Peasant Cookery

Peasant Cookery
100-283 Bannatyne Avenue
204-989-7700
http://www.wowhospitality.ca/restaurants/peasantcookery.html
http://www.peasantcookery.com/


October, 2010



Oui stood as one of my favourite restaurants in Winnipeg; you can imagine my disappointment when I found the Oui sign replaced with different front signage. I later discover that Peasant Cookery continues to feature the foods of Chef Tristan Foucault, and continues to bear the banner of WOW Hospitality. So why the change?

Our host informs us that their customers love the food; however, regulars found the menu static and wanted to see more change. Peasant trims the menu and focuses on more local and fresher ingredients, featuring a greater rotation of offered items. The prices also take a bit of a dive, so a meal becomes more accessible for the casual diner. Unfortunately, trimming the menu also removes some of my favourite options.

We start with a couple of appetisers to share. A classic French starter, the charcuterie plate comes with a variety of dried meats, including: country-style pate, chicken liver mousse, smoked duck, and rotating cured meats. Each selection of meat tastes wonderfully pungent and intensely flavourful. As much as I love meat, I recently discovered that the absence of vegetables leaves me craving for greens. As delicious as this plate is, I find it a little heavy as a starter course.

Our other starter is no lightweight either. We are very curious to try the poutine, which only appears on the dinner menu. Since it’s lunch, we ask our server if it’s possible to order poutine, to which our server replies “absolutely not.” After a few moments of wrangling, a plate of poutine rests on our table. Truthfully, I never bought into the idea of gravy with cheese on fries. Notwithstanding the obvious health issues surrounding this dish, the combination evokes thoughts of Cheez-Whiz with instant gravy on soggy fries. Delicious plates of fries with rich gravy and chunks of cheese curds from the heart of Quebec changed my view; however, I have not tasted poutine outside of la Belle Province. Peasant Cookery’s version comes and although I can’t say that it outdoes what I tasted in Quebec, its good, basic ingredients and preparation that will satisfy most diners. The addition of chicken confit adds an extra, unexpected dimension to the dish.

The chicken confit also comes with the Biscuits and Gravy, which is essentially buttermilk biscuits smothered with the chicken confit and sauce. If you’re unaware, confit is a traditional cooking method from Southern France where meat is seasoned, salted and cooked slowly under low heat, in its own rendered fat. Confit preserves the meat and brings out the essence of the meat, and this rendition blankets the biscuits with the delicious chicken meat and sauce.

When Oui first introduced their burger, the partner/manager spent no less than 15 minutes propounding the virtues of how they make their burgers, and how the chef barely touches the meat as it comes out of the grinder. Peasant carries an equally robust and hearty burger, although I’m unsure if they continue the same, meticulous detail in preparation. What I am sure about is how moist, juicy and delicious this burger tastes.

Consistent with Peasant’s aim in providing meal rotation, they offer several options as daily specials, including the gnocchi in a butternut, brown butter sauce, which tastes absolutely divine. Gnocchi is a thick and dense flour or potato dumpling that can easily taste doughy and bland if the sauce isn’t strong enough to complement the dumplings. There’s no problem here as the pungent and powerful sauce delivers an unexpected punch.

The seafood pasta sits on the permanent menu but the seafood component rotates with availability. Today’s selection comes with perfectly cooked clams in a garlic white sauce, which looks unspectacular but tastes wonderful. Of all our dishes, this is probably the most plain and unimaginative; however, for those who want basic simplicity, this meal fits perfectly.

Peasant’s décor didn’t change much from its Oui days. The inside features two-toned, blue walls with speckles of paintings and artwork. The large windows and the high ceilings evoke roominess but maintain an air of cosiness. The atmosphere maintains a degree of formality, without coming across as stuffy. When booking, try to reserve one of the semi-circle booths.

The wine list offers varied and interesting selections. Peasant categorises their wines according to price, for which I applaud them. The average diner knows how much he/she wants to spend for a bottle of wine, and grouping them by price allows the patron to go directly to the appropriate section without having to flip through the remainder of the tome.

On paper, people should embrace the idea of keeping the menu fresh, and I don’t see many people filing a complaint because the prices are lower now. However, shaving the menu also means some of our favourite items are gone and this disappoints me somewhat. The food continues to taste superior and the service is still friendly and efficient. Personally, I preferred Oui but I don’t have much bad to say about Peasant.

****½ / 5


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