Mr F's Profile
New Scichuanese Restaurant in Town-very authentic and delicious [KanBai restaurant]
I don't think the name has changed, but it's not a sure bet anymore. Had a very lacklustre meal there a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps it was the chef's night off... (it was a Thursday, FWIW). Dining room nearly empty at dinnertime was perhaps a sign worth noting.
Jean-Talon Market 2012
Local asparagus has arrived in large quantities, for good prices ($2-3/bunch).
Openings in 2012
Checkpoint Charlie (previously on the southeast corner of Rachel/St-Dominique, closed roughly 7 years ago) has been resurrected, this time on St. Laurent below Mont-Royal.
Haven't tried it yet, but glad there's a German restaurant in the area again...
https://www.facebook.com/CafeCheckpointCharlie
Wine Rack stores in Ontario, when will we get independent wine stores in Quebec?
"My point was that the idea of a private wine store is not totally foreign to Canada."
Where did anyone say it was?
Mirror's Best Of Montreal 2012 ...
Like SnackHappy said, it says something about the Mirror's readership, i.e. mostly young, anglo students.
The list has improved somewhat, maybe reflecting the greater prominence and accessibility of quality food. It seems like not so long ago most categories were like Best Mexican (3 Amigos, Carols & Pepe's are still no 1 and 2, somehow) and Best Coffee (Tim Hortons, Starbucks)... popular but lousy places in all the top spots.
I'm also pretty sure some of the more obscure categories get very small numbers of votes. One year I cast a ballot with some pretty out-there choices on it and several of my picks showed up at the no. 5 position. (Obviously this wouldn't apply to "cheap eats")
On the whole, it's good for a laugh or two, nothing more.
Jean-Talon Market 2012
"Will it be possible to get better local strawberries a bit later in the season or am I SOL looking for these in Quebec?"
It's really early for strawberries right now. Don't worry, there will be plenty of good ones later on at much better prices.
I'm guessing your asparagus was imported, too. Local product should be along soon, but it's still too early.
JTM is far from its best right now unless you're looking for seedlings, and even those are in thin supply compared to what you'll see in a week or two.
Just about the only local, outdoor-grown produce I saw yesterday (apart from last fall's apples and root vegetables) was fiddleheads.
Help with Local Beers...
Based on Oliver's description of the guy I'd think it's very likely he's already familiar with Unibroue and McAuslan. But if he isn't, the McAuslan Oatmeal Stout really is a world-class brew IMO.
Jean-Talon Market 2012
As of yesterday afternoon there were awnings going up all over the place, but the winter walls were still standing. Looks like it could happen any day, but I don't know if there's a set date. If there isn't one, I'd expect this spell of wet, chilly weather to delay things a little.
World's best sandwich is from Montreal and not what you are expecting, but close...
Personally I would start with at least two of the banh mi from Hung Phat, before even thinking about Schwartz's medium-fat. Then again, I'm not much of a seeker of great sandwiches. I'm sure there are plenty more worthy candidates.
World's best sandwich is from Montreal and not what you are expecting, but close...
Or maybe he was just having a little fun, like the patently absurd "Clams on the Radio" or whatever it was from the Bourdain show.
And the La Presse (or Canadian Press?) headline writer needs to read more carefully. Nowhere does T&L or the linked article call it *the* best.
jean talon market
When it comes to prepared food, on a regular Monday you will usually find most of what you'd see on a weekend, especially if it's normally sold out of a storefront (sausages from Balkani, calamari from Aqua Mare, rotisserie chicken from Volailles et Gibiers, etc.). Maybe not the fried seafood at Délices de la mer/Atkins, but I know I've seen that on weekdays too, just not sure if it was ever a Monday.
For seasonal items: when corn is in season, you will find boiled corn on the cob 7 days a week. But in maple season, the short-term specialist stalls usually operate only on weekends. However, it's possible to find syrup 7 days a week from various other vendors.
Normally I would expect a holiday Monday to be busier than a regular Monday, with more customers and more sellers, but a few vendors may take the day off.
The best place for smoked meat
It really is that bad, and I don't remember anyone ever saying anything positive about it here.
I guess it has the saving grace of being open 24/7. Might be OK for a late-night snack of something other than smoked meat.
The best place for smoked meat
That's good to hear. So maybe my luck finally ran out and I simply ran into one of the bad days that have been happening all along.
I agree about space and time -- that's always been a big draw for me at the Main, along with the liquor license and bigger menu.
The best place for smoked meat
I haven't tried all the places, and now only eat smoked met a couple of times a year, but for me it's still Schwartz's. Usually medium-fat, sometimes medium. I like the dryness of the classic "artisanal" smoked meat; it just means lean is off limits.
I'm just disappointed in the Main, because I defended the place for years, and then all of a sudden it was just as bad other people had been saying. But I still wonder whether the issue is that they've always had trouble being consistent, or that they now serve crappy meat routinely. Have you been lately?
The best place for smoked meat
So... anyone been to the Main lately?
My last time there, roughly six months ago, I was finally served the pink, rubbery, slimy crap that others had been complaining about for years but that I had somehow managed to escape until then. Have not returned, and doubt I'll have the smoked meat again if I ever do. However, I also tried le Roi du Smoked Meat last year (mainly because I wanted to see the decor up close -- had justifiably low expectations of the food) and the Main was still significantly better than that.
My last Schwartz's sandwich was also less than spectacular, though still pretty good. Also sometime last summer or fall.
Pickapeppa Sauce - where to find in Mtl?
That would be La Dépense. They carry several -- classic sauce, hot sauce, two chutneys.
CSA's - Who is YOUR favourite farmer?
Probably the best place to start figuring out your options would be Equiterre:
http://equiterre.org/en/project/community-supported-agriculture
For 20 weeks last summer/fall we had a basket from André Samson (who is part of the Equiterre network):
http://www.potagerandresamson.com/
It was our first time receiving a CSA basket, so I have no points of comparison with others, but the quality was generally excellent and quantity ranged from fairly modest at the beginning to unbelievable in the middle (two large shopping bags), always with a decent amount of variety. The cost was around $25/week, which seemed very reasonable. Few surprises (thanks to a weekly e-mail update) and not much dirt, but still really good.
Last season they had quite a few drop-off points around town, and I assume they will again next year. No winter baskets.
There is also a year-round urban-rooftop-based operation called Lufa. No experience at all with them, but this might be of interest:
https://lufa.com/en
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
"I don't get the secrecy."
Me neither, especially if the top place is Doval, Jano or Portugalia, which may all be "stretched" but also have reputations that go back a long time and far exceed the bounds of Chowhound.
One of them, IMO, doesn't even come close to deserving its reputation as some kind of institution/landmark/world's best chicken joint, but I'm not saying which one I'm talking about. ;)
BYOB French or market Resto with dégustation menu (4 or 5 courses) <50$
I've been to French Connection.
It's a sister restaurant to Bleu Raisin, so if you (dis)like one you'll probably (dis)like the other, as they share most of the same virtues and flaws.
For $49, you get a 6-course tasting menu but in a different format than in your original post: four small courses (including a soup but no salad), your choice of main course (from a menu of 5 dishes), choice of desserts or cheese.
Pluses:
- very good terroir meats, cheeses
- some very good dishes (bavette was particularly tasty)
- good presentation, nothing too fancy
- friendly, efficient, attentive service
- good (but not super high-end) glassware and plenty of decanters available
Minuses:
- as at its sister resto, vegetables seem an afterthought compared to meats
- some dishes not especially interesting and/or unnecessarily elaborate
- high ceiling, corner location with 3 outside walls = big, cold room
Plus or minus, depending on the person:
- for those who care about decor, it feels somewhat haphazard or unfinished (more Mile End hipster chic than Plateau yuppie chic, e.g. there are at least three different types of chair in the room; the ceiling looks like a floor...)
- pacing is either pleasantly relaxed or infuriatingly slow, take your pick (we were there on a quiet night, so this may factor in). We actually loved not being rushed, and never felt that there was an excessive wait for anything -- by far the longest gap was between main course and dessert
Overall you can expect more or less standard bistro fare with some creative flourishes pulled off with varying levels of success. I will be going again at some point, but will not be surprised if the reviews come up mixed.
I guess it depends on expectations: if you consider a $49 six-course dinner a fairly casual, neighbourhood-bistro type of deal, you'll probably be reasonably satisfied. If you're expecting something groundbreaking, not so much.
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
"At JTM you can't have a stand unless you own a farm or have been there since the dawn of time"
Interesting. I can't find that requirement mentioned on the Marchés Publics site... do you have more info?
"There are very few farmers who only sell their own stuff. Those who do are not there year round."
There several apple/honey/maple sellers who appear to be selling mostly if not exclusively their own wares, and have the "Producteur" sign hanging in/over their stalls. A couple of others fit your description precisely: stands filled mostly with root vegetables, cabbage and the like, some items clearly labelled as Qc produce, interspersed with other things with no provenance listed (except that everyone now seems to give a country for their garlic).
"As far as local produce at JTM, I'd say you get maybe 50% local stuff in summer and maybe 15% in winter."
Whether your estimate is right or not, the fact that there's anything local at all still sets the place apart from most other sources of groceries.
If you shopped "local only" all winter you'd definitely have a meat-potatoes-cabbage-carrots-beets kind of diet, but at least it is possible. And while the place is dominated by three or four stands that make no pretence of being farmers' stalls, one or two of those vendors are still more appealing than a typical supermarket produce department. I'm sure they buy from the very same sources as Provigo et al, but I wonder if they're able to cut down the handling/storage time and/or have faster turnover.
"And don't believe anything they tell you about where their produce comes from or what's grown on their farm. Most of these sellers are old school and will always tell you what you want to hear."
A little common sense goes a long way. Pay attention to potentially misleading labels or presentation, and especially to seasonality, and you'll usually escape scams and ripoffs.
Alan Richman visits Montreal
I completely share his worry about the poppyseed bagel. Seems it's caught in a vicious circle: low demand leads to fewer being made, mostly in off-hours, so if you're lucky enough to find one it's rarely fresh. That further cuts into demand, so they make even fewer, and so on.
toronto boy visting montreal for a week: feedback on itinerary would be great!
As others have said, put the bagels in the (usually supplied) plastic bag once they've cooled off.
I freeze them whole, not sliced, and reheat in the toaster oven. Put one or two frozen bagels in and set to a *light* toast. Leave them in for a couple of minutes after the oven shuts off, to let the residual heat finish the job. If you set for a dark toast, you'll burn the outside and the centre might still be frozen.
I don't know what you mean by "variety of flavours." Bagels come in sesame, poppy and plain. Any other roundish breads you see for sale are frankenbagel abominations and not worth a second look. ;)
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
To me, a farmer's market is (almost) entirely producers' stalls. So when you say that this is just another farmer's market, except in winter when it isn't, I think you're holding it to the wrong standard.
IMO in winter, it's simply a scaled-down, indoor version of what it is in summer, with all the pluses and minuses implied, e.g. not being able to assume a seasonal vegetable is actually locally grown.
Maybe that's not particularly relevant to the question of whether it's worth a mention in something like the Layover. I'd argue that six months of the year (May through October) it's a special place and a top-10 Montreal destination, especially for North American tourists. It isn't as interesting the other six months, but it does have its charms at Christmas and in maple syrup season, so you could make a case for adding December and part of March/April to the "destination" months. The rest of the time, I'm sure many tourists come away thinking "Huh? This is it?"... but I'd still say it belongs in the show.
I agree with your second paragraph, about the indies, and that's exactly why they shouldn't have a place in a show about places to eat or shop on a quick visit. Of course, some people (myself included) love checking out foreign supermarkets/grocery stores, but I think that's a small enough niche that it can be safely ignored in this context.
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
"But farmer's markets are farmer's markets and in the middle of the winter the Jean Talon Market is anything but."
JTM isn't a farmer's market at any time of year, and it isn't advertised as one. It's a public market (billed as North America's largest, FWIW). That's both a strength and a weakness -- it creates more choice in all seasons, but requires that people be vigilant if they want to buy local produce and/or buy from farmers.
Just having returned from there, my guess is that the ratio of producer to non-producer stands is only a little lower right now than in high season. Not surprisingly there's vastly less local produce than in summer/fall, but there's still far more than in your average supermarket, even in January. Collectively, the produce stands whether carrying local products or not, are easily as good as the produce section in any Montreal store I know of, though I'm not familiar with all of the indies you name.
I like most of your points, but I think you're off on this one. On the one hand, I'm not convinced that our collection of indie stores is all that special (especially if the likes of Sakaris and Segal's make your shortlist), and as you yourself note if there's something special about them it's that most are by definition of limited interest to non-local people. In contrast, six months of the year JTM is a worthy destination for any visitor, as well as Montrealers who happily travel some distance to shop there, even though as a neighbourhood resident I personally find it so crowded that it's unpleasant to shop there on weekends from May through October. The other six months, it isn't a particularly interesting destination for visitors, but even so I'd still put it ahead of most independent grocery stores.
Layover Montreal
How many of those secondary picks are really his personal opinion, though? My guess is that many, maybe most, of the segments in which he does not personally appear are producer/researcher picks. For example, do you really think he visited, enjoyed and personally endorses the Orange Julep (a fairly ordinary greasy spoon, signature drink aside)?
Layover Montreal
JTM has plenty of stalls that aren't operated by farmers -- you have to be careful what you buy and where, even in high season -- and there are also a number of upscale stores whose main or only virtue is being clustered in a small area.
Even so, it still kicks the stuffing out of any supermarket, and you can't underestimate the number of visitors who usually get almost everything from supermarkets, i.e. most North Americans. IMO that makes it a legitimate attraction for many visitors at least from May through October. It may be a little ho-hum for those who've visited the great markets of Europe or Asia, but my guess is that isn't the audience for a show like this.
From November through April it wouldn't have as much appeal for visitors, but even in the middle of winter, the market has much more local produce than any supermarket or neighbourhood store I know of. Right now, you can find local apples, root vegetables, cabbage, garlic, honey, meat, cheese, and a few other things. Not a huge selection, but still head and shoulders above supermarket offerings, and it's easy enough to fill in the gaps at nearby stores.
As for Bourdain's reaction, I didn't really read it as a "meh." More like a quick matter-of-fact take on one of 20+ things mentioned in a 42-minute show. I know nothing about the actual production details, but my guess is that he dropped in to do the cheese segment, and everything else is second-unit footage and a voiceover written by someone else.
standing rib roast
Was recently served excellent standing rib roast that came from Chez Vito. Don't know details about grade, grass vs. grain, etc., but this is generally a very reliable shop.
New Scichuanese Restaurant in Town-very authentic and delicious [KanBai restaurant]
Just ask them for mapo tofu if that's what you want. Don't worry about the wording on the menu.
Another Greek thread...
Philinos is pretty much the same as it ever was, but prices have taken a significant jump at some point in the last couple of years.
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Philinos Restaurant Bar
4806 Av Du Parc, Montreal, QC H2V4E6, CA
