Hey, AJ, what about Le Bifthèque? (not in your requested area, but might please some picky eaters)

http://www.lebiftheque.com/fr/lebifth...

6705 Chemin de la Côte de Liesse, Saint-Laurent, QC H4T 1E5

EDIT: Annnnd after reading the CH post about that place, I retract my suggestion. It sounds awful.

I've had to go to the Lozeau camera store on St-Hubert Street a few times in the past weeks, and the first time we went (my better half tagged along), we moseyed a bit along that stretch in search of lunch and wandered into La Queue de Cochon.

Turns out they are an artisanal charcuterie and they had made-to-order baguette sandwiches with ham or your choice of their dizzying choice of pâtés and garnishes, including cornichons. Also on offer was a hot merguez with choucroute on baguette. The sandwiches were delicious, generous, and reasonably priced (around 5$). They also have a good selection of sausages and several prêts à manger dishes. And if you want pâté, well they have that. A lot.

There is also a small selection of artisanal Quebec cheeses, packaged items like confit leg of duck, etc. I believe there are also items in the freezer but I didn't stop to examine that. We decided to purchase some boudin noir aux pommes and some boudin blanc, and also asked for some civet de lapin (two legs and a rable), which proved amazing.

Their products were so enjoyable, when we returned to Lozeau a few weeks later, we made a bee-line for Queue de Cochon to see what else looked good. Since it was a Sunday, they had fewer things on offer and no sandwiches, but we left with a selection of fresh sausages, a container of sauerkraut, and some stewed pork shanks from the prêt-à-manger counter.

We had a shank yesterday, and it was tender and everything you could hope for, and tonight, we cooked up the sausages. Again, very good products, not too fatty and each had its own clear, individual flavour: green peppercorn; herbs; wine... all came through clearly.

So basically, if you're up on St-Hubert near Bellechasse and need a bite and maybe something to eat later, check them out!

Also, the staff is friendly and happy to inform you about what they have and advise you on how to cook your selections.

La Queue de Cochon Inc
6400, rue Saint-Hubert, Montreal, QC, H2S 2M2
514-527-2252

My guess: they are hiring a specialty producer that can handle unusual ingredient combos, deal with recipes that aren't designed for industrial scale production, and put out smaller batches of products affordably.

That made me start reading... and it turns out Norref and Odessa are under the same umbrella... if Norref is a distributor, I'm guessing Odessa gettings its stocks from there:
"Outre Norref, Alimentation Tracy et le Groupe alimentaire nordique, le Groupe Ferron comprend aussi six poissonneries connues sous le nom d'Odessa (Montréal et Rive-Sud) et une usine de transformation du poulet qui a pour nom Nepco sur la rue Papineau à Montréal."

http://affaires.lapresse.ca/economie/...

And for the sake of others searching for oysters but hwho would rather shuck them themselves, my recommendation is to head to Poissonerie La Mer (www.lamer.ca) on boul. de Maisonneuve, walk into their refrigerated fish and shellfish room, and purchase a selection.

The staff is friendly and will even shuck one or two for you to try as you make your selection.

We got Raspberry Points, Coleville Bays and Caribou this weekend and it's quite astonishing how different a single species, o. virginica, can taste (or be opened), depending on how and where it's been raised off the east coast. It's the water version of terroir... meroir?

Well that is certainly one very thorough review... thank you for taking the time to pen this!

just a tiny note on spelling: it's simply Leméac, no capitalized M. :)

a friend of mine ate at Griffintown for lunch, and reported that her " 'grilled cheese with apples, anise and chevre' was day-old bread with cream cheese and cumin seeds sprinkled inside." She was more than underwhelmed.

Great review. Thank you for taking the time to write all that down!

errmmm maybe Pintxo? I seem to recall the bathroom is on the same floor. You might want to confirm. But it can be leisurely... and if you don't go late, it should be quiet enough?

we were cycling in the Franklin area and stopped at Pommeraie du Suroît for indications when we got turned around. We chatted with one of the owners and she offered us a tasting. We were very impressed by their ciders and ice ciders and we plan on returning soon to pick up a few bottles.

She mentioned that they also have apple picking
http://www.lapommeraiedusuroit.com/index.html

Here's the info on apple picking
Pommes d'été: Paulared (15 août);
Pommes d'automne: McIntosh (8 septembre), Empire (20 septembre);
Pommes tardives: Cortland (20 septembre),

http://www.lapommeraiedusuroit.com/At...

No, most places here are informal... you can show up in jeans and nice shirt and good shoes and not be turned away... (but my personal philosophy is more along the lines that each day is special so why not dress up for it! :)

Service at Thomson House can be unbelievably slow. Someone I know (a member) went there last week and had to flag the waiter 30 mins after arriving to ask for menus, then flag him down again 20 mins later to order because he was not coming back; after which lunch took a long time to arrive and coffee was entirely forgotten.

I avoid eating on McGill Campus -- I usually end up in the Concordia neighborhood for lunch. My latest lunchtime outing was closer to campus however: Sakura Gardens at its new location north of Sherbrooke on Drummond. Slow service but affordable lunch specials.

ALSO: The Basha on St-Catherine is my favourite, albeit kinda far.

E. P. I. C. post.

Thank you for taking the time to write this down!

If you make it a bit beyond Rimouski, I wonder if Capitaine Homard is still there. I have fond memories of the fisherman's plate... gosh, 20 years ago? Anyway, it was a ridiculous amount of seafood at the time, everything from crab legs to Matane shrimp to lobster tail to bourgots and beyond.

don't forget to let us know how it was!

I doubt Arthur Quentin carries that kind of tableware and yes, they are spendy.

Phone up Monas? It's a restaurant equipment store on Parc that is open to the public. And if you go there, don't forget to cross the street to grab a savoury pie at Tourtière Australienne.

For Quebec City, during my last visit a few weekends ago, we liked our lunch at Échaudé... and enjoyed our supper at Chez Boulay (which I reviewed here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/857918

A few years ago, Pain Béni at lunch was VERY disappointing.

It's been so long since I have been (I think it was 25$ at the time for lunch? Went once with a colleague who was leaving the office for greener pastures and who wanted to go there... Nevah again!)

dagnabit, there was Aperol to be had at the SAQ? AUGH! (I mean, Campari's good but Aperol's gentler).

There is L'Entrecôte St-Jean on Peel... they serve only that: steak frites with a green peppercorn sauce, along with with a walnut laden green salad and profiteroles for dessert.

I mean, it's okay, I suppose... but it's not my cup of tea. Some folks must like it however, because there are always people in there for lunch.

Go to La Mer and purchase a variety of oysters and a couple of oyster knives? That's pretty cheap.

La mer
1840 Boulevard René-Lévesque Est Montreal, QC H2K 4P1
(514) 522-3003

Otherwise, there's Lawrence. Even cheaper but less flexible. They offer oysters at $1 dollar each from 5:30 to 7pm. They usually have one or two kinds of oysters to offer. So cheap but not a lot of variety. Check their FB page for the daily menu: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawren...

I have never tried Première Moisson's poundcake, but I do recall seeing some there (better call first in case it's seasonal).

Maybe the Gryphon d'Or has poundcake as well?

Shipping may cost an arm and a leg (and if there's a way to insure it in some way or make sure it does get to its destination, get it... the Italian post has a bad rep)... but my suggestion, if you can send off booze, is a bottle of Ungava Gin, which is made in Quebec using northern wild crafted aromatics.

I wondered about that: the website only lists one address. It certainly has a more grandiose vibe than the one on Bernard.

We were at Marché Central today around noon and I spotted Senzala on L'Acadie nearby, so we decided to give it a try. They serve brunch both Saturday and Sunday.

He got the feijoeda (a smidge overpriced at 17$) - smoky black beans with chorizo and other bits of meat, which came in a clay cazuela, along with potato wedges, garlicky collard greens, polenta, breadcrumbs, and a few slices of grapefruit on the side.

I got the ovos gratinés "tropical" -- poached eggs atop an avocado in a tomato sauce and gratinéed cheddar (13.50$ or so), also served in a cazuela, and a variety of sliced fruit on the side, including pithaya, and bit of bread. Brunch comes with a flute of OJ and a bottomless cup of coffee. It was tasty, filling. We'd go again, should we find ourselves in the area.

We also shared a mango batida, which was like a thick lassi made with coconut instead of milk.

Senzala does not look like much outside, but it is in a nice large space with a funky, modern decor. They have a full bar, so you can also get a caipirinha or a caipiroska, if so inclined.

www.senzala.com

the flowering seemed okay, actually, albeit short. So perhaps temperatures were wrong or pollinators didn't have time to get to them...

You may struggle to find good and cheap, non-junk food in restaurants, esp. in the touristy section. I suggest you head for supermarkets for some staples you can eat on the go. We cycled a lot last weekend and ate supermarket sandwiches on the go, which were not too bad.

As the owner of a single sour cherry tree, I can confirm: it was TERRIBLE this year. We picked 3 liters in all (which I promptly spoiled trying a new recipe for making cocktails cherries.... disaster!). The birds and squirrels got whatever was left.

My tree normally produces about 20 liters yearly.

Last weekend, Monsieur Snowpea and me took the train to Quebec City for a little R&R in a comfy hotel in the lower part of the old city.

We had no reservations for Friday night and we were hungry, so a quick perusal of nearby places on OpenTable revealed a few openings at Chez Boulay Bistro Boréal, a place we didn’t know but that seemed promising according to reviews on that site.

It turned out to be a very pleasant experience.

The space is modern-industrial, without being overly cold (the old style incandescent light bulbs everywhere helped). Dark colours, lots of metal and wood. Glassed in kitchen out back, where you can see the team working and admire the hanging sausages and dried hams. Noise levels grew as the evening progressed, but not unbearably. The place is actually well sound proofed because it seems we missed a noisy parade outside on rue Saint-Jean while we were engrossed in our meal.

Service was swift, professional and attentive. Bread and water were always replenished without asking. Olivier, an older Frenchman who seems to be the floor manager, was funny and charming. He quickly grasped my love of cocktails…. Chez Boulay’s menu is essentially articulated around northern foods – from wild meats to wildcrafted herbs, berries and other edibles. This is not Redzepi, but I think they are inspired by the same nordic sensibility.

I was not expecting an inspired cocktail menu, and so I was delighted to see they had some unusual offerings. Olivier explained they hired the Saint-Amour’s mixologist to design cocktails around a set theme. We started with a Quebec 75 (variant of the French 75, a personal favourite), which involved Ungava gin, elderberry cordial and a handful of elderberries that tumbled around in the sparking wine. Refreshing and something I will have to repeat at home. Don't ask me about the wine list: I didn't look.

For starters, we had the charcuterie plank for two, which included a small dish of marinated mushrooms, along with dried sausage, pork rillettes, some thinly sliced dried duck magret, and a generous portion of terrine. They also make a seafood ‘charcuteries’ plank and another with assorted cheeses.

We went for a second cocktail, which this time was a variant on a martini, and involved Ungava gin again, along with Lillet, rowan berry jelly and an orange twist. It was fragrant and perhaps a tad too sweet for my own tastebuds, but still very well done! I don't recall its name.

Our main was the cutely named ‘Cerf and Turf’, a dish involving lobster cooked sous-vide (sweet, tender, not rubbery at all) and a tender (!) medallion of venison, served with vegetables and a dark peppery sauce that included black beer. It was delicious and not a speck of sauce was left on the cast iron pans it was served in (we impolitely mopped up everything with bread).

Dessert is often a disappointment after a good meal, but we since we seemed to be on a roll (and were planning to burn some calories by cycling the next day), we ordered some. He had the wild berries nougat glacé with a coulis of chicoutai, while I ordered the tarte fine with berries and wild cherry (merisier) syrup. My small quibble would be that the crust on mine was tough, but the flavours of both desserts were so interesting and delicious as was the rest of a very satisfying meal.

I declare Chez Boulay my new favourite place in Quebec City.

http://chezboulay.com/

Total was 175$ before tip, including booze.

Snowpea