Mise Bistro

Neighbourhood: Corydon
Address: 842 Corydon Ave
Phone: 204-284-7916
Entrees: $25-29

(Editor’s Note – This business is no longer open.)

Chef Terry Gereta is a long time champion of haute prairie cuisine. He and his wife, Sue, are the masterminds of Mise, a popular bistro, patio and lounge destination that moved from Osborne Village to Corydon in 2008. Last year, when he left to become a Red River College instructor at Paterson Global Foods Institute, he handed the reins to Calvin Strong, a young and talented chef who trained at Red River and who had worked with Chef Gereta for two years.

Chef Strong’s fresh and inspired menu carries on the Mise tradition of using top quality, regional ingredients in new and unusual ways; diners can choose from a wide variety of entrees, salads and small plates or opt for a three course tasting menu available with wine pairings with each course.

Seared salmon, married with golden caviar, a puddle of pea puree and a swath of smoky,  sweet paprika oil is served with kale chips baked into paper thin crisp wafers. The buttery salmon gets a flavour boost from the vibrancy of the peas and the bitter note of the kale.

A Trail Mix Salad combines crunchy apples, dried cranberries, and toasted almonds with baby greens, orange slices and honey vinaigrette for a sweet, citric riff on this camping staple.
The chef has also updated restaurant classics like Caesar Salad. Romaine paired with earthy, charred tomato, crisp and smoky pork lardon and fresh parmesan is playfully reminiscent of the beloved BLT.

For dinner, old standards like rack of lamb are replaced with grilled chicken breast and asparagus topped with a deconstructed hollandaise of soft egg, miso butter and fresh lemon. Duck confit plays well with sautéed Swiss chard, a prairie garden staple transformed with a sour cherry and spiced orange sauce.

Slow roasted Manitoba pork ribs are fused with a dusky harissa dipping sauce and wild rice latke fries. The slender fingers of nutty, deep fried potatoes that combine an eastern European favourite with an indigenous Manitoba grain are one of the restaurant’s signature sides.

For those with a sweet tooth, a chalkboard of nightly specials adds to the dilemma. Lemon tart is filled with a creamy curd topped with crème fraiche, and Sue Gereta’s pecan pie, loaded with meaty pecans in a buttery screech sauce, can make a grown man cry.

Mise is open Tuesday-Sunday 5-10 pm for dinner; Saturday and Sunday brunch hours from 10-2pm.