Pete Desrochers : The Epicurean, and Friends : Edmonton, Alberta

SEPTEMBER 27 / 2003

Lighthouse Café - Excellent Seafood Dining

The Lighthouse Café is the dining extension of Billingsgate Seafood Market, located at 7331 - 104 Street on Calgary Trail heading south. Billingsgate has long been a cornerstone of quality fish and seafood distribution in Edmonton for the food industry and individual customers alike.

Given that Billingsgate is also an excellent sponsor of "The Epicurean and Friends", I have been reticent to review the Lighthouse Café unless being very 'up front' about the affiliation to avoid erroneous thoughts people might have about prejudicial or preferential treatment of a review.

However nothing could be more erroneous than a recent review of the Lighthouse Café that appeared in one of Edmonton's daily newspapers. The damning review of both the café and the personal condemnation of one of Edmonton's best chefs by name were profound. It certainly had people in the industry scratching their heads in wonderment.

One of those people was Claude Buzon, personal friend and restaurateur extraordinaire for over 35 years and patriarch of Claude's Restaurant - a longtime pillar on the Edmonton dining scene. So Claude and I decided to go for dinner at the Lighthouse Café to, in essence, review the review.

We of course came unannounced, deciding to mirror some of our choices to that selected in the other review. We came with the strong mindset to neither defend nor further condemn. But we had to see for ourselves.

For appetizers, we ordered the Lobster Spring Rolls and the Austrian Crab Strudel. The spring rolls contained meat from the lobster tail, shitake mushrooms, the usual vegetaria and were served with a Thai-curry sesame dip.

Claude and I both found the Lobster Spring Rolls to be excellent. They were sweet, rich, and moist with a delightfully flaky crust. Claude literally dissected one of the rolls, picking out the lobster. We estimated that this appetizer had the approximate equivalence of two "claws-full" of lobster meat. It was a superior dish.

The Austrian Crab Strudel was something I simply wanted to try. The idea of crab, Brie and macadamia nuts wrapped in a light pastry and served with lemon-tarragon cream was most appealing. Unfortunately, this selection did not live up to expectations. It had clearly been reheated and lost much of its original flavor.

Our entrée selections were again based - in part - upon what we had previously read. Claude ordered the Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna, flamebroiled, with a watermelon glaze. He ordered it medium rare. This was a copious piece of fish prepared to perfection.

I can personally say with confidence that I have never had better tuna. It was flavourful, meaty, distinctive and not at all overpowering, the way tuna can sometimes be. The melon glaze was a good complement, and the array of vegetables was crisp, fresh and well cooked.

Anyone who has read my columns over the years knows that one of my pet peeves is overcooked or poorly prepared vegetables. If a restaurant overlooks the importance of veggies, favouring sauces, meat and only the highlighted menu items, it won't get a good review from me.

Claude was encouraging me to try the Bouillabaisse, which is a seafood broth with mussels, clams, lobster, crab, fish, prawns and scallops. Of course Claude is French and Bouillabaisse is famous soup originating from the south of France. Admittedly I was tempted and he almost convinced me, as I enjoy it very much and it is not often found in Edmonton restaurants.

However I stubbornly stuck to what had intrigued me from the beginning. I was determined to try the pan-fried Pickerel Fillet with green apple relish. My motives were two-fold.

Officially, I wanted to see how well the Lighthouse Café did with freshwater fish. Unofficially, I have enjoyed pickerel fishing for years, but have never been that good at cleaning, filleting and cooking pickerel. So my curiosity (and a little bit of ego) got the better of me.

From the very first bite, I knew I had made the right choice. The fish was heavenly. It was delicate, fresh, buttery, tasty, and fulfilling. The green apple relish was good too, but I just wanted to enjoy my pickerel without adornments. After Claude tasted it, I think he stopped lamenting his Bouillabaisse. As for my ego, well, it took a pounding. I guess this means more fishing and more practicing.

I had the same rice and medley of vegetables as Claude. They were a good match to both of our selections.

The wine list is appropriate with bottles of very credible wine ranging from the reasonable to moderate price categories. Wine by the glass is a decent $4.25. Another of my pet peeves is a restaurant that tries to push glasses of ordinary wine over the $5 or even $6 plateaus. It simply isn't necessary…at least not yet.

Appetizers range in price from $3.95 for the chef's soup of the moment to a maximum of $8.95, with entrées around the $20.00 mark. There is an interesting seafood platter for two and your traditional steak and lobster features that are slightly more expensive.

Service was friendly and efficient. Staff seemed to care, which to me means they are well treated, well trained, or both.

Notwithstanding the pleasure of Claude's company, it was a most memorable and enjoyable evening. My advice to Edmontonians is not to necessarily believe what you read, but to believe what you have known for years. The city is a far better place with the likes of Billingsgate Seafood Market and the Lighthouse Café.

BEST POINTS: The Lobster Spring Rolls, the tuna and the pan-fried pickerel. Prices are comparatively very reasonable when looking at other establishments of the same quality.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: The Austrian Crab Strudel didn't cut it.

RATING CATEGORY: I give Lighthouse Café an 8.5 out of 10. Claude is in perfect agreement.