Mr. C's at Deer Creek, Durham's Best-Kept Secret

Mr. C’s executive chef Marianna Kopic proudly unveils the new spring menu. The restaurant offers fine dining at attractive prices and sumptuous house-made desserts — all delivered with impeccable service.

Contradictions abound in North Ajax at Deer Creek’s impeccably groomed 45-hole golf course and banquet facility. The first misconception, that it’s a members-only club, is a first-timer mistake made all the more convincing by the breathtaking views while cruising along the meandering driveway toward the complimentary parking area and adjacent 50,000 square foot Tudor-style clubhouse.

In actuality, Deer Creek Golf, Glen Cedars Golf, The Deer Creek Academy, and its collective amenities are, and have always been, opened to the public. The second notion, that one can only afford to savour Deer Creek’s intimate fine dining restaurant, Mr. C’s, for special occasions, couldn’t be further from the truth. Like most, Deer Creek’s owner, Jerry Coughlin, wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Mr. Coughlin’s celebration for the good things in life has a value-added underpinning that is reflected throughout his competitively-priced entertainment venues. This is what has endeared Mr. Coughlin to John Q. Public for decades.

A case in point is Mr. C’s attractively priced new spring menu. One glean and you’ll be speed-dialing your reservation.

The brainchild of acting executive chef/executive sous chef Marianna Kopec and chef de cuisine expeditor extraordinaire James McCormack, the new spring menu delivers ample Deep South, Asian, French and Indian twists to satiate 30-something foodies and the most diehard savvy gastronomes. While staying true to Coughlin’s vision for authentic old-world steakhouse fare with attentive tableside service for classics like Caesar salad, peppercorn steak, cherries jubilee and specialty coffees, Kopec’s passion for ethnic food is most evident in the restaurant’s whimsical “Great Beginnings” starters.

I challenge chef on her Heirloom Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella Napoleon. Is it really built on a foundation of heritage fruits and buffalo’s milk mozzarella? And what’s so special about Mr. C’s Shrimp Cocktail? Kopec smiles knowingly. I sense immediately that I’m no threat to her culinary mettle. This is a woman who has manned kitchens in Poland, Italy, and Toronto’s GTA, and in her off hours runs her own farm. And, this month, Kopec will oversee the restaurant’s dedicated on-site organic vegetable and edible flower patches, too!

I timidly await my dressing down.

Kopec pats my hand, smiles reassuringly, and confides, “We are able to get fresh buffalo milk mozzarella from our suppliers. It’s the real thing. Actually, our large suppliers are carrying it more often and it’s becoming mainstream.” And her heirloom tomatoes? In season she buys locally; special orders them in spring and winter. It’s these heirlooms she uses to craft her house-made yellow tomato organic ketchup. The same organic ketchup she infuses into the restaurant’s from-scratch cocktail sauce for its signature jumbo Shrimp Cocktail.

I wave the starched white linen napkin before me; my eyes convey defeat.
Next, I’m on to an intriguing Amusé Bouche of Salmon, a myriad Canadian Atlantic Omega-3 fatty acid goodness. The plate showcases house cured gravlax set atop a potato rosti, anointed with orange-flavoured crème fraiche and a soupçon of red-orange tobiko pearls (flying fish roe), a Southwestern ceviche medley of salmon, shrimp and scallop with tequila, and a spicy salmon tartar bathed in cilantro oil, cushioned by a plantain crouton. All that on one plate! Then there’s the Kashmiri-inspired Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs rubbed with Chef Kopec’s 15-item hand-ground spice mixture. And then there’s the restaurant’s artisan Charcuterie Platter, a mélange of Italian Parma, Quebec game terrine, Spanish Serrano ham, sided with poached seasonal fruits, petit cornichons, a drizzle of vincotto (red wine reduction) and warm country bread. And let’s not forget Classic Vol-au-Vents of Escargots, sautéed in sweet butter, white wine, garlic and tomato concasse, topped with Swiss and Parm and broiled to perfection. Decisions, decisions.

Quoting Virginia Woolf: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” I agree. With eager anticipation I move onto Mr. C’s mains.

Fork-tender 21-day aged strip loins, buttery prime rib, perennial fave Veal Oscar, Indian-spiced Artisan Chicken Supreme, En Papillote-style Banana Leaf Red Snapper, an Asian-inspired pan roasted Canadian Black Cod with Miso-Ginger Glaze, market fresh East Coast lobster, Alaskan king crab legs, and pan seared Canadian Day Boat scallops all vie for attention. Why does Mr. C’s have to make it so hard to choose? Chef’s signature Creole Mustard and Pistachio Crusted rack of Lamb takes me into Nirvanian overload. Imagine, if you dare, a hearty seven-bone Ontario rack of lamb oiled then rubbed with Kopec’s special Creole seasoning and then grilled to perfection and then lavished in a from-scratch Creole mustard sauce and then encased in crushed pistachios: I’ll have what she’s making, I think. I tell Kopec this dish makes me weep with joy. She smiles warmly and I feel a culinary connection.

Mr. C’s dessert menu, with house-made offerings like Crème Brulee Trio, Designer Petit Mousse Trio, Baked Black Plums in Bourbon Custard, and its heady Artisan Cheese Plate showcasing award-winning Canadian cheeses, satisfy the most tenacious sweet tooth.
Factor in top shelf liquors, a well-balanced wine list with regional representation, and a second-to-none attentive wait staff, and it’s no wonder longtime patrons want to keep Mr. C’s Durham Region’s best kept secret.

Mr. C’s at Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility,
2700 Audley Road North, Ajax
Reservations: (905) 619-4600
Toll Free: 1 (866) 661-6617
www.golfdeercreek.com

*Article first published in East of the City May 2009