Treadwell II

Tuesday 4 November
Erection Day - A favorite holiday in Japan.

The weather was clear and surprisingly warm, so rather than cling in hope to the TV screen (which only gives us news from the Maritimes anyway), we drove out to Port Dalhousie in the twilight, took a short walk ON A VERY LONG pier, and ended up at Treadwell, where we last dined in June. Our sommelier remembered us, too.
We are beginning to recognize Treadwell's little mannerisms, like opening with a demitasse of foamy soup - in this case, carrot ginger. And serving Fred's Breads - ancient grain and baguette - with a local vinegar (in this case blueberry) and cold-pressed Canola oil.*

So on to starters. One was a circle of carpaccio adorned with truffled hardboiled quail eggs and topped with a cylinder of microgreens held together with slices of grana cheese. The other was beet-cured lake trout (no kidding - red and good!) on a (rather uninteresting) bun with crème fraiche, festooned with assorted red and golden beets, hazelnuts, and cheese.
One of our main courses was lamb shank: a forelimb in a tasty sauce, but the meat could have been tenderer and better marinated/seasoned. Still, it was served with lovely heirloom carrots, and a chive mash. The other, partridge three ways, was more successful: a golden breast, succulent confit leg, and deep rich consommé scattered with perfectly roasted parsnips, carrots, tiny turnips, bits of summer squash, and greens, plus a couple of little goat cheese and fresh corn (yes, it's been that warm!) ravioli.

We too were repetitive, in that we went for the Pinot Noir. We tried to get the Megalomaniac Sonofabitch, but they were out. Our attentive sommelier suggested Rose Hall 2006 Pinot Noir from Prince Edward County, and it was good - though we still prefer the Megalomaniac.
Finally, we had the usual spoon jellies, this time apricot. And on the way out, gawked at all the jars of preserved local vegetables that Treadwell uses as both decorations and delicacies. We'll be back to try them again.

*Once known as "rapeseed oil" (from a member of the turnip family, Brassica campestris, and its Latin name rāpum, i, n. akin to Gr. ῥάφη, ῥαφάνη: 'a turnip, rape'. Rape the root, and rape the oil, had something of an image problem. Not to mention being good mostly for lubing up machinery. But it was improved and rebranded in the 1970's as can-o-l-a = "Canadian oil, low acid" by two Canadian scientists, Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola for a nice picture of fields near Red Deer Alberta.