A Culinary Extravaganza - Ernest's at NAIT

 

AND HERE IS WHERE THE CULINARY EXTRAVAGANZA REALLY BEGINS!!!!

This was literally the BEST MEAL I've ever had in my life.  I loved it!  The experience was phenomenal from beginning to end.  I can't wait to return.  Sadly, they have ended their dinner service until September when school resumes.  But you can still enjoy lunch during the month of May and I strongly encourage you take advantage of the opportunity!

First impressions when we were walking in were absolutely great.  We were warmly greeted and walking into the dining room we were very impressed with the ambiance.  It is a nice room and the servers (in duos) all dressed in black were very classy.  We were lucky to be served by Ali and Vlad during our visit and we couldn't be more pleased with our service. 

I guess I should mention, for those people that may not know about Ernerst's, it is the restaurant where the Culinary Arts and Hospitality students at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology get to hone their skills.  And I'm telling you - it is a first class facility with an incredibly impressive program.  We met several people this evening, including chefs, servers, managers and instructors, and they are all incredibly talented and passionate about what they do.  As the proud mother of Cory - named "one of the Top 5 bartenders in Ottawa" and Nikko - who wants to be a Chef - I was very excited to have the opportunity to experience Ernest's tonight. 

We were seated and introduced to our servers and drinks were ordered.  They have bottles of wine starting at $25 - excellent bargain.  Then it came to deciding on the menu.  I, of course, had already read the menus online so knew what I wanted.  But they also had a special Table d'hote menu that I didn't want to pass up.  So I hummed and hawed until "Mikey" (aka Philly) finally (and expectedly!) gave in and said "You order what you want and I'll get the Table d'hote menu so you can try everything" (one of the many reasons I married that man!!)  And when I said "Do you think it would be too much if I ordered two appetizers along with an entrée because I really want to try lots of stuff" he so rightly said "No, that won't be too much, order everything you want" (he is a good man!)

So Phil's menu consisted of: Hot Dog Soup with lobster consommé, lobster mousse hot dogs, fennel and smoked tomato rouille, an appetizer of Sweetbreads with ginger plum compote and duck fat potatoes, his entrée was a Pork Cheek Benedict with roesti, pork cheeks, poached duck egg, bacon fat hollandaise and cornbread, and for desert he had the "Make Your Own Sundae" with offerings of ice cream, sorbet, sabayon, nuts and various sauces. 

I ordered off of their regular dinner menu and was thrilled to start with Foie Gras Torchon with candied citrus, sauternes gelee and apricot-onion streusel as well as the Steak Tartare with quail egg, herb parmesan crumbs and horseradish aioli.  For my entrée I ordered the Duck Breast with farro risotto, field mushrooms and blackberry gastrique.  And I knew for sure that for desert I'd be trying the Crème Brulee with hazelnuts and caramel.

Once we ordered and our wine arrived -  a Luigi Busca Malbec - the bread course arrived with a nice selection of different breads which Phil devoured.



We were then treated with an Amuse Bouche.  It was a wonderful bite of kiwi, cream cheese, raspberry and topped with vodka soaked pear.



And now on to the much anticipated appetizers.  I LOVE foie gras and had been anticipating trying Ernest's Foie Gras for many days.  It was literally the best bite of my life.  It was delicious!  I don't know lots of foody words so can't really do it justice but it was a gastronomical extravaganza in my mouth.  The sauternes gelee and apricot-onion streusel was a perfect accompaniment.  The Chefs came by and told me how they made it but I was just so in awe I can't remember a word they said, except that when he wrapped it so tight he got blisters on his hands.  Later in the meal I asked if it was too later to order another serving of the Foie Gras to go and they complied.  All the next day my mouth was watering waiting to get home to enjoy my decadent appetizer with a glass of wine after work!

Phil's soup was good but I was in Foie Gras heaven so it just could not compare.  I was still moaning and groaning about how much I was enjoying the Foie Gras.  And if any of you have read my Mazatlan blog you know that almost every day a "quote of the day" makes the blog.  Well, today's quote of the day, when I was enjoying the Foie Gras so much, was "You're really not giving the duck a chance are you"?!

Then my steak tartare and Phil's sweetbreads arrived.  The steak tartare was good.  At first I thought it might have been a little overseasoned but I think it was the horseradish.  The bites with the quail egg were just perfect.

 

The sweetbreads were amazing!  I know it was Phil's dish but I couldn't stop eating them.  Loved them!  And that was a first for both of us to try sweetbreads.

 

Then on to our entrees.  I had the duck breast and despite the fact that it was now widely known that I was totally enamored with the Foie Gras I was still giving the duck breast a chance. 



The duck was excellent and tasty.  I absolutely loved the farro risotto, the mixture of field mushrooms were absolutely delicious, the skin of the duck was perfectly crispy and the blackberry gastrique was a perfect addition to the duck.  If I had one complaint it is that I like my duck to be medium rare and I was told was that is how they prepare it.  However, through the meal I overheard another server stating that they cook it to medium.  The Chefs later confirm that they aim to cook it to medium rare but mine was much more done than that.  I still REALLY enjoyed it and would order this dish again. 

Phil's entrée of pork cheeks was delicious as well and another first for both of us.  The duck egg and hollandaise was a delicious combination.

And for desert:

The crème brulee was excellent.

And Phil didn't actually have to make his own sundae.  One of the featured chefs puts together your selection of toppings including flambéed pineapple as you choose.

And while I finished my wine, Phil finished his meal with a delicious cappuccino.

 

And to top off the night we were invited to a tour of the kitchen (thank you Carla!).  It was great!  The kitchens - there are way more than one - are beautiful and equipped with the most stunning, top of the line equipment.  Those students are getting a top notch education at this amazing facility.

By the way I should give props to the Chefs that created the Table d'hote menu tonight:  Chefs Nicholas Lesoway, Pierce Hendriks & Leland Faulder

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Ernesto.  While not our server, he spent a considerable amount of time with us and we appreciated the conversation and all the information he provided.

While this is not the best known restaurant in Edmonton - it deserves to have the word get out about how great it is.  While it is a little hard to find, parking is free after 5:00 pm and also during the day if you reserve a spot at least 48 hours in advance which is a great feature.  They are serving lunch throughout the month of May and then will resume dinner service in September.  You really must try it.  This was literally the best meal I've ever had.  Congratulations to Ernest's, the students and the faculty.  I was thinking of sending my son to another city for culinary school but now both him and I are excited for him to attend the Culinary Arts Program at NAIT!