White Plate Special

If the hijinx at Holt Renfrew weren't enough, yesterday we had the pleasure of luncheoning at Les Chèvres. "Lunch? At Les Chèvres? But I thought..." No, you read correctly, friends. Every year, during the holiday season, Les Chèvres offers a special lunchtime menu for 2 1/2 weeks before Christmas. For those of you who've been thinking of going to Les Chèvres, but haven't yet, this is a good opportunity: the two chefs there, Stelio Perombelon and Patrice Demers, have put together an excellent menu, and at 4 courses for $32 (3 savory, 1 sweet), it's a very good deal, considering the calibre of the cuisine, the atmosphere, the service. You'll have to hurry, though, the menu only lasts until December 23rd.

The rundown: together with our friend Ana, we had

Butternut Squash Soup with Cortland apple gelée and an apple-radish-herring roe garnish

Wild Mushroom Flan with stewed portobella and trompette des morts mushrooms and mousse de lait à la truffe

Pan-seared Salmon with braised fennel and a mussels-saffron bouillon

Cod and potato cake with a red wine and Cornish game hen ragout and an asparagus salad with chive oil

and our two favorites

The Roasted magret de canard, which came with a white turnip ziggurat, a few delicately sautéed Brussels sprouts, and a bitter orange purée that worked magic with the duck



and

The Longe de porc rôtie, which came topped with sautéed shiitake mushrooms and smoked onions, and was flanked with a lovely gravy boat (in this case, jus boat) made of celery rabe purée



We'd already gotten spoiled a bit by the management by the time we'd finished our main courses (extra-special service, some extras, etc.), but then came the desserts, and with Michelle and her friend Ana (another pastry chef) in attendance, all the stops got pulled.

We were served a fantastic pre-dessert consisting of fresh pineapple and mango, a coconut gelée, passion fruit foam, pineapple sorbet, and, the crowning touch, micro-cilantro



and then one of each of the three dessert specials

the legendary Pot-de-Crème au chocolat Manjari with caramel and Maldon salt [front, center]

a clementine and hazelnut bagatelle with fromage blanc [back right]

and my favorite of the day

the cranberry and pecan frozen nougat with cranberry purée and a caramelized pear [back left]



Finally, if that wasn't enough, we were treated to a plate of Patrice's beautiful mignardises to go along with our coffees.



Granted, it was all a little bit decadent, especially at noon on a Monday, but any guilt feelings we might have had sure didn't last long.

Les Chèvres, 1201 Van Horne, (514) 270-1119. Their annual lunch menu lasts through Friday the 23rd.

aj