It was Daphne's birthday last week so we went to Beckta for dinner. I toyed for an instant checking out a place Rees recommended called Ambiente, but the blind tasting menu at Beckta was calling our name, so I made the reservation. We had been in July and it was simply outstanding, so I wanted to go again. Since then Stephen Vardy had left the kitchen to move on to a new place in Hull called Par-fyum, so I was very curious to see it Michael Moffat, Vardy's sous at Beckta, could live up to the meal we had in the summer. To be honest I wasn't sure he'd be able. The meal we had in the summer was outstanding and both of us went in with the understanding it would not be the same.
Shown to our table we were quite excited as we had a excellent table in the corner of the main section of the dining room. For me going out for dinner is the show and having a great seat only makes it better. Our meal began with an amuse from the kitchen. It was a mushroom and olive tapenade with Parmesan cheese, just to play with our taste buds. It was nice, nothing to blow you away, but it was good. With it we both had a glass of the Seaview Australian sparkling wine. It was Daphne's birthday after all. It was a fun way to start our dinner.
From there the meal gathered speed. The first course was a Watermelon and Smoked Salmon Tartare, Soy, Vanilla Oil and Yuzu Salmon Caviar along with a Watermelon consomme. The watermelon consomme was really just watermelon juice that had been seasoned, but it was quite nice. The last little mouthful was the best as for some reason it had all the seasoning in it. Salt, pepper and some lemon. It was quite nice. But the tartare really was the hit. Lightly smoked it did not overpower the dish. It was served with a 2005 Chenin Blanc from Cave Spring in Ontario. It was a very cool wine and my favourite of the night. Our server jokingly described it as tasting a bit like a sweet tart, a description I laughed at. But she was right. It was quite playful and worked well against the light smoke of the salmon and other things going on there.
Next our server poured a 2003 Gewurztraminer by Mittnacht Klack in Alsace. To be honest on its own I wasn't crazy about this wine. It was sweet and had this sort of pine resin smell and taste to it. I don't think this is something I would have ordered on its own, but paired with the Foie Gras Crusted Halibut with local beets, a beet reduction and apple sauce, it was pretty frigging good. It is remarkable what a good sommelier can do. The fish was just cooked, if a little undercooked and the foie gras crust was fantastic. I really loved this dish.
The next dish came with a 2002 Gamay Noir by Mountain Road in Ontario. Our server said it wasn't typical of many other Gamay wines in that it was a little heartier. Daphne and I immediately began to speculate at what the next dish would be. I thought maybe duck. She thought the wine really wasn't fruity enough for duck and leaned toward maybe pork. We were both wrong when they brought my favourite dish of the night. They called it Snails and Tails. It was a Oxtail and Escargot Open Ravioli with sun-dried tomatoes, sauteed pears and blue cheese. It was brilliant. What made it so for me was the blue cheese sauce that dressed the dish. It brought everything together and I lapped up every bit of it. Delicious.
From there we had the intermezzo. Last time it was every exciting to get a little miniature creamsicle gelato float with lavender and elderflower water, so we were expecting something cool. This time it was the same idea only it was a strawberry citrus Gelato with black pepper and lavender float with elderflower water. Very fun. Not quite as exciting as last time because we were expecting or rather hoping for it. But fun nevertheless and a wonderful little palate cleanser.
Our main course was served with a Tempranillo Crianza “Vertus” Iranzo, Utiel-Requena 2001. The really fruity wine went well with what Daphne described as a version of southern comfort food, only fancier and with Japanese mushrooms. The dish was Grilled Pork Loin with Burnt Orange, Organic Turnips, Black Eyed Pea and Bacon Saute, Maitake Mushrooms and Zesty Buerre Fondue. I think when she was referring to comfort food she was referring to the black eyed peas and bacon, which were excellent. The mushrooms also tasted like they had a little hit of that bacon fat, so what's not to like about that.
We took a pass on the cheese course. I love great cheese, but four courses in and dessert still to come, I wasn't going to have any cheese that night. With dessert came a lovely dessert wine. A 2001 late harvest Sauvignon Blanc by Santa Barbara. Wonderful honey and apricot flavours. I might have been happy just with that for dessert, but we also had the Lemon-Lime Panacotta with Avocado Mousse, Salty Caramel Corn and Citrus Gelato. It was a really light dessert and really quite wonderful. I love panacotta so I was very happy. And as you can see in the picture they wrote happy birthday on Daphne's plate something the restaurant did on its own initiative. I thought very nice of them. Plus the chocolate they used to write it was very good. By the time they took the plate away Daphne had eaten it all.
The petit fours that night were a little chocolate meringue cookie and what they called miniature beignets.
They really were more like little tim bits, but I suppose they can't call them tim bits. They were still warm, which was really nice and sort of like the minidonoughts you get at the fair that I love so much only not quite as good.
Anyway, it was a excellent meal. The service was great, though they almost forgot to bring us bread and their amazing carmelized butter spread. But I won't hold that against them. I was stuffed when I left the restaurant and any more bread would have just made me feel even more stuffed. How did it compare to the meal we had in the summer. Different, but just as good. I think I liked the wines we had the last time more, though the ones we had on this trip were perfectly paired. And I think I liked the foie gras dish we had in the summer a little more than the one we had this time, but those are small quibbles. It was excellent. I love the casual nature of the service there. Though they take their food and wine very seriously, it isn't stuffy and when I ask dumb questions about the wine they're serving always answer with great enthusiasm as if I am a potential convert to their particular mania.
Beckta. 226 Nepean St. Ottawa. 613-238-7063.
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