Restaurant Pearl Morissette puts Buffalo 45 minutes from a Michelin star

Here's why you should get on the email list, plus an apology

Honey ice cream, crumble, bee pollen at Restaurant Pearl Morissette (2022)

Two and a half years ago, Restaurant Pearl Morissette completely blew my mind.

Tucked into Jordan, Ontario vineyards, the tasting-menu restaurant is a Canada-to-table experience: only Canadian ingredients, exploited with extraordinary finesse. From start to finish, Pearl Morissette is the finest restaurant this writer has ever seen. 

It’s 45 minutes drive from Buffalo City Hall. I’ll tell you about it, after I apologize.

Before today, I did not share my visit with readers, out of shame. After my revelatory evening at Pearl Morissette, won by caging a pandemic-thinned waitlist spot, I failed to convince my previous employer that a review was worth sending a photographer there, to take the customary required photographs.

Since then, each month, I have winced at Pearl Morissette’s monthly heads-up email noting the start of the monthly reservation lottery. But I haven’t gotten back inside the room. So I waited. 

Until the Michelin inspectors, expanding Canadian coverage, bestowed a star on Pearl Morissette last week. From all accounts, the place has only gotten better since. 

So it’s time to get over myself, and tell you what I know. Sorry for the delay.