Zest, Fonthill

Wednesday July 8

The two foreigners got a chance to take their local hostesses, Jane and Jo-Ann, out for a local meal at a local place they had never been, Zest.

We almost passed it by because the "Zed" blended in with the background of its signboard, so it looked like a place called "est." But we were happy we finally found it.
It's a small place, but the tables are well-placed and comfy, all poised around a big open kitchen, so you can watch the chefs work. And the service is just as we like: friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive without being all over you. They even changed the music on the sound system to accommodate us.

The food is billed as "modern Canadian," mainly sourced locally, though they don't make a cult out of locavoraciousness the way some places do. First they dropped off an amuse-geule, a snackable little smoked-char fishcake, while we pondered over the menu and ordered a Cave Spring Sauvignon Blanc (we drink locally, too).

We just had them put the appetizers in the center, and let everyone graze on crispy fried calamari with sriracha sauce, mussels in a smooth lobster-vanilla tomato sauce with sweet peas and tarragon, a warm salad of roast asparagus and shiitakes with goat cheese, and a big plate of Lameque oysters from New Brunswick - they best place to read about these oysters (indeed, any type of oyster whatever) is here.

Our two mains were fillets of lake perch, sparkling fresh and delicate, perched on a vegetable tower and topped with a fried zucchini blossom; and haddock fried in a coconut flour crust (really - they showed us the flour, it's not grated coconut) with a dark mole-style sauce.
And of course, we had to have dessert. One was a frozen black forest cake with fresh red currants; the other some spoons of house-made strawberry ice cream, which was nice and light.

Verdict: Zest is definitely on our eat-local list.