johnnyboy's Profile
Opinions on best Thai food?
I regularly eat at La Thailande and it definitely qualifies as "decent" - good, even.
Da Emma or Nora Gray
Been to both (once each). Very different atmosphere; Da Emma is much more quiet, more of a business dinner or 'romantic dinner' place, in the somewhat crypt-like basement of a historic building (I think it was a women's prison or something). I would say it's more of a hushed place catering to a generally older crowd. Food is good, fairly traditional but well done; service is what you've come to expect in expensive italian restaurants, ie. well-oiled and efficient and a touch obsequious. By contrast Nora Gray is (or was when I went, just after its opening) more of a young rich trendster place, quite noisy and busy, and had a bit of a 'hot resto of the month' vibe. The place is small, decor is modern. The food was quite good but also traditional, simple classic dishes done very well and served family style. I think both places could be a nice night out, but it depends on the kind of vibe you're looking for.
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
lol. I must say that's something I find mildly irritating about shopping at JT (apart from the insane prices), it's the whole New Agey, locally-grown, macrobiotic, granola ambiance that pervades a lot of the shops now - you can't buy some honey without the stall guy insisting on prevaricating on the wonders it will do to your arthritis and your immune system. Just give me the damn honey, man.
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
Yes sorry I was mistaken, I watched it on the interwebs. Damn booze...
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
Doval is awful. If you want overcooked, dried up chicken, by all means go there.
Reader Poll best of Montreal....Is this a joke year after year?
A poll is a poll, ie. never particularly interesting, and hugely influenced by methodology and the people sampled. And a poll from the Montreal Mirror, well, do I really need to explain why that would be even less useful ? Frankly, I don't get why you're all getting so worked up about this. If you rely on polls to tell you what the good restaurants are, you're doing this wrong.
An Alternate Layover in Montreal
I saw that show on my television (Videotron), so yes it is available.
Renoir - not quite
I tried Renoir for the first time last night - a disappointment, frankly. Had the Menu du Jour, which was a roasted baby leek appetizer and a rable de lapin. The baby leek was fine, though rather minuscule, and served on a bed of dark grain-like things (sorry for the technical terms), some of which appeared to not have be properly cooked (crunchy, in an undesirable way). The rable was a rather thin slice of rabbit bits rolled around a small bit of mushy foie gras. The edible rabbit meat went down in about two small mouthfuls, the rest was unedible gristly bits throughout which small sharp bones were scattered. This was served with an onion tarte tatin, a nice idea, and the onion part was good, but it contained several twigs of a very hard herb (probably thyme) which I had to spit out otherwise they would have stuck in my craw. Occupying half of the plate was a large amount of chick pea emulsion, which tasted essentially of cloves - lots, and lots, of cloves, very bitter and unpleasant. My companion had the angus steak, which was nice, but how can you mess up a steak ? Although they did bring him the wrong side dish. The only saving grace was dessert, we both had a chou pastry with a chocolate filling, which was thoroughly delicious.
There is some talent in that kitchen, and good intentions, but frankly the execution was way, way off - with mistakes that are unforgiveable for an establishment billing itself as haute cuisine.
HELP! will not survive another week there.
lol - I work in the area and live not too far, and I must say I sympathize with your plight ! There are simply no good options in the area, sorry. All you can find are not too dreadful ones. There's a sushi/Asian restaurant on blvd Industriel near Arthur Sauve which is not horrible (the setting is, though). There's a couple of non-chain restaurants in the old St-Eustache, including one called the Vieux St-Eustache, originally enough - I've been there once and will not return, but if you're allergic to chains you might want to try. You could also venture to the Faubourg Boisbriand nearby, which has a few restaurants - another Asian one, a Baton Rouge (not great I know, but not as bad as Casa Grecque), a Vinnie Gambini, which is surprisingly not too bad, and also something called Acqua, which appears to want to brand itself as a hip 'urban' dining spot, which is hilarious considering it's in the middle of a parking lot in the deep suburbs. If you want some finer dining, you could go to the St-Christophe in the Ste-Rose neighbourhood of Laval, not too far away (maybe 10 minutes drive). It's a nice traditional french resto with good service and a nice wine list. Ste-Rose has other decent restos as well. Good luck !
Sticky Rice in Montreal?
If what you mean is the standard white sticky rice without seasoning, there are several thai places that serve it. La Thailande is one, I believe Chao Phraya might have it as well though I haven't been there in a long time. I don't know about chinese places or chinatown though.
Restaurant de Glace Pommery from January 6th 2012 until March 31th, 2012
The way it's been looking, I hope they've planned to have a refrigeration system...
Tasting menu at La Porte?
Just to have another opinion: I've been to Le Mitoyen recently, and believe me - I'd love to have a fine dining option closer to where I live (on the north shore), but Le Mitoyen isn't it. You've been over the decor already, which I can confirm is typical suburban-naff, in small overcrowded rooms. But I don't mind decor that much. The food is basically all right, traditional french. A decent value for the money, but nothing more. Overall not a bad resto, but really, if what you're looking for is an exceptional dining experience, I would choose Europea, or Toqué, or any number of other Montreal or Laval restos, over Le Mitoyen.
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Europea
1227, rue de la Montagne, Montreal, QC H3G1Z2, CA
Myriad problems?
I have no idea about Myriad, but I did hear recently that there is a serious global shortage of the high-end coffee beans - so prices for good coffee are going through the roof, and the overall quality of the mid-range and cheap stuff is going down, as it's being diluted by low-grade beans in order to keep the cost reasonable.
Mochica
Anyone been lately ? Still good ? Most recent mention of it here dates back from last november, so just checking.
Bleu Raisin - Still good ?
I finally went a few weeks ago for the first time. I didn't suffer your long wait, but like you I was very much underwhelmed by the food, especially after all the raves I'd read here. Service was amateurish, the room crowded and very noisy. With many restos in Montreal offering the same type of food but much better executed, I very much doubt that I will be back.
Where can I find a restaurant that cooks rare burgers?
Reading from the french website, clearly what they mean is that this is the first micro-brew restaurant on the north shore/Laval.
Best Martini in Montreal?
Baldwin Barmacie makes excellent cocktails, and if you go pre-dinner you'll avoid the crush of trendy youths who pack it sardine-style after 10PM.
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Baldwin Barmacie
115 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Montr, Montreal, QC , CA
Where to buy a nice Charcoal Grill?
Oh I like what I'm seeing with this Canadian tire one. Integrated thermometer, plus adjustable grid height, make this much more flexible than the Weber I have, which has neither.
Where to buy a nice Charcoal Grill?
I have bought a 26" round Weber at a big-box Rona in the burbs, they had plenty in stock. I'm not sure you could find anything much bigger for charcoal around these parts, apart from ordering it online. It's about 100 dollars. Not entirely satisfied with it: flimsy legs, too much space between grids as mentioned previously, but all in all it does the job.
Toque' or Better
Indeed, you better do a lot of walking in the daytime to burn off those dinners !
Good selection, do tell us your impressions after your trip. Enjoy !
Toque' or Better
I think Holder would be the closest to bistro style in Old Montreal. It has a trendier, noisier feel than other bistro places outside of Old Montreal (like Lemeac or L'express), and the food can be a bit uneven (I find their fish and chips inedible - at least the fish part, though other dishes can be quite good).
To me, "bistro" refers to a particular style of french resto, so to talk of a quebecois bistro doesn't quite work (or just confuses me). If you mean traditional food served with a quebecois twist in a non-formal atmosphere, I guess in Old Montreal Club Chasse et Peche would most closely fit the bill, with Le Local and Garde-Manger as other options. I've been to L'Epicier a couple of times in the last year, and wouldn't recommend it.
Toque' or Better
Indeed, calm atmosphere might be a bit of a challenge if you're going to any of the currently popular places on a weekend... And i'm not sure what you know about Schwartz's, but you'll find neither calm atmosphere or courteous service there... What you'll find is a grungy place with quite gruff service and not-so-subtle hints to not linger after your last bite. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I love Schwartz's, but only outside of line-up hours (say, after 10PM).
For your additional night, if you're willing to forego your 'calm atmosphere' requirement, I would suggest Le Filet, La Montée de lait, or Liverpool house. All of these are somewhat different, but they all have a Montreal vibe to me.
Montreal Wedding Venues - Sept 2012
I forgot: your recon team might also want to check out the Mount Stephen club (who do rent to non-club members). Don't know about the food but am sure the rooms would have a lot of ambiance.
Toque' or Better
I think if you're on a 'city's top restaurants' quest, and looking for inventive yet not over-the-top food, Toqué is a pretty good bet for Montreal. I haven't been in the last few months so can't comment on current quality, but judging from the couple of times I've eaten there in the last year or so, I'd say its reputation as Montreal's finest spot for 'haute' cuisine is well deserved.
Montreal Wedding Venues - Sept 2012
Hi Alan,
Le lion d'or's area is not great, but it's not horrible. Think of it like getting married somewhere in the less hip reaches of Shoreditch...
Just so you know, Manoir Rouville is in St-Hilaire, about 45 mins drive out of Montreal.
Have you looked into Chateau Ramezay ? I think the setting would be very nice (both inside and out - it's practically the oldest building in old montreal) , but I don't know anything about catering options.
I got married at the McGill University Faculty Club. The people were nice and the room was beautiful, dancing and loud music possible until 1AM. The food was not great, but acceptable. I don't think they would allow outside catering. I think they would seat 120, but am not sure if they would much more.
You might want to check other museums - Pointe-a-Calliere might be an option.
Ground Beef Safety [split from Quebec]
In reference to Shattered's initial post:
Appleholme above has already given out the accurate information so I won't dwell on the real reasons why ground beef is less safe than solid cuts. However I would like to point out more of the many bits of inaccurate information that you have included in your post - just my own way to provide "some general education". I will also do my best to be a bit less condescending about it than you were to haggisboy.
- there are no intestines or bits of bone, or other viscera in the ground beef that you buy at grocery stores (unless a pretty bad error has been made at the packing plant). Ground beef is mainly made from the meat of "reformed" cows, ie old cows and bulls whose meat is tougher, often dairy cows sent to slaughter at the end of their useful life. Some of it may also be from prime beef steers and heifers, from the bits of meat near bones, as you mentioned, but most of the meat from prime animals is used for the solid cuts of meat, not for ground beef. You're probably confusing ground beef with poor quality sausage meat, often pork sausage, which often contains a lot more of gristle and tripe.
- the bacterial contamination in ground meat does not come from mixing intestinal tissue in with the rest of the meat. It comes from leakage of intestinal content onto surface of the carcass, which occurs when the gastrointestinal tract is improperly cut off from the carcass. This contamination occurs more often now than in past times, at least in north america, because slaughterhouse employees are now poorly paid, poorly trained, disposable labor, because of the corporatization of the meat industry.
- your argument about fat being less safe than meat is nonsense. If an animal had an open wound, the area of the wound (or the whole animal) would be condemned at slaughter and kept out of the food chain. Of course if there is fat around a cut of meat, it is on the surface, so more prone to surface contamination, but that has nothing to do with it being fat tissue.
- poultry meat can also have bacterial contamination, basically for the same reasons as beef: surface contamination of the meat by improper dissection of the gi tract at slaughter. In addition the feathers and skin of birds often are soiled with feces, and the speed of slaughter and processing in chicken plants is a lot faster and intense than in cattle slaughterhouse, and all this and this makes the slaughterhouse environment more prone to cause contamination of the meat. None of this has anything to do with poultry having "evolved bad parasites and diseases" or being more "prone to worms". Parasites and worms are found in any and all animal species, but they are not a food safety risk for poultry or beef (none of the common ones are transmissible to humans in normal food production situations). Parasites are only a safety risk in pork (trichinella and toxoplasma) and perhaps lamb (toxoplasma), where they are present within the meat itself (not from surface contamination), which is why pork needs to be cooked through, and lamb should be as well if you are immunocompromised or pregnant.
- "Hoofed animals not having evolved as bad parasites and diseases as avians": complete nonsense, as explained above. All animals have "bad" diseases, and some of the ones you can get from inadequately cooked ground beef (such as E.coli hemolytic-uremic syndrome) is a hell of a lot more serious than some humdrum campylobacter diarrhea you'll get from bad chicken.
- "Cows are pretty clean": you may have spent some time in a restaurant kitchen, but you obviously have not been on cattle farms much.
Alpenhaus restaurant
No idea if this is the place you are thinking of, but when I was a child I had strange temporary fascinations, and one of them was swiss restaurants. Apart from Alpenhaus I also remember a place called William Tell - could that be it ? We're talking mid-70ies though.
Where can I find a restaurant that cooks rare burgers?
Second that. Probably not advisable to have rare or semi-rare burgers at places that make them from bought mince. I know people used to eat burgers like that all the time 20 years ago (hell I used to eat mouthfuls of uncooked mince myself as a kid), but unfortunately nowadays the declining care and hygiene levels at modern slaughterhouses make this a risky proposition. Read Fast Food Nation for details.
Edamame - where to find?
I'm not sure why it's practically never on offer in suhi restos here. It was a standard appetizer in all sushi places I went to in the US.
If you have a veggie garden, I can confirm by experience that edemame is very easy to grow, and plants are very productive. Just 4 or 5 plants will provide you with a very nice bounty, and the freshly picked beans is infinitely superior to any frozen product that I've tried.
Review of Les trois petits bouchons
Returned there a few days ago; still nice, though service seems to be getting a bit on the aloof side, and prices have definitely edged up (I would say entrees are more in the 20-45$ range now). Also, they seem to have a tendency to tell you that you'll get the "window" table when you call to reserve, then put you elsewehere once you arrive (happened to us, and also to friends on another occasion).
