Jun. 09, 2010 - Issue #764: Hot Summer Guide 2010

Revue

Happiness condensed

Zeroing in on an oft-overlooked element of dinner: dessert

Let's start with a bit of background. A while back I profiled Linda Kearney, aka Queen of Tarts, baker extraordinaire and Culina's dazzlingly gifted dessert wizardess. And of course, we talked desserts. And restaurant reviews. And when we put desserts and reviews together, Kearney felt that that was something you really didn't see much of: reviews that mention desserts more than fleetingly, if at all.

OK, guilty as charged. I do mention desserts—just not often. But that's only because I'm too stuffed by the end of the meal to cram another bite of anything in, or I've run over my word count by the time I've gotten to mentioning dessert, so rather than risk my lovely editor's ire, I keep it short and sweet.

So that's how Kearney and I ended up at River House Grill in St Albert. Our mission? To review dinner and dessert. Here goes.

In the spirit of making it to dessert, we're going to have to try our hand at being pithy. So ...

Appearance: Grand, especially the stately manor house exterior. Heavy drapes, damask seat coverings and washed walls, all bathed in rich jewel tones, lend an elegant but somewhat dated air to the dining room.

Menu: Huge emphasis on local ingredients, with something for everyone. Descriptions are so enticing they make you want to order everything—or at least, they did for Kearney and I.

Wine List: Extensive, including many offerings by the glass. Needing to maximize use of every inch of space in our stomachs, though, we both stuck to water.

OK, now for the food.

We both started with salad, and both salads were big hits. Kearney's Peppered Meteor Lake Ranch bison carpaccio, vine ripe tomato and asiago cheese salad ($14) was quite possibly the highlight of the night. Words like "soft" and "buttery" kept escaping from her mouth whenever a piece of bison found its way in, and she liked how the lemony dressing was used to accentuate the flavours rather than drown them out.

My salad was an intriguing explosion of tastes and textures: fire-grilled red pear, roast pecans, feta cheese and organic salad leaves with a duo of balsamic dressings ($12). My mouth was smitten with the warm, creamy pear, but perplexed by the addition of hard, tasteless strawberries.

We both agreed on the overall assessment of our entrées: for Kearney, the deep water Arctic char fillet ($29), and for me, the sugar sea salt and roast spice pan seared market salmon ($26). In both cases the highlight was the fish itself—moist, tender and superbly cooked. But the kitchen had also showered an inordinate amount of attention on the veggies, and it showed. Far from bland and ordinary fare, the array of asparagus, baby bok choy and yellow beets disappeared rather quickly from both of our plates.

The accompanying sauces garnered a more lukewarm reaction. Kearney felt the salt had been given a few too many shakes with her chardonnay and lemongrass dill cream sauce, and the mango orange citrus garlic mojo that coated my salmon was simply too thick and, well, too mango-y—something I hadn't thought possible.

But we both agreed that plate presentation was impeccable. The medley of colours and drizzles and layers really made us feel we were about to indulge in something truly extraordinary.
And now—drum roll, please—dessert. Yes, we made it that far.

Kearney scanned the dessert menu with her discerning eye and went to work. "Dessert should be the little jewel at the end of the menu; ideally, you want to see something there that you simply can't resist. Too often restaurants default to things that are safe, like brûlées, bread puddings and crumbles."

The verdict: River House's menu is safe, covering all the chocolaty, citrusy, crumbly bases. Kearney enjoyed seeing a gluten-free option—the crème brûlée—but found the menu kind of heavy. She doesn't see why dessert has to be all or nothing, and she likes it when there are some lighter—and perhaps fruit-based—options to choose from. But she also understands the logic; fruit can be finicky, and often requires last minute prep.

Your best strategy might be to ask what your server recommends, and that's what Kearney usually does. Not on this night, though. I was peppering her with so many questions that she forgot and we simply ordered.

I was tempted by the rhubarb, strawberry and Saskatoon crisp, but when Kearney pointed out that it was on the heavy side and none of the fruits were in season, I went for the citrusy option: the sharp lemon and key lime pie ($9).

The plate that landed before me was stunning. The wedge of pale yellow pie was offset with vibrant red raspberry gelato. Lovely little blueberries were scattered playfully around the plate, and artistic drizzles of coconut, mango and raspberry sauces finished it off. Kearney thought all the flavours, colours and textures elevated it from simply pie to something special.
In the spirit of the review, I offered Kearney the first bite. Just by sight, she knew it was the classic American version of the pie, made with sweetened condensed milk. She declared it rich, creamy and ultra-sweet and loved how they ramped up the graham wafer crust with oodles of coconut. I thought the tang from the raspberry gelato and the citrusy lemon and lime helped cut the sweetness, but it was still very sweet, very rich and probably even heavier than the crisp. But, in the spirit of research, I ate every last bite. My one quibble: as pretty as the trio of sauces were, there just wasn't enough to really taste them. Now, if they had been puddles instead of drizzle ... well, imagine the possibilities.

Kearney ordered what she called "nursery food for adults," the raspberry and Chambord crème brûlée ($9). It's a dessert she doesn't often make herself, possibly because she finds it so addictive. This version lived up to her standards, with the crunch of the caramelized sugar, the creaminess of the custard and the tangy sourness of the fruit. She thoroughly enjoyed exploring the different nuances each layer brought to the brûlée, but she thought a richer and eggier custard would have made it even better.

Once again, thoughtful little extras made a welcome appearance. A jaunty little coconut macaroon was nestled next to the brûlée, and its richness helped offset the lighter custard.
So, although the desserts were on the safe side, we both thought they were pretty darn delicious and well executed.

Oh, one last word from Kearney for all you restaurants out there: appeal to all the senses and sell your desserts. Don't just ask if we want dessert—chances are we'll say no. But if you suggest a dessert and describe it in all its luscious, decadent, incredible detail, well, we just might not be able to resist.

So there you have it: a review that actually mentions dessert. Now go forth and order dessert yourself. You can even stay for dinner while you're there. River House Grill is a good place to start. V

River House Grill
Tue – Thu (5 pm – 9 pm); Fri & Sat (5 pm – 10 pm); Sun (4:30 pm – 8 pm)
8 Mission Ave, St Albert, 780.458.2232 

More info about River House Grill →

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