When urbanity meets the vineyard: Lieux Communs at the ITHQ restaurant - an unforgettable evening!

On Friday, March 20, the ITHQ Restaurant honored an urban vineyard that arouses a lively enthusiasm among enthusiasts: Lieux Communs, established at the Montreal Central Market since 2021.

During this exceptional evening, we discovered unique wines made from hybrid grape varieties, reflecting a minimalist approach inspired by ancestral techniques.

At the crossroads of urbanity and rural, especially thanks to its vineyards planted in Oka, the project embodies a hybrid, boreal and contemporary viticulture. In addition, the partners of Lieux Communs, which define themselves as an urban cellar, have a strong collaboration with Hidden Bench Estate Winery, elected Vineyard of the Year at the National Wine Awards of Canada 2023, whose plots are located in the heart of the Beamsville Bench sub-appellation, perched in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula.

Karine Beauchamp, executive chef of the ITHQ Restaurant, developed a tailor-made menu to align with the wines of Lieux Communs, which she selected in collaboration with Julien Gagnon, sommelier of the ITHQ Restaurant.

Guillaume Laliberté and Daniel Gillis, two of the four partners of Lieux Communs, were present to showcase their products.

On the program:

• Tasting of 5 wines carefully selected by the ITHQ team.

• A 5-course menu designed and served by the talented brigade of the ITHQ Restaurant, highlighting each of the selected wines.

Here's what this gastronomic evening had in store for us:

- appetizer: takoyaki with Stimpson's mactre, paired with the sparkling Views 2023, a Riesling-based product whose grapes come from the Hidden Bench vineyard in Ontario

- 1st entry: Arctic char gravlax beetroot, beetroot candy, fresh dulse cream, paired with the Riesling Distance 2023 whose grapes also come from the Hidden Bench vineyard in Ontario

- 2nd starter: dough stuffed with egg, sea urchin sauce and massawippi miso, Quebec furikake, paired with the 2023 Decor, a wine produced with Frontenac Blanc from a Lanaraie vineyard

- main course: lamb 2 ways, pan-fried Big Bloc mushrooms, mashed potatoes, dune pepper sauce, paired with the 2024 Theme, a Gamay wine whose grapes also come from the Niagara peninsula and the Beamsville wine niche region

- cheese platter: whipped butter, rhubarb jelly, toasted almond ice cream, paired with a natural sparkling, the 2023 Envol, a blend produced with Vidal from Ontario and Marquette from Quebec

- dessert: 'chômeur' pudding reinvented with maple and raspberry with wild rice ice cream, paired with Envol 2023, affectionately called 'crackling red wine' by producers.

And the evening didn't end there! The ITHQ Restaurant team surprised us with a "crêpe Suzette" that was not on the menu - a dessert whose production always dazzled us!

And then... one last surprise: a small box filled with sweets.