STEAK AND SCOTCH AT LA QUEUE DE CHEVAL

Posted by

We’ve got far more accomplished food bloggers here at the Montreal Buzz, but when I saw that there was an event featuring a Single Malt Scotch ambassador at La Queue de Cheval, one of Montreal’s premiere steakhouses, I did what any editor worth their salt would do: assign the story to myself…

La Queue de Cheval is where one heads when they want a dinner served with a healthy side of machismo. This is not the place for vegetarians, molecular gastronomy aficionados or the faint of wallet (though they do have a $27 lunch menu). Perhaps the best indication of what to expect can be found on their website, which has a series of vignettes featuring the restaurant’s President, Peter Morentzos. He smokes cigars in all of them and several are “Rated 18+”. Their slogan is “Go big or go home”.

This is a place done up in dark wood and leather, a place with a fully-stocked cigar lounge, an already exclusive place that boasts an even more exclusive private dining room. Though they have an extensive and well-regarded seafood menu, they are best known for their dry aged beef (dry aging being a process that takes an already incredible piece of meat and deeply intensifies the flavour). Their steaks will haunt your stomach’s dreams for days.

They take their steak quite seriously at “The Q”, but for one afternoon the food played second fiddle to the drink. Which was the grandest of all alcohols, the golden liquid of the gods, Scotch whiskey. And we had the perfect guide: Glenfiddich Global Brand Ambassador and dashing Scottish Scotch expert, Ian Millar.

An absolute authority on Single Malt Scotch and a consummate storyteller, part of Millar’s duties while in Montreal were to accompany Queue de Cheval’s newly purchased Glenfiddich 50 Year Old. Valued at aproximately $26,000, it is one of the rarest single malts in the world- only 500 bottles have been made and only 50 are released each year.

While we were unfortunately (but understandably) unable to taste the 50 (it was being auctioned off in support of Leucan), Millar led us in a tasting of the Glenfiddich 12, 15 and 18 year old Single Malts and an incredible 1974 Vintage Reserve. They were paired with lobster bisque, some of the aforementioned and absolutely perfectly cooked steaks and, believe it or not, some house-made potato chips. The pairing of steak, Scotch and ultimate restaurant luxury made for an unforgettable experience. One that I’m pretty sure that you and your company’s expense account totally deserve.

THE DETAILS

La Queue de Cheval, 1221 Rene-Levesque West, (514) 390-0090

Photos: Mark Slutsky

Top