Ranks in Top 10 meals of my life.
Perfect preparation.
Perfect presentation.
Perfect service (though leaning on the inform, humorous side).
Perfect ambience.
May have partly been from the romance of being a Californian in Montreal and knowing that I was eating at one of the Eater 38 for Montreal.
For the first course Erin and I shared the expertly grilled and seasoned octopus along with a dish of caramelle pasta with sweetbreads. Each of these dishes was phenomenal and super perfect.
We each ordered our own entree. I ordered a delicious pairing of venison two ways, one filet was grilled rare and the other was slow roasted into a rendered and tendered set of bites from heaven. The meet was served with a wild berry reduction. The berries and cabbage did much to balance and complement the richness of the meat. Erin ordered a magnet duck breast served with a confit duck leg.
That was quite a bit of food, but as we still had wine we ordered a cheese plate of three cheeses served at exactly the right temperature to enjoy. Sadly I can't remember the names of the cheese, I'll have to call for future reference. The first cheese was a salty blue cheese from France. The second was a thin slice of a hearty cows milk cheese from France. The final was a soft in texture and flavor goat cheese from Canada.