Isn't that veal ravioli at Da Emma just perfect? Glad you enjoyed it. Was the Osso Bucco a nightly special? I've been a few times in the past few months and can't recall it on the menu. I don't think they drastically change their menu, hopefully it's on the menu the next time I go.

Just curious, how were the balmy temps a "glitch"? Was it that you didn't pack accordingly?

Sucks about Moishe's I hear the same criticsm way too often.

I await their invite on Dr. Phil or Dr. Drew shows.

Fowler, I was thinking the same thing, Soup Nazi big time. This is beyond hilarious. Even funnier, I was reading the 2010 Yelp reviews and specifically Amy's rebuttals, she ends one reply with a "MEOW", priceless. I feel bad for people like that actually, I'm sure most on here like to cook at home and are probably pretty good at it but there's no way that even a small minority of us would be able to just start a restaurant cooking for more than 10 people at a time. I take back most of my original comment from above after seeing part of the episode and reading their Yelp replies, that is not proper human behavior, and it's horrible customer service, acting or not.

Hilarious, I just watched the first 10 minutes, this is classic. She has to be over exaggerating, come on. They are clueless about how to run a restaurant. I've met some crazies in my lifetime but she can't be for real, you can't run a resto acting foolish like that.

I just read about the KN episode concerning this place on Yahoo, I'm now curious to watch this train wreck of an episode. The consenus seems to be that the owners are quite the drama queens and someone mentioned that they are probably looking for their own reality show. It wouldn't surprise me one bit in this day and age but what really shocks me (not surprised but shocking and disappointing) is the way people respond to attention seekers. I was browsing their FB & Yelp pages and was just appalled at the comments towards this couple. People are just giving them what they want, "attention" in the form of cyber-bullying. I guess if this restaurant is truly mis-representing itself by stating that they bake their own goods they deserve a little push back but wow, who the heck cares especially if you don't live anywhere near the area. I guess that's the world we live in this day and age. 78,000 likes on Facebook?? 1,000+ "reviews" on Yelp in the past few days? LOL Is any press really good press, I guess they'll find out.

Thanks for the pita tip at Trip de Bouffe Lagatta, I'll have to check it out as Abu Lafia are my favourite supermarket ones too.

I'm glad I could make you laugh! :)

I am more than open to hear where we can currently find good coffee on Monkland. Nice area? I know Monkland is a nice area but that doesn't mean one could find good coffee, there's zero correlation.

From Twitter user @eskcoffee 11 May
great news ! A progressive cafe will be opening on Monkland by mid june. No cafe's or retail clients as of now. Stay tuned!

Chill out, I'm just the messenger, go ask @eskcoffee yourself about the details. Geez! Why would I make up a story about a coffee shop opening up?!?!?!

Shattered, I don't consider Starbucks and Second Cup "good stuff", I'm only in that area once in awhile but I don't believe there's any decent coffee.

I read somewhere on Twitter yesterday that there will be a new coffee shop opening up on Monkland in the coming weeks that will be serving up the good stuff.

Yes, picked up some asparagus yesterday from Jimenez. I prefer those thin asparagus as opposed to the typical thick stalks.

I raved about it in Nov but was very disappointed today, the brisket was drier than it was originally and the pork was lacking moisture as well, too bad since it was such a winner last fall. I found both meats lacked overall taste. Were the meats smoked during the week and served today? That's what it tasted like.

Hey bagofwater, thanks and you are right. I realized this past weekend that a full chimney is quite a lot of fuel (even before I read your post) plus I had some leftover charcoal in there from the previous session. It got way too hot especially for whole fish.

I had the vents closed on the bottom when first posting this last week and that's why my fire wasn't that hot and why I thought I needed more charcoal (didn't know about the affects of the vents at the time). I've learned quite a bit already but still have a lot of practicing to do. I don't know if I'll even be able to get that indirect flow going (for say a whole spatchcock chicken) since I only have the small 18.5 kettle.

What would you recommend for a moderate heat say to do a whole fish? Go indirect? What about only laying a thin layer of charcoal to cover the whole grill, is that a good idea?

Thanks
JP

I trust my local farmers way more than I trust these big factory farms.

Really, what is it then and what is this world you live in? :)

You are going to have to pay for the good stuff, anything inexpensive will be factory mass produced chemical laden with a ton of ingredients.

I'll repeat what others have said and add a few others;

Queue de Cochon- Culatello, I think $60-80/kg. Bernoise ham is pretty good, I think only in the $20s/kg, you can find it at Fromagerie Hamel. Also try saveurs de Quebec, they have Charlevoix Bio cold cuts and other stuff. Balkani also has a nice garlic salami they make that one I believe is only $15/kg but I don't think they slice it, you have to buy a half or whole. A lot of the Eastern European stores make their own, does it make it any better? Not neccessarily but I'll taked that over the mass produced factory supermaket grub that I avoid at all costs.

lol @ Shattered

I can't wait until these coffee shops are all across the island (burbs included) because they do what they do so incredibly well and hopefully shut down all the burnt tasting Starbucks and the likes.

To me it's not about hipsters or a specific demographic, it's just amazing coffee.

Resurrecting this thread instead of starting a new one. I've just got back into charcoal, I bought a Weber chimney starter and it's so fast. The coals were ready in about 10-12 mins. My only concern is that the chimney starter is only so big, I need more charcoal (and I'm only using the small 18.5 Weber Kettle).

Any tips out there? Barring buying another chimney what do you guys do? Tips/tricks are appreciated.

Chez Latina as I mentioned a few days ago has dry aged rib steaks at $40, it's Alberta stuff though but was still really good, not super marbled, most likely AA, the charcoal did it justice. Sirloin and tenderloin is also dry aged and available, tenderloin was at $47/kg, these two cuts are from the US. I will try to taste some of the other places mentioned for dry aged offerings.

Thanks for the feedback.

I didn't have time to get to our local hardware store and didn't feel like driving around all the supermarkets for charcoal. The two closest grocery stores were both carrying the aforementioned charcoal so I had no choice. I wasn't looking for the flavoured stuff, I was actually trying to avoid it hence the post. It seemed to burn pretty quickly though, it's been ages since I've cooked on charcoal so I'll be experimenting quite a bit in the next couple of weeks.

What do others prefer on here, lump or briquets?

Butcher's Brawl at Latina May 8th, unfortunately it seems to be by invite only.

https://twitter.com/MtropolisCoffee/s...

This might be a stupid question but does anyone know anything about Sugar Maple Hardwood Charcoal?

(http://www.basquescharcoal.com/produc...

It seems to get lots of positive reviews but will it give the meat too sweet of a flavor?

Try Nolah in DDO instead, much much better, it's more than just spreading "cajun seasoning" on all their plates.

http://www.bistronolah.com/Menu.html

I've seen Odelil beef around the city and have had their rib steak. I can't say I've noticed too much of their pork but then again wasn't really looking out for it. Will do so now.

I find the problem with some of these producers is that they don't supply to many cuts to the retail stores. ie. Ferme Rheintal pork or Valens, all you find is ground pork and an occasional chop if that.

Enjoyed the episode last night on T&E. T.O. has really changed since I spent some time there 13 years ago.

It looks like you guys have more hipsters than us in Montreal. :)

Correct website for L'Emouleur is, http://couteauxmontreal.com/index.html or http://www.montrealknife.com in English.

Really good guy, very welcoming and passionate.

It looks like a new spot opened up across the street from Caffe in Gamba. I think it's a Greek restaurant, but I didn't get a good look. Maybe someone else has a better idea.

Prices at the Metro on Beaumont have already been discussed above.

Finally got around to picking up some Gaspor piglet from Chez Latina, that was some tasty tender pig.

I noticed this weekend that Chez Latina carries dry aged beef as well, I didn't have time to ask about pricing/details but I will return. Has anyone tried it?

According to their website, they use beef from a specific area in the US for their dry aged beef.

http://www.chezlatina.com/eng/butcher...

I don't think this thread contributes anything and it is not fair to the places being listed, it should be off limits in the same manner we are not allowed to discuss "restaurant cleanliness" on here.