Help me pick menu options for wedding meal (Auberge du Pommier)

[amz155]

I'd like to offer a fish, a chicken and a beef option for the entree of our wedding meal (guests get to pick what they want day of). I'm a vegetarian so I've no experience with any of these.

Cumbrae Farms steak vs. Tournedos de boeuf
-steak comes with pommes frites, petit green salad & charred spring onion butter
-tournedos de bouef (which I think is beef tenderloin?) comes with tasting of onions, pomme puree, natural jus

Salmon or Halibut
-slow cooked salmon with confit potatoes and seasonal veg
-roasted halibut with semolina ricotta dumpings and seasonal veg

Chicken: poulet roti or paillarde de poulet
-roasted breast with ragout stuffed crepe and tarragon veloute
-paillarde de poulet with green beans, frisse, poahced eggs and dijon vinaigrette

Which beef, fish, and chicken options would you recommend? I'm leaning toawrds the steak, the halibut, and the roasted chicken.

Thanks.

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Cumbrae's
481 Church St, Toronto, ON M4Y, CA

[amz155]

I clarified with the restaurant....the cumbrae farms steak is a hanger cut. The tournedos de boeuf is a 6oz tenderloin. Would that change your opinion on what beef option to pick?

[kwass]

I still think that you should pick the tournedos de boeuf

[S_K]

I second that.

[amz155]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm sold on the halibut instead of the salmon. Still on the fence about the steak option and the chicken option....

[jayt90]

Halibut is considered to be a non fish eater's dish.

[amz155]

I'm not sure what you mean by this....

[jayt90]

Halibut is slightly meaty in flavor with very little fishy smell. It works well in fish and chips, and there are a lot of Friday eaters who order it when meat is forbidden on Friday.
I have met many people who will not eat fish or seafood, except for halibut.

[kwass]

My suggestions for you would be the Tournedos de boeuf, because I like the sides that come with it; the halibut, because salmon is just so boring and served everywhere; and finally the paillarde de poulet, because like everyone else, I agree that it will be much interesting than roast chicken, which can be dry.

[JennaBean]

i second the thought that salmon is boring and for whatever reason is always seems cheap to me. silly but true! :-)

[fourunder]

Are you saying you like mashed over fried potatoes

:0)

[kwass]

No. Fried potatoes are always delicious, but mash with jus sounds pretty damn good!

[kwass]

And although I'm not necessarily saying that I prefer frites over mashed potatoes, I don't think frites are really appropriate for a wedding

[amz155]

I thought that too but then again, the fact that I'm having a small wedding at Auberge is already out of the norm for me as I'm Italian and my family/friends are accustomed to going to large weddings at banquet halls. I'm not afraid to serve something "out of the box" even if it is my wedding :)

[fourunder]

steak, halibut, paillard de poulet.

[JennaBean]

These would be my picks as well.

[amz155]

Can you tell me more about what Paillard de poulet actually is? And why would you pick it over poulet roti? Sorry for my ignorance, I've never had either before and my fiance is the least pickiest person on earth so for him, anything goes.

[JennaBean]

Paillard is the style of how it is cooked. It will likely be pounded thin and cooked quickly. I like chicken this way b/c of the quick cooking.

Roast chicken is always a) a bit boring and b) can easily become dry. I wouldn't expect that from this venue but you never know. PLUS you get a frisse salad with it YUM!

[amz155]

Thanks for the info!

[fourunder]

What JB said.......but I would also add I surmise the Roti is stuffed with either a vegetable or cheese, that would be sliced and fanned out on a plate with the crepe and sauce. The Paillard will be pounded thin and served with an herb mixture...or oregano only, which I believe is traditional in preparation. You may want to get clarification on that.

The reason I prefer the Paillard.... the presentation seems more interesting and will be better visually.....The green haricot vert along with the white frisse salad and poached eggs should be very eye appealing. If it were me, would ask if they could also offer the chicken Milanese style. Some prefer the crispiness and may not like the herbs.

[JennaBean]

Oh good point, I totally forgot about the herb sauce and I love it so much!!!

[wattacetti]

You'd be able to save on the catering cost if guests advised ahead of time since they won't have to make so many additional portions of things.

I like your selections though I do side with jayt90 on the salmon; there is also a slight possibility that the salmon is also frozen, but given the ready availability of farmed salmon I'd say that I doubt it. Halibut for inland markets most likely would be.

Tournedos should be filet (tenderloin) but I've seen some less scrupulous caterers substitute in beef round because no one will complain openly at weddings.

[amz155]

This meal is not being catered, its a meal in their restaurant. There is no savings in cost for guests to pick ahead of time. That's the way theier set menus work. We could save money by not offering the guests any selection but I want to let them decide. It would be cheapest for US to pick the app and the main but I'd rather not.

I could always ask the venue if they use fresh or frozen fish. Why is frozen fish bad? Doesn't frozen and thawed and fresh fish taste the same?

[ChristinaMason]

>Doesn't frozen and thawed and fresh fish taste the same?<

Often frozen fish tastes "fishier" and the texture is not as pleasant as fresh.

[jayt90]

As a fish eater, I'd prefer the salmon, which might be fresh, while the halibut is likely frozen. Your other choices are fine.

[amz155]

I clarified and they use only fresh fish for both salmon and halibut.