FLAMES STOKED AT MERCURI
Star chef displays his talents
Restaurants are all about cooking. Yes, there can be a fantastic design, friendly waiters, incredible wines and even, in extreme circumstances, a big band and a dance floor. But when all is said and done, you are more likely to choose a restaurant for eating than dancing.
Yet as much as a restaurant is about cooking, rare are the opportunities for diners to actually see any cooking being done. Of course, some aren’t the least bit interested in witnessing their pork chop being grilled, and I guess the rest of us can always get our chef- cooking fix via the Food Network. But as the years roll on and the restaurant visits pile up, I’ve become a real sucker for establishments where you can actually watch someone fussing over your plate, squeeze bottle in hand, working his or her magic. In my dream world, every single restaurant, café, bistro, brasserie, diner, drive- in and dive would have an open kitchen. Why hide all those mad skills?
When I first reviewed chef Joe Mercuri’s latest restaurant, Mercuri, in April 2014, the space had been open but six weeks. Upon entering, I looked straight ahead and saw an open kitchen set up, including a huge fireplace. Oh, I thought, how great! But then my waiter made me take a sharp left and guided me into a dining room far removed from that fireplace. I soon discovered that the firepit section was slated for opening sometime later as a more casual restaurant. Being a card- carrying member of the Joe Mercuri fan club, I was eager to see what creations of his would emerge from those flames.
The best- known of the extended Mercuri family, whose members run many eating establishments in and around the city, Joe Mercuri is a chef much admired by Montreal foodies. The former chef/ owner of the acclaimed Brontë, Mercuri is regarded as a great talent on the Montreal scene, a man whose plate presentations have caused hundreds to gasp in delight. His flavour and texture combinations are always inspired, and the presentations? Beautiful! If you’re a fan of the food at Bouillon Bilk or Le Serpent, it’s interesting to note that Bouillon Bilk’s chef, François Nadon, and Le Serpent’s chef, Michele Mercuri, both worked under
Joe Mercuri in the Brontë kitchen. Michele is, in fact, his cousin.
Having stashed my barbecue away for the winter, October seemed the ideal time to visit Mercuri Montreal Grill.
However, it would be wrong to think of this as a barbecue or even a grill- style restaurant, because that fireplace is more of a cooking tool than the restaurant’s raison d’être. Though the menu isn’t as fancy as the gastronomic space alongside, the dishes are not as straightforward as expected.
This, after all, is a Joe Mercuri restaurant, so expect some technical skills and adventure on the plate. And what a treat to see the chef himself assembling most every dish we ordered.
To begin, who could resist an appetizer described on the menu with a mere four words: parsnips, curry, peanuts and sake? The parsnips were caramelized on the outside but al dente inside. Flavour enhancers included tiny pickled peppers, crushed peanuts, a smidgen of curry, radish curls and a foamy sauce. The mix was brilliant, but what intrigued most was the texture of the roots, which reminded me more of meat than a vegetable.
Even more ambitious was an
appetizer of rapini with mustard seed, chili and pineapple. The rapini was played quite bitter, and the mustard seed and chili added an extra one- two flavour punch. But just when you were thinking it’s all too much, enter pineapple to sweeten the deal, and a few spoonfuls of goat’s cheese to add richness. Wow.
Then there was the third starter — even more glorious, but in a completely different way. Mercuri told me the inspiration for this dish came via a kitchen commis who brought delicious dumplings to work. Mercuri used his colleague’s noodle recipe, but filled them with blue cheese, spinach and truffles. The three dumplings were then set on a bed of fregola ( toasted pasta beads) and served in a broth. Talk about perfection! Not only was the noodle casing oh so delicate, the filling was ideally balanced and seasoned, with no one flavour hogging the spotlight — and if ever there were spotlight- hogging flavours, blue cheese and truffles would top the list.
It is interesting to note that the first three dishes were completely meat- free. No doubt, Mercuri would run one heck of a vegetarian restaurant.
For the main courses, meat was
centre stage and presentations were far less intricate. First up, a plate of ribs. Mercuri prefers Pittsburgh- style ribs, whose meat texture is not so much falling- offthe- bone as chewy. Glazed with a mango- enhanced sauce, these ribs were sweet, meaty and deeply flavoured. Yum!
Next came a grilled strip loin steak, which arrived thickly sliced and served with roasted fingerling potatoes. Mercuri serves wet- aged meat, which is beautifully tender yet lacks the depth of flavour of dry- aged meat. But I’m being picky — this steak was not only expertly cooked, but a real treat.
I couldn’t resist sampling the turkey burger, as it’s made with moist dark meat and served with roast potatoes and an apple, pine nut and mesclun salad. For $ 16, it’s definitely the deal of the menu. But the star of the menu was the ravioli, a dish I swooned over at Mercuri the first time that had me swooning all over again. Made with striated black and white pasta sheets flavoured with charred leeks, the ravioli are filled with homemade ricotta, set atop a purée of celery root, and topped with shiitake mushrooms, slivers of fried pancetta and a thin layer of melted provolone. I would recom- mend this restaurant solely for that dish, a modern take on an Italian classic that shows Mercuri at his best.
Desserts are fancier than expected, including a pineapple tart with a swirl of caramel and a hit of spice, and a dish built around a tuile cookie served with a quenelle of cream, powdered macadamia nuts and chunks of dark chocolate cake. Nice! If you’re up for even more sweets, try the Mercuri bar, small squares of dark chocolate layered with peanuts and caramel. A bit on the tooth- achingly sweet side, the bars are scrumptious nonetheless.
Add fine service to the Mercuri mix, along with a wine list far more interesting and extensive than in this restaurant’s early days ( though a tad expensive), and you have another winner for Mr. Mercuri and company. And I cannot emphasize enough how great it was to watch the chef at work right there in front of that roaring fireplace. There are a lot of star chefs around, but so few of them actually cook on the line every night that I’m beginning to wonder if they even remember how.
So kudos to chef Mercuri, who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk — and stokes the flames while he’s at it. You can hear Lesley Chesterman on ICI Radio- Canada Première’s Médium Large ( 95.1 FM) Tuesdays at 10 a. m., and on CHOM ( 97.7 FM) Wednesdays at 7: 10 a. m.