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New
chef comes to Luxe Bistro
MAR 17 - 3:20 P.M. -- After more than four years
serving under executive chef Michael Blackie at
Perspectives restaurant, sous-chef Duane Keats is
leaving to take on the head job at Luxe Bistro in
the ByWard Market.
Duane, 29, moves over to Luxe as executive chef
on April 7, replacing executive chef Rene Rodriguez
who leaves March 26 to set up his own Basque-style
restaurant, to debut in mid-June (see this blog,
March 12).
Duane is a graduate of the Algonquin College culinary
arts program, class of 1998. "A headhunter approached
me about two weeks ago, saying they had this opportunity,"
Duane tells me.
"They were looking for someone who's ready to take
the next step, someone who is young and eager."
He expects the owners, Firestone Restaurant Group,
which also holds Blue Cactus and Stella Osteria,
may expect his imprint on the menu in two or three
months.
"With Duane at the helm, we again confirm we are
serious in our commitment to being a French bistro
steakhouse with classic French elements, while at
the same time allowing the creative and unique skills
of our chef to shine through," says Sam Firestone,
president of the group.
Adds Ida Firestone, part-owner: "Having cooked at
many high-end restaurants across Canada, chef Duane
Keats brings fresh and creative ideas to the Luxe
Bistro kitchen. His enthusiasm and motivational
attitude will have Luxe Bistro preserve its high
level of quality and maintain its focus on French
bistro fare."
Ron Eade
March
17, 2008
Luxe
does bistro proud 'Really really good beef' matched
by yummy plate-mates
Anne Desbrisay, The Ottawa Citizen
Twenty
degrees in the shade, tulips poking through the
thaw and not a bug in sight. The one week in April
when Mother Nature figures we deserve a treat and
awards our patience with six days of sun and warmth.
The lucky and alert among us find sandals, shed
a layer of clothing and head to the Market for a
bit of al fresco dining. My sandals found a perch
on the Luxe Bistro patio, and then moved to a booth
at the back. There
is much to enjoy at Luxe, the three-year-old steakhouse
bistro that anchors the corner of Byward Market
and York. Steakhouses are often burly places, with
size-matters-most portions of meat and potatoes.
The sleek and handsome Luxe tries to be a French
steakhouse, which makes all the difference. In addition
to its steak and sea offerings, it features such
bistro standards as onion soup, bouillabaisse, moules
et frites, osso bucco, along with a few pasta dishes
and meal-size salads.
The
steak at Luxe is advertised as "hand selected
Sterling Silver Certified Premium Beef" which
is the meat industry's way of saying "really
really good beef." Your fancier steakhouses
(which Luxe could certainly make claim to being)
will sometimes bring a slab of the raw meat tableside
for pre-grilling display; it's part of the sell.
Luxe, blessedly, refrains from this practice. Our
server simply tells us it's good stuff and the menu
reinforces the fact, with prices for a cut running
from $35 to $42 (though choice of potatoes, vegetables
and sauce are included in the tab -- which we also
like).
The
meat lives up to its billing. A 16-ounce, three-quarter-inch
thick rib eye delivers a charred exterior, a ruby-red
interior and the intense mineral flavour we seek.
The meat is neither too fatty nor too sinewy, just
bone-in flavourful, and truly delicious. Yummy
too -- and here's the wonder of it -- are the plate-mates.
Pommes frites are first class: thin, crisp, perfectly
cooked and addictive. Garlic mashed potatoes are
rich and nicely textured, roasted new potatoes are
perfectly done, very fresh tasting. Grilled asparagus
is lovely, haricot verts need their stems off, but
are otherwise fine, and if they hadn't forgotten
my Bearnaise, and if I hadn't forgotten to tell
them, then further forgotten to re-order it on my
second visit, I could let you know how they handle
that classic French steakhouse complement. But I
suspect they do it well, for I have confidence Luxe
chef Derek Benitz only knows how to do things well. Take
his soups. What an astonishment to find a good French
onion soup, stock made from scratch, onions caramelized,
cheese and crouton in excellent balance. Good too
is a roasted red pepper, fennel and potato soup;
though a dash less cream would have improved the
flavour. Main
dishes other than steak could include a pretty plate
of sweet, meaty shrimp, perfectly grilled, and scallops
-- three of them, two perfect, one tainted with
iodine -- in a garlic-chive butter, with steamed
potatoes scented with dill and more of the good
vegetables. At lunch, a sandwich of egg-dipped multi-grain
bread around a filling of aged goat cheese and a
smoky ratatouille, served with frites and bouncy
greens. Just what you want and more; half the plate
was packed up for further consideration at home.
Anne
Desbrisay, The Ottawa Citizen
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Friday,
February 4, 2005 , 12:00 (noon) , Outside,
south end of the ByWard Market Building
First
Time in Winterlude History, One Restaurant..Two
Awards!
People's Choice Awards:
1st Luxe Bistro 47 York 241-8805
Judges' Choice Awards:
1st Luxe Bistro 47 York 241-8805
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- Ottawa Restaurants
- Ottawa Citizen
Recommended
restaurant to dine in Canada
Enroute
Magazine
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- Ottawa City Magazine
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The Ottawa Sun
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- The Ottawa Citizen
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- The Ottawa Citizen
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