White wine and octopus risotto

I went the Claremont (5032 Sherbrooke) recently. I know it's been a Westmount institution for ages. That means it's good, established, chic, and expensive. I don't mean Toqué or Buona Notte expensive--far from it--but just that you will pay more than fifteen for a main course. This meal was worth it, though; a real treat. You may be wondering about the title of the post. I'll get to it.

The menu is surprisingly short. This place seems to describe itself as an eclectic urban bistro, and while that's a pretty pompous thing to describe yourself as, "eclectic" certainly fits. We have "Claremont Poutine" right next to shrimp cocktail with chili and horseradish sauce. I would say that the majority is probably something like Italian; pizza, pasta, are creative, but not world fusion in any big way. They have different burgers, and various weird and tempting pastas, but I am attracted to Risotto of the day, which has an excitingly mysterious market price. I am actually kind of ravi by risotto as an of-the-day. I'm not above thinking it's downright nifty. Anyways. Today's risotto is the aformentioned white wine and octupus. Well. I could hardly pass that one up, especially on enthusiastic recommendation from the waitress.

I had actually never eaten risotto before. I know what it is, vaguely: a sort of Italian stew made from short-grain arborio rice gone all épaisse and crémeux and gloopy. I sort of had the impression it always involved tomatoes, but apparently this couldn't be farther from the truth. The plate presented me was lovely sort of lilac color. It was smooth with the unique texture of the rice grains in there. I'll have to try making it on my own. It had, as all restaurant dishes should, a sprig of parsley and a lemon wedge. I remember very distinctly that my first bite was phenomenal (don't worry, the subsequent bites were phenomenal, too). I feel like I need a new interjection of deliciousness, but yum. Laced with coriander (I think), interspersed with lots of delicious bits of octopus, sweet and seafoody, but with the delicate astringency of white wine without a trace of its alcoholy tang, and with a melt-in-the-mouth texture, this. dish. was. awesome. The portion wasn't gigantic, but it suited me perfectly. I ate every bite.

So! Go here, I guess, when you want a nice meal out. I'm not a big fan of the music, but then I never am. Other people at my table had a burger, which they enjoyed, and mussels in red thai basil sauce, which I tried (the mussels were excellent and so was the sauce; however, I don't know the briny mussels really needed the curryish sauce, or vice versa). Nice service, nice place, institution. I certainly had an exceptional meal here.