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| - Brasserie t was an experience all in its own. The small cube-like restaurant looks more like a modish boutique than a famous Normand Laprise restaurant but the chic style makes it all the more unique. This was the restaurant I so eagerly awaited; I had watched Anthony Bourdain gorge himself with Martin Picard and Norman Laprise on his show The Layover, and ever since I was hooked and ready to try. My meal was superb, the atmosphere was a bit cramped and loud but the food was excellently prepared. I had an amazing cocktail to start that was garnished with what looked to be a dried and candied flower. There was a heavy taste of ginger and cognac but the deep royal purple drink stunned me with it's lightness on the tongue.
Inevitably with a French restaurant I had to try foie gras which I so adamantly put off because of hesitance of the force feeding but their pan seared foie gras with grilled apples was nothing short of divine. The liver was so fatty there was no gritty taste of iron but instead it touched my tongue rich and melted as my taste buds practically receded in joy. Amazing first experience, I'm afraid I have spoiled myself with such an amazing foie gras.
For the main, I settled on a St. Patrick's Day special that was seared venison with a butternut squash puree and a sweet braise topped with Guinness (to stick with the Irish holiday). The venison was a deep red, almost purple but still tender and moist. I devoured it, completely practically leaving no signs that it once was on the plate.
Finally, I settled the night with a nice crème brûlée. To be honest, it's hard to go wrong with crème brûlée especially if you can see the crushed vanilla bean within the custard.
Overall, I had an amazing experience. Perhaps it was the fact I was in good company, and was with people who were acquaintances of Normand Laprise but the food lived up to the standard I expected. I will not comment on price, I don't know how much the check was but I imagine it was quite expensive. So, if you're in Montreal and you feel like treating yourself to an amazing meal and aren't on a budget, Brasserie t should not disappoint you.
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