text: I finally got around to eating at LAcaduemie this Friday The restaurant gives off this air of Zen grandeur and European opulence at the same time while serving a fusion of Italian and French fusion cuisine What it is really is a lot of pretentiousness and posturing form over function appeal over tastennTo begin with I could not believe the menu or more to the point how years ago it was What selfrespecting fine dining institution with any sense of modernity still serves Coquille StJacques Escargot with garlic butter and Parmesan Fondue as entruee Really In Tortellini Cardinal is not fine dining it is now been reduced to cafeteria food All good plates when well prepared but preparations that are passue and no longer originalnnI started with the Insalata Italiana or Italian SaladnLovely greens very fresh and some cherry tomatoes that tasted just awful and sticks of Parmesan Regiano with a nice Balsamic vinaigrette Most restaurants drown their salads in vinaigrette LAcaduemie seems to fear this very same thing by not putting enough dressing on the salad and the salad tasted drynnThen as my Primo Piatto or Plat de ResistancenI went for the Filet Mignon with a Port reduction I am just a sucker for steak It was served with potatoes that had been fried whole and some veggies The only thing that was remotely good was the Port reduction Ok maybe the corn cob which tasted a bit funny because it was obviously not from Quuebec soilnnThe Broccoli bouquet was undercooked and completely tastless The carrot was also seriously undercooked There is a difference between Al Dente and undercooked a chef should know such a simple differencennThe Potatoes how can a chef screw up a staple like potatoes We all eat potatoes we can expect better than fried whole potatoes that have absolutely no seasoning or taste are dry and crunchy just so wrongnnLast but no least on the hit list the Filet Mignon Now correct me if I am wrong because I am no steak expert but I eat enough steak in steakhouses and consider myself a bit of a connoisseur but Filet Mignon should not be marbled with fat and nerving right Well I had to chainsaw this Filet Mignon and after three bites I was donennThat was it Three bites of my steak and one half of a potato and I could not eat anymore I was beyond disappointed I knew I was not stepping into a high end restaurant but it does hold up a promise of fine dining This was ridiculous flavourless and pretty much revoltingnnDesert there was no desertnI could not take any more disappointment this evening Why is it restaurants or chefs cannot prepare simple things like a steak This is Montreal a world renowned steak town and this supposedly fine dinning restaurant cannot prepare a decent steak When I try out new restaurants I go for the simple items on the menu because that is the true test of a chef If I go to an Italian restaurant and I order the ever classic and simple Alfredo and I can taste that it comes from a starch filled envelope when it is quite possibly the easiest sauce to prepare I will never set foot in that restaurant again as I will do with LAcaduemiennA generous outta