Akli -- decent Lebanese lunch in the basement of Tour Scotia building
Cafe Castel -- passable coffee, corner Peel and Sherbrooke
Super Sandwich -- little depanneur in the basement of Le Cartier building, Peel/Sherbrooke. Insanely cheap and surprisingly good sandwiches.

I have a friend in town this Sunday night who is staying at the Hotel St-Paul on rue McGill, and I'd like to find a nice place relatively nearby for dinner that evening.

I never really spend time in the area (I'm in the Plateau), so am not particularly familiar with what possibilities there might be. I thought of DNA, which I enjoyed once, but I've learned that it has now closed.

Any other thoughts or recommendations would be very much appreciated !

I have somewhat unexpected guests coming to visit for one night only on Tuesday -- an older couple who have literally had everything in the world of food -- anywhere important in New York, Paris, London, LA, SF, etc. They would like something relatively low-key, maybe simply a bistro. They'll stay with me near Square Saint-Louis, so somewhere nearby would be ideal.

I thought of L'express of course, but I don't want them to feel rushed, and L'express can at times be a bit brusque with getting multiple seatings into tables, although I admit I've never been on a Tuesday. Perhaps Laloux or somewhere else nearby like La Fabrique? Obviously we want to avoid the Prince-Arthur tourists.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated !

Can anyone give me suggestions for best places to buy fish in the Plateau, preferably near-ish to Square Saint-Louis? Obviously a fishmonger would be great, but suggestions for best grocery store selections and so forth would be great too! Thanks in advance!

Unibroue beers are very nice, but can now be found somewhat easily in NY -- I strongly recommend Boréale Blanche. It's not an obscure beer at all in Québec, but I've never seen it or any other Brasseurs du Nord beers in NY or the States at all, for that matter. It should be available in most Québec supermarkets. It's exactly what you are looking for, in terms of a white beer that is not too bitter. It has a quite interesting flavour, somewhat citrus-y but not at all like a citrus-y lager. Really excellent on a hot summer day!

Have done some Googling and some searching of the Chowhound archives, but would like the most recent thoughts of everyone on the best recommendations around Carré Saint-Louis -- restos, bars, boulangeries, coffee, groceries, etc.

Any and all thoughts would be most welcome! Thanks!