Kingston Restaurant Reviews - "The Iron Duke" and "Le Chien Noir"

It's almost the end of the academic year here at Queen's University, which means Kingston will soon be seeing sharp increases in two key types of event: the end-of-year celebratory dinner, and the end-of-year celebratory bender. With that in mind, here are some restaurant reviews which some may find useful for planning one or the other.

The Iron Duke:
Once upon a time (ok, it was about 2006), Kingston had a great little bar called the Scherzo, on Wellington St. between Princess and Queen. It had a capacity of around 100, an uninspiring selection of draught beers, and some of the best ambience for live music in town. Sadly, it went belly up around two years ago, and sat vacant for some time. Recently, the space has reopened as The Iron Duke, a British-themed resto-pub (gastro-pub? food-and-booze hall?) with a fairly extensive menu. Prices are reasonable (appetizers and mains mostly in the $8-15 range), and the menu items are pretty varied, at least as far as pub fare goes. The sandwiches score extra points for being made on Pan Chancho bread, and I've heard great things about their garlic bread and Waldorf Chicken Salad. I, however, was suckered in by the eye-catching sweet potato poutine, with white cheddar and apple demi-glaze. As an eating experience, it was a big letdown. However, as an educational experience on what makes a good poutine, it was invaluable. I'll break down my newfound insight, ingredient by ingredient.
- Sweet potatoes - A potentially delicious substitute for regular potatoes. If used in a standard poutine, the sweetness would be a nice counterpoint to the saltiness of the gravy. However, good quality fries are a must, regardless of tuber type, and these were some soggy sweet spuds.
- Cheese - Everyone knows poutines require, nay, DEMAND fresh cheese curds. In my mind, if you're going to deviate away from curds, you should be going for something in-your-face different, like chevre. White cheddar is similar enough to curds to be kind of uninteresting, without the melty, stringy gooeyness of fresh curds.
- Gravy - Here's where this poutine really went off the rails. The key to any poutine worth its salt is, uh... salt. Fries provide the starchy foundation, cheese adds the creamy, fatty overtones, and the gravy provides the salty kick that ties it all together and keeps you coming back for more, long after you've consciously decided to stop abusing your arteries. Whether you're talking classic brown poutine gravy, or veal jus, it's gotta have salt. And the "apple demi-glaze" here was basically apple juice. Low in salt, high in sweetness (which the sweet potato fries already had covered). I give the Iron Duke props for trying to spice up a classic, but their particular configuration just doesn't work.

Overall, though, great atmosphere, good beers on tap, mostly good food. Worth checking out if you want to grab a few pints and some snacks downtown.

Le Chien Noir:
This restaurant doesn't need much promotion. It's almost always busy, and a perennial contender on most "favourite restaurants in downtown Kingston" lists. They serve French bistro food at high-but-not-exorbitant prices (mains run $20-30), with a great atmosphere and good service. Best of all, and the main reason I was there this past weekend, is their "Winter-licious" special, which started in February, and is running until the end of March due to crazy demand. Basically, it's a $25 prix fixe menu that includes an appetizer, main, and dessert for $25. Considering the fact that all of the mains available with the prix fixe cost $23-25 anyways, it's a ridiculously good deal. The available mains are cornish game hen, mussels and fries ("frites", if you want to be snooty about it) and beef short ribs.
I had some romaine hearts to start. The romaine and vinaigrette were ok, but a bit on the bitter side. On the upside, the salad came with some crazy delicious pancetta crisps that I could eat like potato chips. Next up, I had the short ribs, which were tender, juicy and delicious. Despite the "short" adjective, the portion size was generous, and I was stuffed after my entree. Seeing as how it was a prix fixe menu, though, I valiantly soldiered on. I tried a bit of the cornish hen as well, which was also great. Dessert was creme brulee, which might be my all-time favourite dessert. All that for $25. Insane! If you've never been to Le Chien Noir, now is definitely the time to check it out. As a side note, we also had a Cave Springs 2006 Riesling with dinner that was one of the most delicious white wines I've ever tasted. I want to bathe with this stuff.