Sunday, July 5, 2009

Absinthe Café and Resto Bar

$$$
I can finally knock this restaurant off my wish list. We arrived in the early evening and got a great seat next to the window. Actually, any spot in this restaurant would be great. It's got such nice big windows at the front and overall a really great atmosphere. My mouth started to water the minute I began reading the menu. I decided to go with the table d'hôte, which gives you a choice of appetizer, mid and main course. They also offer wine pairing for an extra $30 but we didn't go for that. I had a tough time choosing between the Seafood Trio and the Charcuterie Duo to start. I decided to go with the latter – bison terrine, duck parfait, port gelée and onion rosemary bread. It was really good. I especially liked the strong flavour of the duck parfait, which came in a little shot glass with slippery gelée on top. For my mid I went with the soup, a white onion velouté sprinkled with chopped chives, so yummy and a great choice over the ceasar salad that everyone else got. The salad was only disappointing to everyone because of the croutons, which looked like they came from a box. Nice big homemade croutons would have been a better complement to the salad.

My friend Teresa picked out my main before I did. That often happens as people know what I like. The warm potato salad and tomato jam that came with the maple marinated bison sirloin made the bison dish an obvious choice. The meat was so tender and paired with the jam made for a robust and flavourful taste experience. The potatoes were also quite tasty and served alongside some crispy peas in the pod and broccoli. My husband had the Hog Wild – wild boar loin rubbed with rosemary and juniper and served with apple smoked belly with maple glaze, mushroom ragout and lyonnaise potatoes. I got to try some of his and it was really tasty. The meat unfortunately, seemed a little overcooked, as did my friend Bruce's steak. But other than that, all offered a great medley of flavours. To drink we had a fantastic rosé that our server recommended, 2007 Cuvée Marie-Justine, Chinon from France. Fun atmosphere, good food and great service made for a wonderful evening. Apps range between $7 and $13, mains between $21 and $31 and for the 3 course table d'hôte, $37 to $47.


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