylvestre was called quail Ken-Toque which we joked about it being Kentucky fried chicken with a name so similar sounding. When we saw the dish it made us laugh. It was a mini bucket of fried quail with a face on it of whom I can only assume was Guillaume Sylvestre. I felt this was the most amusing presentation of any of the dishes. Although, when it came to the taste of the dish it was no laughing matter. You cannot go wrong when you fry meat and to have quail done this way was both fun and tasty. As a bonus, there was a salad that came with it that helped balance out the deep fried artery clogging quail. This was the knock out dish the one that filled up everyone and left us with eyes wide open.

Lastly, came the dessert by Hugue Dufour, which is a poetic mix of cinnamon brioche, lady fingers and caramel chocolate chip cookies. Although, these items seem a mix they fit together into a harmonious group. This is a dessert-lovers dream come true: it is every kind of dessert treat in one item. I fear that in my life I may never have a dessert as impressive as this.

Everything done at Toque is nothing short of perfect – from the service, the dishes, the wine; even the bill is on a thicker stock of paper. The seafood platter, dessert, and fried quail were stand out dishes. I did feel that the blanquette was the least impressive dish although I did like and respect the fact that this recipe is over a hundred years old and to have it brought to our plate was impressive. I just felt its taste and presentation were not as impressive as the rest offered. That being said I cannot wait until next year.

MAP