CASINO RESTAURANTS IN MONTREAL AND GATINEAU QUEBEC
Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll
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It's easy to hit the jackpot in the signature restaurants of the casinos in Montreal and Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. As it turns out, the odds of encountering superb cuisine are stacked in your favor.
Nuances, Casino de Montreal
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| Nuances chef with dish and 5-star award. Casino de Montreal. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Nuances has won the CAA/AAA Guide's highly coveted Five-Diamond rating several years in a row. Rich woods and terra cotta colors add a warm ambiance to the fifth-floor 72-seat restaurant. Tall windows frame views of downtown Montreal and the St. Lawrence River.
Nuances' chef changes his menu several times yearly to include local seasonal specialties and creative flavor combinations such as roast Quebec deer loin in a light chocolate sauce with a duo of marmalades.
Gourmet breads
The Gastronomic Menu, which also changes frequently, offers a fixed-price selection of wines by the glass to accompany each artistically decorated course. Artisan-designed baskets display fresh-baked baguette, sundried tomato and basil bread, and Guérade sea salt rolls with Kalamata olives.
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| Casino de Montreal at night. Quebec. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Desserts are mouth watering, especially the hot chocolate cake with molten coffee sauce, accompanied by a glass of red Banyul. Tuxedoed waiters present tempting after-dinner sweets on handcrafted glass pedestals.
Le Baccara, Casino du Lac-Leamy
Le Baccara exceeded our expectations. CAA/AAA has awarded the 70-seat restaurant the highly coveted Five-Diamond rating for a fifth year in a row. Located on the third floor, overlooking Leamy Lake (an extension of the Ottawa River), it boasts a superb view of the Ottawa skyline and green-roofed parliament buildings. Beside the river, there's a garden where chefs pluck fresh herbs for the restaurant.
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| Casino du Lac-Leamy. Gatineau, Quebec. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
A harpist plays soothing background music as couples dine below wall-sized murals of a countryside feast. Patrons watch chefs create their meals in an open kitchen decorated with shiny copper pans and a frieze of fruit and vegetables.
Sweaters and reading glasses
The maitre d' offers color-coordinated sweaters to women who find the air conditioning a touch too chilly and opens an elegant wooden case of Giorgio Armani spectacles for patrons requiring reading glasses for menus.
An apple symbol on the à la carte menu designates signature dishes like the lobster and roasted scallops, mushrooms and fresh farfalle pasta, enhanced with Cognac and shellfish butter. A heart indicates low fat and reduced calorie cuisine.
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| Waiter serves meal to couple in Le Baccara restaurant. Casino du Lac-Leamy. Gatineau, Quebec. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
13,000-bottle wine cellar
The Gastronomic Menu and Chef's Gourmet Menus are matched with a menu of wines by the glass for a flat fee. Otherwise, the sommelier will help diners select the perfect wine from a cellar with 13,000 bottles of 500 different varieties.
If diners especially enjoy a particular vintage, she'll present them with the label pressed in a souvenir card depicting the wine cellar.
Little touches make the difference
Tiny blueberry flowers garnish an appetizer. A complimentary amuse-gueule is presented on a curved silver spoon before dinner and a silver tray of tiny fruit tartlets, chocolates and maple sugar candies afterward. The superb selection of cheeses surrounds a sugar sculpture created by the pastry chef.
No matter how your dice land, the Quebec's signature casino restaurants are a sure bet when it comes to fine dining.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
More things to see and do in Quebec:
Romantic Quebec City
Château Beauvallon in Mont-Tremblant
Tubing at Mont Avila Near Saint-Sauveur Quebec's Ski Slopes
Sugar Shacks, Chocolate Shops, Tea Rooms and Unusual Restaurants in Montreal
Halloween Fun in Montreal
Jean Paul Riopelle and The Bistro à Champlain Connection
Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean Quebec Attractions, Hotels and Events
Golf Quebec – New Website Guide
Nuances and Le Baccara: www.casinos-quebec.com.
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