In the Hull sector of Gatineau, on Avenue du Portage, there is a restaurant, Les vilains garçons, which invites you to a challenge: order without knowing what you will have on your plate!
The adventure begins on the phone. Sunday night. My daughter is calling to book. He was then offered a three-course discovery menu at $ 30 or $ 40, but with four services. But still ? What's on the menu? "We can not tell you! That's the concept: you'll order, but without knowing what! "
On Sundays, only the discovery formula is proposed. On request, you can also experience the week. This is, to say the least, disconcerting. But, let's face it, exciting! We must obviously trust the leader. Will we be entitled to stuffed squid, foie gras popcorn or cheeks of halibut as is the case, among other things, on the weekday menu? Not sure ... the table will rather eat shrimp accompanied by a mango coulis, followed by small squares of homemade smoked pork so tender with an assortment of wild mushrooms .... The dish is presented in the center of the table and everyone uses it. True sharing. As we must be polite, we must remember not to bite the portions of others! The common board is finished. Same on the neighboring tables. The dessert will not be left behind with a perfectly successful cheesecake. Soft as it is little.
Romain Riva, co-owner with his colleague Cyril Lauer for four and a half years of the Villains boys, says that the "discovery" menu allows him to have fun in the kitchen with the new products, according to the arrival of the moment, provided mainly by producers Quebecers or even Canadian as this fisherman from Nova Scotia who supplies it with halibut. This too allows for less waste. As the chef decides the "discovery" menu, he has the opportunity to spend most of his stock. And since it's a blind menu, the customer does not know if a product is missing. Kitchen creativity does the rest. Has there ever been a reluctance of customers to order without knowing what would come on their plates? "At first a little, but finally no one is formalized. Or if, perhaps, one in 400 people do not want this type of menu. "
But beware, the owners pay attention to certain customer requirements. Someone who has allergies or who would be vegetarian will find his happiness. There are "discovery" menus provided for this purpose. "We really adapt to each table," says Romain. This is what you will probably not see the same dishes on the table next door. So not that bad, these naughty boys who have already made the 400 shots when they were students in France!
