Avenue Magazine Edmonton

Madison's Grill at the Union Bank Inn

10053 Jasper Ave., 780-401-2222

Executive Chef Blair Lebsack is gearing up for his fourth Christmas at Madison's Grill. He has been working with the same kitchen team of about a dozen since he started. A typical midweek lunch will see about five of them feeding 70 patrons. "We want to make it a relaxing experience," Lebsack says. "We don't want to stretch the staff or overcrowd the patrons."

The tight-knit kitchen means that Lebsack and his staff can collaborate on making some great culinary surprises. 

"We cook in a French or European style, using local ingredients," Lebsack says. "We call it ‘Canadian cultivated cuisine.'" But he is not about to miss out on great imported ingredients, either: "If somebody around here started making a good foie gras, I'd consider it." He's talking about the fatty duck and goose livers he buys from Quebec. First, his staff poach and freeze the delicacy. Then they shave it, piling it artfully onto a plate to resemble snow. It's one of the items making an appearance, alongside a seven-ounce strip loin from Spring Creek Ranch, on the Christmas menu at Madison's.

To prepare diners for the holidays, there are a number of seasonal items on the menu in the month leading up to Christmas: Madison's Grill turkey dinner ($35), pan-roasted Arctic char ($37) and Spring Creek Ranch natural beef daube ($33). For the big day, patrons can look forward to a reasonably priced five-course meal featuring a choice of soups, followed by a baby romaine salad ($68).

A sorbet and sparkling strawberry wine prime the palate for the main, a traditional choice of turkey, fish or beef.

Madison's marinates and slow roasts the turkey, then serves it with sage pan juice and pulled turkey confit. "Rather than stuffing it, we serve it on top of brioche French toast," Lebsack says. It's accompanied by lingonberry compote and mascarpone mashed potatoes, along with market veggies.

The fish selection, naturally farmed salmon from B.C., supplied by Fins in Sherwood Park, is pan-seared and transferred to the oven to retain moisture and give the outside a delicately crisp and slightly sweet flavour. The fish arrives on a bed of handmade green pea gnocchi in a creamy sauce. This alone is worth the trip. Tomato concassé, along with stripy heirloom zebra tomatoes, accompanies the meal. Again, markets dictate what veggies appear, but look forward to sweet root sides such as carrot and beets, cooked to perfection.

On most days (but not Christmas), the Menu Surprise ($85), a six-course, ever-changing evening order, allows the boutique restaurant to showcase smaller food suppliers that don't have the scale to outfit Madison's menu all the time. "We ask patrons to trust the kitchen," he says.