La Table Tourigny

[Boo]

Tastet provided a very intriguing review in Voir last month which piqued my interest. As we will be in the Magog area in a few weeks, I am considering making a reservation. I would like to know others' opinions and recommendations on the food, and a suggestion for one good bottle of wine to bring, as I can never settle on a decision in such a matter! Much appreciated.

[carswell]

Very good to excellent, foodwise. Certainly one of the province's top BYOs. Cooking is best described as modern French with an emphasis on local ingredients, especially in the warmer months (the resto's logo is a mushroom and the chef forages for them in the woods behind the restaurant). Both times I've been there was as part of a group, and a succession of fine French wines accompanied the meals to perfection. Several of the first courses and at least one of the mains call for a white; consider taking a half bottle along. Several of the main courses feature game, so an elegant red with some stuffing — think Northern Rhone, Médoc, Burgundy or their New World equivalents — will fill the bill (a Côte Rôtie was a stunning match for the venison with blueberries the first time I was there). All in all, it's wine-friendly food and the stemware is good enough to show fine wines to advantage.

Tip: The place is in the middle of nowhere, so get detailed directions when you make your reservation. If you're coming from the north, they'll give you the exact distance (like 14.3 km) from one of the bridges in Magog. Even then, it's easy to miss, especially at night. Look for a largish house on the east side of the highway with cars parked in front.

[Boo]

Appreciate your reply, particularly re: the need for good directions. I think two half bottles sounds like the way to go. My mouth is watering now at the thought of mushrooms freshly foraged from the local forest. Is casual dress accepted? It does not sound to me like a more formal place?

[carswell]

Yep, casual. Recall some men wearing sports jackets but no one wearing a tie. Both of my visits were during the cool months, so I don't know if shorts and sandals are frowned upon. I suspect they aren't but you can always ask when making your reservation.

[Boo]

Thank you, will do!

[identifiler]

I'm probably there next week so may be able to give you recent update but the direction are basically towards Georgeville. You want to drive on the south shor of Magog lake towards the US lines. A good indicator is that before approaching georgeville, you will croos lake lovering entry, still about 5-8k after that. Lots of cops on that road too, sudden shift in speed limit as you enter city lines.

Nice think at work is if I stay at a friends house (in this case my father's place) I get to offer free dinner to my host and in Magog, it's Tourigny or fast food with the bikers.

[Boo]

Yes, if you do go I would greatly look forward to your feedback!

[Salomon]

Hi everyone,

Been reading your forum for a while, now a member, and here's my first post. Go easy on the syntax and orthograph; ce serait gentil!!!

We were at La table Tourigny last friday for my girl's birthday... I was anxious to try out that restaurant upon reading Mr Tastet's piece in Voir earlier this month. If you did read the critique, it sounded too good to be true. I was skeptical...

I have to tell you that it was one of the best restaurant experience ever (along with L'eau à la bouche, Au pied de cochon and a few other places in Europe, but I disgress)! The decor is not extravagant; it's a renovated old house, clean and cosy but nothing too spectacular. We were served with first serve with amuse-bouche: raw salmon au beurre doux à l'ail, escargot sauce aux cêpes, asperges sauvages and pâtes feuilletées au roquefort.

It set the tone for the rest of the evening. Everything was so fresh! The tastes were subtle yet present. Mr Tourigny (who came out to our table for a chat- passionate mad scientist of a chef!) masters every single service that was presented to us that evening.

The soup was a consommé de champignons sauvages avec mousse de lait aux capuccino (delightful). My entrée was thon bleu served in a salad made of a variety of wild salad (should have took some notes!)- excellent and different for thon bleu, which is becoming very popular, maybe a bit too much to my taste; the girl's entrée was foie gras with a chocolate (not of the greatest quality to my standard) coulis (a bit too generous on the coulis, the subtle taste of the foie was kind of lost in it).

My main meal was magret de canard avec réductions aux vinaigre de framboises. A pretty common meal nowadays in those kind of establishment, but it was never serve to me as fresh, as raffiné and as properly grilled. It was great. My girl got agneau aux romarain. From reading it on the menu, I thought it was maybe a bit too boring; au contraire! it was the meal that best represent what the whole experience was all about: simple, surprisingly tasteful without being too perfumed, precise. The dessert (pommes pochés in some liquor, among other things) was up the those standard.

Be sure to bring the best wine you can buy (the water had a bad taste...): we brought four half bottle and ask for the serveur's opinion (the service was state-of-the-art)...

The whole thing was pricey for a BYOW (150 all incl. for 2), but it didn't feel like a rip off at all, more like a previlege to have been to that place. The quality was there, the technique was perfect and our evening at Tourigny's will be one to remember. A bientôt!

Salomon

[carswell]

Welcome to eGullet, Salomon, and thanks for the great description of the Table Tourigny experience. I love the wholly accurate line

Mr Tourigny [...] passionate mad scientist of a chef!

Mind if I steal it?

Edit: Got Sal's name wrong. Sorry.

Edited June 29, 2004 by carswell (log)

[identifiler]

I'm going there tonight... thanks for the feedback, we'll get some bottled water... All water is pumped in the georgesville area.

[identifiler]

I'm going there tonight... thanks for the feedback, we'll get some bottled water... All water is pumped in the georgesville area.

[Salomon]

Go ahead with the quote carswell! I stole it from Mrs salomon anyway, so... A bientôt,

Salomon

[Boo]

Salomon, great review! My mouth was watering in anticipation of a meal here before, now I am completely salivating!

[identifiler]

Well looks like Mr Tourigny is catering out tonight, bad news, hopefully, he's not going to serve all these magog leaches that like to twist around SEC's rules now and then.

[carswell]

My condolences, ID. Your guess may be right, however. I know for a fact he's very popular with the Lake Memphramagog mansion set, who love to have him cook up a storm in their all-equipped, restaurant-worthy country kitchens.

[Boo]

Identifiler, grrr...I am sorry! Will you reschedule?

[identifiler]

sure I will reschedule, I'm due in Sherbrooke often in the next month and we have a new expense program, if you stay ata firends pace instead of hotel you take them wherever they want for dinner... I can live with that... Our guest (Mr Tourigny called me back himself) is that there was a liberal celebration in the area tonight... It's that or Frank Dunn is having his last happy meal before jail time...

[Boo]

We dined here on a recent Saturday evening. So sublime, one of the best meals I've ever had. The menu contains two choices of prix fixe, and there was also a special. Started with an amuse bouche of smoked duck, foie gras, wild asparagus and honey butter. I have never had wild asparagus before, but the taste was memorable. So light it almost wasn't there, but with a grassy essence. Followed by a wild mushroom soup with truffle oil and cappucino foam. The soup was hearty, but not overly filling, with a rich mushroom flavor. Mains were the rack of lamb special and the rabbit from the regular menu. At this point in the meal, I lost myself in the food and stopped scribbling notes about the food. But, my oh my, what a meal. Dessert choices were a cheese plate and a pear dessert, so we chose one of each. The pear was caramelized, crispy on the edges and sweet, warm and moist inside. Cheese plate contained four (or five) different cheeses (I recall some were local but misplaced the paper on which I wrote them). Followed Carswell's advice and brought two half bottles from the Magog SAQ. The service was impeccable; there was one server for the room but he was attentive to all tables and did not blink an eye when we walked in with the small one in a stroller (who thankfully slept throughout the entire meal). The only minor blot on the meal was that the table water has an unpleasant, clay-like taste (someone here mentioned this), so we ordered bottled. The dining room itself is very comfortable and rustic, and atmosphere was hushed, good for conversation. Perfect evening. Thanks to identifiler and carswell for their advice!

[Boo]

We dined here on a recent Saturday evening. So sublime, one of the best meals I've ever had. The menu contains two choices of prix fixe, and there was also a special. Started with an amuse bouche of smoked duck, foie gras, wild asparagus and honey butter. I have never had wild asparagus before, but the taste was memorable. So light it almost wasn't there, but with a grassy essence. Followed by a wild mushroom soup with truffle oil and cappucino foam. The soup was hearty, but not overly filling, with a rich mushroom flavor. Mains were the rack of lamb special and the rabbit from the regular menu. At this point in the meal, I lost myself in the food and stopped scribbling notes about the food. But, my oh my, what a meal. Dessert choices were a cheese plate and a pear dessert, so we chose one of each. The pear was caramelized, crispy on the edges and sweet, warm and moist inside. Cheese plate contained four (or five) different cheeses (I recall some were local but misplaced the paper on which I wrote them). Followed Carswell's advice and brought two half bottles from the Magog SAQ. The service was impeccable; there was one server for the room but he was attentive to all tables and did not blink an eye when we walked in with the small one in a stroller (who thankfully slept throughout the entire meal). The only minor blot on the meal was that the table water has an unpleasant, clay-like taste (someone here mentioned this), so we ordered bottled. The dining room itself is very comfortable and rustic, and atmosphere was hushed, good for conversation. Perfect evening. Thanks to identifiler and carswell for their advice.

[carswell]

One of my clients who recently dined at La Table Tourigny for the first time reports that it is no longer a BYOB. She said they were so taken aback on learning they wouldn't be able to open a special bottle they'd brought, they didn't even look at the wine list but gave the waiter a price and had him choose for them. When Chef Tourigny visited the table at the end of the meal, he reportedly admitted that many longtime customers were unhappy with the change, so there may be hope he'll reconsider. For the time being, though, it's bring your own bankroll...

Also, the exterior of the building is being renovated.

My client and her husband were blown away by the quality of the cooking. At least that hasn't changed. The sauces were so good, she said, they went through three baskets of bread and briefly considered licking their plates.

[Salomon]

I learned about the "un-BYOWing" of table tourigny earlier this summer; it's a shame because I can't afford it anymore... Let's keep our fingers crossed he changes his mind...

Salomon

[identifiler]

Table Tourigny going back into low season mode so call ahead if you're planning on a weekly visit. This means mainly closed on early week days. Mr. Tourigny will open the place for a large group in advance. Week days are better spent giving cooking classes to the lakeshor McMansion's desperate lonely house wifes...

[Boo]

Anyone have an update on this place? We're planning a few days in Magog this summer and am looking forward to a meal here, since the last one is still memorable. But, it has been two years since our visit. I read through the '05 posts, has it returned to BYOB or not? Thanks for any news!

[Boo]

Bump. We're due to head up in a month and will be three nights in Magog before heading to Montreal. I'll be making a reservation one night at La Table Tourigny and would appreciate if someone knows if it is still BYO or not? Another night we'll eat at Maison McGowan (kind of blah food, but the setting on the lakefront terrasse is so lovely on a warm summer night that it doesn't even matter). Third night, I don't know. Any gourmet shops downtown where we could buy for a picnic supper? Thank you.