Tasting Menu at Beckta

We went to dinner at Beckta a couple of weeks ago. For our wedding some of our friends gave us a gift certificate to the restaurant. Actually, some of our friends gave us a couple of gift certificates. So we decided to use one of them for the tasting menu. The dinner began with an amuse, but unfortunately I can't remember what it was since it was so many weeks ago, but the first course stuck with me. It wa a little stack of Ahi tuna and crispy prosciutto and a frozen lemon vinaigrette with a pickled turnip remoulade. This was fantastic. I loved the taste of the prosciutto and the tuna together. The frozen vinaigrette was a great idea that went very well. The wine pairing was a 2007 Muller Thurgau by Peter Zemmer from Alto Adige in Italy. All very nice.

The next case was my favourite dish of the night. Crispy fried veal sweetbreads, a ragout of Christophe's mushrooms and pomegranate sauce, paired with a 2007 Chardonnay by Parducci from Mendocino County. I loved the soft rich sweetbreads. Crazy rich with the crispy fried coating. One of the best things I've eaten in a long time. I loved the mix of mushrooms. The sauce was crazy good. Probably included a little veal demi glace.

There is often a pasta course with the Beckta tasting menu and this time it was a truffle and mascarpone ravioli with pine nut pesto, blood orange shortbread and shaved frozen foie gras paired with a 2007 Pinot Noir by Flat Rock from the 20 Mile Bench region of Ontario. This dish was far more than I have come to expect from Beckta. Don't get me wrong, it is a great restaurant, but I don't expect them to really push the envelope. This was a very pleasant surprise. One of the richest dishes I've had in a while. Truffle and foie gras in the same dish. Loved it. The shave foie gras was a very cool touch. The whole dish was about the combination of the fats and the truffles. What's not to love.

The intermezzo was a cranberry, orange and thyme sorbet. A nice little break before the main meat course hit the table. Pan-seared fan of ostrich with baked beans and coriander sambal, curried matchstick potatoes and mole sauce pairied with a 2004 Syrah by Lotus from Paso Robles. The ostrich was beautifully tender, like a truly wonderful piece of beef tenderloin. The great part of the dish was the coriander sambal. Loved it. It was unapologetically hot. Wonderful dish.

We opted for the cheese course this time. We had never had the cheese at Beckta before, but both Daphne and I were feeling like we could do it this time. The cheeses, left to right, were Nettles Gone Wild, Alfred Le Fermier, Pierre Robert, Double Gloucester, Reblochon and Bleu Benedictin, all served with Commandaria "St. Nicholas" from Cyprus. I loved the Nettles Gone Wild, an Ontario goat cheese that used nettles in the making. Great grassy notes. The other one on the plate that I loved was the Reblochon. Soft. Smelly. Delicious.

Dessert was a tropical theme. Sticky pineapple cake, pineapple pot de creme and coconut panna cotta served with 2006 Coteau du Layon Carte d'Or Baumard. It was all fantastic, but my favourite thing was the coconut panna cotta with the crispy bit of pineapple. Delicious.

The finale was a bit of rice pudding and a couple of little squares of cake. This really was probably the best tasting menu I've had at Beckta. The ideas in the dishes were fantastic. The truffle pasta dish was far more than I would have expected from Beckta. The tuna dish is something I might try at home, though I'm not sure how I would be able to do the frozen vinaigrette. And the veal sweetbreads will stay with me for a while. It was a wildly decadent meal.

Comments

[Michael]

For a frozen vinaigrette all you need to do is use an oil that winterizes(hardens when cold) like extra virgin olive oil. When you freeze it it will remain solid enough to be shaved with a vegetable peeler to nice effect.