His and Her Dining

M-Grill to the Nth degree

ALAN POIRIER
apoirier@medicinehatnews.com

For executive chef Dan Smyth, it’s always about being willing to experiment, about being willing to see where two, three, four or more taste sensations will take you.
It’s the hallmark of a good chef. Every good chef that I know has it. Gut level understanding of taste. And the pun is intended.
So when Nicky and I had a chance to sample the cuisine of the M-Grill, we jumped at it.
The M-Grill is, of course, the Medicine Hat Lodge’s restaurant. It’s tucked away behind the planters which gives a secluded, romantic feel. It’s a place to take someone special, because they’re going to end up feeling special.
Dining, after all, has always been about experience, the sensation, the sheer sensual joy of taste.
Dan and his team of 20 sous chefs, pastry chefs, waiters, waitresses and kitchen staff clearly know that. Chatting with us at the dinner table, he explains his philosophy of fusion – the marrying of disparate tastes to create something new and fresh. The ready grin says it all. Dan loves his job.
What’s not to love? There are not too many jobs that give you that instant satisfaction of accomplishment. All Dan has to do is walk around the dining room and chat with the guests to get feedback.
OK, so what about the food?
The M-Grill has a nice mix of appetizers. It’s not a huge menu, but what’s there shows thought and the 20 years of experience that Dan brings to the table.
Nicky and I decided to start out with some escargot, shrimp tempura and sweet potato fries.
The escargot was sautéed with garlic and shallots and then placed in a Phyllo Pastry. It’s finished up with cream and button mushrooms. Very nice. The dark, musky flavour of the snails was nicely offset by the sweetness of the cream and mushrooms.
It was the same with the shrimp tempura – large, succulent shrimp dipped in a light tempura batter and quickly fried.  Add in some sweet potato, asparagus and serve it with a basil Remoulade dip and you have yet another fusion of taste sensations.
For our entrées, we decided to try the Chicken Oscar and Cantonese BBQ ribs.
Now, the Chicken Oscar is shrimp and crab rolled up in a chicken breast that is oven baked and finally topped with a traditional Hollandaise and served with asparagus. The flavours are made to dance. Sharp. Sweet. Tart. They’re all there.
The Cantonese Short Ribs featured braised short ribs finished on the broiler with a fusion inspired BBQ sauce. The meat fell off the bone. Sweet and tangy.
I leave it to Nicky to describe dessert, because by time that course was brought to our table, I had enough room left in my stomach for a cup of coffee. To judge by the expressions on her face as she tucked into the mounds of ice cream, brownie and cheesecake, dessert was every bit as good as the main course.

Twenty Years of Coming Back for More

NICOLE DAWN
As a customer I can definitely attest to that fact that having the Chef greet the table is always a treat. It shows a culinary confidence and is always a refreshing addition to the dining experience. Meeting the "inside man" from the mysterious back! It really feels good to able to genuinely validate a chef after a great meal (by way of him greeting the table as if to thank us for sharing our time and experience with him). Some of our most intimate moments are while dining; we eat out with loved ones, our friends, people we wish to impress and we all love the extra little touch of importance that comes with being greeted by the Executive himself.

Executive Chef Dan Smyth has been in the industry for over 20 years and he still likes making the rounds. Gleaning feedback from his customers, be it overwhelmingly flattering or purely constructive "because thats how we grow and develop as an industry."

Sweet Potato Fries
Served with a basil remoulade, bright fresh Tzatziki and parmesan ranch. A hearty helping of this increasingly popular appetizer. Simple presentation. Crisp and not too oily or over seasoned, the succulent potato fries and their three delicious counterpart condiments, speak for themselves. A tasty start to a meal.

Shrimp Tempura
Shrimp, Sweet Potato and Asparagus, tempura battered and served with a Basil Remoulade Dip on a bed of crisp various greens. The tempura batter on each item holds a mouth-watering play between crisp and chewy. The tempura asparagus itself  -- Ohh, the tempura asparagus was so delicious. Perfectly prepared and the ideal companion to the slightly heavier sweet potato slices and the satisfyingly gigantic battered prawns. Definitely a win for seafood lovers.

Mushroom Escargot
Escargot sauteed with garlic & shallots then placed in a Phyllo Pastry & finished with cream & button mushrooms. This dish is great way to serve escargot. Satisfying and not fussy. Rich and creamy, pleasant tasting. The presentation is lovely but left me wanting more of that delectable phyllo pastry it comes served with and perhaps a more exotic choice of mushroom to fill out the flavour of the rich cream sauce.

Chicken Oscar
Shrimp & crab rolled in a chicken breast, oven baked, topped with Hollandaise & asparagus. What could be better than shrimp and crab enveloped within a tender moist chicken breast? A surprisingly generous portion is the answer! And under the fresh Hollandaise a multifaceted experience for the palette (with baby asparagus' tucked between each section to keep them slightly separated. A charming touch that didn't go unnoticed)

Double Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich
Soft creamy vanilla bean ice-cream layered between multiple sheets of chewy decadent double chocolate brownie, generously drizzled with rich caramel and chopped walnuts, served with real whipped cream and fresh assorted seasonal fruit. My description is sound. This is a dish for chocolate lovers. This is a dish for dessert lovers. The one complaint they have heard is that the portion size is perhaps too large. Truly, after bread, appetizers, drinks and an entree it would indeed be difficult to finish this scrumptious tower of decadence. Although, after having ever tried it, it would difficult to ask for a smaller slice of this plated heaven.

BEST: The Cantonese BBQ ribs are beyond delicious. Everything such a dish should be. Tender, without being so overcooked that they literally do fall off the bone (the happy medium, any chef will tell you, is the sweet spot) hearty, savoury but with that infused kick of just enough hoisin to make it that much better. Served with an appealing vegetable medley and spaghetti squash I found it to be an impeccable dish, both in taste and presentation.

It is clear that Dan is a man who truly enjoys his work.

"20 years I've been doing this, and if you don't have a passion for the industry you don't succeed. Never home at christmas, never home for new years, the hours are long and the work is hard but it's a quick reward sort of happiness, instant gratification. When you get the right combination and people love it and you just know you've done a great job." At home, Dan does the cooking. Good, simple, comfort foods. Back at work tho "I've really been trying to toy with different fusions. Catch a lot of cultures to accommodate the broadening palate Medicine Hat is developing."

"I would love for my children to follow in my culinary footsteps if they developed the same passion for this industry. Then they would be happy in their career," he smiled "just like I am."