Restaurant Pearl Morissette – Jordan, Ontario (*)

Had an absolutely beautiful and delicious meal at Canada’s #1 restaurant last night. So, of course, wanted to share with all of you!

1. Lobster, daikon, apple, rhubarb. And flowers? Flowers will be featured heavily, but loving pretty things, I did not mind. There is a real intentionality to all the garnishes- every herb, leaf and flower added to the flavour of the dish.

2. Dehydrated carrot cracker filled with carrot puree and dusted with carrot and chilli powder. This was one of the two snacks (with the above).

3. Sourdough from RPM Bakehouse (their local bakery) and some salted butter. You could have more bread whenever you wanted to sop up sauce.

4. Beef tartare with fresh peas and potato soubise. That little lily pad on top is nasturtium- they don’t use anything that doesn’t grow in Canada, so it’s there in place of pepper.

5. The last of Ontario’s spring asparagus, wrapped in pork belly, on top of a coriander sauce. Some toasted hazelnuts hiding under the leaves there.

6/7/8. At first I thought this was soup, but then they brought out a clay pot and unveiled some baby potatoes that had been cooked in a herb melange. In the bowl is a turnip sabayon with an onion condiment and buttered brioche crumbs. They told me to treat it like a fondue (so I did).

1. White asparagus with a butter sauce, sake pearls, sturgeon caviar and toasted brown rice.

2. Confit duck leg with a duck jus, grilled cucumbers, broccoli and a confit garlic sauce. This had a real Peking duck vibe in a good way.

3. Beef striploin with a spiced beef jus and a morel mushroom stuffed with beef and mushroom.

4. Optional cheese course. I will never say no to cheese. Alfred le Fermier from Quebec with raw honeycomb from the farm’s bees.

5. First dessert was Ontario strawberry sorbet with rose sabayon. Underneath is some stewed strawberries and green pinecones.

6. A millefeuille of salsify and black koji. Somehow the combination of barley and koji and salsify tasted like chocolate? Kind of magic.

7. Finally, the ice cream sandwich. That isn’t vanilla ice cream- it’s ice cream made of the branches of black currant trees, and somehow tastes just like vanilla. Haskap berry gel on top, sandwiched between two candied meadowsweet leaves.

Marvellous experience. Really comfortable vibes, and I think I had something like 5 orders of pinecone and tart cherry juice but they charged me for 2. Yay Canada!