On a recent trip to Rouyn-Noranda, my co-worker and I stumbled into this wonderfully casual restaurant. Wow, how did we get so lucky as to find this on a snowy winter evening in Canada? The restaurant had opened just 45 days prior to our arrival and was doing a very brisk business. The atmosphere was warm and inviting but the food was the real star. We were seated at the bar where we had a front row seat to an amazing display of cooking. It seems that bar surrounds the kitchen; the owner chef wanted it that way when he designed the restaurant so that he would be better connected to the clientele. Simply brilliant. Since neither one of us speaks French and with the menu being so new that it was only in French, we watched the show in the kitchen and picked our food from what we saw coming past us as it was being served. The food was beautifully presented and the waitress explained to us what each dish was, the chef even helped with that. I asked for an English menu to be emailed to me so that I could share what we had ordered. Here a few of the items; the Goret , a crusty dough filled with pork, figs, butternut and tarragon, served with creamy goat cheese sauce, phenomenal. The Gratin de Courge, butternut squash and onions mounded over creamy goat cheese sauce, outstanding, I've become a fan of butternut squash. Last but not least was the Star, blueberry french toast, pink pepper and maple cream. Don't leave without trying this one.
Everything coming out of the kitchen looked wonderful.
The entire experience was delightful, the wait staff was extremely helpful, the chef was incredible, but the food was the real hero, and the ability to watch it all being skillfully prepared right in front of you made it exceptional. read more