Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009
MONARCH DINING REVIEW May 21st 2009
It 's not often that you come across a chef who has the time and talent to make every dish a masterpiece of taste and composition. But at Monarch, the upscale gem tucked into downtown Maplewood, chef Josh Galliano does just that. This restaurant has from its beginnings been a Mecca of creative and delicious food, but Galliano has kicked it up a notch since his arrival last fall, and contained prices while doing it.Most recently helming the kitchen at An American Place (just under über chef Larry Forgione), Galliano has the pedigree for excellence: Le Cordon Bleu in London, followed by work under Daniel Boulud. While not everyone wants a restaurant meal to be a journey of discovery, wilted dandelion greens, fiddlehead fern or avocado ice cream, anyone? 'outlandish' pairings can be exciting and delicious when done with knowledge about the way flavors and textures interact. And they remind us that almost anything found in the wild was food for our forebears, giving us an appreciation for the vast diversity of Mother Nature.
The menu at Monarch is seasonal, changing with the availability of produce, and it clearly reflects a preference for local provisions, things like Illinois pork chops, Freeburg asparagus, Amish chicken breast. The menu is also impressive in size, considering each dish contains no less than four elaborate preparations. Take Beet Ravioli, with its saffron risotto stuffing, wilted dandelion 'side,' and 'sauces of sunchoke puree and cashew pistou (the increase in your culinary vocabulary is a bonus).
One side of the menu offers salads and cold and hot appetizers; the other has entrees divided by 'origin': From the Earth, From the Land, From the Sea. In addition, there is a monthly tasting menu of four courses for $40. Appetizers range from $6 for the chevre salad (pickled beets, pea shoots, beet tartare, verjus-honey reduction) to $12 for the Maryland Oyster Chowder with potato baton, local mushrooms, snow peas and house-smoked bacon. Entrees are in the mid-$20s, with the exception of the rib-eye steak, at $37.
We started with the oyster chowder and chilled watercress soup ($8). The former was a flavorful potage with plump smoked oysters and crisp snow pea segments. Also in the soup were a few potato batons (rectangular pieces), rough-cut local mushrooms and very meaty chunks of bacon. Its overall flavor was of a savory cream with a hint of smoke. The watercress soup offered a completely different experience, with a creamy, mild base and bits of tartly pickled shrimp and crunchy jicama sinking to the bottom. Both dishes were wonderful.
An order of roasted duck with Freeburg white asparagus ($28) was outstanding. A meaty breast with crisped skin came sliced on the diagonal alongside a crusty 'crepinette' (fried dumpling) made with the braised leg meat. The breast was done rare and was tender, slightly sweet and not the least bit gamey like duck can be. The crepinette was decadent, the shreds of fat-soaked meat crisp and flavorful. The side of quinoa had a unique preparation: the grain was molded into small croquettes, with crunchy duck cracklins inside, and served crisped on the outside, completely unexpected, since it is usually served like rice. Also on the plate were a tart-sweet orange sauce (bigarade) giving the dish a duck a lorange quality, and a pool of 'ramp-mascarpone' puree. The ramps (wild leeks/scallions) are grown locally.
An entrée of seared diver scallops ($28) was also stellar, the halved bivalves lined up on a long, narrow platter, divided by the 'sides': fava beans, tomato confit, preserved lemon and olive oil-smashed potatoes. Topping it all were airy green dollops of 'thyme foam,' gelatin mixed with liquid and thyme frothed with nitrous oxide. Amazing to look at, it was even better to eat, with scallops that were butter-seared, brown and naturally sweet. The potatoes were subtle, the fava beans hearty and textural.
Our desserts were no less impressive. Pistachio panna cotta and carrot cake ($8 each) were anything but predictable. The carrot cake wasn't cake at all, but a series of tiny cubes of gelled orange curd served alongside tiny (1-inch) carrot muffins, crème fraiche sorbet and a sweet green sauce made from carrot tops. Each element was delicious, the orange curd a soft, sweet-tart flavor topped with a paper-thin blanched and glazed carrot round. The mini-cakes were just a bite each, and the sorbet was white and had a slightly sour flavor, like buttermilk.
The panna cotta came standing up as a 'brick' (like a bar of cream cheese), rather than as a molded custard, flanked by a buttery pistachio tuile (thin, crisp, nut cookie). The custard was green and intensely pistachio flavored, creamy and smooth, like slicing into butter. Also on the plate were cubes of toasted marshmallow (not store-bought), a piece of grilled pineapple and a drizzling of maraschino cherry reduction.
Monarch describes its menu as 'New American,' which really tells you only that the kitchen has license to be creative. Chef Galliano's classic French training can be seen in every dish, and in its elaborate culinary terminology, yet he's put plenty of 'new' into it. Those two elements, the time-honored traditions and the boundless creativity, yield an amazing dining experience.