DNA’s exhilarating, expertly rendered menu is as bold as its decor. Veal heart tartare, anyone?Christinne Muschi
DNA 355 Marguerite-D'Youville St., Montreal 514-287-3362 www.dnarestaurant.com $220 for dinner for two including tax and tip
I can't say for certain that chef Derek Dammann and his sommelier cohort Alex Cruz are evil geniuses bent on world domination, but their restaurant in Old Montreal has all the hallmarks of a mastermind's lair.
The villainesque decor - think Blofeld meets Bauhaus - features Plexiglas dividers, black leather seating and a picture-window-framed view of Habitat 67. Thousands of tiny black tiles on the floor and high-tech lighting systems suspended above each table suggest concealed espionage devices. The bar next door, where a jazz trio plays languid torch songs, changes colours throughout the evening. I half expect Goldfinger to walk through the door.
Summing up the restaurant's supervillain ethos is one of the restaurant's signature dishes: veal heart tartare. That's right: raw baby cow heart. With foie gras mixed in. It is a PETA member's worst nightmare. It is also completely delicious. More tender and silkier than regular beef tartare, it's an exhilarating combination of assertive seasoning and luxurious texture. Spread on a thick, soft slice of brioche, it is also a brilliant way of using a perfectly good animal part that would otherwise go to waste.
That desire to utilize all parts of the animal also informs the ravioli al sole. Tender sheets of pasta encase a barely cooked duck egg. Pierce the ravioli and the yolk spills out into a sauce that mingles dark-flavoured duck liver, gamy heart, rich foie gras and - how can I put this delicately? - duck testicles into a dangerously rich, massively flavourful pasta. Soft, springy duck tongues and a sheet of crisp, flat chicken skin balanced on top add textural intrigue.
Dammann (a Victoria native) and Cruz have assembled what is easily one of the best Canadian wine lists in the country. I have never seen more B.C. wines outside that province: pinot noir from Orofino, Old Vines chenin blanc from Road 13 and Joie rosé for starters. The Ontario selection includes Daniel Lenko's chardonnay, viognier from Alvento and petite verdot from Stratus. Quebec and Nova Scotia are also represented, although the list isn't exclusively Canadian and the international selections show similar thoughtfulness.
Some of the decisions at DNA could be considered ostentatious if the service wasn't so affable. Soon after we are seated, a server arrives bearing a large tray of folded napkins; half are white and half are black. The one you receive depends on your outfit, so dark pants aren't left with white linen residue on them and vice versa. When it comes time for main courses, women are presented with a tray of ergonomic steak knives in ladylike pastels.
As fancy, pretty and sharp as those knives are, the kitchen renders cuts of meat so tender and malleable that the tools become more decorative than functional.
Pork from Quebec's St. Canut Farms is renowned for its succulence (the pigs are fed warm milk and live together as a family) and the way this kitchen handles it will only enhance that reputation. The shoulder is quick- and then slow-roasted in a way that renders the skin into crisp, savoury crackling while turning the meat into something that might cause pork to be redefined as an aphrodisiac. Underneath, a complex sunchoke purée takes the vegetable's inherent earthy sweetness and supports it with brown butter's toasted, nutty flavours while a tarragon salsa adds a light herbaceousness.
An already potent leg of Kamouraska lamb is deeply infused with flavour from a garlic, rosemary and anchovy marinade. After being grilled and basted with it, the leg is left to rest in a vinaigrette consisting of the same components as the marinade, so the meat, pink and luscious, draws even more flavour into itself. Tender Flageolet beans, rainbow chard and a light salsa verde with a touch of dill complete the picture.
At its most basic, this is simply "meat and two veg" cooking, but the exceptional quality of the ingredients and ingenious way they're handled makes the outcome fresh and surprising.
Restaurants where meat is so revered can sometimes lose interest when it comes to the more delicate courses. Not here. A sweet wedge of pine-nut tart, toasted and caramelized, is served with a honey ginger gelato in which the honey acts as a sweet decoy, but little by little the ginger sneaks up on you. Resistance is futile.
DNA may be the home to masterminds, but they are definitely not of the evil variety.
While in Montreal, I also had the chance to visit Muvbox, the converted Old Port shipping container that has been repurposed as a street-food stall.
Nothing is deep-fried at this outfit, which is located at the corner of McGill and de la Commune on Quai des Éclusiers, so there's none of that nasty grease aroma floating around.
Lobster rolls are the main attraction, consisting of generous chunks of Îles-de-la-Madeleine lobster spilling out of toasted, squared-off hot dog buns. The rolls are light and not overly mayonnaisey, with the fresh flavour of celery showing through.
Clam chowder is also worth trying: It's creamy and rich with dark slices of bacon and soft, floury potatoes. The pizzas (margherita, duck sausage or lobster) are pretty good as well, although I would prefer a little more blister to the crust. Expect to pay about $25 for lunch for two with tax and tip.
Finally, I heard from a friend that Resident (400 Notre Dame St. E., 514-844-1466, $120 dinner for two with tax and tip) was doing some good things, but my first impressions were dubious.
The Sleeman's sandwich board outside and prominently placed ATM machine inside were definite minuses, as were the laminated menus, gruesome, vaguely Gothic oil paintings and all-George-Michael soundtrack.
Whether the faux albino bison head over the bar is a plus or a minus is open to debate, but a pressed-tin ceiling and live New Orleans-style jazz trio that eventually displaced George were definite plusses, as was the honest home-style take on classic comfort food.
The scallops with a fresh pea risotto, for instance, started out tasty and got better with each bite, while the outstanding shepherd's pie incorporated saucy braised shreds of lamb shank along with ground lamb and wild mushrooms. And banana splits are always a big plus.