Appreciating Customer Appreciation Month at Locals

One of the things I love about Locals is that the amuse bouche is a matter of course for dinner. You sit down. Before long, along with the tasty bread and the (healthy) house bean pate (butter if you ask), there’s a wee bit of beauty and deliciousness. For our dinner it was a crostini with a smidge of duck pate wearing a berry chutney. An elegant way of introducing us to the flavours to come.

My dinner pals and I had arrived to test the “customer appreciation menu,” Locals’ $25 3-course offering for the month of January. A nice gesture to those of us who frequent the place – and an excellent introduction to what Chef Ronald St. Pierre and his team do at Locals: sing the praises of local product – from oysters to apples, pasta to pork, and many things in between.

Very dry, very tasty Victoria Gin martini.

After the amuse bouche one of the first Vancouver Island products I enjoyed was a very dry Victoria Gin martini. I’m a Hendricks man, but Victoria is a close second, and the bright floral notes are just the thing to accompany the delicate Cortes Island oysters I shared with my table. Beautiful to behold - all pearly and iridescent in the half-shell - they are a lovely reminder of the sea on a blustery day. As he let one slide down his throat, one of my friends was transported to a moment from his youth. He’d once made a meal of 24 oysters in Paris - but preferred the fresher, more tender Cortes offerings.

Winter Spinach and Pomegranate Cone.

The “customer appreciation” menu features several choices for appetizer, main, and a dessert. Several of us chose the “Winter Spinach and Pomegranate Cone” as our starter. A variety of mixed greens, shavings of carrot and beet, organic hazelnuts, all of it lightly dressed with citrus and wrapped in a delicate red cabbage leaf the salad gave us lots to chew on – and talk about.

My choice of main was already made when I saw the Prontissima Pappardelle option: broad egg noodles dressed with sundried tomatoes, tangy olives, all of it wrapped up in a roasted sweet pepper and citrus sauce. I am a big pasta guy. And I’m a huge fan of Prontissima. Big, huge - pasta can do that to a person. Me, I’m trying to do this in moderation. The mix of flavours in this dish was wonderful, an ambrosia that I’m going to be revisiting as soon as I get back from my next walk through Tin Town…

Paprika Crusted Snapper Fillet.

The rest of my table, however, were all smitten by the Paprika Crusted Snapper option. I had a bite. It was good. But it was also a visual delight to see the four plates in front of me: the firm white flesh of the fish with its brilliant red top crust, sitting on a cream-coloured bed of baked potato Duchesse, dressed with a green layer of arugula pesto cream. One of my friends, acknowledged by my circle of gourmands as a pesto connoisseur, opined that this arugula pesto deserved an “A1 rating.” Others had a similar opinion of the paprika crust. Both items made in-house from Black Creek’s Pattison Farms.

A shallow wine list is one of my quibbles with many local restaurants. Yes, we do have an emerging Vancouver Island wine industry. And yes, new world wines tend to be the “big flavour” choices. But I like the earthiness and understated qualities I find in the old world styles. I was therefore very happy to see several affordable bottles of French and Spanish red on the Locals’ list, and chose to share a 2007 Domaine de Beaurenard from the Cotes du Rhone. A little heavy for the snapper; perfect for the pasta.

Profiteroles au Chocolate.

But what to choose for dessert? I like creme caramel (much more than it’s burnt cousin), but I like Profiteroles even more. What’s not to love about fresh little cream puffs stuffed with vanilla gelato and drizzled with warm choclate sauce, Chantilly cream, and candied almonds? Yes, I tasted the others’ creme caramel. It was good. But I was happy with my choice. It looked good too. And was quite lovely with the Talisker scotch that I chose to close the meal: another exploration of the smokey, peaty side of this beverage.

I’d added a number of extras to my $25 3-course menu, but it was still a (financially) reasonable outing. On the flavour side, my party was unanimous: great flavours, great value.

hanspetermeyer
9 January 2012