blork's Profile
Grumman 78 Food Court @ Faubourg
FWIW, I think the pimenton/feta is the best taco, at least of the ones I've tried. Second place is the Banh mi. The Turkey Dinner one I had was kind of disgusting; a bit of roasted turkey with a congealed gravy and some other heavy stuff. Nothing tangy or acidic to balance the heavyness. Bleh.
Downtown donuts?
Where I work, people are occasionally called upon to provide a few dozen donuts. Folks always default to Tim Horton's. It's just a matter of time before it's my turn, and I'd like to bring something different; preferably some good old fashioned donuts.
Are there any places downtown (near Guy/Ste-Catherine) that makes good donuts?
Mr. Steer
The main thing at Mr. Steer is to make sure you don't ask for your burger "well done." It's one of the few burger places in town that give you a choice, so take advantage of it.
The burgers are quite thick, so if you go for well done it will be pretty dry. (I go for "medium.")
Frozen Pearl Onions . . . Where?
Ding! That's great news, as I'm often on the lookout for frozen pearl onions and I never seem to find them. I'll check my local IGA this weekend.
Question: were the frozen ones already peeled? I would hope so, as otherwise there's not much point in choosing them over fresh.
Damascus knives
L'Emouleur on Laurier (west end, near Querbes) definitely has Damascus steel knives. I was in there a couple of days ago and he has quite a few.
According to what I've read (a fair bit, actually) the Damascus method is purely aesthetic; there is no change in strength or durability. It just looks nice. (And I'm sort of with scubadoo97; it's become so "blingy" that the appeal is diminished for me.)
Best pizza in MTL
I knew that Dani made a decent take-away slice, but I had no idea about the spinach one until a couple of weeks ago. I popped in to grab a slice on my way to a pub and the spinach was the freshest looking pie so I got a slice of that. He asked me if I wanted it "all dressed" and I didn't know what he meant so I just went along and said yes. Wow! Man, that slice packs a punch -- and an awesome punch. Yum!
Michael Ruhlman: Expert in Residence!
True enough. It's just that with mold there's the risk of chemical toxicity (such as you find in mushrooms), which is not affected by heat. Just wondering if there is any specific "mold meter" or whatever.
Michael Ruhlman: Expert in Residence!
Hello. A friend and I made some pancetta last spring, using the directions from your book. It's the third or so time we've done it; always awesome. However, the last time (which was the biggest load -- four bellies) the conditions in my hanging area were more humid than usual. I didn't notice until I pulled them down, but they had developed quite a bit of white and green mold.
I didn't throw them away. I just cut off the mold and went at it. There seems to have been no flavor penalty, and I'm not dead (nor was I sick). But the question remains: how much mold is too much mold?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blork/3587616002/ Our four pancettas, hanging (Flickr)
Drinkabe coffee on the Montreal South Shore ?
Brulerie Café Crème on Boul. Roland Therrien in Longueuil pulls a pretty good espresso, and as a result the cappucinos, macciatos, etc. are quite good. The owner is a coffee fanatic, but he's rarely there. Most of the time it's run by his wife and kids, who he seems to have trained reasonably well.
Their own web site is down at the moment (http://www.bruleriecafecreme.com), but you can get the coordinates here: http://www.ourbis.com/brulerie_cafe_creme
Wines at Au Pied Du Cochon
So it sounds like it's not so unusual. Again, I have no problem with it at all, it's just unusual to present reds and whites at the same temperatures.
(Carswell, I've fixed my "de" in the title.)
Wines at Au Pied Du Cochon
It's not a matter of what I like or not, I it just struck me as a bit unorthodox, and I'm wondering if anyone here knows for sure if that's really the practice at that restaurant.
It's true that wine cellars are traditionally kept quite cool. But that's mostly for long term storage. I've gotten plenty of bottles of red in restaurants, and they're generally in the 18 degrees range. I'm quite happy with 13, because as you say, it warms up in the glass. That's better than getting it at 28 degrees, which is how you sometimes get it on a hot summer day! Blech!
Wines at Au Pied Du Cochon
I confess I've only been to APDC twice, and one of those times was for brunch.
The first time (a few years ago), we ordered a bottle of red wine (don't remember what it was). It arrived slightly chilled, and when we inquired the waiter said they keep all their wines, reds and whites, together in the same fridge. I think he said it was cooled to 13 C.
An explanation wasn't offered. Some at the table were appalled, others took it as part of the rustic and somewhat quirky experience, along the lines of "if you were eating this in an unheated cabin in the Laurentians, you wouldn't be so fussy about the temperature of the wine."
Since I haven't been back, I don't know if they still do this. I've never heard anyone else mention it, so maybe they NEVER did it and we just happened to have gotten an accidentally chilled bottle and a bullshitting waiter.
I know there are plenty of APDC regulars in here. Please enlighten. Was, or is, this actually the practice at APDC?
(And if so, what do you think of it?)
Beer Spots in Montreal
Any place can have an off night. Carswell, have you had the lamb burger recently? (Just asking.)
My recent experience was similar to Zeke's. I got the regular burger, which was pretty good except for two big (huge!) problems; the burnt metallic taste that Zeke mentioned -- which in my case was the dominant flavor -- and the bun, which was sort of rubbery. How TF do you make a rubbery hamburger bun? I don't know, but there it was.
Again, it might have been an off night, but man, it was WAY off. Can't comment on the pilsner because I didn't have it.
Bavette Recipes?
It's a while since I made it, so I'm going by memory, but basically I whip up a teriyaki marinade (soy sauce and mirin in almost equal parts -- slightly more soy sauce), with some garlic and ginger thrown in, and toasted sesame oil if I have it). I lightly score the bavette before marinating. Let it marinate for 2 or 3 hours, then grill fairly hot and fast so it's medium rare. Cover and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice across the grain and serve with juices. (Similar technique to Carswell's classic technique, but the flavors are different.)
Oh, side note. Everyone always wants you to tent your steaks and chops in foil. If you prefer to be less wasteful, do it the old fashioned way -- throw a pot cover over it. Works just fine and you're not throwing away all that aluminum!
Bomba rice in Montreal?
Score! I snagged the last bag in the house! (Although they have lots of Calasparra rice as well.) Thanks, Cherlymtl!
New Chinese Strip mall on Taschereau
Is that new strip mall on Trashereau, just west of the 10? I'd like to check it out, but that street goes for miles. Google claims there's a Kim Phat at the location I've indicated, but I don't know if that's what you're referring to.
Bomba rice in Montreal?
Has anyone here seen Spanish Bomba rice anywhere in Montreal? Bomba is the preferred rice for paella.
A lot of stores carry Matiz Valenciano paella rice "arroz tradicional," but it's not Bomba. (Matiz does distribute Bomba, but I've never seen it here.) But I'm out of Matiz and I'd like to know if there's any Bomba out there before I settle for the "tradicional."
Anyone?
Where to get a turkey in Montreal
FWIT, I saw fresh turkeys at Costco last week (Oct. 9 maybe?). Not that Costco is necessarily everyone's first choice for meat (but actually they're not so bad...)
Restaurant Closures - 2008
Damn! I've only been there once, for an office lunch a couple of years ago. Basic old-school bistro fare, done reasonably well and reasonably priced, which is nice. But I still salivate when I think of the fries! They were the beefiest fries I've ever tasted. OMG they were good! I kept meaning to go back but never did. :-(
Restaurant Openings - 2008
That Dunn's is open now. While it's hardly the highlight of the summer dining season, I'm glad to see it because I work near there and there isn't a lot of other choice for lunch in that area.
Place for a snack near Place des Artes?
Keep in mind that the area around Place des Arts will be awash with thousands of festival goers. It will be like being at Disneyworld on the 4th of July. Correspondingly, there will be plenty of kiosks for overpriced, underquality, "festival approved" snacks in the area.
Or you can walk a couple of blocks in any direction and you'll pass dozens of middle-of-the-road snack bars, restaurants, bars, etc.
If you're looking for something a bit nicer, and slightly away from the crush of humanity (but still just a few minutes' walk from Place des Arts) then walk up rue Bleury to Sherbrooke street. On the south-west corner there's a cafe, whose name I forget, that serves up a variety of interesting light fare. There's also a newish cafe on the south-east side, but I've never gone in, so I can't vouch for it.
If you cross the street, Bleury becomes Ave. du Parc. A few doors up on the west side, past the art supplies store and the stationary store, is a wine bar called Pullman that has an interesting menu of light fare. It gets mixed reviews, but I sometimes think that those who give negative reviews might be setting the bar too high. To be fair, I've only been there a few times, but my experiences have always been good.
From Pullman, it's probably about a six minute walk to Place des Arts, so you're still in the 'hood, but away from most of the crowds. Keep in mind, however, that it's still close enough to be jammed with people, as it's the only wine bar in the area (that I'm aware of). Also keep in mind that some of the complaints about the place have been about the service. Given that it's the weekend of the Jazz Fest, be prepared for the place to be crowded and the service to be slow.
Boris Bistro---why such bad reviews?
OK, as promised, here's my quick and very imprecise view of Boris Bistro, from last night.
As others have suggested, the prices are for the most part quite reasonable. The food is, for the most part, "middling " and enjoyable, but not stellar. This isn't the kind of place you go to with your foodie hat on and your critic's pencil sharpened. It's the kind of place where you can go to have a decent meal, reasonably priced, in a nice environment (particularly the terrace).
I had the fricassee of chorizo, shrimp, and peppers. It was quite tasty, and not unlike a pretty standard Spanish tapa that I make at home. I've never had it with shrimp though, so that was a nice touch (although the shrimp was chopped into very small pieces). I followed that with the duck confit sandwich. Hmmm. Not a big success. It's the kind of thing that if you made it yourself at home you'd think you were really clever, but ultimately it was a bit too chaotic. The bread is full of fruit and nuts, which is cute but weird in a sandwich. The confit was a bit dry, and the rest of it was bulked out with a lot of alfalfa sprouts (which were not mentioned on the menu). so it was more like an alfalfa sprout sandwich on odd bread that a bit of duck confit had fallen into.
But the fries were quite good. (Cooked in duck fat.)
Chorizo fricassee, duck sandwich, two pints of Boreal, and a short espresso came to about $43 with tax but before tip.
A couple of the people around me had the trout with walnuts and spinach, which looked very simple but good. I didn't taste it, but it seemed to have been perfectly cooked. The guy next to me had the beef tartar, which looked yummy (although I'm not a tartar fan). There was lots of stuff going on in there in terms of sauce and added things -- which made it look a bit less tartar-like. Tartar purists might balk at that. The guy ate it all, but said he felt there was too much horseradish. The salad it came with looked like a pretty generic middle-of-the-road Caesar.
I saw someone take the cheese plate after the meal, and it looked quite nice. Triple-cream St. Andre (I think), some fruit slices, nuts, a some toasty baguette rounds, and another type of cheese that had the consistency of cheddar. Not an overload of cheese; it seemed like just the right amount to round out a meal.
So there you go. I'll gladly go back if it's in good company and the intention is to hang out and have a good time. Far from my first choice when I'm looking for a "food experience."
Boris Bistro---why such bad reviews?
I was at BB a couple of weeks ago and everyone seemed to enjoy their dinners. Frankly, I was sort of distracted the whole evening so I wasn't paying much attention. I had the steak-frites and it was quite decent; not a $50 steak, but decent enough for the price, and the fries, as diamon mentioned, were quite good (although mine were not very warm when they arrived).
I'm going back tomorrow night for a social function. I'll pay closer attention this time. :-)
Best pizza in MTL
Agreed. I really like Prato, but the trick is to keep it simple. Margharita is great, and they have one with just Paremesan and anchovies (and tomato sauce) that's quite nice.
But if you get one that's piled high with stuff, it fails.
Bodum Spare Parts in Montreal
It's not Montreal, but the Green Beanery in Toronto has a good stock of replacement accessories, including unbreakable polycarbonate beakers for Bodums. I seem to recall their shipping is quite reasonable.
http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catalog/index.php?cPath=76_107
best brunch for mom in the plateau (ish) area....
Side note: the food at Reservoir is great, but double-check the bill at the end (you should do this anyway, in any restaurant). Last time I was there for brunch (about a month ago), our tab was overcharged $5, and the couple we were with were overcharged $14.
Who braved the storm to eat out???
I applaud those who ventured out into the storm, but not me. Instead, I stayed home and whipped up a little something; quails with figs in marsala. Half way through the lights started blinking and browning out, and I was worried I'd have to switch to the fireplace to finish it off, but the lights stayed on and all was well.
Best pizza in MTL
"It was like eating great nan bread dipped in tomato juice."
That's probably the best description I've seen of Bottega's pizza, at least from my one experience.
