This isn't helpful...but what is Gujarati food? I'm intrigued...

Thanks this looks delish. Will be fun to try Lebanese in Van.

Sam thank you!
I don't get my seafood fix enough over here in Montreal! I am all over both of these places. Yum.

some nice picks. Thanks- I do imagine having a nice glass of wine @ l'Abattoir.

Thanks for your ideas. Is there any eateries that you are a fan of?

I'm an ex-Vancouverite coming back for a visit. I have a bunch of people to meet downtown and in east Van for lunches or casual dinners. I eat fish and seafood but not meat which has never been a problem in Vancouver, ever, for me, but I mention it anyway. Can you recommend anything on the cheap to moderate side? (ie $20 per main or less)

Any cool pubs to recommend?

Hi and welcome to Montreal! I have to say definitely a yes to the Tuck Shop- my meal there was wonderful. Also there's great atmosphere for breakfast at Bagels etc. for breakfast. If you feel the need to try poutine, you might want to give La Banquise a try but it is not upscale. IMO Montreal does European food well; so Italian, Portugese, French, etc are it's highlights as well as South American Food. I stay away from Asian here because I usually am disappointed but some people would definitely disagree. My suggestion would also be to just get up into Little Italy, walk around, and find something that looks good. I've never gone wrong doing that, to be honest, and there's an element of surprise to trying that. I agree with Verdun MAS- very good, and unique, but get a reservation. The good thing is that you and the other diners will have a unique and intimate meal. Also there's a tapas bar further down wellington, but be warned that not all the restaurants have been created equally in that area. 2 last suggestions. As a tourist, I would want to eat at least once in the Old Port. It's just so beautiful. I'm sure there are plenty of suggestions on this thread (I scrolled quickly) that you could research- do it just for the experience. Lastly, you might want to try out the House of Jazz because again, it is a unique Montreal experience, a decent menu, and Jazz in a speakeasy-like place. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Have fun!

Hey folks, for the record I'm not veg because I eat fish and seafood so not really sure why this discussion turned into vegetarian discussion. I DID find something on the menu to eat, the problem was that it was very tiny for a piece of fish that comes with no sides or anything, it did not stand on it's own, and it was kind of lame. I wrote this post so people who might not be into the "a la carte" thing will know that's the kind of restaurant it is, and also for those people who may not embrace "bacon on everything." I was wrong, I meant Kosher, not Jewish- I stand corrected. I'm confused as to what British Pub serves fish with bechamel and herbs du provence on their menu? My point is that not just me, but everyone at my table thought the food was boring. But go ahead, if you're into that kind of thing. Maybe you'll like it better than we did.

I know you said you like lighter fare, but I did notice both bagels and poutine on your list. If you want to try something hella delightful, there is a special bakery on Mont-royal called Kouign-amann. You should try the pastry from which it gets its name. I had anything like it until I came here. It is not light. It will blow your mind.

My friend chose this restaurant, we hadn't seen each other for awhile. I looked it up first and thought "Oh it's Jamie Oliver's restaurant, I love making stuff from his website, this will be good, he uses healthy and whole ingredients" and then I checked the internet to see a bit more about it because I eat fish and seafood but not meat and I just wanted to get an idea. Everything looked good- fish dishes were mentioned, a few "disappointing" reviews but I don't put much stock in it.

We are on the waiting list, and are well accommodated. We were able to have drinks elsewhere and came in to a table waiting for us. Awesome. No wine list on the table, so I ask for a red that has bite and hope for the best. Then they explain the concept- the menu is itemized a la carte style with titles like "greens" and "raclette m.v.p" and "brussel sprouts and cheese" with prices. Waitress tells me the concept is that food doesn't come out at once, the idea is that we eat, and share. Ummm ok. We all have disparate tastes.

I find out that there is either bacon or sausage in most of the fish/seafood dishes, there is no veg. option. They will not accommodate me, so I order the fish with béchamel even though it doesn't sound interesting or particularly delicious. Otherwise, the waitress tells me, "you won't get any protein." So I order "greens" and "brussels sprouts and cheese." Menu was a bit boring if you ask me, how many more raclette/ pork cotelette/ french onion soup type of menus do we need in Montreal? Somehow my stuff all came together, they were nice enough to put the béchamel on the side (thank God- it was well worn territory of herbs du provence and cream...) the fish was cooked nice but looked to be about 2oz...all for 26$. The sprouts were covered with bacon so I gave it to my fellow diners. The greens were nice- Swiss chard in loads of butter.

There was no offer to compensate or anything for the sprouts, so I ended up eating a 2oz piece of fish with sub-rate sauce, and a bunch of Swiss chard. My feeling is if you are going to go with this concept, all your dishes need to stand on their own, and the consensus was that they did not. This was just a la carte, build your own main, with little idea of flavours or textures. I guess if you love bacon and don't interact with food on a personal, taste driven level- this is your restaurant. For me, and even my meat-loving diners, this was just meh, only expensive in addition to meh. I think it's pretty ballsy to choose not to accommodate your guests at all with this concept too, as if I were Jewish there would have been serious limitations to what i could eat, and a vegetarian would have been stuck with swiss chard and cheese-toast. All in all I found it shocking that 1) Jamie Oliver is involved in this, 2) that they just offered the usual French bistro fare that you can get pretty much anywhere in Montreal, only deconstructed.

I've paid far less for far more, and I would pay far more for better food.

Hey! just tried Bannock, hoping to take a stab at everyone's suggestions but I loved my food at Bannock. I had the Bannock Bannock.

If you are going to eat closer to Atwater, there are quite a few popular/trendy places to try. i sadly haven't tried too many of them but Joe Beef and the Liverpool house are supposed to be some of the best restos in the city. I can say that I found the Burgundy Lion ok, but I'm not in love with their menu. I really liked Limon, but haven't made it there in the last few years. You're making me want to try more places around there!

Just to weigh in, I am a pescatarian, and I was seriously underwhelmed with Bonnies. I eat veg. most of the time and I've had way better veg. food at places that serve meat as well.

As for Boucan, I just ate there and it was really good. But since I don't eat meat, I had the cajun shrimp and the salmon- probably not the most popular dish. I liked the atmosphere, but was totally weirded out that they never gave my friend, who was eating ribs, a finger bowl. If you specialize in ribs/bbq you should give your clients a finger bowl!

Umm, I moved here 7 years ago and I have to say, I usually wait to eat Chinese and Japanese food when I'm in TO or BC. That said, if I am going to have sushi in Montreal, I have enjoyed my bento box at this place http://www.hyangjinrestaurant.com which doesn't specialize in sushi. You could also try http://www.odakisushi.ca/

How about Deville Dinerbar? http://www.devilledinerbar.com/ it's on 1425 Stanley. I took a colleague from out of town and she loved it. There is a lot to choose from- healthy choices, burgers, etc.

Griffintown Cafe! yum city! There's no website but it's great!

Hi Toronto Chowhounds, I need your help with 2 things.

1. I'm a Pescatarian looking coming to TO on business (from Montreal). I'll be staying at the Sheraton downtown. I'm looking for some good, but not too expensive restaurants to try. My favorite food is Mexican, but I'm up for anything.

2. On the Friday, I will be surprising my mother and her partner at a restaurant- they are visiting my brother and don't know I'll be in town. We need the right restaurant.

My brother is vegetarian (cheese and eggs are OK) so we need somewhere that is veggie-friendly. Again, we're looking for somewhere inexpensive ($15-$25 per plate).

I was hoping to find something that has great food and an experience to it, don't know if it is possible to satisfy all of these factors. Any ideas?

cabbage is a great addition to pasta. I've had it with fresh sage, capers, lemon, onions. If you google pasta with cabbage, you will find some delicious-looking recipes, calling for pancetta or anchovies.

I really love the grilled fish taco recipe on Chow- it has a simple slaw of cabbage, cilantro, red onion, and lime juice which I have grown a little obsessed with. It goes as a great side to fish in general.

If you are feeling adventurous, you could make papusas and curtido, which is a salvadorean slaw that is usually served with the papusas.

My best friend and I invented something called the "west coast salad nicoise" with cured salmon, edamame, cabbage, carrots, sprouts, with a miso dressing, which is also delish.

Cabbage rocks!

OK, I'm loving your advice, and very much appreciative. Is there a way that I can do this with some more natural form of sugar? Agave? cane? maple?

seems effed up if I can't at least avoid the white sugar, but even piece of advice I get.....they say white s. is crucial.

Is this something i experiment with, in separate bathes?
btw- it's green tea or go home. I always like the commercial greens best so...just going with my fave.

Hi has anyone made Kombucha? Any advice? I'm soon going to be embarking on this journey. Any tried and true tips would be most welcome. thanks!

I got fajitas and the shrimp was rotten. And it was a mediocre spread. LAME place.

Branche d'Olivier on Notre Dame or in Verdun (there are 2). Or Teva on Decarie sometimes has it. It comes from California, so you have to buy it frozen.

An amazing place to buy vrac/bulk items and also quality spices, oils, and many alternative flours, etc. is Branche d'Oliviers- they just opened a new store on Notre Dame st., one or two blocks west of Atwater. I can't say enough about this store (there is also one in Verdun) that has the best feta, amazing olives, gluten free products, spice rubs, artisan breads, international ingredients, and everything is amazingly priced (I would venture to say best prices in the city if you frequent health food stores) Also they have quite a few fair trade items. It's a local business which I always prefer to a chain store. I have a bunch of friends who now come from out of the area just to shop there. Check it out!

i went to the new restaurant, JoBlo on Wellington in Verdun, and had a Pimms cocktail, the real way. She said that select SAQ's carry it now, you just have to find out online who does. And that's what I'm doing so I'll update when I have more info.

btw JoBlo is going to be an amazing spot, already busy and kick-ass decor. Great place to bring a date, the only downside was for me, I don't eat meat and there wasn't a large selection for me. They said they would be getting more veg. options soon, as they just opened, but my carnivore friends were blown away.

Just to report. I ended up finding both corn husks and banana leaves at Marche Inter-Asie on Wellington in Verdun. My roommate and I ended up making 2 different types of tamales, using both. I never tried his because they had meat in them, but the banana leaf ones worked pretty well, and looked really great.

Yes you're right! I am looking for corn husks AND banana leaves because I like cooking southeast asian rice for dinner parties, and they're also good for cooking fish. I get mixed up... But I appreciate all help in both matters. Thanks!

Extra points if it's anywhere near Verdun or downtown...Thanks!

Verdun is certainly getting there. Chez Lulu B is my faveorite place for breakfast, with amazing coffee, omelettes, and crepes. The presentation is lovely, and it's always busy. It's on Hickson. For plain old simple breakfast (eggs, hashbrowns etc.) Woodland pizza is pretty good- there's no official breakfast menu but for a basic breakfast it's great and cheap. Crescendo is OK. I've never been wowed but they serve the juice with garnish and there is tons of selection. It's pricier than the other two. Rex's is a greasy spoon. I'm veg and they cook the bacon on the same grill so I can't handle it- but's it's fine for what it is. Cafe Nu Art is really good food, but I can't get over the slow and surly service, the waitress on more than one occasion was just mean. If you are going as far out of Verdun as Notre Dame, I personally thing Quoi De N’Oeuf is WAY overrated and not that flavourful, especially for the line-up and I would forgo that for Midi 6.

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Midi 6
3580 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H4C1P4, CA

Nu Art Cafe
3780 Rue Wellington, Verdun, QC H4G1V2, CA

I can't believe that no one has mentioned Midi-6.
The food is fresh, breakfast and brunch yummy, salads delicious, coffee great, and really reasonably priced. The menu isn't that original (sandwiches, soup salad, etc.) but very well executed.

Steve, La Fuente looks amazing. But so does Miguels.... we'll see which one pops its head into our shopping regime. Thanks a million Steve, I am looking forward to tasting some of your haunts! a bientot!

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La Fuente Restaurant
1710 S Espina St, Las Cruces, NM 88001