The fall events have officially started here. I have some fall colors coming up next week which is a little delayed. The food events are trickling in and to be honest, it is quite exciting to have a reason to head out and find some cool restaurants. Sherbrooke Met La Table started last Thursday (October 20th) and runs till October 30th. Sherbrooke is about 1.5 to 2 hours away for us so this becomes a little day trip and a little tradition we started last year. This year’s choice is Bistro KapZak, a polish fusion experience.
For this event, Bistro Kapzak offered two different three course menus at $25 and $35. I ended up taking the $25 and my husband took the $35. You will see both choices in each section.
Bistro KapZak
Drinks
We started with drinks. My husband got a blond beer and I got a white sangria. The sangria mix is actually one of the better ones I’ve tasted with a good balance of soda and alcohol with fruity taste but never overpowering.
Appetizers
Beef brisket with fresh herb chutney
Grilled Pork Belly with Warm Vegetable Dressing
Both appetizers were quite good. The beef brisket had very nice spices to augment the flavor. Matched up with some crunchy dehydrated vegetables (I believe might be mushrooms or some root vegetable) and the chutney, it was delicious. My husband took the grilled pork belly. That would be the more rare choice to have available in restaurants however it is prepared incredibly well although I didn’t try the salad with warm vegetable dressing. It looked creamy and also one of the reasons why I didn’t take this meal even though they offered to make modifications. I believe a course should be eaten as it was meant to be as much as possible. With that said, the grilled pork was done really well. My husband is not a fan of the texture while I absolutely am and we both agreed that the flavors were all there.
Main
Roasted cod loin with a crust of wild mushrooms and wine braised red cabbage
Beef shoulder filet with Ratte potatoes and smoked almond sauce
My main course was the cod loin adorned with some pickled cucumbers and red cabbage. There is a weird mixture of tastes here but seeing as a lemon is usually paired with fish meals, it isn’t hard to imagine this more acidic vinaigrette and vegetables paired up. The cod was done good. It only had the pop of flavor from the spices/crust of wild mushrooms on the top. While the first bite felt a little odd, the taste builds with a few more bites and it actually has quite the unique flavor. My husband got the braised beef shank. This was his favorite of the evening. He isn’t quite used to medium rare meat but it didn’t stop him from loving it.
Desserts
Paczkis with apple sauce
Banana bread pudding
My meal came with Paczkis which as explained to us, is a Polish doughnut, or perhaps a doughnut hole. The apple sauce itself was a little too tart but balanced with the bits of doughnuts covered in powdered sugar, it was rather delicious. My husband’s meal came with the banana bread pudding with whipped cream. Somehow it said ice cream? But a minor detail. My husband in general isn’t much of a fruity dessert kind of guy so to him, this was a banana cake topped with whipped cream. I didn’t give this a taste since I wasn’t certain whether they used milk since from my memory, I think bread pudding does use a little bit.
Overall, Bistro Kapzak is a great place. With their cozy rustic decor and nice music playing in the background in the backdrop of a quiet city looking out into the street, it was quite the evening out for us. We enjoyed the environment as much as we enjoyed the food. Plus, the waiter we had was a pleasure to talk to and helped us understand the menu and was very accommodating. Definitely a place we’d recommend. A few items on their regular menu did also peak our interest so we will definitely be going again.
***Note: If you do want to try Bistro Kapzak while it is still in this Sherbrooke location, you need to go before Oct. 30th because they just announced this weekend that for rental negotiation reasons, they will have to move to a new location in Granby. I’m sure lots of Sherbrooke and Eastern Townships goers are less than enthused by this news but for us, it is a lot closer so we will try to head out and maybe bring some friends when this new location opens in 2017 (according to their announcement).
Tranquil Dreams 