État-Major comes highly recommended
LOOKING FOR a fine option for an inexpensive BYOW establishment? Look no further than this Hochelaga-Maisonneuve spot
Last week, I featured a bring-your-own-wine restaurant in this column, and this week, I decided, what the heck, let’s go BYOW again. And I could go on for a while in this manner because I get more requests for BYOW restaurants than for brunch spots on Mother’s Day. “Can you recommend a good, cheap restaurant?” many an acquaintance asks before dropping his or her voice down to a whisper and adding, “preferably, BYOW.” Yeah sure, amigo, no problem.
But before we go any further, a few words about that “cheap” pre-requisite. Keepin mind that a good restaurant does not come cheap. It would be illogical to think that a meal made with pristine local ingredients at the hands of trained chefs will ever be a bargain. And if it is, someone along the way is getting shafted. We all want a deal in life, but there’s a price to pay for those discount supermarket prawns, those dirt-cheap tomatoes, and that $2 hamburger. And I hate to think of the number of skilled chefs out there making a pittance of a salary, and trust me there are many.
There are good, cheap restaurants out there, but if it’s more of a fine-dining experience you’re after, chances are, the better the meal, the higher the price. And considering how low restaurant prices are in Montreal compared to other reputable food cities, even at the top end, we’re never paying top price. How can we gripe about a $26 lobster appetizer at Toqué! when a lobster carpaccio appetizer at Michel Guérard’s restaurant in France will set you back $96? And I wouldn’t bet that Guérard’s is superior. All that to say, in Montreal, considering the monstrous prices we are seeing elsewhere, we’re laughing.
But back to the BYOW restaurant, an option that really is win-win for anyone looking to slash the old “addition.” My gripe with prices in restaurants rarely concerns the food. But inflating wine prices really rots my socks because it’s such an obvious jab to the customers, an easy way to bring in the bucks without doing much. Drinking ordinary wines sold at an exorbitant price in restaurants is never enjoyable. So, ultimately, if you’re going to save dollars at dinner, it’s a great way to go. That said, don’t expect the better BYOW restaurants to be cheap, and this week’s is a good one — while it’s not cheap, it’s very reasonably priced.
Owned by the same team behind two of Montreal’s best BYOW restos, Quartier Général and La Pégase, État-Major opened last November in the reluctantly upcoming neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Proving the power of the swish BYOW format, the restaurant launched with such force that I actually gave up trying to nab a weekend table until the scene settled down. Last week, I finally nailed one (my pleading request on the restaurant’s answering machine might have played a role in that), so I made my way east with two friends and a wine writer who brought 10 bottles along for sampling with the meal.
There’s no missing ÉtatMajor when making your way to its front door. It’s the place with huge windows overlooking the street and a full-house of diners as early as 6 p.m. At 6:30 on a Friday, we were the last foursome to take our seats. Already plates were flying out of the kitchen — and boy, did they look good. The room is bigger than your average BYOW resto. The look is bistro-chair/baretable minimalist, and there’s a busy bar next to an open kitchen whence all of the action unfurls. Ambience city.
Our waiter, a dead ringer for Jude Law, is an asset to this establishment. His menu descriptions were precise and his manner was cool but friendly. You can order à la carte, but the deal here is the four-course menu that begins with a soup or salad, then carries on through the usual appetizer/main/dessert lineup. And though such menus usually begin with a sad salad or a watery soup, the leek soup served with an asparagus/ walnut mix plopped in the middle was hearty and delicious, and the heaping green salad was highlighted by a well-balanced vinaigrette. Great start.
The next course was even better. A terrine consisting of seared foie gras slices arrived with homemade brioche and dates covered with homemade sesame snaps. There’s a $10 supplement for that dish, but the foie gras is so delicate and flavourful that it’s worth it. Wianno oysters from Cape Cod were available last week and the plate we enjoyed ($14 for six or $26 for a dozen) were perfectly shucked and served with the requisite Tabasco and mignonette accompaniments. A dish of deer tataki was generous in portion and the slices were ultra tender, but the sauce was a bit too sweet. Instead, I’d recommend the quail. Served on a bed of spicy couscous studded with chickpeas, and a yogurt sauce alongside, the two pieces of quail were crisp and succulent. What a terrific little dish that was.
Thumbs up also for the veal tartare. Veal tartare is rare on the Montreal restaurant scene compared to beef or salmon standbys; this one worked because of the generous addition of tomato and wonderful carrot chips speared into the mix. So far, all good.
Alas, main courses dropped the level of the meal down a serious notch, as two of our four dishes were duds — not serious duds, mind you, but duds, nonetheless. Served with a few fat asparagus spears, a plate of monkfish failed because this usually firm-fleshed fish dissolved into pieces when pierced, and the accompanying bisque-like foamy sauce didn’t deliver the lobstery punch I expected. And then there was the rabbit. Boned and served stuffed atop a julienne of vegetables, the rabbit fell flat because it was dry. The leanest of meats, rabbit takes on a cottony texture when overcooked. Even when passed around for all to taste, half of this dish came back untouched. Dommage …
Instead, I’d recommend the lamb or veal filet. My lamb was rosé, tender, fullflavoured and served with Chinese eggplant that was sliced in half and gratinéed Provençal-style with a topping of breadcrumbs. Everyone swooned over that one. Coming in a close second was the veal filet. Placed on a bed of black beans and wilted greens draped with a tomato supreme, the veal was roasted rare and enhanced with rich pan juices. With a terrific bottle of Vinsobres Côte-duRhône red, both those dishes soared.
Desserts were more satisfying than earth-shattering. There was a tiramisu without the coffee flavouring, which I’d rebrand a mascarpone mousse. I’d recommend they toss a few raspberries in there or something because a tiramisu without coffee is like Bonnie without Clyde, Laurel without Hardy, or Brad with- out Angie. There was also a fine chocolate mousse served with some odd nutty cookies stuck in the top, and a profiterole that didn’t score as high in looks as calories. My favourite dessert was the most simple, a financier cake served with a zigzag of lemon curd and a quenelle of berry sorbet. Perfect.
The bill for this generous meal for four came to $230, tax and tip included. Dinner for under $60 per person (all in), is what I’d call a deal. Granted it wasn’t necessarily wow-worthy and there was a certain sameness in flavours to many of the dishes, but for a night out with friends, ÉtatMajor comes highly recom- mended. Add superb service to the mix and you have a winner. So dear acquaintances, next time you’re looking for a good cheap restaurant, you have your answer right here. But let’s be clear: though a night at this restaurant is certainly inexpensive, there is nothing about it I’d consider cheap.
You can hear Lesley Chesterman on ICI Radio-Canada Première’s (95.1 FM) Médium Large Tuesdays at 10 a.m., and on CHOM (97.7 FM) Wednesdays at 7:10 a.m.
Sarah Musgrave’s Casual Dining will return