foodie_mtl's Profile
Where can I buy Nestle Quality Street chocolates in Montreal?
The are certainly available in Montreal. Been getting a tin/box every Christmas from my mother for the last 20 years.
They may be only widely available during Christmas (grocery stores and pharmacies). I would also recommend checking out Bramble House. They may carry QS year round.
Smoke's Poutinerie? Anyone been?
Walked by this new place on bishop called Smoke's Poutinerie. Looks like a chain from Ontario. Did a quick search on the board and didn't come up with much.
Anyone been? Any comments?
Suggestions for June trip - ISO Restaurants, Bars, Coffee Shops
Thank you. I will read over these specific threads.
Suggestions for June trip - ISO Restaurants, Bars, Coffee Shops
Montreal hounder here. Will be visiting your city in June for 2 nights with husband and another foodie couple.
Been a couple of years since I've been to NYC. I tried to look through the threads, but got somewhat overwhelmed and figured I would start a new thread in hopes of getting some suggestions. I would appreciate any ideas you can offer up.
We will be staying around Midtown, so any venue below central park is fair game.
We do appreciate both casual and high end. We are open to all types of cuisine (except French... we have our fair share of French cuisine in Montreal). Preference for Italian, Japanese/Isakaya.
We are looking for lunch/brunch/dinner options.
Also looking for good coffee shops (along the lines of Stumptown, or Grumpy)
Also looking for casual bars/lounges where we can enjoy a well made cocktail.
Thanks!
Olivier Potier - New amazing pastry shop and bakery
Stopped by yesterday. Was told that some of their breads were from Le Pain Dans Les Voiles and some are not (the bags they use are in fact labeled pain dans les voiles). If there's a gold round sticker on the basket, then the bread is from Le pain dan les voiles. I don't know if the rest are baked on-site or off-site, but it seems that those breads were their own. Maybe I didn't understand his accent.
We picked up a baguette levain (just ok), an almond/chocolate croissant (very tasty, crispy) and a cheese loaf (so good we finished it all in 1 sitting). I believe the cheese loaf was not from Voiles, but the rest was.
Also picked up a couple of their "cakes". The pistachio and raspberry cake as well as the chocolate/peanut/salted caramel one. We liked them both, but were not necessarily wowed. I much prefer Le Paltoquet's pistachio/raspberry version.
That neighborhood doesn't offer much in terms of good bread. Not many options other than the Premierre Moisson breads carried at PA or Provigo (blah).
As a big fan of Guillaume and Mamie, I am happy to see a new addition to my neighborhood.
Foodies Boys Weekend in Montreal
Lawrence is an excellent choice. They do take reservations for large groups - don't know if that changed recently - last time I was there was about a month ago (Fixed seatings for 10am, 12 and 2PM I believe). They have 2 larger communal tables. One suitable for a group of 10-12 or so and another suitable for a group of 6-8.
Jean talon market greehouse
Oana, can you provide more info on Birri... one of the few reasons I go to JTM in the summer is them. What do you mean they sell of their elevator in the winter? thanks!
ISO Farofa/Manioc Flour
I believe you are referring to yuca starch? If so, then it's available at Sabor Latino on Belanger. My husband is Colombian and we buy yuca starch to make pan de yuca and pan de bono. The pan de yuca is made with a sour yuca starch. Both varieties are available at Sabor.
Cheapest grocery store for fruits and veggies?
Navel oranges were 10 for 1.50 at PA last week. 220% price difference seems excessive to me. But that's just me. They are traveling the same distance presumably. Personally, I stopped buy any produce from Provigo/Maxi/Loblaws for quality reasons. And I stopped buying from IGA and Metro for price reasons.
I find the price and quality to be far superior PA. Granted some days I've seen sub-par produce at PA, but for the most part, it has been excellent.
And when I have time to take a communauto and make the trek to Adonis, I am never disappointed. I've purchased lettuce from Adonis, forgotten about it and found it 2 weeks later and it was still in good shape.
CSA's - Who is YOUR favourite farmer?
Hala, thank you for sharing! Can I ask you which basket and size you signed up for? They seem to have 4 options.
2 years ago I had baskets from Potager Andre Samson. It was not an ideal summer and the produce was alright, but not what we expected and that's why we didn't do it again last year.
Restaurant Closings in 2012
Dubai Subs and Yogurt is papered up and a new sign reads: Ole Burgers and Yogurt.
New Scichuanese Restaurant in Town-very authentic and delicious [KanBai restaurant]
I agree with your first sentence. Not with your second one. Montreal is full of people from all over the world. And spicy food is not exclusively enjoyed in Szechuan province. I don't think we are that rare! At least I hope not!
I think with time they will learn that some "westerners" as they put it do in fact enjoy this type of cuisine and they will find the right way to inform their customers that certain dishes are very hot.
New Scichuanese Restaurant in Town-very authentic and delicious [KanBai restaurant]
I can't blame them for stating the obvious but as you said, there should be a middle ground. After they brought the dish in question, the same waitress came back and asked if it was too spicy for us.... enough already! She saw us enjoying it, so what's the problem!?!
What made the night even more awkward was when we were approached by a nice lady who seems to be a manager/owner. She asked us if we found the food too spicy. We said we liked spicy food. She then asked us if we were "immigration" (she meant immigrants).
My guess is that they are trying to understand their clientele. I guess my partner and I look "westerner" even though we are both immigrants (middle east/south America).
New Scichuanese Restaurant in Town-very authentic and delicious [KanBai restaurant]
Love this place. Great addition to the neighborhood. The "beef in water" with sprouts was ridiculously hot (in a great way). The Mapo Tofu (listed on menu as "tofu in spicy sauce" or something along those lines) was perfectly balanced. Being huge fans of Cuisine Szechuan, we ordered the chicken with cumin. Definitely prefer Cuisine Szechuan 's version.
Only issue encountered was the waitress who insisted that we don't get the beef dish because it was too spicy for westerners. At first I brushed it off as nothing, but she kept insisting and repeating that it would be way too spicy for us... I got slightly annoyed but she finally moved on. We ordered the chicken with cumin and she said you know there's bones, westerners don't like bones. Another back and forth until she finally walked away with our order.
I wish they would stop assuming "westerners" don't like/can't handle spicy food. But I can imagine the complaints they may have gotten from some unaware "westerners. One warning is sufficient!
Le Maitre Chocolatier
They must because we made no mention of the voucher until we went to pay downstairs. I saw 5 other "tours" and they were all identical to ours.
Le Maitre Chocolatier
Honestly, I wouldn't. But again, I don't think "high tea" is really something I would enjoy to do more than once every few years. Just not my thing. I am just pointing out that the 32$/person price tag (pre-tax, pre-tip) is quite steep for what you get (some of the offerings were good, and others just ok). The scones were quite disappointing (I had an amazing scone at Lawrence yesterday and the LMC scone pales in comparison).
So perhaps someone else would see it being worth 60. It may be worth it if you plan to spend a couple of hours sipping tea and catching up with an old friend. We were in a bit of a rush and were done within 50 minutes.
As I said in my previous post I was hesitant to go and even considered gifting the coupon or just writing it off based on some comments above. But I was pleasantly surprised when I was told the tip was at my discretion and that the tax charged was on the 29$ amount paid for the voucher. I also found the service to be very pleasant and efficient.
Le Maitre Chocolatier
Finally used the Living social coupon I purchased several months ago. Based on this thread I was somewhat hesitant and regretted purchasing the coupon to begin with.
The bottom line: If I had paid full price I would have been thoroughly pissed off.
We were served (per person)
- The equivalent of 1 slice of bread (2 cucumber triangles, 1 egg sandwich).
- A small cracker with foie gras and fig jam.
- A polenta square with goat cheese mouse.
- A cracker with smoked duck.
- 2 cranberry scones (dry and cold) with apricot jam and vanilla cream.
- 1 square of Venezuelan chocolate.
- 1 cream puff.
- Chocolate cookie with lemon cream
- mini-tart with mouse
The service was friendly and attentive. They refilled our tea regularly.
When it was time to pay, we were told the tip was at our discretion and that we would have to pay the tax which was calculated on the price of the coupon. So about 4$ for tax and then 9.50 for a 15% tip (based on the list price).
We enjoyed ourselves but both agreed we could never justify paying 40$ (reg price with tax and tip) for what we were served.
At the end of the day, we paid 29 (coupon) + 14 (tax and tip) = 43$
Anyone know where I can get Banana Leaves to make tamales?
And Colombia, Venezuela and other south American countries.
ISO Fatback
Not related to the original question, but still on topic. Where do you guys get your casings? I have a kitchenaid grinder and sausage stuffer attachment collecting dust and been wanting to make my own sausages for a couple of years now. I recently purchased a whole piglet from Supermarche PA and had the legs removed and frozen for future use... I live downtown so good butchers are not easy to come by. Would it be possible to get casings from the butchers Atwater? Or anywhere else for that matter (I can commute)
thanks!
Blue Crab?
perhaps it was an isolated case. The smell was not fishy, but putrid rotten something or other, and others were saying the same. I was surprised. I guess I should give it another try.
Blue Crab?
I was there this weekend. They were in a Styrofoam crate. But I just couldn't get over the smell in that store (near the fish counter). I have been to many stores and poissonneries, in both Chinatown and elsewhere, and never in my life did I smell something so foul. Made a bee-line for the door. Had high hopes for that store, being newish, but was thoroughly disappointed. Went to Kien Vinh instead to fulfill my pork belly craving.
Buy fresh octopus - Montreal
Read somewhere that fresh octopus is not available in Montreal and that all octopus available here is either frozen or defrosted by the seller. Supermarch PA always has frozen and defrosted octopus. Bought it many times and if prepared properly, can be quite delicious.
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Supermarch
1855 Avenue O'Brien, Saint-Laurent, QC H4L, CA
Kem CoBa – Delectable ice cream in Mile-End
My only issue is that it's too damn far!
sigh...
ps: their almond milk and sour cherry soft serve was out of this world!
Where can I find the best, reasonably priced seafood in town?
You can always go to one of the Peruvian restaurants in town. Solymar on St Hubert is one of them. We always order the jalea (mixed fried seafood), seafood soup, ceviche... It's best to go with friends because their portions are large and made for sharing. I find it quite reasonable. We never pay more than 25$ per person after tax and tip.
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Solymar Restaurant
7610 Rue Saint-Hubert, Montreal, QC H2R2N6, CA
Crystal Hot Sauce
Every time I travel to the US I pick up a large bottle of Crystal Hot Sauce, a Louisiana-style medium spicy sauce. With my sock depleting, and no US trip in the near future, I started looking for it locally.
Anyone know where/if this is available in Montreal? I tried Douceurs du marche but no luck.
Thanks
Pikolo Espresso Bar
I don't recall exactly, but the prices are in line with other similar coffee shops.
Pikolo Espresso Bar
I am in love with this new espresso bar. They opened for business yesterday (On Parc Av just north of Sherbrooke). They are serving up quality espresso (Phil and Sebastian). Really cute shop. I spoke to the owner and she is passionate about coffee and it really shows. They also had some croissants and other baked goods.
Very exciting to have a new quality coffee shop in an area which was definitely lacking.
I don't think they have a website, but they do have a Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pikolo-Espresso-BAR/182705645116738
ISO Hazelnut ice cream
YES. Thank you. That is the brand I was looking for. I didn't think of going to a gelateria.
ISO Hazelnut ice cream
Well the tittle sums it up. I used to really enjoy hazelnut ice cream for the last few years, I have not purchased or seen it.
There used to be brand that was sold at la vieille europe but I do not recall the name (something along the lines of mona lisa?)
Anyways, if anyone knows of any brands (or specifically the brand I am trying to remember), please let know.
Downtown area is preferable, but will travel if necessary!
Thanks
New Outdoor Section @ Atwater Market
Totally agree regarding the smoothies. Watery, warm, tasteless. The ladies who work the stand seem to really hate what they are doing. But I guess anyone standing next to the Satay Bros would seem grumpy and unhappy. Those guys really know customer service!
