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| - One of the first things that strikes you about this place as you walk in is how small the dining room is. There must be, at most, fifteen tables. The atmosphere is modern, slightly stark, with bright splashes of light and curated shadows. The automatic sliding door to the kitchen, frosted with images of cutlery made me wonder if we were walking onto the set of "Chopped".
One of the slight let-downs was that although this was Taste MTL, a number of the dishes cost a little extra. The portions were somewhat small, but the intensity of flavours more than compensated. The jerusalem artichoke (topinambour) veloute was great: a bowl with toasted parmesan shavings, truffle oil and some croutons with an elegant pour-over of the soup itself. The veloute could have used a little more salt, but its understated seasoning really let the truffle, parmesan and jerusalem artichokes have center stage. The suckling pig ravioli (an extra of $12) was stunningly delicious. The ravioli were served in a deep bowl, surrounded by a rich fond-de-veau sauce infused with porcini mushrooms. The balance between this sauce, the umami kick of the slow-cooked pork in the ravioli and the slightly lemony béchamel foam on top was exquisite. The half-lobster tail on the dish, though delicious, seemed like more of an expensive garnish than a flavour that belonged in the dish.
For the mains, we both got the duck breast served with beets three ways, sour cherries and a port reduction. The beets were pureed, roasted and carpaccio. The puree was the most delicious of the three, and the chef's decision to use three different colours of beets allowed for some variety. The fat on the breast was nicely carmelized with some raw sugar and the port reduction really complemented the depth of flavour in the breast, even if it was a little overcooked for my tastes (I prefer duck medium rare). The cherries had an interesting and pleasant tannic taste to them, which makes me suspect they were soaked in tea.
The apricot clafoutis with dulce de leche ice cream was quite pleasant. The plating, as throughout the meal, was elegant, sophisticated and balanced. The slight tartness of the apricot nicely offset the sweetness of the dulce. The only issue I might take up with them is that the clafoutis had a non-traditional shortbread crust and was more of an apricot shortcake than the southern French dessert I was expecting. The marquise au chocolat was what you would expect: delicious, rich, velvety-dark chocolate with a nice slab of white chocolate on top.
I would be leaving out one of the best parts of the meal if I didn't mention the bread. La Chronique makes their little tiny breads fresh daily (that night they had oregano, white and olive). The wine list is also worth noting, the restaurant won "Best Wine Selection" from Wine Spectator in 2011 and features a number of private imports among their over 250 carefully selected entries. Maybe it's just me, but the rarity and unavailability of the private imports adds to their mystique and helps justify spending way more on a bottle than at the SAQ. Wines start at $45 .
La Chronique is certainly worth the price and makes a great place for celebrating romantic special occasions. At nearly $100 a person with tax and tip, it's not cheap, but worth every penny. If you're looking to try the restaurant but don't want to spend very much, it's worth considering their lunch specials, $24 for two courses and $29 for three.
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