phedre's Profile
Blown away by Commander's Palace "Tailgate" tasting menu
I'm a visitor to NOLA, still sampling the city as we speak. I've read the boards many times looking for recommendations, and all indications seem to be that Commanders Palace is the place to go for lunch.
We splurged for dinner instead, and I can honestly say we were not disappointed. We both opted for the "Black and Gold Tailgate Tasting Menu" with accompanying wines and were completely bowled over by how fantastic it was.
Starting off was a take on the BLT, made with fresh crab and shrimp, and bacon fat mayo (sounds healthy, no?). This was a delicious take on the tradiitional BLT, stacked on tiny toasted bread pieces, with heaps of crab, tomato slices, and a single green leaf.
Following that, it was on to the Lobster Mac & Cheese, presented in a small cast iron pot; this was one of the hits of the evening. My dining partner was tempted to lick the bowl clean.
The Black & Gold Rising cocktail was a treat. Heavy on the rum, dusted with gold, this tiny shot glass was delicious and refreshing.
Next up was the Super Bowl, a presentation of crawfish and jumbo shrimp, on top of a seafood salad. Those were sucked down with glee!
Sliders were never so good as the CP's take, featuring seared beef and foie gras. The fois gras portion was a bit much for me, I find it so rich I can rarely eat more than a mouthful, but the beef was perfect: raw in the middle, and fork tender.
Topping off the evening was an unforgettable Bananas Foster Souffle drenched in caramel sauce. I don't think I've ever tasted anything quite like it. Rich, light, decadent, and lovely, we fought over who got the last of the rum caramel sauce.
Total cost for both of us, with accompanying wines and tip: $280. A steal in my opinion, and something I definitely recommend trying before it goes away!
Best Coffee in Montreal?
I stocked up this weekend - Zoka Paladino and Intelligentsia House Blend at Gamba, and 49th Parallel El Salvador from Myriade.
Neither place disappointed - had a fantastic cappuccino and hot chocolate at Myriade, along with a lovely chocolate cupcake with pistachio frosting, then lattes and a sandwich at Gamba. All in all, a bit of coffee heaven!
Montreal vacation plans - please help w/ itinerary
Lemeac's getting bad reports since the new chef came on board. Try p'tit plateau instead.
For PdC, there really is no substitute.
Coffee: Caffe in Gamba and Myriade.
APDC Au Pied Du Cochon, my review
Agreed - this is one place where you can truly feel comfortable. The staff is super friendly, and they've boxed up more than one pile of leftovers for me. They even let me have the glass jar containing the remains of my dessert one evening!
Steakhouse for Bachelor Party
You're probably best off at The Keg or Steak Frites. While they're not top shelf steak houses, they're not too expensive and can both accommodate larger parties. Montreal doesn't really do "great" steak - some might argue otherwise, but I've found this city lacking a truly sublime steakhouse.
comptoir à vin « bouchonné »
Odd. I walked past there yesterday and things were taped up, the wine fridge had been moved out across the floor, etc.
Who knows?
Fuzhou cuisine in Montreal - Restaurant Oui&Oui
EEK. No! Someone must go back and check - if he's not there, hunt him down! He's a genius with vegetables.
why montreal has no mobile food
Hygiene, schmygiene. Give me my street vendors!
One of the things I love best about NYC is the sheer volume and variety of delicious street foods, anything from hot dogs to souvlaki to ice cream. It's so disappointing that Montreal hasn't seen the light yet.
First Time in Montreal...On the Cheap!
I'm surprised no one's mentioned bagels yet. Grab one hot from the oven at Fairmount (some heathens will proclaim Saint Viateur to be better, but I digress) and eat it for breakfast, or have it with some smoked salmon for lunch. Cheap and tasty! Even with the pricier salmon you can easily make two giant sandwiches (bagelwiches?) for a few dollars a piece.
Try the weekend brunch special at Bouchees Gourmandes on Bernard and Bloomfield. Slow service, but delicious and filling, run by an older couple who'll treat you like family.
comptoir à vin « bouchonné »
I'm glad you did, because I have no patience for this kind of lack of usability. It's one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to the restaurant industry: their websites are almost invariably terrible.
I'll be stopping in on the 28th for lunch maybe, if anyone's interested. Failing that, Friday for sure.
Montreal bar with a great view
Close to place D'Armes is the hotel Nelligan, which also has a rooftop bar. Either will have lovely views, though given the forecast I suggest bringing a jacket.
Best chocolate cake in Montreal?
It's not even a contest: cocoa locale. The chocolate chai is to die for (I have one for a dinner party tonight, in fact), and the spicy chocolate is also lovely. The chocolate lavender is a bit perfumey for my taste, but gorgeous if you're into it.
Just be sure to get there promptly at noon when she opens, and be prepared: there will probably be a line up waiting to get in. If you get there at 1, you're too late and will have to make do with what's left.
Grab a brownie while you're there, they're divine.
Brownies
Seconded. These brownies are INCREDIBLY intense.
For a more cake-like but still delicious brownie with a kick, I love Cocoa Locale's spiced brownies.
Doable? Reims Champagne house visit, no car, no French
I was in Reims in April, also on foot. The TGV drops you off a bit away from the center of town, about a ten minute walk away. There are plenty of champagne houses in the center of Reims that will do tastings, pick a few and go nuts, but be aware that most are by appointment only. There aren't any in particular that I'd recommend, though I'm a fan of Henriot.
The cathedral is breathtaking, much more worth the trip than Notre Dame in Paris, and has a little information center nearby where you can find tourist information. Definitely head to the Monoprix there to do your champagne shopping! You'll be amazed at how inexpensive the good bubbles are there.
Though to be honest, I found Arbois in the Jura a much more beautiful and interesting side trip than Reims, even if just for the lack of "tourist" feeling I got there.
QING HUA DUMPLING
Yep, I was happy I wore black that day! They got stickier as they cooled down a bit, but damn when they're first cooked they are slippery little buggers.
I definitey preferred the pork ones to the lamb, but both were delicious. Just make sure you allow lots of time, these little works of art take a while to come out of the kitchen. Totally worth the wait.
Bond, James Bond.
After finishing up the workday at Gamba (it's nice to have the luxury of working out of one of Montreal's best cafes!), a friend and I headed over to Bond for a few after-work drinks.
I'd never been, and to be honest was highly skeptical of the place. But they promised artisanal beer, and being named after 007, who can resist?
We walked in past the slick black and gold exterior into the warmly lit, gold and black interior. An LCD was showing "Casino Royale" - Daniel Craig in a swimsuit can make any girl's night. Quite the change from Berlin, which previously occupied this spot.
The lighting's fantastic, the tin ceiling appealing, and the burnt orange velvet sofa simply screamed "lounge"! Being the martini drinker that I am, I ordered the classic 007 martini (no cocktail onions, alas, so this was my second choice once a gibson was ruled out). The waitress didn't blink when I insisted on "stirred, not shaken", and the resulting martini was quite good. Not great, but then I am highly particular about my martinis, which is why I usually end up making my own.
My compatriot, a definite beer snob, sampled their microbrewed porter (brewed locally) which he proclaimed "very good", high praise indeed from someone who considers Dieu du Ciel a 7/10 on his personal scale.
We sampled the saganaki, which was delicious. I'm afraid we didn't move on to other dishes as we had to leave shortly, but if it's any indication of the general quality of the menu, it's definitely worth trying.
It's not the place for a gourmet meal, but then it never pretends to that. On the other hand, if you're looking for a nice place to have a few drinks and some finger foods in a relaxed atmosphere, definitely check out Bond. You won't be disappointed!
101 Fairmount O., Montreal
514-759-6607
Cafe Myriade
There's one thing I absolutely HATE about Cafe Myriade:
it's too damned far away from my house!
I made the trek last weekend finally, to sample the much-talked about siphon pots, and a cappucino made by Anthony. It brought back many memories of sitting at the coffee bar at Veritas! Definitely still my favourite cappuccino maker by far.
The siphon pot was fantastic for the novelty, though I prefer the cappuccino: rich, no bitterness, perfect, as always when Anthony's at the helm.
For those wondering about the Soma chocolate bars, I bought one of each and gobbled them greedily over the course of a week; absolutely delicious.
If anyone has any hesitations about travelling out to see the new place, get over it and go! It was well worth the trip on the metro and the walk through the rain for the perfect cappuccino.
SAQ store or Depanneur w best beer selection
That'd be "the King of Beer", and agreed. I love wandering their beer selection for new treasures! And almost everything's available as individual bottles, so you're not stuck with a six pack of something you might end up hating.
What happened to...
I've been meaning to post about this. I've organized a few brunches/dinners since the post, but not as many as I'd like. Unfortunately my travel schedule has gone from reasonable to abso-freaking-lutely insane since the beginning of June and I've had next to no time to organize anything.
I'm looking at setting something up for end of July/beginning of August. I'll be in Argentina, but I can make a reservation and set things up!
which store has the best beer selection in Mtl?
Yep, they're my usual beer store - you can't go wrong with over 300 kinds of beer!
Walked out of Jun-I tonight
Two weeks ago I made a reservation for eight people at 8PM at Jun-I. By yesterday I'd had two cancellations, so I called ahead at 11 this morning and let them know that we'd be six instead of eight. Good, right?
Wrong.
Our first dinner member showed up at 7:55; I showed up at 8:05 - our table wasn't ready yet. No problem, we were early, so we brushed off the rather cool attitude of our hosts. Our final members arrived at about 8:10. Still no table.
Twenty minutes later, not only were we still waiting for a table, but the sheer rudeness and dismissive attitude of the staff had us walking out the door. I've been seated late before, but at least the restaurant staff acknowledged us and kept us aprised of the situation - no such luck at Jun-I, where the wait staff seemed to think we were imposing on their time to even ask for our reserved table.
I'd heard poor things about the service at Jun-I before, but was willing to give it a try despite these reports. Given that another member of our group had experienced similar treatment before, I will not be returning. I've never written off a restaurant before I've even tasted the food, but Jun-I is the first due to sheer poor organization and ignoring us for the entire half hour we sat waiting for our table.
Our group walked over to Bouchonne, where they quickly made room for us despite how busy they were; we were welcomed with open arms, friendly service, and delicious food. I certainly know which spot I'll recommend to others!
three plateau restos
5e peche is definitely a great choice! I haven't tried the others.
Bouchonne on Fairmount & St. Laurent is another good choice if you haven't been yet. Depending on how busy it is, it can be anything from super quiet to boistrous.
Kindasorta (definitely!) last minute request...
I'll second santropol. Very vegetarian friendly, good food, good ambience, and inexpensive to boot!
Caribou meat
I've never seen it for sale here. Perhaps Prince Noir in JTM?
I've got a few bottles stashed in my cupboard (my family hunts it, mom bottles it). Been lucky enough to not have to look too hard.
comptoir à vin « bouchonné »
GAH. Music that plays automatically, full-on flash that replaces the built-in browser scrollbar, and a menu that pops up in PDF. It hit all top three of my usability pet peeves.
comptoir à vin « bouchonné »
There's a reason that the chopped liver is one of my favourite dishes as Bouchonne, and I don't even like liver! Even the scallops had their appeal, a very rare experience for me.
The Fat Duck: Worth the side trip?
I'll be doing plenty of walking! I just can't do it on heels anymore. Thanks for the heads up on the Hind's Head.
The Fat Duck: Worth the side trip?
Canadian, actually. I'm not really worried about price, I've planned well for this trip!
High tea is exactly what I'll be going for. The menus at the Dorchester indicate that they serve the same thing at High Tea and Afternoon Tea, except with the addition of a hot savoury dish during High Tea.
