In the spirit of bringing you the best in seasonal dining tips, much as a good restaurant will change its menu every season to keep the creative sparks flying, here are three restaurants to experience while traveling in Canada or New England this summer. These restaurants were selected after extensive research and much deliberation from your humble writer. In all cases, the food is as vibrant as the season it reflects.

#1 Les Fougeres

This diamond in the rough is only a 15-minute drive from downtown Ottawa, and yet it is like being transported into a country bistro set in the Loire Valley. In a rustic backdrop of lush gardens and Quebec woodlands, chef/owners Charles Part and Jennifer Warren-Part invent dishes that merge French cooking techniques with organic and fresh ingredients from local purveyors. Examples of this inventive genius for merging Canadian ingredients with classical French techniques include: pan grilled Quebec foie gras served on Puy lentils braised with raisins and pearl onions and gingered passion fruit syrup; seared maple-brushed Grand Banks scallops served on a pea puree with bacon and fresh mint sauce; roasted Cap St-Ignace quail filled with wild mushrooms and foie gras risotto, served with pan juices, roasted celeriac and rapini; confit of Quebec duck served on a roesti potato with fresh Papineauville goat’s cheese, poached pear and spinach—this was perhaps the best "duck confit" I’ve ever had outside of France; grilled beef brisket with a port, anchovy and horseradish jus, served on carmelized fennel with pommes dauphinoises and buttered spinach; shrimp and cauliflower curry with toasted coconut and freshly roasted and ground spices, served with Basmati rice, minted yogurt and poppadum; and a lamb and white bean cassoulet simmered with tomato, garlic, herbs and white wine, served with homemade lamb sausage and braised lamb shoulder.

Veronique Rivest is one of the most intuitive, intelligent and affable sommeliers in the world, and the wine list is one of the most extensive in Canada.

783 route 105
Chelsea, Quebec
819-827-8942
www.fougeres.com
email

#2 Le Baccara

British novelist and bon vivant Ian Fleming — the creator of James Bond — understood that casinos were not just about gambling but also dining. Bond was always ordering Beluga caviar ("North of the Caspian") and Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon while sauntering around the casino looking for women and "action." Le Baccara is the sort of restaurant that Fleming would have admired: authentic French cooking with an award-winning sommelier and brilliant wine list. Danielle Dupont, awarded Premier nez du Quebec for her genius at matching food and wine, is a pleasure to learn from about wine and food combinations. Here is a sample of my favorite Menu Gastronomique with wine pairings by Dupont with each course: marinated lobster infused with flower nectar, served with a salad of fresh herbs and tarragon leaves, balsamic vinegar reduction paired with Alsace Grand Cru, Riesling, Schoenenbourg, 1999, Domaine Mittnacht-Klack; lagoustine tail and seared scallop, served on oatmeal galette, squash puree and leek fondant, bisque emulsion paired with Arbois, Chardonnay, Les Bruyeres, 2001, Domaine Tissot; piccata of duck foie gras, delicately pan-fried, enhanced with an asparagus vinaigrette paired with Pacherenc-Du-Vic-Bilh, 2000, Chateau D’Aydie; granita of fresh peaches with Schnapp; roasted rack of caribou covered in grated truffles, braised quinces, Jerusalem artichokes and parsley root mashed with pistachio oil and crab apple jelly sauce paired Saint-Julien, 1997, Chateau Branaire-Ducru; and puff pastry of chocolate and caramel, hazelnuts and saffron-flavored pear and Khalua ice cream paired with Porto Tawny 10 Ans D’Age Cockburn’s.

Casino Lac-Leamy
1 boulevard du Casino
Gatineau, Quebec
819-772-6210
casino-du-lac-leamy.com
tourisme-outaouais.ca

#3 Hemingway’s Restaurant

Ted and Linda Fondulas have a talent for transforming a simple dining experience into a transcendent state of bliss. Ted (an inspired chef) and Linda (who manages the dining room and offers creative inspiration) team up with an expert staff to present food that’s consistently excellent — the best local Vermont ingredients along with sophisticated and yet unpretentious cooking. Recommended dishes on the current seasonal menu include vegetable strudel with orange and hazelnut; fallen soufflé of Vermont goat cheese with garden greens; chilled spring pea soup with mint and lemon zest; pan-seared halibut with a stew of Maine lobster and spring vegetables; sirloin of organic beef with fingerling potatoes and baby vegetables; Vermont baby lamb with artichokes, fennel and lemon-scented spinach; house-made cavatelli with confit of duck; peas and thyme-roasted organic baby chicken with asparagus and morels; and for dessert go for the Vermont farmstead cheese with homemade fennel flatbread and the warm brioche pudding with currants and cider sauce.

4988 US Route 4
Killington, Vermont
802-422-3886
hemingwaysrestaurant.com