In a sea of pierogies and diner food, Deer + Almond is a clear standout in Winnipeg. It’s one of a handful in the province that does Modern Canadian food: innovative creations with regional produce. It’s not held back by culinary traditions but still respects them. There’s a high chance that each dish will be a unique experience for diners.
Deer + Almond
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, Deer + Almond has switched from à la carte to a tasting menu format. It’s a stupendous deal at $72.80 for 6 courses. Diners still have some choice: they can pick the heaviest course. There are also additional dishes that can be tacked on (priced separately).
Top-notch, approachable Modern Canadian food (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Just a block south of Queen subway station is Richmond Station. Except it’s a restaurant, not a subway station. The choice of name is deliberate. Its logo even features a subway train. Think of Richmond Station as a stop on the metaphorical culinary train.
Richmond Station
It’s difficult to put a finger on the cuisine served here. It ranges from pasta to braised meat to ethnic inspirations like mulligatawny (British-Indian curry soup). They are dishes that you might have seen in other restaurants but with Canadian twists. The menu changes seasonally. So, I would say Richmond Station is the exemplar for Modern Canadian cuisine.
Elevated classics with a touch of fusion (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Aloette is the more approachable sibling of Alo, the best restaurant in Canada. It takes at least a month to get a reservation at Alo, so Aloette is a reliable fallback that gives a glimpse of what to expect. It has long operating hours, walk-ins are welcome, prices are within a good lunch budget ($20 – $40 mains, after tax), and best of all, food quality and service is similar to Alo. I actually prefer Aloette because the quality/price ratio is heads and shoulders above its competitors.
Aloette is on the ground floor of a nondescript building. Alo is on the top floor.
Both Alo and Aloette offer takeout in light of COVID-19. Honestly, only Aloette makes sense because Alo’s fine dining tasting menu doesn’t translate well for takeout. People go to Alo for the ambience, the plating, the “complimentary” dishes, and the interaction with the chefs. Even at a lower price point of $73.45 per person for its “Alo at Home” multi-course menu, it’s still a lot of money. Aloette’s casual à la carte menu works better for takeout. They have also reduced prices for most items, so take advantage of the opportunity to try them. When I visited in the evening, the restaurant was slammed with orders. I guess that’s a good problem to have in an economic slump.
Takeout bag
Aloette’s menu looks boring. It reads like the usual gastropub fare: burgers, pastas, salads, and pies. There is the occasional twist thrown in like yuzu honey for fried chicken. Don’t let the unexciting descriptions put you off. Aloette’s strength is in execution and presentation. They succeed in elevating these common dishes and inject a bit of their personality in it.
The food
Take the fried chicken, for instance. The accompanying yuzu honey jam was a contemporary combination of sweet sauce in Korean fried chicken and lemon sauce in pseudo-Chinese lemon chicken. The zing from the yuzu zest was potent and lighted up the chicken. The hot sauce was decently flavoured, but not as good as that from Korean fried chicken specialists. The spice was gentle.
Fried chicken (right) with bibb lettuce (left)
The star of the show was the chicken itself. When I was bringing the package home, the aroma tempted me to sneak a bite multiple times. The pieces are de-boned for convenience, another thoughtful departure from traditional Korean fried chicken. Meat was moist and seasoned, though most of the spices came from the batter. The batter remained crunchy even a few hours later.
