i’m used to standard set menus which offer soup or salad as a starter, fish, chicken or steak as he entree and some dessert which usually includes a cheesecake and something chocolaty. bymark’s options blew my mind. there were five starters that included butter braised lobster poutine, fois gras, yellow fin tuna with yuzu, buffalo mozzerella and mixed greens. i sat staring blankly at the menu as i had to reprogram my brain think outside the soup/salad binary code i’m so used to. i’ve been in a fish mood lately and i’m quite sure “yuzu” is japanese for “tasty little bastard”, so i went for the tuna. it was seared and served beautifully . i would have liked a bit more of both heat and acid to tear into the richness of the tuna but it was fresh and clean and the pop from the odd ginger crisp was memorable.
my colleague opted for the lobster poutine. it was a modest portion served on a circular lobster shell and topped with bernaise sauce. i think i saw him cry a little bit. i managed to score a few frites and thought it was greasy sweetness…literally and figuratively. i cried a little too.
another colleague of mine from quebec stuck to her roots and ordered the fois gras. as a disclaimer, i am not wacky over fois gras. i enjoy a think slice of torchon as opposed to a hunk of liver on a plate. this appetizer was the latter. maybe it was the garnish which was a bile-looking sage puree coupled with a bloody looking compote and swimming in a pool chocolate jus. it might have been the fact that the fois gras itself was not served cooked throughout. either way, it looked like aftermath of the red wedding scene from game of thrones. since i am not a savage medieval warrior or hannibal lecter, it wasn’t my thing and wouldn’t have been any better even if there were a few fava beans thrown on the plate.
the selection of entrees were equally as impressive. there was the choice of steak, lamb, black cod, chicken and vegetable risotto black cod is one of my favorite fish and i was particularly intrigued with the octopus and crab cakes, so my choice was a no brainer. to me, the key to good black cod is to achieve the same silky mouthfeel as if you were eating a pound of butter but without the probable ill-filled aftermath. mission accomplished. the citrus butter balanced the sweetness of the cod and with the help of the coriander crust and subtle broth enhanced it at the same time. the crab cakes were delightful morsels and the eggplant and zucchini strands brought some earthiness to the dish.
i am reluctant to suggest that a good group dinner means that a table for two will have the same experience. what i can say is that the execution of dinner at bymark was close to flawless. although the fois gras was a bloody mess, the other starters, including the lobster poutine and the seared tuna were delicious. the entrees were served hot and i heard no complaints (whether it was the steak, fish, lamb or risotto) across our table. for the most part, theservicewas prompt and professional.