The Best Dishes at Chef Hugh Acheson’s Montreal-Style Steakhouse Mount Royal in Buckhead, Atlanta

Hugh Acheson could also be finest identified for serving recent takes on Southern cooking at Empire State South in Midtown and Five and Ten in Athens, however the Canadian-born chef simply opened two new restaurants in Atlanta, one among which is an ode to Canada’s capital and the neighboring metropolis of Montreal.

Now open on the Hyatt Centric resort in Buckhead, Acheson reconnects together with his French-Canadian roots at Mount Royal, a Montreal-style steakhouse named for a mountain simply west of the town, whereas dialing up the bar bites at rooftop lounge Spaceman.

Acheson and chef Sam Herndon (head of Acheson’s culinary staff) offered Eater with a glimpse into the creation of the menus for Mount Royal and Spaceman, together with 5 dishes individuals ought to attempt once they go to.

MOUNT ROYAL

Initially from Ottawa, Atlantans first noticed Acheson leaning again into his regional Canadian roots with By George, which opened on the Candler Lodge in downtown Atlanta three years in the past. The menu right here blends acquainted French dishes and elements with these discovered all through the South. At By Georgia, one may dine on beef tenderloin drizzled in bordelaise sauce and sides of whipped potatoes and kimchi creamed spinach, adopted by delicate profiterole topped with chocolate sauce and native pecans and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Acheson, who refers to himself as “quietly Canadian,” describes the menu at Mount Royal as an ode to Montreal and Ottawa, the place prime cuts of steak pair with French-Canadian classics like Lyonnaise salad, meat pies, and bitter pickles. However the chef nonetheless faucets into the bounty of Southern elements right here. Over half the dishes at Mount Royal comprise greens or elements sourced from native farms and meals purveyors, proper right down to the sorghum and flour.

Tourtiere

“The tourtiere is without doubt one of the quintessential dishes of the Quebec area, and a staple merchandise of the Mount Royal menu,” says Acheson.

This conventional meat pie is full of seasoned braised pork, floor veal, and floor pork stuffed inside a flaky puff pastry and served with a small salad of frisee hearts (curly endive) wearing black truffle French dressing.

Ora King Salmon

“We attempt to delve deep into basic strategies that simply aren’t round as a lot anymore, as a result of frankly they require extra work,” says Acheson.

The chef sources the Ora King salmon for this dish from New Zealand. The fish is gently flatten to a fair thickness. Subsequent, a layer of soft-cooked leeks is unfold over the salmon, earlier than the fish is rolled right into a pinwheel form.

“From there, you chill it, slice it and poach it in a sauce of buttered seafood inventory (nage), trout roe, lemon juice, and chervil (French parsley),” he provides. “It hits all of the spots — delicate, buttery wealthy, texture, and it’s visually actually stunning.”

Carrot Vichy

“This dish [top right corner] initially comes from the city of Vichy within the heart of France, and it’s identified for its nice water, so right here we cook dinner with a spring water to duplicate,” Acheson says. “Quebec has a robust French heritage, and the carrot vichy is our homage to the historical past.”

Acheson credit James Beard for bringing French meals to prominence within the U.S. and serving to to “popularize” the carrots, that are cooked in a small quantity of water, butter, and sugar. The greens are then sprinkled with recent parsley.

“To cook dinner greens that friends crave is such a deal with for us, and we actually ship on this carrot facet dish,” he says.

SPACEMAN

Excessive atop Mount Royal on the fifteenth ground of the resort, Spaceman presents a extra informal vibe with its indoor-outdoor lounge and skyline views. It additionally showcases the playful facet of Acheson and his cooking. Search for cocktails pairing mezcal with bitter orange vodka and bianco and dry vermouth or cognac and fino sherry alongside amped-up bar bites, together with inexperienced rooster chili nachos, hummus and bagel chips, and snow crab legs drizzled with Aleppo lemon butter.

Fripper’s Sizzling Canine

Spaceman sources scorching canine from Atlanta sausage firm Fripper’s, owned by Colin Miles.

“This regionally primarily based firm presents a tremendous scorching canine. Typically individuals are keen to pay for an $18 hamburger and can keep away from any scorching canine over 5 or 6 bucks, however truthfully much more approach goes into making a tremendous scorching canine than a burger,” says Acheson.

The deluxe canine at Spaceman is topped with crispy potato sticks and chow-chow relish combined with black truffles. It’s then drizzled with French dijon mustard and a dusting of extra black truffles and served on a Martin’s potato bun.

Single Layer Nachos

Herndon says a scene from the film “Saving Silverman” serves because the inspiration for the nachos on the menu at Spaceman.

“One scene that at all times makes me snort is when Jack Black claims, a lot to Steve Zahn’s chagrin, that when consuming nachos, ‘dude, if you happen to get the nachos caught collectively, that’s one nacho!’ Each chip has as a lot of the toppings as doable,” Herndon says.

Nachos right here come two methods: topped with inexperienced chili rooster or crimson guajillo chili mushrooms. The chips are then topped additional with queso fresco, pickled crimson onions, jalapenos, black beans, bitter cream, pico de gallo, and guacamole.

“Everybody orders the inexperienced chili rooster, however truthfully, the mushroom vegetarian model with guajillo is the best way to go.”

3301 Lenox Sq. Parkway, Atlanta. mtroyalatl.com; spacemanatl.com.

Mount Royal open each day, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. for breakfast and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner. Lunch Monday – Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Spaceman open Wednesday – Sunday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Public transit data: Inside strolling distance of Lenox MARTA practice station and accessible by way of MARTA bus 27.

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