We have never published it, this is the text of Mrs. Lesley Chesterman: ‘’The tiles in the entranceway are plain terra cotta. The diners at the bar look like they just returned from a ski trip. There’s no fancy tasting menu and no main course over $25. There isn’t even a sign at the door. But Le Club Chasse et Peche is the most exciting new restaurant in town. The excitement isn’t over trendy decor, a branche crowd or a menu chock full of exotic ingredients. It’s not the location, either. (Although situated near tourist-laden Place Jacques Cartier, the restaurant is on sleepy St-Claude St.in the locale of the former haute temple de gastronomie Le Fadeau.) No, what’s exciting here is the contrast between old and new, traditional and modern, complicated and simple. Even the restaurant’s name points to a juxtaposition of styles. Though the hunting-and-fishing-club reference seems stodgy, the establishment is owned and operated by two of the most innovative restaurateurs around. Former partners at restaurant Cube, dining-room manager Hubert Marsolais and chef Claude Pelletier have figured out just what it takes to create a successful Montreal restaurant: flawless cooking, an innovative and affordable wine list, a cool environment, and a wait staff that is genuinely pleasant as opposed to professionally charming. It also doesn’t hurt that these boys set – rather than follow – trends. How so? Start with the restaurant itself. Designed by Bruno Braen of Bily Kun bar and Pullman wine-bar fame, the decor is a cross between a Zone homeware boutique and the famed Laurentian auberge La Sapiniere. On the left of the entranceway is a 30-seat bar/salon filled with casual diners enjoying appetizers, vintage cocktails and wines by the glass. Through an archway on the right is a masculine 50-seat dining room. The walls are dark, the windows are set in stone, the ceilings are low, and the white-linen-topped tables are surrounded by distressed leather club chairs. Adding to the artsy ambience are Nicolas Baier photographs and Antoine-Laverdiere- designed halogen lamps, which hang over every table to spotlight all the beautiful dishes and cast a soft glow that makes everyone look years younger. Details like the moose-antler-and-flying-fish logo emblazoned on the wine glasses and leather-bound menus bring us back to the hunting-and-fishing theme, as do the cuisine and wine list. Pelletier’s short menu counts about seven starters and six entrees starring Canadian ingredients such as oysters, scallops and halibut as well as duck, deer and guinea hen. At Cube, his signature dishes included salmon three ways and foie gras with green apple three ways. Here, his minimalist style has been pared down even further. At Le Club Chasse et Peche you’ll find salmon and foie gras done one way: the best. Following Pelletier’s lead, Marsolais and sommelier Philippe Boisvert have designed a no-nonsense wine list consisting of dry whites, fish-friendly whites, light-bodied reds and hunter-friendly reds – many of them organic, a dozen available by the glass, and close to 20 under the $50 mark. Combine their efforts and the results are impressive. While perusing the menu, diners are encouraged to order appetizers to share. When available, go for the scallops. Seared on one side (a l’unilateral), the three silky specimens are then lightly roasted and served with a soupcon of pureed Jerusalem artichoke to add a note of earthiness to the seafood’s sweetness. Another flawless pairing is the beet salad with smoked duck. Lined up on a rectangular plate, the red and golden beets are sliced thick, dribbled with herb oil and draped with ribbons of sliced duck. It’s all so simple, yet there are so many textures, colours and flavours at play here that anything more would seem like overkill. Also not to be missed is Pelletier’s signature mushroom tart. Served with a mound of peppery arugula, the tart offers a crisp-and-thin pastry shell filled with wild mushrooms moistened with veal demi-glace and topped with aged cheddar. Another favourite is his perfectly al-dente risotto with shreds of braised suckling pig. For an extra $6, those up for an added touch of luxury can top that off with a sliver of seared foie gras. But if it’s a foie-gras appetizer you’re craving, you’ll have to settle for the classic cold terrine. Forgoing the modern style (hot and seared), Pelletier serves this rich and delicious liver sprinkled with pistachios and glazed with a thin layer of sweet wine jelly flavoured with lavender. Designed for two, the dish is paired not with the usual toasted brioche but honey spice bread and a salad of sauteed duck gizzards. And on goes the fun, with nary a culinary misstep in sight. Main courses include succulent, crisp-skinned guinea hen, whose velvety “poitrine” is enlivened with a port compote. Pelletier’s riff on “surf and turf” includes the traditional lobster tail but substitutes a cube of braised suckling pig for the usual filet mignon (he also serves it with Kobe beef or sweetbreads). And instead of leaving them plain, he douses both in a tomato coulis flavoured with green tea. A steal at $18, the gamy deer haunch served with Jerusalem artichoke puree also merits an enthusiastic thumbs up. And if you’re a fish lover, don’t miss the striped sea bass with sorrel and asparagus. Striped bass can be so dreary, but Pelletier’s version is saved by the fish’s crisp skin, which adds much-needed flavour and texture. My one complaint at Le Club Chasse et Peche is the paltry cheese selection, which counts only two varieties, neither of them local. The inventive desserts, though, make up somewhat for my disappointment. With ingredients like sweet potato, rosewater and honey jelly, and names like Earth, Cloud, and Mountain, the desserts of pastry chef Masami Waki are the most feminine and daring plates to emerge from this kitchen. Those up for a sure thing should try the Paradiso, a sensual combination of warm caramel, puff pastry, and milk-chocolate ice cream. But if you’re willing to take a few risks, I would suggest the Stranger, an ice-cream-topped jellied saffron soup with rice, dried figs and apricots. After my first meal at Le Club Chasse et Peche, I was completely seduced. Long a fan of Pelletier’s cooking, I walked away thinking he has finally found the right showcase for his unpretentious Quebecois cuisine. Yet like so many new restaurants, there is a hip and happening twenty- to thirtysomething vibe here that leave me fearing more mature diners might find the restaurant too noisy, too crowded or too different. So I returned with two stylish sixtysomethings, who, it turns out, liked it even more than I did. To them the noise was ambience, the crowds were fine and the odd decor was refreshing. Best of all, the ladies were treated like royalty and enjoyed the food as much as I did. So it appears that several generations of diners will be enjoying longstanding memberships at this groovy hunting and fishing club. And in a city where diners of all ages rarely converge, that alone is something to get excited about.’’
