In the 2018 post–#MeToo era of bad restaurant behaviour, four Montrealers decided to “choose their own adventure” and create the kind of restaurant they wanted to work in — supportive, fun, and delicious.
Salad Pizza Wine showcases recipes and stories from that restaurant, Elena, the standout spot inspired by Italian winemaker Elena Pantaleoni.
Tiefenbach, Mercier Voyer, Gray, and Sniatowsky share generously here, with favourites like carb-on-carb Passion Patates pizza al taglio (including exhaustive details for the anxious pizzaiole), a spectacularly beautiful herb-and-flower-laced raviolo giardino and their lush Parmesan-topped Kale! Caesar! The bright volume is peppered with essays, drawings, advice (“Disclaimer: Pasta making should never serve as a replacement for actual therapy.”), annotated lists of the authors’ favourite pizzerias, and wineries with bottles that inspire and complement their food. It’s an irreverent romp of a book, but don’t let the informal vibe fool you. There’s rigour here, terrific photos by Dominique Lafond, and a recipe for pistachio cookies worth keeping under lock and key, just as they suggest.
— Ivy Lerner-Frank
Photography by Dominique Lafond
