Last night, on a whim, decided to head out for supper. I was in the mood to try something new, and Michael could see that there was no negotiation. I poked around in Urban Spoon and came across La Persaud and remembered that I had promised to try this place out.

We called for reservations and was told there would be no problems, so jumped in the car and arrived in under 10 minutes. La Persaud is found in the bottom level at 8627 91 St in the La cite francophone.

We were seated almost immediately, and were placed beside a nice couple who were just finishing their dinner. It was their first visit to LaPersaud too, and they were excited. Very excited about the food.  They were delightful to sit beside and we enjoyed listening to them describe their meal.

Our wait staff were friendly, approachable and informative. Michael’s first impression was the size of the menu, but once we paid attention to the words, realized the book we were given contained brunch, lunch, and supper menus, as well as the wine list, booze, dessert, cheese and charcuterie menus too.

We asked after a daily special and was told there was none, so we studied the menu. Each option was enticing, and ended up asking our waiter what he thought was best on the menu. I enjoy putting them on the spot like this as more often than not they shuffle from one foot to the next unsure how to answer, I don’t understand this by the way, but our man was brave and said “the pork is excellent”.

Our wine selection was keeping with the French theme, and we selected a most delicious bottle of Chateau Franc-Cardinal, a 2005 Bordeaux. The wine was a perfect fit with our meal, however, I would have liked to see either pairing notes or the staff able to make suggestions in case a person wanted to venture and try something new, or needed help with selecting the perfect wine.

For an appetizer, Michael started with…(and for my French friends, I am able to, with the wizardry of cut-and-paste, provide you our menu selections in French)!!

Escargots forestière |Forest Mushroom Escargot
chanterelles et shimeji, beurre blanc à l’estragon
chanterelle & shimiji mushrooms, tarragon beure blanc

…the ubiquitous escargot. I would not try the snails myself, but the broth they were bathing in was so delicious I could have eaten it as soup. In fact, Michael did.

I had…

Mesclun organique |Organic Greens
conserves maison, mandarine, noix de Grenoble et miel d’épilobe
pickled vegetables, mandarine, walnuts, fireweed honey vinaigrette

I am not a salad eater by nature, but this salad was so delicious I thought for a while that I could eat salads every day, even twice a day, if they tasted like this.

For our mains, Michael selected the…

Filet de porc |Pork Filet
bardé de bacon à l’érable, riz sauvage, compote de pommes et demi-glace au cognac
wild rice, maple bacon wrapped, stewed apple & cognac demi-glace

…which I wanted, and could have ordered too because it is a free country, and I have rights, but both Michael and our waiter suggested I try something different so we get a better sampling of what La Persaud offers. I sighed, and selected…

Saumon sauvage du Pacifique grillé |Grilled Pacific Salmon
risotto de quinoa, conserve de beurre au citron et ciboulette
quinoa risotto, preserved lemon & chive butter

…the best piece of grilled salmon I ever ate. But realize, this is only the second time in my life I ordered cooked fish as a main course! Really! Truly!

For dessert, my man selected the…

Crêpe aux pommes caramélisées |Caramelized Apple Crepe
crème glacée à la gousse de vanille
vanilla bean ice cream

…and me, I ordered from their cheese display, because as the world may be surprised, we had a generous supply of wine left over, and what better way to finish the evening than with some wine and cheese? I was able to pick three, and with the help of our waiter selected:

Manchego |Manchego
fromage à pâte ferme, lait de brebis, goût de noix, vieilli de 60 jours à deux ans, de la manche
firm & nutty sheep’s milk aged 60 days from La Mancha

Morbier |Morbier
moelleux,lait de vache, vieilli 45 jours dans de la suie, de comté
semi-soft, moist, leathery cow’s milk, aged 45 days with ash, from Comté

Ubriaco Prosecco |Prosecco
fromage à pâte ferme, lait de vache montagnarde, vieilli trois mois dans du raisin prosecco, de veneto
firm, mountain cow’s milk, aged 3 months in prosecco grapes, from Veneto

The cheeses were served with sliced baguette, lovely crackers and home-made jellies.

At the appetizer, Michael started with a low  moan. I asked if he was okay, and he said he never had escargot that good in his life. The man is near 50, he’s been around, that says a lot.

After the first bite of his pork, his moan turned into a loud purr. His pupils dilated. He was on another planet. When dessert hit his mouth, he let out a loud “Jaaaaaaaay-zussssssss”, loud enough that I was worried we were disturbing our fellow diners.

I found the food exquisite. But the night belonged to my Michael. He declared this to be the best meal he’s had in Edmonton. And that my friends, is high praise indeed.

Another epic fail as a food blogger, as I keep forgetting* my camera at home and end up relying on my cell phone. The quality of my pictures is pitiful. But, for beautiful pictures and another take on La Persaud, I encourage you to visit Chris’s site at Eating is the Hard Part.

* I keep telling myself “I’ll try the place first, and if I like it, I’ll go back with the camera and try to take proper pictures”. This hasn’t happened yet.