The region of the province which borders Vermont is called Canton de l'Est (Eastern Townships in English). The rolling countryside is dotted with charming towns, apple orchards and wine vineyards. My Wife has had her eye on a restaurant in Dunham, Quebec called Homei Bistro ever since the establishment received a glowing review from Seven Days, Burlington, Vermont's weekly newspaper.
While we did drive through a couple of showers, it was bright and sunny at lunchtime. We sat outside quite comfortably in the breezy courtyard. The service was friendly and cheerfully accommodating to the Anglophones. I would describe the cuisine as Asian-Italian-Canadian fusion. My chicken teriyaki wrap shared the menu with with mussels and poutine (Quebec's regional dish) among other offerings. The wrap was fine but even better were the pork and cabbage spring rolls we got as a side dish. Beers from the neighboring Brasserie Dunham are available on tap. I had the IPA - very nice. The real treat, however, was dessert...
Naturally, our daughter wanted dessert. The waiter raved about the brownie but Our Girl ordered the cheesecake. Well, either something was lost in translation or he made an executive decision as to what she really wanted because what arrived at the table sure looked like a brownie topped with vanilla ice cream. Not displeased at all, she happily dug in and offered me a bite. Well... she was lucky I gave it back to her. According to My Wife, the look on my face said it all! Absolutely divine! Mistake or not, he definitely brought the right dish.
Over dinner later, my mother asked us all what our favorite part of the day was. While the others all talked about the joys of wandering the village (unaware, we arrived in Dunham on the weekend of their La Clé des Champs festival), Our Girl and I were in agreement - it was the brownie!
Ah, like the artist or writer, sometimes the waiter must not worry about details and be masterful. We benefit by it!
ReplyDeleteSublime comment on a truly lovely post.
DeleteGeo, I fully agree. Even if it was a mistake, something in his brain triggered the moment of creation. Serendipity is beautiful.
DeleteSuze, thank you.
A man after my own heart. But seriously, you should have ordered one of each and shared ;)
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, I didn't even think I wanted dessert. As soon as I had some of it, though, I was very tempted to order my own. She didn't finish it so I got Daddy leftover privileges. Next time, we'll try the cheesecake for sure.
DeleteI haven't been to Quebec in a long time but I always liked it there. Different without being too foreign. Sounds like a nice outing.
ReplyDeleteWe've been up there quite a bit just over the past year. We're big fans. I really need to learn more French, though. I feel lame always having to ask people to speak English. They're nice enough about it, but still...
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