Anyone been to Van Horne yet?? Reviews??

that's exactly what we should have done.

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Anyone been to Van Horne yet?? Reviews??

First, I agree that we should have called ahead and asked ... if they said: "no" then we would have gone to another resto. If they said "yes," then great. No problems there.

Second, I agree that it is unreasonable to expect anything particularly fancy off-menu from a busy little market kitchen. No problems there either.

However, we asked for anything. A potato. A plate of steamed carrots or mixed veg. And the chef said "no."

As Glaff said, all the dishes are served with vegetables. So. Serve a plate of the vegetables without the rest of the dish. Send some cheese out. Bread. Something.

* The fish was served with: lentils and tomyum tomaté
* The chicken was served with carrots and kale
* The scallops were served with endives and potatoes

Would it *really* be that much extra work to make up a small plate with some lentils, or carrots, or kale or potatoes? Or just one of the above?

To make a plate of fish, hold the fish? etc? ... Would that really have screwed up the service of the many?

Instead the chef made a decision to refuse to feed a customer anything....and when I asked him about it just shrugged his shoulders.

And if he doesn't want people posting in public forums about things like this, then don't do things like this.

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Anyone been to Van Horne yet?? Reviews??

Just had a meal there tonight with a group with a very mixed report.

The food generally was good, wine good, service good.

However: one of our party of 6 is a vegetarian ... who was refused any food at all!

I understand small kitchens, and the problem of trying to accommodate vegetarians. I'm sympathetic about the headaches caused by a vegetarian in a restaurant filled with meat.

But still. Surely you should feed them something (there was one small appetizer that she ate, but nothing else except a martini ...)

A potato. A couple of carrots. Something.

We asked, and were told there was nothing for our vegetarian friend.

A stick of celery? Some spinach? *Something*? ... Anything? ... But the chef categorically refused to provide *anything* ...

The quite embarrassed waiters had to convey the chef's response ... they had a small kitchen, no spare carrots, impossible to accommodate, they had "standards" for their plates ...

Still, we had to ask specifically for bread.

Finally I spoke to the chef, who said the same things. It was unbelievable. Eventually, he said: well you could have had the carrots, but I'd have to charge you a full meal, $30 for them ... and I said: "fine ... sure, but no one even offered that! we were refused even a $30 carrot" ...

The foie gras is awesome, though, and the wine list interesting.

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Australian Pie/Tourtiere Australienne

I'm slightly biased because I know Don, and some of the staff - but I can report that my wife, totally unbiased, said the pies I brought home (chili con carne and steak & mushroom) were "so yummy." I concur.

I had one-and-a-half fresh ones in the store (one lamb roganjosh & half a butter chicken) and now have a few in the freezer, so I look forward to my perfect impromptu meal.

We also tried a family style curried veg & sweet potato pie, which wasn't quite as good as the meaty ones, but still pretty tasty.

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

African Food?

thanks moh & idenon for the suggestions. fyi broken link for mekdala, should be:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/503138

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

African Food?

I was all set to meet a friend for lunch at Keur Fatou on St-Viateur, when I got a call: he was standing outside the resto and it was closed. Not just closed, but closed up. Looks like it's not coming back. It was one of my favourite little quirky spots for a lunch, or a relaxed dinner.

So, questions:

-Does anyone know details? Is Keur Fatou moving, or gone for good? Anyone know what happened or why?

-Any other suggestions of great African food in Montreal? Keur Fatou was Senegalese, but what are some of your other favourites in town, I guess no particular geographic restictions, open to the whole continent...

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Foodie Family Heading to Montreal

I think, as superbossmom says, that i should update my comments about Old Montreal. Certainly it is *more* touristy than other parts of the city, but it is pretty and I think in the last decade food has greatly improved down there. So my comment is probably out of date. I would revise as:

"While Old Montreal is geared more than other places in the city to tourists, it is most certainly worth a visit, and there is still some good food to be had there, though you'll likely pay more than you would elsewhere."

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

downtown lunch?

thanks for all the responses! ... but, ug, by the looks of things i was right: still pretty dismal downtown. what gives? i guess rents are too expensive to offer good food at reasonable prices.

it's been ages since i've been to la soupiere, so i'll have to get back there.

@Shattered indeed I need to plan my day better to make my own lunch.

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Foodie Family Heading to Montreal

A couple of years ago I made a list for some friends coming to town, some highlights:

Coffee:
* Laika - for coffee and free wifi and minimal techno and computer/design geeks (plateau)
* Else’s - a corner pub/cafe, also free wifi, with more of a writerly/drinking crowd (plateau)
* Cafe Olympico - great coffee & mile end hipsters (mile end)
* Cafe Italia - superb coffee by the jean talon market (little italy)
* Myriad - reportedly the best espresso in the city (downtown west)

Buying Food
* Jean Talon Market - fablous outdoor/partially covered farmer’s market (little italy)

Eating
A note on food: Old Montreal is “charming,” but geared to tourists, and is not real-life Montreal. Lower St-Laurent (between Sherbrooke & Pine Ave) is geared to big wallets and big boobs. Downtown (Crescent Street etc) caters also to loud tourists and business people. Elsewhere the city is, however, filled with lots of great restos, bars, cafes. Here are a few food suggestions:

* P’tit Plateau: this is your best bet for a true Montreal experience. a tiny bring your own wine bistro tucked away on Marie-Anne & Drolet. Make reservations, get a nice bottle of wine at the SAQ, and expect a great table d’hote (prob $25 for 3 courses?). (514) 282-6342 (plateau)
* Keur Fatou – a great charming hole in the wall senegalese resto (you’ll feel like you’re in someone’s apartment) where the owner/chef/dishwasher sings and tells Senegalese folk tales Thurs-Friday. Bring your own wine. Choice of 3 plates usually, about $12 each. St-Viateur & St-Urbain. 514-277-2221 (mile-end)
* Pho Bang New York: great Vietnamese soup shop. Order a #10 large ($4.95), on your way home from Old Montreal. Corner St-Laurent & Viger. (chinatown)
* Reservoir: good place for lunch, another brew pub. The chef was once a sous-chef at Toque (very expensive fancypants place), and lunches are exceptional ($15?). Duluth & St-Laurent. (plateau)
* Chez Doval: Portugese peasant fare at its best. Ask for a table in the lively back room. $15. Marie-Anne & St-Dominique? 514-843-3390 (plateau)
* L’Express: the classic Montreal version of a French Bistro (plateau)
* Senzala: Brazilian, with a great weekend brunch ($15). Bernard & Esplanade. (mile end)
* Eurodeli Batory: cheap wonderful Polish food, open for lunch only. (mile-end)
* Chez Nouri: cheap wonderful Iranian food, open for lunch only. (plateau)

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Espresso machine - what to buy and where in Mtl?

We've got a breville ... $150 I think, it's been making coffee twice a day for almost 2 years now, very happy with it considering the price:

http://www.breville.com.au/coffee/cc_products_detail.asp?prod=97

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

Opinions on best Thai food?

Hello moh, My wife & I eat take out from Thailande all the time, almost always delicious. It's been a couple of years since I've been on-site at the resto, but it was a great experience the last time I went. The vibe is very nice, it's relaxed but elegant somehow. Not stuffy like some of the others mentioned here. You can get one of those tables where you sit on cushions, very nice.

I don't know if they have their own site, but the info (including menu) is here:
http://restomontreal.ca/portal/thailande/index.php?lang=en

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)

downtown lunch?

After years of working from home in the plateau & mile-end, I find myself, to my surprise, working out of a downtown office tower, on the corner of University & de Maisonneuve.

It's been years since it ever occurred to me to have lunch downtown, and I am sad (but not surprised) to find the the culinary wasteland of downtown appears not to have changed all that much.

So I'm wondering, chowhounders, what are your favourite places for reasonably-priced lunches in the downtown area - say btw sherbrooke & rene levesque; crescent & bleury.

The only decent place I can think of is Osaka on Bleury (but that's really on the outside edge of dt).

any great suggestions?

mackinaw in Quebec (including Montreal)