kimberleyblue's Profile
Restaurant Openings in 2011
Any news on Guu arriving yet?? So looking forward to this!
Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon
I brought tupperwares as well! I filled up one with the pork, one with beans, and another with dessert. They do give you take-away containers if you want, but I didn't know that, filled up both tupperwares and the containers.
Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon
I missed the deadline too! I sent an email to be on their waiting list at the end of February, and they called me a few days later with an opening. (They actually had two openings on offer, a Friday night for 5 people and a Sunday night for 4 people).
Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal there last Sunday - I've gone every year, and I found this year to be the best so far!
Photos here, if anyone wants to check it out: http://montcarte.ca/2012/03/07/au-pied-de-cochon-cabane-a-sucre-2012/
Do NOT order omakase at Jun i
I agree with The Chemist here. When we went to Jun-I, we ordered some of the cooked dishes and a few pieces of uni. We also ordered omakase, but told the waiter that we were adventurous eaters and wanted something interesting.
We were served anything but...something very similar along the lines as The Chemist received. Considering we went to Jun-I to experience the new, exciting and interesting, this was very disappointing.
Orange sherbet dipped in chocolate ice cream bar - where to find in Mtl?
I just saw this at the Giant TIger on Marcel Laurin in Ville St-Laurent. I don't think they were called Space Bars (I remember those, and I loved them!), but they were the same in theory - orange sherbet bars coated in chocolate.
Les Iles de la Madeleine
Oh, and make sure you try the cheese curds from Pied-du-Vent, and there's an amazing sour dough bread at this big bakery a few minutes away from where the ferry docks.
We also enjoyed finding the way to the microbrewery A l'abri de la tempete - awesome beers to be sampled.
Les Iles de la Madeleine
We were there last summer, and we discovered almost instantly that it’s not really worth trying to find restaurants. We had rented out people’s cottages and enjoyed full kitchens, and had brought our small BBQ, so we bought a lot of food from the various fish markets/mongers and enjoyed preparing the food ourselves. I don’t think we ended up eating at one resto the entire time, and wouldn’t change a thing about that.
That said, some of the things we loved:
Buying veal from veau des Nathael and BBQing it
Cheese from du Pied-de-Vent
All things smoked from Le Fumoir d'Antan
Sausages from Les Cochons tout ronds
Freshest scallops, right from the docks
lobster and snow crabs from Cap sur Mer poissonerie
And I’ve attached some photos!
Ice House
Agreed about the price issue not really being an issue. We went last night - our meal for 3 people came to $120, including drinks. We got one $40 pitcher of the bourbon lemonade, which we couldn't even finish (and we're healthy drinkers), the fried chicken, one order of shortrib tacos, and one oyster po'boy. We couldn't even finish the food - we took it to-go. We may not have been the biggest eaters, but it was plenty of food.
Granted, for the cost of the ingredients, the price is a bit high. But I've paid $8-$10 for a sandwich at some Italian delis, and it wasn't as good as this oyster sandwich. Would definitely go back, especially for that fantastic chicken and just one glass of that bourbon lemonade.
Best Chinese Food in Montreal
Agreed with vanier student - fu kam wah is great, as is P&M.
Last time I was at Beijing, it was too salty to be edible (and this was for all dishes for a table of 14).
I like VIP, but only if you order the right dishes...I love the BBQ duck and the soft shell crab.
Restaurant Openings in 2011
I'm pretty sure the name is a, umm....pun....and just because of that lameness, I wouldn't be willing to pay any money to try their food. Maybe I'm losing out....but I doubt it.
Best and Worst Grocery Store Finds...
Never, ever buy meat from Super C. Any meat. Ever.
Mr. Ma is missing Mrs. Ma or Something is Wrong in the Kitchen
We went there a month or two ago and had exactly the same experience. The food had no flavour, no seasoning, no nothing. We even complained about this, but no one cared there.
This place is one of my worst resto experiences in this city...especially with the pricetag of the food!
Vanilla bean paste and D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes in MTL???
Yes - they looked like that can. I only saw them in passing (was there for the madeleine lobsters and rock shrimp). If they're not san marzano tomatoes, then that's pretty offensive false marketing. I've paid a lot of money in stores for that same brand, but in the smaller can c\version, thinking they were san marzanos.
what does the real labeling look like?
Îles-de-la-Madeleine lobsters?
I'm finding them everywhere now - guess I should've just been a bit more patient. :) Thanks, all!
Vanilla bean paste and D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes in MTL???
I just saw 100 oz cans of san marzano tomatoes at la mer on rene-levesque. $5.99/can or $6.99/can, i think - great price!
Îles-de-la-Madeleine lobsters?
When we were there and eating them, we found them...creamier....? It was their texture we enjoyed. That and the roe, which was far tastier than the roe we eat from other maritime lobsters.
These lobsters live on rock, whereas the others are in mud and sand. Maybe that's the difference? I didn't mean to start a debate on the best lobsters, I just know we preferred IDM lobsters and wanted to find them here. Thanks westaust and HappyMtl, I'll check those places out.
Îles-de-la-Madeleine lobsters?
Well, I like those lobsters - I like all lobsters! I'm just looking for these ones right now.
Îles-de-la-Madeleine lobsters?
Does anyone know of a store or fishmonger that has lobsters from Îles-de-la-Madeleine? We keep asking around, but they're always from Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.
The Best Baklava in Montreal?
I went here the other day after reading this, and am I ever happy I did. It's the perfect baklava! So sweet, so syrupy, so decadent. Best I've had in Montreal!
I'm not a fan of the arabic version, as I do love all the syrup and sweetness...this definitely is the version I adore. $10 for a pan of the stuff, so it's priced nicely too.
Places that serve UNACCEPTABLE food
This is a good point. I've been to VIP several times...when I've gone on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings, the food's been great/ Because of that, I also went there for some 3am post-bar eats, and the food was awful...just as vanierstudent describes.
Now I know to avoid the place for drunk food, and will continue to eat there for dinners. This is why it's important to have multiple reviews on a resto, and not to rely on just one bad review. I think anyone decides not to try a place based on a single review, or who doesn't consider all the details given in all the reviews, is someone who can't think critically....it's hard to be a food-lover (etc., etc.) without having such a skill.
Places that serve UNACCEPTABLE food
Mr. Ma in Place Ville Marie definitely deserves to be mentioned.
We went last week after reading some favourable reviews. The place was packed, which we considered to be a good sign. We were wrong.
The food (we had 4 different plates to taste from) was so bland and boring that there was no point in even eating it. We all left half of our meals uneaten. There was no spices, no flavor, no seasoning. I have never had such bland food!
We mentioned this to our waiter, who said that the reason there isn’t any flavor in the food is because “people like us won’t like it.” Even though most of the meal remained on the plates, we weren’t offered anything other than the blame for its boringness.
If this meal would’ve cost $10/person, I wouldn’t have been so offended. However, the meal ended up costing each of us about $30.
We weren’t treated well, the price tag was unbelievably high, and the food tasted like nothing.
APDC Cabane à sucre 2011
Here are some more photos. We went this past Sunday...I wasn't as impressed as I was last year, but it was still, of course, delicious!
APDC Cabane à sucre 2010
Wow, that's really disappointing. I requested reservations via email on December 7th - never heard back, and now they're full? I wonder if all the people who got in asked for reservations before me...
Quartier General?
We went last night, and I wasn't that impressed.
We had the corn-cumin soup, which was fine. For entrees, we had the octopus, which our server claimed was better than the octopus at Milos. It certainly wasn't...definitely overcooked, with a texture just like chicken. The pork entree was served on top of a bed of way too salty lentils. The deer tartare was nice, but too peppery.
The main were the chorizo-stuffed rabbit. It would have been great had it not sat on top of a mountain of mashed beets, which completely overwhelmed the rabbit. The filet mignon was nice, and the veal chop was AMAZING. Would go back for just that dish, the star of the meal.
Creme brulee was fine, as was the marquis de chocolat.
In all, it was an okay meal. It seems they missed the mark on some technical things, like overcooking and overseasoning. However, that veal chop is excellent.
Quartier General?
I'm surprised there are so few posts about this place, especially given the rave reviews (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/743496). I live down the street from this place, and pass by it every night; it's consistently packed. Has anyone else been? I hope to go in the next few weeks, and would love to hear about some of their star dishes.
hounding Montreal
Looking at your profile, it seems as though you are from Toronto...So going by that, I would recommend a meal at Au Pied de Cochon (for sure!) and some bagels from either St-Viateur or Fairmount.
Get some poutine, and if you're looking for a second more expensive meal (after eating at Au Pied de Cochon), try Le Club Chasse et Peche.
Avoid chinatown - you got it better where you are!
Cheap eats recs
Just be sure you go to the resto and don't attempt ordering in! Bolduc delivers some terrible food, bur serves a great poutine in-house!
Spicy chips?
My sister got me a bag of the Habanero ones from 4 freres on st-laurent.
If you're looking for spicy, they're not that bad. I've been popping them in my mouth all evening, no problem.
As for taste, they're just like bbq, but with some real heat.
Not something I'd spend any money on again.
