Vive Le Québec Dîner at Biff’s

biffs_scallop

The Oliver & Bonacini Group is a diverse collection of restaurants, many of which serve a specific niche, and a specific style of food.  Biff’s Bistro is well known for their French bistro cuisine, but the food tends to be more France-French than Quebec-French. Fortunately, O&B also gives their chefs creative license to do special events and dinners, which is how we ended up at Biff’s earlier this week for their Vive le Québec Dîner – a five-course dinner in which Chef Amanda Ray created a menu of the best French Canadian cuisine, all paired with Quebec beers (pairings by Peter Campagna, Certified Ciccerone) and ciders (paired by Mel Hilton).

These dinners are one-off events and most dishes don’t show up on the regular menu, so they’re worth checking out as they really give the chefs the opportunity to offer items and ingredients they they might not normally get to work with or serve. The Vive le Québec Dîner was $85 all in, and included five dishes with drink pairings as well as a welcome drink.

For more info on upcoming dinners, check out the Oliver & Bonacini website or follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

Above photo: Famille Hébert – scallop ceviche with mustard cream, coriander and caviar. Served with Cremant sparkling light cider from Cidrerie St-Nicholas.

 

biffs_poutine
Fois gras torchon & duck confit poutine with cheese curds and Biff’s fries. Served with Le Trou du Diable, “Saison du Tracteur” Farmhouse Ale.
biffs_tourtiere
St-Canut Porcelet & Tourtiere with peach mostarda. Served with Les Trois Mousquetaires, Grand Cuvee Porter Baltique.
biffs_cheese
Quebec Cheese Board – three types of cheese with fruit and nut loaf, honeycomb, pepper jelly and cherry compote. Served with Domaine Pinnacle Ice Cider
biffschomeur
Maple Pudding Chomeur. Served with Michel Jodoin Apple Brandy. Photo by Chef Amanda Ray, used with permission.