Q4 Brunch Tasting

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Q4 Brunch Tasting

Last month, I was invited to Q4 Ristorante's relocated space at the old Lumiere for a Brunch/Lunch menu tasting. I've always loved the West Fourth location and have had many great meals there. Here are the new location, it's clear that they've done quite to bit of work to the room using both the DB Bistro space as well as BD Modern's.

The large dining room and bar is great with lots of natural lighting. The sleek bar is also fun and great for a casual bite.

This is their Breakfast Sandwich, made with sourdough toast, with two eggs, ham, cheese with a pesto sauce. It's a generous portion, and for just $10, it's a pretty good option. Note, the additional protein (bacon) is a side order.

Here is another great starter for brunch, the quintessential Melon and Prosciutto combination. If you're dining with a few friends, this is a great sharing appetizer.

Another light option is their Granola, Yogurt and Fresh Fruit cup...for those days when you're not in an indulgent mood.

There are four Eggs Benny on offer as well, namely, the Lobster with avocado, one with Chorizo & pepperonata, a lighter Smoked salmon with a mascarpone dill, and a vegetarian option of Spinach, tomato confit.

If you are looking for something more decadent, be sure to give their Panettone toast, a try. This isn't your average French toast, not when it come with frangelico bananas and a chocolate hazelnut spread!

Also available at Brunch is their Antipasto Bar, here we have one of my favourites, their Lamb Sausage. It has a great texture and the meaty flavour of the lamb is unmistakeable.

You can also give their Chorizo Hash a try, and it comes with caramelized onion,s corn, roasted garlic. Oh, and their chorizo is cured in wine. How can you go wrong.

And they are very well-known for their pastas, and there is no shortage of those on offer for brunch. You can't go wrong with their three choices: Spaghetti "bacon and eggs" carbonara, a Rigatoni with Bolognese ragout, and the fan favourite, Spaghetti Q4.

Now, with all the picture taking out of the way, it's time to eat! We were treated to a miniature version of the Torpedo Panini, a weekday lunch item. It's a Q4 Meatball Sandwich and it's amazing. The meatballs are a blend of veal, pork and beef. Super tender and juicy, topped with a bit of pomodoro sauce for contrast.

Here's a closeup of the mini version. The real version lands on your plate just as a torpedo would.

Here is their version of a BLT, with Prosciutto, Arugula and Tomato aioli. This was a nice light sandwich, would be great if you're just looking for a small bite. Again, this is a taster size, yours will be larger for sure!

Here we have the Chef's Salad, made with butter lettuce (my favourite), cucumber, egg, pancetta, and served with a gorganzola vinaigrette. I liked the fact that the dressing was not too heavy, since the gorganzola really packs a punch.

As I mentioned before, their pastas are amazing, and this risotto is no exception. Loaded with Caribbean Lobster, this dish is actually lighter than you would expect. The fresh peas are also a nice touch.

For our last course, we had the Steak Frites. The fries are really crunchy, and goes well with the horseradish foam. The beef is seared nicely, with a good amount of red in the middle, just the way I like it. Rounded out with some arugula and this is another excellent option for lunch.

And to finish off the meal, we had the Q4 Napoleon, essentially, this is a macerated cherries, layered with whipped Marscapone, and with some caramelized phyllo pastry to hold it all together. Again, this is just a tasting portion, the real one comes stacked with layers of phyllo.
Their old location wasn't open for lunch (except during the holiday season), so it's great to see Chef Bradford's spin on the iconic Q4 dinner dishes, but made suitable for midday dining. Their location on Richards St. downtown, Q4 al Centro is also open for lunch on weekdays.

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