A Red Letter Day

DUNDASThe moment I press the start button, I know we are in for a treat. As the car announces it’s ready to go – growling, then settling down – Gary Crosby gives us these parting words: ‘Be careful with this one. She’s a little monster.’ I tap on the gas just a smidgeon. The response is thunderous. Lusty. Insistent. Vehement. I give it another tap, unleashing a crescendo of snarling and bellowing out the twin tailpipes.

‘I could do this all day,’ I shout to TOQUE Partner Cai Sepulis, my passenger on this adventure. ‘We should probably just get going,’ she replies with a chuckle, adding, with just a hint of admonishment, ‘I think we’re being a bit disruptive.’ Taking my eye off the tachometer, I survey the pristine car bay and note that a number of mechanics

have looked up from their work. A small group of customers are also quizzically gazing our way. Some with obvious irritation. Others with expectant grins. I overhear one of them remark: ‘Must be his first Audi.’

Indeed, it is.

An RS3. In Nardo Grey. With 400 horsepower. ‘It’ll go O to 100 in 3.9 seconds,’ I tell Cai as we exit the bay at Audi Kitchener-Waterloo. ‘About as fast as a Ferrari F40,’ I hear myself telling her, recalling a favourite hypercar from my youth. ‘And they’ve given it to us for the day,’ I add – in amazement. Not for simply horsing around, mind you. But for business; namely, the business of fine dining. At the highly-exalted Quatrefoil Restaurant in the small town of Dundas – another culinary masterpiece by Chefs Fraser Macfarlane and Georgina Mitropoulos. Because, after all, we want to fit in – and arriving in an RS3 is, I assert to Cai early in the day, a solid first step.

About forty minutes and sixty-five kilometres of scenic countryside driving later, Cai and I find ourselves on King Street in downtown Dundas. We pull into a spot right in front of Detour Coffee Roasters and walk the block or so to Quatrefoil for our noon reservation. Just enough time to wipe from my face the grin that’s been plastered there since leaving the dealership. ‘We need one of those,’ I tell Cai, speaking of the Audi. And trying to figure out where I’d put magazines during delivery rounds. ‘Yep, I know,’ Cai sighs. ‘You’ve been saying that since we left Kitchener.’ Because I mean it, I think to myself. I really do.

Quatrefoil is not hard to spot, housed in a gorgeous century home at 16 Sydenham Street just off the main drag. The exquisitelydressed (and seemingly well-heeled) line of people out front is a clear giveaway. The black Ferrari 575 pulling up in front (‘like the one Michael Jordan used to drive,’ I note to Cai) is further evidence.

Within minutes, we’ve been seated in the restaurant’s gorgeous shaded courtyard and are enjoying a pint of Fairweather ‘High Grade’ IPA (me), a glass of white wine (Cai), and Quatrefoil’s house-made breads to start things off. Usually Cai and I try not to eat much bread before meals like this because we know there will be lots of food coming. After one bite, though, I’m throwing this strategy straight out the window, and nod ’yes’ to the offer of a second serving. The poppy seed bread sticks, aged cheddar gougere and a bread made from Shed Brewery’s spent grain go down easy. Again. We try to restrain ourselves and nibble, keenly expectant of what’s to come.

Soon it’s time to order. ‘Might I suggest,’ our server offers, ‘that Chef brings out a few things he thinks you might enjoy?’ Music to our ears. And, as we soon experience, a feast for our eyes – and for every other sense imaginable. It’s not long before Chef-Owner Fraser Macfarlane’s impeccably-plated dishes begin to arrive. First the appetizers: Ontario white asparagus with green garlic, confit hen yolk, brown butter and mushrooms on toast topped with shaved truffles for me, and torchon of Quebec foie gras with rhubarb, strawberries, hibiscus, sesame and toasted brioche for Cai. Beautiful. Complex. Brilliant.

I delicately reach across the table and help myself to some of Cai’s foie gras – rich, buttery, smooth – and spread it onto a modest hunk of brioche. And eat. And attempt for the next ten minutes to describe how mind-blowing it tastes. And smells. And looks. Yet words fail. ‘It just makes me feel happy,’ I gush at last. We bask in the sheer bliss of the occasion. But not for long. It’s time for our mains.

Asparagus, gruyere and spinach quiche with soubise, cherry tomato, snap peas and chive beurre blanc for Cai. Manitoulin rainbow trout with asparagus, cucumber, potato cake and dill crème fraiche for me. I remain speechless. And for dessert – a honey rhubarb dip (brioche doughnut, macerated strawberries, poppy seed curd and lemon gelato) along with a ricotta cake (almond ganache, poached cherries, chocolate milk wafer and olive oil ice cream). I remain unaccountably (and unusually) bereft of speech.

Once we’ve finished eating, there’s only one thing left to do. I make a beeline for the kitchen and straightaway spot Chef Fraser orchestrating things from the pass. Our eyes meet and before he’s able to ask what we thought of the meal, I’m giving him a bear hug and mumbling something about having just experienced the best meal of my life. He laughs. I do too. And, with a belly full of heaven, Cai and I hit the road in our RS3 for Kitchener again. To drop off the Audi. And make it back to Guelph in time to pick up my lils. And, for the foreseeable future, to tell everyone I know (and others too) that they need to make it out to Quatrefoil. ‘Like, now.’

Not only because a few years back en Route Magazine ranked it as one of Canada’s Top 10 new restaurants. Or because Toronto Life did the same. But also because TOQUE says so. And forget Top 10. In my estimation, Quatrefoil really can’t be beat.

SITTING DOWN WITH QUATREFOIL CHEF-OWNER FRASER MACFARLANE

Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE QUATREFOIL, AND YOUR OTHER RESTAURANT, BRUX HOUSE? HOW ARE THEY RELATED?

A: Quatrefoil is a modern French restaurant set in a century home in idyllic Dundas, Ontario. Our food is seasonally driven and the menu is rooted in classical French cuisine while some of the concepts have a more modern touch.

Brux House is a craft beer inspired restaurant that takes its inspiration from the foods of the European beer belt. That's the jumping off point and we stay true to that to a degree, but really anything goes. We enjoy coming up with really delicious and sinful bar snacks. Of course we also stay true to what's in season and use local purveyors as much as possible, just the same as Quatrefoil. And the beer list, both draft and bottle, is pretty killer.

Q: HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TO SIT DOWN FOR A MEAL AT EITHER QUATREFOIL OR BRUX? WHAT ARE YOU USUALLY EATING WHEN NOT AT WORK?

A: I never really sit down at Quatrefoil to eat, which is a shame because I think you can learn a lot from dining in your own restaurant. I would feel very awkward doing it though, so I avoid it. I have managed to eat twice at Brux House since we opened and I can honestly say both meals were top shelf! If I'm not working I like to cook at home. Anything from grilling a steak to veal marsala to Chinese stir fry dishes. I've been kinda obsessed with figuring out how to make a good, authentic stir fry the last couple months.

Q: FAVOURITE PLACE TO BE WHEN NOT AT THE RESTAURANT?

A: At home or at the cottage, or anywhere I can be with my wife, my son and my dog. I like having big family dinners at the inlaws.

Q: RESTAURANT YOU'D LOVE TO VISIT?

A: I would love to do a big trip to New York and hit all the big restaurants there. In Europe I like everything from the fancy Michelin-starred restaurants to small French bistros, German beer halls, Spanish Tapas bars, hole-in-the wall Greek gyro places. My wife and I recently went for dinner at La Banane in Toronto and it was really fun and delicious. We have reservations at Pearl Morissette in Jordan Station for my wife's birthday. I was lucky enough to get invited to the soft opening with Kyle, my chef from Brux. It was fantastic. They are doing really interesting things. Hyper local and kind of modern and elegant in a rustic sort of way. It's already a special place and they haven't been opened for a year.

Q: GUEST YOU'D LOVE TO SEE WALK THROUGH THE DOOR?

A: We appreciate any guests that take time from their busy schedules to join us for a meal. Honestly, I don't really wish for anyone in particular to come through but it's always fun when chefs from restaurants around here decide to come check out what we're doing. It's flattering – and kind of fun to spoil them a bit.

BY CHRIS TIESSEN