A good scoff, cod tongues, toutons and tea on The Rock aka Newfoundland

[ElsieD]

The second course was an heirloom tomato salad served with goat milk ricotta and basil.  You can't see them, but there were some tiny little whole tomatoes in there that were just bursting with flavour.  

 

The wine:  Condes Del  Albarei, Albarino, Rias Biaxas, Spain, 2008

[ElsieD]

The third course was a diver scallop served with apple, radish and cucumber and pea foam.

 

Wine:  Pearl Morissette, Riesling,  Niagara, Ontario 2013

Edited September 3, 2016 by ElsieD (log)

[ElsieD]

This was course no. 4, a pasta course.  The dish was Chanterelles,  beans, and corn agnolotti.  The corn was a very smooth purée and the top had shaved parmigiano reggiano.on top.  This was our favourite dish of the night.  

 

Wine:  Lightfoot & Wolfville ,  Pinot Rosé Grand Pré, Nova Scotia, 2014.  We were told that this is a very small winery and they only produced 50 cases of this wine that year, and Raymonds bought 25 of them.

 

 

[ElsieD]

Next up, we had a cod dish.  It consisted of a piece of cod from near the fin and a cod cheek.  It was served with a broccoli pesto, carrot purée and pork jus.  When the waiter was explaining the dish, we kept hearing port jus but we managed to straighten that out and it was in fact pork jus.  Who'd a thunk to pair cod with pork jus?  The broccoli pesto was our least favourite thing and we both left some on our plates.

 

Wine:  Domaine Cailliot,  Santenay,  Burgundy, France, 2009

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

It consisted of a piece of cod from near the fin

Which fin? Cod have at least nine.

[ElsieD]

I'm starting to flag when no. 6 arrives.  This is a piece of grass fed rib eye steak with potato gnocchi, peas and 2 sauces on either side of the plate, one being a Chanterelles sauce, the other an onion soubise.  I was worried about not being able to eat dessert (quelle horreur!) so John got half of my steak which was too bad in a way as it was very good.

 

Wine:  Valentina Passalacqua, Nero Di Troia, Puglia, Italy, 2013

[ElsieD]

After the steak, we are presented with a palate cleanser of pickled strawberry sorbet.  This was almost overpowering in it's strawberryness, if that makes any sense.  No trouble scooping that one up.

 

Wine:  None,  and I'm starting to think, just as well.

[ElsieD]

We have now arrived at dessert.  This is a compote of with 8 different berries, a toasted peach milk cream and a raspberry meringue.

 

Wine:  Hinterland, Ancestral, Prince Edward County, Ontario, 2015

[ElsieD]

To finish things off, we each ordered a cappuccino.  This arrives with "something from the pastry chef".  There are ginger mini madelines, chocolate marshmallows, shortbread cookies and a chocolate caramel brittle.  I'm almost embarrassed to say we ate it all but then I'd be lying.

 

A feast like this is not cheap but the experience was priceless and something we very, very, rarely do.  We enjoyed every mouthful except the broccoli pesto.  That was our final night in Newfoundland and I am typing this in a place called Coffee Matters as we have checked out of our hotel.  One more meal to go and that is lunch.  

 

[ElsieD]

17 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Which fin? Cod have at least nine.

 

Silly me, I didn't think that mentioning which fin was important.  It came from the nape, the part of the dorsal surface between the posterior edge of the skull and dorsal fin insertion.

[huiray]

A very nice meal at Raymonds. Thanks for sharing.

 

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

The only thing we asked was that they not serve us anything raw.

 

I take it you meant nothing raw from the non-vegetable world. :-) After all, you had raw tomatoes and raw stuff in your salads and other things vegetable all along the way. :-D

 

That's interesting, though – It suggests that you have never had a tartare of any kind; nor, say, nigirizushi or sashimi, for example. Would this be so?

 

ETA: The divers scallop dish – was that cooked through?

Edited September 3, 2016 by huiray (log)

[Smithy]

All 7 courses look divine, and I wish I'd been there to share it with you.  The pickled strawberry sorbet palate cleanser is a puzzle that I hope you can clarify.  Could you tell it was pickled?  That sounds like salty or vinegary strawberry, yet you say it was the essence of strawberry flavor.  I'd like to know more about it.

[kayb]

What a gorgeous meal, and so beautifully presented. I think my favorite, too, would have been the pasta, but I'll bet it would have been a hard, hard choice.

 

Love the look of the dessert. Lovely and light after such a sumptuous meal.

 

[ElsieD]

2 hours ago, huiray said:

A very nice meal at Raymonds. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

I take it you meant nothing raw from the non-vegetable world. :-) After all, you had raw tomatoes and raw stuff in your salads and other things vegetable all along the way. :-D

 

That's interesting, though – It suggests that you have never had a tartare of any kind; nor, say, nigirizushi or sashimi, for example. Would this be so?

 

ETA: The divers scallop dish – was that cooked through?

 

 

I have had both raw fish and raw beef.  I simply don't care for uncooked meat, but I do like raw fish.  My husband doesn't like uncooked meat either, and refuses to eat raw fish.   As the tasting menu has to be for both people, we chose to have no uncooked meat or fish.  And you are right, I should have said no raw non-vegetables.  However, we managed to convey what we meant to the waiter so all was well.  The diver scallop was seared.

[ElsieD]

Lunch today at a place called Piatto in St. John's. We both had a roasted red pepper soup with pancetta, John had the pizza and I had the meatballs.  Not much to be said about it, other than the soup was excellent, the pizza good and the meatballs were just okay.

[ElsieD]

We are now at the airport waiting for our flight home.  It has been an interesting trip and I hope you have enjoyed traipsing around Newfoundland with us.  I am so looking forward to making toutons!  

 

Going through security we were both selected for the full body pat down.  They also went through our carry on bags and I had a knife confiscated.  I had forgotten it was there.  I had packed the thing in case I cooked something as the knives you get in rental places are usually pretty sad.  Good thing it wasn't very expensive.  It was one of those paring type knives that comes in it's own little sheath.  I think it was made by Khun Rikon.

Edited September 3, 2016 by ElsieD (log)

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

All 7 courses look divine, and I wish I'd been there to share it with you.  The pickled strawberry sorbet palate cleanser is a puzzle that I hope you can clarify.  Could you tell it was pickled?  That sounds like salty or vinegary strawberry, yet you say it was the essence of strawberry flavor.  I'd like to know more about it.

 

Our waiter said fresh berries were pickled in apple cider vinegar.   You couldn't taste the vinegar but it did pack an acidic punch.  Also, the taste of the berries came through loud and clear, as though the flavour was concentrated somehow.  I don't know if that helps as it is really hard to explain.

[Smithy]

Thank you for a wonderful and entertaining trip!

[Okanagancook]

Raymond's was the restaurant selected by the tv show Milliom Dollar Review (I think that's the name)

the reviewer raved about the chef's creativity and the ingredients.  I would love to go there before they are done.

 

thanks for the trip documentary.  All very inspiring.

[sartoric]

Thanks for taking me with you ElsieD, what a fun and informative ride !

[rotuts]

@ElsieD 

 

what a wonderful blog !

 

all those sights !  all that seafood !

 

I appreciate you taking the time to share it with us .

 

safe journey home

 

 

 

thanks again!

 

Edited September 3, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[Shelby]

Thank you , Elsie!!!  Have  a safe trip home and I bet you'll enjoy sleeping in your own bed  

[Anna N]

Thank you.

[kayb]

Loved touring and eating with you! Thanks so much! Hope your travels home are safe and uneventful, and security hasn't phoned ahead to warn them about your "going armed." 

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

Wow, what a grand finale that dinner at Raymonds was!   Thank you for taking us along, I enjoyed it all.