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| Thursday, January 10, 2008 |
Insanely cheap gourmet dining experiences in Montreal!
MONTREAL, Jan. 9 /CNW Telbec/ Affordable dining will be on the menu
during the first annual Happening Gourmand, from January 15 to 25, 2008.
Inspired by the original New York Restaurant Week, Happening Gourmand will
shine the culinary spotlight on Old Montreal. Restaurant-goers may enjoy $15,
$20 or $25 prix-fixe dinner menus at eight diverse establishments throughout
the historic quarter. Additional details are available at
www.happeninggourmand.com.
"Our city boasts an extraordinary wealth of dining options, but the costs
can often prohibit us from exploring new venues. With Happening Gourmand,
Montrealers can expand their culinary horizons while enjoying a 40 per cent
savings off the bill," said Dimitri Antonopoulos, Vice President of Marketing
for the Antonopoulos Group.
For 11 nights, diners may take advantage of $15 dinner menus at Galianos
Méchant Boeuf Bar & Brasserie, Narcisse Bistro + Bar à vin, and Suite 701; $20
menus at Modavie Restaurant Wine Bar and the Restaurant du Vieux-Port; and $25
menus at Aix Cuisine du Terroir and Verses Restaurant.
The tempting three-course menus will offer a taste of each restaurant's
specialities - from Chilean Sea Bass or Wild Game Fricassee to Roasted Boris
Beer Can Chicken or Tiger Shrimp with Orange Zest and Grand Marnier. Menus
will feature a choice of at least two entrées, three main courses and two
desserts. Beverages, taxes and gratuities are extra.
"This is only the beginning for Happening Gourmand," added Antonopoulos.
"We look forward to growing the program each year, showcasing extraordinary
restaurants, and reminding Montrealers that Old Montreal is a year-round
destination for trendy and fine dining experiences."
Happening Gourmand will take place from January 15 to 25, 2008. Paid
parking is accessible near all participating restaurants, with valet parking
available at Aix Cuisine du Terroir, Méchant Boeuf, Narcisse, the Restaurant
du Vieux-Port, Suite 701 and Verses upon request. For additional information,
please visit www.happeninggourmand.com.
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| Monday, November 5, 2007 |
Ciociaro Sports Bar and Grill
8868 boulevard Langelier, Saint-Leonard | Tel. 514-324-3700
 his is one of those places you really hope you’re going to like. You know the place: colourful characters standing by the bar, drinking beer, sipping lattes, conversing in a loud jovial manner; a table of fashion conscious women sitting on the terrace taking advantage of an unusually hot October night; and the sparse tables, adorned with families eagerly eating, watching the Montreal Canadians about to surprise everyone by beating Buffalo.
The restaurant is packed. Behind the front section of the bar, a young man feverishly makes espressos and cappuccinos, while at the end of the bar, a small kitchen is visible to all the seated patrons, and I watch two young bewildered looking lads making salads and cooking meat. Which brings us to the food, but wait; where’s the waiter. I make eye contact with one and before I know it he appears right next to me smiling fretfully. I ask him what’s good here to which he replies “everything, but our ‘sangwitches’ are the best.”
Ciociaro’s doesn’t offer much in its choice of food, but casual resto bars such as these don’t need to. What’s important in a place like this is to produce something outstanding. It may only be one stand-out item – like the smoked meat at Schwartz’s, or the subs at Café Milano.
Ciociaro’s has the potential, but currently falls short. The small pizza ($4.00) has a thick bready crust which resembles a pizza fritta and is topped with sliced tomato and bocconcini cheese that has seen better days. I was later informed that the pizza was not made in the restaurant – “we just heat it up.” They would be better off without it.
Same could be said about the Arancini ($4.00), fried balls of risotto coated with egg, flour, and breadcrumbs, with a stuffing in the centre. They are usually filled with mozzarella, but it can also be meat or tomato sauce. This version’s crust lacks in orange colour and surface crunch, probably from sitting too long in a refrigerated plastic box in a display counter.
The risotto tastes bland and is way too white, which makes me wonder if they use any chicken stock at all, or just use plain water when cooking it. Again “we just heat it up” and again, they would be better off without it.
The main course: chicken pesto pressed panini ($9.50), but how does it taste? Fantastic. The chicken is finely chopped and married with onion, red pepper, and other tasty spices, and comes with fries or salad. My other dining companion had a steak sub ($8.00) on ciabatta bread, heated so that the bread becomes crusty but still soft in the centre. It has good flavour with tomato, cheese and marinated eggplants, but in my opinion could have benefited from more caramelized onions.
Also very good was the Italian sausage sub ($8.00); the sausage is split open and cooked to perfection, complemented with eggplant, lettuce, tomato, cheese and onion. The lettuce was dressed with a vinaigrette which rounded out the flavour nicely.
Which brings us to my sandwich choice, a veal parmiggiano sub; it looks harmless enough and when I took my first bite, I still thought “not bad.” Second bite, and I realize something is wrong. Third bite, no, could it be? I licked the red sauce and then I realized the evil within. The sauce was ready-made, prepared, jarred, ragu, Presto, Catelli.
Let me put this into perspective: giving an Italian ready-made tomato sauce is like giving a French cheese maker Cheese-Whiz on melba toast. Where’s the love? There is nothing tedious or complicated in making a proper tomato sauce. Olive oil, garlic, and real tomatoes – canned whole plum tomatoes or the puréed pasata tomatoes would do just fine. And this is made worse given that everyone who works in this restaurant is Italian. Even sliced tomatoes broiled under the cheese would have been better.
Feeling irritated, I stand up to get a better view of the kitchen, which reveals nothing, so I venture to the back room. Passing both bathrooms, the door to the stockroom is open. My suspicions prove true: the villain is Catelli. I spot a case of twelve jars and am just about to pick one of them up, when all of a sudden I hear a voice asking if I need help – “just looking for the bathroom,” I quickly respond, feeling a little jumpy from my James Bondesque undercover work. The young waiter shows me the bathroom door.
I figured an espresso would help with the healing process, and it did. It has the required ever-so-slightly acidic, bittersweet initial taste, followed by a pleasantly strong coffee flavour. Our waiter suggests we try a Xangos, which he claims is a dolce that is almost exclusive to Ciociaro’s. Think of a cannoli that looks like a spring roll. The softened, sugar coated crust is filled with cream cheese with a stream of caramel that lines the centre. It is warm, and I must admit, it is very delicious. Who knows, a few more of these Xangos and I might forget about the Catelli incident. Not a chance. – Reviewed by Reader Sandro (Oct/07).
Join the montrealfood team. Would you like to see your name in print? Are you an eater with a pen and an opinion? You too can submit your reviews and pictures to montrealfood. Don't just think about it, do it! Send your completed reviews to editorshelley [AT] montrealfood.com for consideration. Positive or negative, we love 'em all. Bonus points for wit, spelling, and general hilarity. |
| Saturday, October 27, 2007 |
Yuan
400 Sherbrooke Est (at the corner of St-Denis) | Tel: (514) 848-0513
o say that this restaurant suffers from a terrible storefront would be putting it gently. This "creative vegetarian" spot is in a building with a tanning salon and a hippy clothing store, each with their own signs out front, and all three sharing one common entrance. I've lived within a block for over 4 years, and I've never been brave enough to enter.
But today it was rainy, and I guess I was feeling just brave/bored enough. I've also received a number of requests from readers for more vegetarian reviews. Hey, they didn't specificy 'good' reviews, just veggie-friendly...
Well, if this resto suffers from a bad storefront, it also seems to suffer from not knowing what kind of place it is. The menu ranges from Thai (Pad Thai), to Chinese (General Tao, hot and sour soup), and sushi. And keep in mind that it's vegetarian.
It's all made with mock meat, faux-fish, and flavoured soy product. André ordered General Tao with wonton soup to start, four pieces of sushi, and some kind of pastry with coffee for dessert ($16.88). I ordered 3 different kinds of sushi with hot and sour soup ($16.46). There was a lunch buffet available for $9.99 but buffets generally make me nervous (lukewarm food, lingering for hours). This buffet, though, looked pretty good and I may go back again for lunch through the week when it's only $6.99.
The vegetarian adventure started out surprisingly well. We were seated in a large booth, the kind with low tables and cushions where you have to take your shoes off. The soups arrived quickly and the side salads were very good, with a lovely vinaigrette made of rice wine vinegar and lots of ginger. Everything was 'a little bit unusual', but good.
wonton soup, hot and sour soup, side salads with great vinaigrette
'California' roll with red pepper, avocado, and fishy soy protein
The sushi was also excellent, if unusual. The fishy soy protein had more flavour than the usual fake crab found in Montreal versions of California rolls. The 'smoked cheese' sushi I ordered didn't really taste much like the creamed cheese inside, but wowie it tasted fabulously of dried smoky fish, and it was great.
smoked cheese sushi
Now the meal took a turn drastically downhill. There was a very long pause between my lunch (sushi) and the arrival of André's, perhaps 20 minutes. We ate my sushi, drank tea, looked around, took pictures, and waited.
And then his meal came, and really, what can I say that the photo doesn't say for itself:
vegetarian General Tao
A small scoop of wild rice, a pile of uniform balls covered in what tasted like jarred sauce, plain broccoli a bit undercooked, and seaweed with a sweet sesame coating.
Let's start with the presentation -- anyone notice the gaping large white space on the left side of the plate? How about the rotation? Isn't the main protein of the meal supposed to be set in front of you at the 6 o'clock position? (she says, as her waitress-past-life sneaks out of the closet).
But worse, much worse than the plate itself, were the lukewarm balls of fluff. I opened several in search of the chickeny-flavoured-soy-protein, and yes, there were bits of something, but not much really. It was mostly a lot of puffy breading. It was edible, not a complete disaster, but it was very, very unspecial, and not something we'd ever order again.
So, a rainy Saturday lunch that started off as pleasantly pleasing veered directly into a dead-end with the main dish. I would be happy to eat the sushi again, and maybe someday I'll be brave enough to have the buffet and try some of the other Chinese glazed fake veggie dishes to see if there's anything better than Mr. Tao's puff balls. – Reviewed by Shelley MacDonald Beaulieu (Oct/07)
[Shelley's on loan to MontrealFood from her new home at www.OneRoastChicken.com]
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| Thursday, August 2, 2007 |
Yu Hang Restaurant
400, boul. Rene-Levesque West | Tel. (514) 866-8788
 uo Guo (mandarin), or Hot Pot is quite the experience. To those uninitiated, Hot Pot consists of big bowls of broth (different flavours of course, my fav being the sichuan/spicy broth) sitting in the middle of the table that are used to cook everything from meats (nasty bits included), seafood and vegetables – in other words, it's a Chinese fondue.
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My recent dinner at Yu Hang was not only good, but all-you-can-eat as well! Our group of 10 diners had two big bowls of broth (each bowl split in two containing a spicy and non-spicy concoction) and loads of food. I highly recommend going in as big of a group as possible, which allows you to sample more variety. In our group, we ate tofu, mushrooms, cuttlefish, whole shrimp, carpaccio-style beef and lamb, beef and fish balls, kidneys (more elegantly known as rognons), tripe (not enough of it though), glass noodles and more; definitely a plethora of Asian goodness.
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We had to work for this meal, all that cooking the food ourselves, but it added to the experience! With people standing while eating, stirring the broth like a witch at her cauldron, this active meal was extremely welcoming. On top of that, spending time with friends and talking gastronomy with another foodie by my side, I couldn't ask for more... Then again, wheelchairs would have been helpful in carting us out after stuffing ourselves to the brim. Nonetheless, good food, good company and a $15, a quality meal that would make anyone grin from ear to ear. -- Reviewed by Reader Huge (April/07)
|
| Friday, July 13th, 2007 |
Devi
1450 rue Crescent, Montreal | Tel. (514) 286-0303 | Metro Guy-Concordia
  t's tough being an Indian in Montreal. Tough, when you're surrounded by 10,000 Bangladeshis. Okay, rough estimate, but when it comes to restaurants, that seems to be about the status quo.
See, "Indian cuisine" isn't really anything to do with India; it's just a convenient blanket term for what we Westerners will invariably describe as "curry." The origin of the word is buried in the mists of time; some say it comes from the Tamil word "kari," meaning "sauce." Others say it comes from the cooking vessel called a kadhai.
The Brahmins of Tamil Nadu , strict vegetarians, call a vegetable dish cooked with spices and coconut "Kaari." The British colonialists, ever the pragmatists, dumbed it down to the word "curry."
In reality, though, the cuisines of the sub-continent of Indo-Pakistan-Bangladesh are as distinct from one another as are, say the cuisines of Liguria and Calabria, or Provence and Languedoc.
Which brings us to Devi, a truly Indian restaurant – as opposed to Bangladeshi or Pakistani – buried right here in the throbbing center of Montreal, the place where some would argue that all things Montreal converge: Crescent Street.
The Strip. Formula One. Winnie's. Newtown. Hard Rock Café. Tourists like army ants, swarming the terrasses and quaffing their Boréale Blondes with red-faced enthusiasm.
Who would ever want to put an Indian restaurant down here? But someone did, and it's named Devi, which is the Sanskrit word for goddess. That someone not only created the restaurant; he bought the whole building.
The interior is wood-luxe and spacious. Bay windows look upon the summer mayhem that is Crescent Street on a warm evening.
One look at the menu and you know you're not in a London curry house any more. While some familiar staples remain: Chicken Tikka Masala, (the "National Dish of Britain,") and Butter Chicken, unfamiliar ones pop out at you. What on earth is Chicken Chettinad Korma? Why, chicken curry cooked with onion, tomato, coconut, tamarind and curry leaves, silly. (Chettinad is a district of the southernmost region of India.) And Nihari?
Never heard of it? Lamb curry made with onion, gram flour, garam masala and other arcane Indian spices. I defy you to find it on 99% of the other "Indian" restaurants in Montreal. Can't be done.
Navrattan Korma: assorted vegetables and cocktail fruits in a creamy white sauce made with onion, yogurt, cashew and almond paste and flavored with cardamom. Cocktail fruits? Namasté, my friends, namasté.
The menu is not sprawling and is not organised like the formulaic hacks of most "indian" restaurants in Montreal. There are familiar faces – we have the naan, the saag paneer, the seekh kebab, after all – but there are many strangers, namely, Manchurian Cauliflower (crispy corn flour-coated cauliflower tossed in tangy tomato sauce, flavored with garlic curry leaf and mustard seeds – okay, not going to be reproducing that in my kitchen any time soon), Raj Kachor (semolina puff filled with potatoes, chick peas and sprouts topped with yogurt and chutney) or Mushroom Gilawati Kebab (minced mushrooms, oil, cumin, red chili powder, garam masala and butter).
Seen that at your neighborhood Tikka joint lately? I thought not.
Best tread lightly, we thought, and started off with the Lamb Seekh Kebab and Pepper Shrimp. The lamb was in six-inch skewers of highly spiced ground meat, grilled to a turn; meaty, moist and delicious. The shrimp were jumbos, rolled up tightly, tails on, marinated with a mixture of what seemed to be ginger and garlic and chilies with a heavy dose of black pepper in a sour-cream-based sauce. I would go back every night just for that crunch-squish-meaty-shrimpy taste implosion, if circumstances permitted. Both were accompanied with a side of baby greens bathed in an unearthly vinaigrette slammed with a hefty dose of spice.
Seeking an Xtreme Indian experience is always a chore for me, because I'm what some might call a "Chile-head," and I know that chefs (especially in Montreal – better watch what you ask for in San Francisco, as you might just get it) tend to take pity on the customer and halve the heat he requests, just in case the guy is a roving braggart out to impress his friends; wouldn't want to embarrass the poor guy after all. So I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala "extra hot" and my companion ordered the Chicken Korma. I know, safe bets, but we wanted to see how the kitchen handled the basics.
As expected, the Tikka was not even approaching 10 on my Scoville meter, but was nonetheless unctuously insinuating, moist and earthy in a rich brown spice-studded sauce that wedded with the fluffy saffron basmati rice most satisfactorily. My companion opted for the naan, he being of a Northern persuasion, and he happily plucked up his Korma – chicken in a creamy white sauce made of onion, yogurt, cashew, almond paste and cardamom – with gusto.
The service, it might be mentioned, was attentive – one might even say overly attentive, but it's what one might expect from a nervous restaurant open only one month.
There's no telling how this little Indian jewel will fare in this sea of sub-continental competition, and no telling how it will prosper while surrounded by a sea of unabashed consumerism, but we certainly wish it well. Namasté. – Reviewed by Chef Nick (June/07)
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| Thursday, June 28th, 2007 |
Bofinger
5667 Sherbrooke St. W. | Tel. 514.315-5056
his place is a keeper. With a common owner at nearby restaurants La Lousianne and Claremont – both mid-level concept restaurants, La Lousianne is Cajun textured, Claremont is a good neighbourhood bistro – Bofinger sticks its digits into the smokehouse and pulls out a pungent mess of good eating.
Good barbeque has nothing to do with fast flame gas grills. Boys will be boys and grills will be grills; but smokin' demands a man's attention ... 12 to 18 hours at just the right temperature with just the right combination of hard woods for flavour and charcoal for a slow, slow burn. Too high and we are roasting. Too low a temperature, well you don't want to go there. But Bofinger gets it just right. Here are the basics for BBQ 101, as we rarely taste them in this town: pulled pork, a dynamite BBQ chicken, beef ribs, pork ribs, beef brisket, wings and burgers. That's it. Simple food, but spend overnight in the kitchen smoke oven and you'll be ready for a dip in the sauce too.
Main dishes get a choice of one or two sides. There is rib-sticking macaroni and cheese, decent but under-whelming baked beans, a tart cucumber salad, coleslaw, bean, and potato salads. Choose the dish you want, say a plate of 3 pork ribs (you could go for 6 but remember, the pig is on the plate) and add one or two of the sides. There are brews from St.-Ambroise street and bottled fruit juices while iced tea and sodas come with the meals and are at a self-serve tap – as much as you want. Bofinger has a few salads and desserts as well but more could be done in this line. Sandwiches are great. There is a hefty Cuban BBQ pork sandwich, a poboy that is less New Orleans and more corner deli but still tasty with layers of cold cuts, and a great smoked burger that comes with enough toppings (hot peppers, pickles, guacomole, onions, mushrooms, etc. etc.) to make this a super veggie special sans patty! But since the big feature at Bofinger is BBQ, come hungry to eat meat.
Pork ribs with a side of slaw
A hamburger with all the fixings (there is a thick beef patty somewhere in there) plus sides of mac 'n cheese, and cucumber salad
After you've chosen your platter, now comes the big decision. Which sauce to add? They range the BBQ map from a vinegary Kentucky to a sweet and mustardy South Carolina version and, my favourite, a simple Texas slow cooked smoky sauce. There are also two whoop-ass versions – Memphis Magic and Atomic Alabama – both long on heat and better on Bofinger's wings than the smoked meats. For added heat, check out Bofinger's wall of flame with dozens of different hot sauces. Gastro emptor.
The menu still needs a little work. It should have a combo plate with a bit of everything; also more than a few undistinguished desserts (with maybe some of that luscious bread pudding and chocolate pecan pie from La Lousianne, up the street); oh yeah, and an espresso machine that is not just for the boss!
Bofinger has plenty of tables and booths inside where it's bright, airy, and noisy. Each table has a roll of paper towels and the booth partitions can be removed so you can get a large group together. There are several tables outside for alfresco munching on one of the widest sidewalks on Sherbrooke. St. Bofinger has only counter service and it can get packed at noon and dinner time. The crowds are so thick that there are no plans to take credit or debit cards. ("It slows us down too much," said one server.) So it's cash only. Thankfully, you won't need to spend much. It's hard to spend more than $10 on a meal here. Our meal of an all-dressed burger with two sides, and a plate of ribs, iced tea and a beer came to $25 taxes and tip included. There are meat and rib packs to go for 6 or more people ranging from $35 to $99.
Service is great, and the place is good for those with ambulatory problems. Everything is on the ground floor.
Oh, and this is not to be confused with Montreal style smoked meat parlours such as Lester's or Schwartz's, where the brisket still carries a Yiddishe Romanian tam; instead Bofinger finally gives us a taste of how pork, beef and chicken get served south of the border. Yee-haw! – Reviewed by Barry Lazar (June/07)
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| Tuesday, June 5, 2007 |
Le Club chasse et pêche
423, rue Saint-Claude, Old Montréal | Tel.
(514) 861-1112
  e had difficulty getting reservations at this top-of-the-line restaurant in Old Montreal which opened in January 2005. It reminded me of a piece by Dave Barry from In Search of Excellence that went like this:
This striving for excellence extends into people's personal lives as well. When '80s people buy something, they buy the best one, as determined by (1) price and (2) lack of availability. Eighties people buy imported dental floss. They buy gourmet baking soda. If an '80s couple goes to a restaurant where they have made a reservation three weeks in advance, and they are informed that their table is available, they stalk out immediately, because they know it is not an excellent restaurant. If it were, it would have an enormous crowd of excellence-oriented people like themselves waiting, their beepers going off like crickets in the night. An excellent restaurant wouldn't have a table ready immediately for anybody below the rank of Liza Minnelli.
The three of us, being the excellence-oriented people we are, got down to business immediately: the wine! Our first choice, a Charles Hours Jurancon Sec ($46) was too acidic. It was neither off, nor corked, nor otherwise spoiled – it was just too acidic for our taste. No problem – we were immediately offered a replacement at no extra cost, a great dry white chardonnay from Mâcon Bussières, Domaine La Sarazinière, Cuvée Claude Seigneuret 2003 ($41). In my modest dining experience, no restaurant has ever taken a wine back just because the taste was not as I expected. Many years ago at a local Spanish restaurant, my Parisian friend sent a wine back to the kitchen claiming that it had traveled. To which the waiter replied: Of course, how did you think it got here from France? It's a jungle out there, but not at Le Club.
The service remained friendly and of the highest standard throughout the evening.
Our second pleasant surprise was the bottled water. Bottled bubbles are the new "in" thing. The Chateldon water from the Auvergne carries the picture of Louis XIV and the date of 1650. It is said that it was the personal water of king Louis XIV. Some have refuted that claim by pointing out that the Chateldon source was only discovered in 1774. Nevertheless, it is known to be beneficial for people suffering from skin diseases and digestive disorders. In other words, Restospy territory.
For me, this was the night of the pig. I started with a juicilicious risotto of braised piglet ($8). This was followed by kurobuta, black Japanese pig, made two ways (longe et flanc), with baked potatoes ($27). This is the best and most tender pork anywhere, renowned for its marbled texture and superior taste. The kurobuta is originally from England and emigrated to Japan in the 19th century on a diplomatic visa.
But wait, it gets even better. The main courses at the Club have at least one marked costaud. Costaud is a French word meaning for hungry lumberjacks just back from the Yukon. Today it was Guinea hen (pintade) with an apple and Porto sauce ($23). I hope that this costaud thing catches on in other restaurants.
My women checked out the seafood. One started with scallops and fennel ($12), four bite-sized delicacies. That was followed by another winner, the grilled swordfish with a vinaigrette and truffle sauce ($26). I will say no more. This is as good as it gets in Old Montreal.
Grilled swordfish
Among the seafood appetizers, noteworthy are the oysters (twelve for $33) and the caviar: one ounce of osetra for $99 and one ounce of beluga for $144. A good sneeze or a healthy Chateldon burp can cost you $288.
Woman number two ate a moron. To be precise, she ordered a morone saxatilis, also known as a striped bass, the main fish off the Atlantic coasts of Canada and the United States. Some live up to 30 years to end up at Le Club Chasse et Pêche on top of a pile of white asparagus and sorrel for $25. Judging from her reaction, it was a morone exceptionalis.
The desserts were not as extraordinary as the wonderful fare we enjoyed earlier in the evening. They were all smorgasbords of sweet things, following the present fashion in Montreal. To make me happy, give me one item, done to perfection. Preferably one large item. How about a canard flottant version of îles flottantes, with a huge white duck paddling on a sea of crême anglaise? Would make sense in a hunting club.
A memorable dining experience. A shot of Poire Williams, a quick single-notch belt adjustment, one last Louis XIV burp, and off we went, $217.98 lighter. – Reviewed by RestoSpy (Mar/07)
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| May 30, 2007 |
Nick writes: I've just redesigned the montrealfood logo, and it looks ultra-mega-super (my son's vocabulary.) And I've revamped the montrealfood.com store! Now you can get black T-shirts, sweatshirts, V-necks, mugs, tote bags, refrigerator magnets and lots more cool-looking montrealfood gear for way-low prices. Take 'em when you travel and show them that you're a montrealfoodie! Support montrealfood! (Who knows! It might even pay the hosting fee.) – Chef Nick
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| Friday, May 4th, 2007 |
La Brasserie Brunoise
1012, rue de la Montagne | Tel. (514) 933-3885
t was hockey night in Montreal and I was in dire need of a bite prior to the puck drop. There are several restos in the area, but I wasn’t in the mood for spinach dip (Baton Rouge), didn’t care for cardboard buffalo wings (La Cage), and didn’t have time for a Lou’s Cut (bone in rib-eye, Queue De Cheval).
Then there's this new resto-bar adjacent to the Bell Centre. Owned by Gordon Ramsay's protégé Michel Ross, this brasserie should not be confused with his flagship fine-dining establishment Brunoise. La Brasserie caters to the suit-clad business crowd and Habs jersey-wearing customers alike.
Located on the corner of de la Montagne and de la Gauchetiere, La Brasserie is hard to miss. With the signature “Brunoise’ sign containing a square ‘O’ (clever, indeed), the restaurant is deceptively larger than the storefront would have you believe. Considering the restaurant name, I would have hoped for the bar to be the focal point of the décor, but such was not the case. The bar was located at the far end of the room, hidden by a sea of tables and chairs primed to accommodate the onslaught of rabid hockey fans.
I asked the waitress what beers were on tap, expecting her to recite the list in a heartless script-like fashion, but without hesitation she blurted, “Stella.” Only one beer at a brasserie? Odd. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but it's better than Molson Ex in a plastic cup.
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French onion soup
The menu, which doubled as a placemat, was filled with French bistro classics as well as several daily specials. I ordered my go-to bistro meal: French onion soup and steak-frites. The soup arrived hot, topped with a generous dollop of cheese. It was deep, rich and a tad greasy (which I luckily don’t mind one bit) and was a good example of a well-prepared classic.
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Steak-frites
As for the steak-frites, the hanger steak was cooked to perfection (blue, just the way I like it) and finished with maitre d’hotel butter. The fries were thinly cut , made with real potatoes, and double-fried in peanut oil. I tossed a couple in my mouth expecting to sink my teeth into a great example of an ethereal French fry, but immediately realized that they were overcooked and unbearably salty. Hoping to find salvation in my meat, I cut a chunk and as my fork approached my mouth, instead of smelling seared meat, I could smell citrus. I don’t know if it was the butter or how the meat was marinated. But I much prefer my meat to taste like, well, meat. My steak reminded me of a recently cleaned restroom.
The meal ended with a pudding chomeur (bread pudding). Baked in a ramekin, served à la mode and not at all looking ‘chomeur-like’, but contrary to the overcooked fries, the pudding was pasty and undercooked.
Next time I’m looking for a pre-game meal, I’ll pass on the ‘one beer’ brasserie. – Reviewed by Huge Galdones (Feb/07)
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| Monday, April 30, 2007 |
Il Galateo
5315 Gatineau St. (Metro Côte-des-Neiges) | Tel. (514) 737-1606
Returned recently. Il Galateo is one of those restaurants that time doesn't ruin – the kind of gem that deserves to be in every city, large or small.
Not only was Saverio there, but he remembered me from five years before and what I ordered!
The food this time was even better than before, rebuking the concept that a restaurant's quality diminishes over time.
Of course, it could also be the shotgun that Saverio holds to the chef's head at the beginning of each service. – Update by Chef Nick (April/07)
To read the full review, click here ...
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| Friday, April 20, 2oo7 |
Aszú
212 Notre Dame Street West,
Montreal | Tel.
(514) 845-5436
 he last time I was here the restaurant was called Bistro au Cépage. Its owner, ex-food critic and journalist Ashok Chandwani, had just passed away, and the local journalists, foodies, cartoonists and other marginals got together for a couple of hours of reminiscing. The restaurant had that old dark look, situated below ground level, the walls moist with centuries of history, the lead plumbing imported by Napoleon himself.
The petoncles (scallops) with a puréee of mashed peas and curry sauce
Now freshly renovated in a blend of art deco and techno styles, minimalist and gorgeous, it was revived as a restaurant and wine bar, Aszú. The front half of the place has a number of stunning S-shaped tables set alight from within. Designed at bar-stool height, it is a pleasure to dine on them nevertheless. The light reflects through the wine glasses and warms the faces of the diners. It is a place that says Relax, enjoy, have a drinky winky, tell good stories, pick up women at the bar.
Wine can be had here by the glass, but we decided to try a bottle instead, opting for a Pinot Blanc from the Alsace region. The selection is extremely interesting but spotty. For example, my favorite after-dinner drink, Marc de Bourgogne, was nowhere to be seen. Still, there is enough here to keep even the most demanding wine lover occupied for some time.
They have nine Tokaji Aszú wines dating from 1993 to 2000, with prices varying from 77 to 870 dollars for a half liter bottle, the maximum reached for 500 milliliters of 1993 Château de Pazjos. The same wine can be had in 100 milliliter shots for 151 dollars – now do the math: five times 151 is 755, so why should I pay 870 for a 500 ml bottle? Recent research reported in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that two glasses of Aszú per day can turn a perfectly healthy restaurant owner with 80/120 blood pressure into a mathematically challenged diabetic. Here is why.
Tokaji, meaning of Tokaj in Hungarian, is used to label wines from the wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary, a small plateau near the Carpathian Mountains, where the iron and lime-rich soil is of volcanic origin.
Botrytised wines are wines that have a sweet honeyed flavor and fragrance. Their unique aroma is caused by grapes that have been infected with a mold called Botrytis Cinerea, also known as bunch rot or noble rot. Yes, mold, as in the black stuff that grows under your porch. Tokaji Aszú is botrytised, but so are the famous Sauternes and Barsac wines. Australia and California too have botrytised wines.
And how about that granddaddy of them all, the Château d'Yquem?
Aszú's Furmint grapes are individually picked out of the bunches, collected in big vats and trampled into the consistency of paste, known as aszú dough, basically a purple mold pizza. Must, the juice of freshly pressed grapes, is poured on the pizza and left for two days. Then the wine is racked off into wooden casks or vats where fermentation is completed, a slow process that takes years. The aszú wines were traditionally categorized by the number of puttony of dough added to a cask of must. Nowadays the puttony number is purely diabetic: it measures the sugar level, not the politically incorrect mold level. Aszú ranges from 3 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos, with a further category called Aszú-Eszencia for wines above 6 puttonyos.
End of the medical explanation of the owner's mathematical handicap: mold in the liver.
The menu is almost an afterthought here – the dishes are small, almost tapas style, and are meant to be had standing up or sitting on a bar stool. If you are in that kind of a mood, and like decoratively seductive settings, Aszú is just the place for you.
The three lobster bisques
I started with a trio of differently spiced lobster bisques, each served in its private glass. The coriander and estragon flavors were especially appropriate. One of my companions started with a refreshing though slightly undersalted octopus and calamar salad ($9).
She continued with a perfect mushroom and raw ham risotto in truffle juice ($17). The menu has only about twenty items in all, and some are meant to be shared. One of us ordered the petoncles (scallops; five for $21), which were accompanied by a purée of mashed peas and a curry sauce to make a delicious, colorful and aesthetic mix.
The mushroom and ham risotto in truffle juice
Desperately looking for the largest portion on the menu, I tried the magret of duck with a hint of anise and foie gras in its sauce. Beautifully displayed with assorted colours, this too was a gastronomical delight.
We finished with an excellent crême brûlée. Dinner for one puttonyo and two lovely puttonyas, including a $60 bottle of unmoldy wine and the usual botryfication tax, came to $180.04. -- Reviewed by RestoSpy (Feb/07)
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