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After nearly three decades on Queen West, long-running French bistro Le Sélect has relocated to more spacious digs not far away on Wellington West. The new two-storey building's hard to miss. Architect Ralph Giannone's recreation is uncanny, duplicating every detail of the original, from the art nouveau facade to the welcoming zinc bar to the posters plastered on its pale faux-nicotine-stained walls... The relaxed room's packed with long-time regulars here to check out Jean-Paul Challet's inaugural card.
We begin with Challet's intoxicating fish soup... coral-hued and coupled with garlic crisps with a sweet red-pepper rouille ($7.50 lunch/$8.50 dinner)... A deliciously dressed tangle of feathery frissée ($10.50) redolent of smoky sesame impresses, especially when paired with a mille-feuille of buttery scalloped potato generously garnished with a gratinée of whipped chèvre. Al dente house-made ravioli ($15.95/$18.95) stuffed with puréed pumpkin sweetened with maple syrup come sided with marvellously sculpted and roasted veggies...Confit de canard ($13.95/$20.95) arrives with three slender slices of terrific pommes Sarladaises fried in duck fat and crisp haricots verts.
We hit paydirt with poutine á la Tomme ($11.95/$17.95), the house's remarkable skinny frites covered with spicy merguez sausage, jus and a healthy toss of the mild unpasturized cow's milk cheese from the Savoie region of France that gives this tasty dish its name.
Earlier in the week, we do brunch... Here are those fabulously skinny fries alongside the house bavette topped with chopped shallot ($13.95 lunch or brunch/$20.95 dinner), now fabulously tender, aged and marinated flat-iron steak.
