unlaced's Profile
What does Montreal have to offer? June 30 - July 3
Vices et Versa would be a great option if you are biking back from Jean Talon market - they have a nice backyard terrace, although it does get very busy!
Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon
I emailed on the 9th April. FWIW I had plenty of dates and times to choose from it seemed, so I doubt they are very far through the list!
Jean-Talon Market 2012
Do you know specifically where they are located in the market? Thanks in advance!
Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon
Just got the confirmation for a seating during their apple harvest menu, already looking forward to it!
QING HUA DUMPLING
hmm I guess it must depend on the dumpling maker? We were there last night (at the Chinatown location) and were actually impressed by the dumplings, especially compared to our last couple of experiences at the location in Chinatown 2 (cold dumplings, no juice in dumplings, extremely slow service)
Have you heard of M4 Burritos?
We walked past on the weekend and caught a glimpse inside - it is entirely empty, so I think they are still awhile away from opening. We overheard some of the guys talking at the inside door, and they were saying that they had still not necessarily finalized kitchen and counter design and layout, which is also not a great sign for a May 2012 opening! We are eagerly awaiting their opening too - but in the meantime, we tried out the burritos from Cafe Cantina, in Point St Charles - not half bad! The only problem is that their opening times are a bit restrictive, so it is hard to grab a burrito for dinner!
Restaurant Closings in 2012
Hecho en Mexico in Verdun is now closed. I saw them spruik themselves on chowhound semi-recently, offering cooking classes - maybe that was a last ditch effort? It's a shame they have closed - they started out so promisingly!
Olive oil tasting in Florence?
Thanks for the suggestions Elizabeth, I appreciate it!
Olive oil tasting in Florence?
and to add, if you have any suggestions for favourite oils, please let me know! I have been tasting a number of different ones in restaurants - most very good, one that was bad - perhaps slightly rancid even!
Olive oil tasting in Florence?
Looking for the best place in Florence to taste (and buy!) a range of olive oils! I have been to Mercato Centrale, but I perhaps made the mistake of going on a Saturday morning and it was full of tourist groups it seemed - and no one really wanted to help take me through the different oils etc. Should I try again on a different day or are there other places you would recommend?
Thanks!
Best Breakfast/Brunch on Monday in Montreal
I am not sure how many things you have tried at Cocktail Hawaii but, whilst it is not the worst in the city, it is far from the best and I would never recommend it to a visitor. Hungreyabbey, if you do go to Cocktail Hawaii, please order carefully! I went a couple of weeks ago and somehow lost my mind, ordering the "seafood" crepe - shrimp, crab, avocado and thousand island dressing. Not a bad combo, but the crab was imitation crab extender (which was to be expected given the price) but the fact that it was kind of freezer burnt, and still defrosting, was not to be expected and was definitely not appetizing. I felt it was my mistake ordering something like that in that style of place, so my advice would be to choose carefully!
Recommendation for downtown pizza delivery (preferably 2 for 1) ASAP
Any one?
Has anyone tried Pizza du Parc - comments?
Recommendation for downtown pizza delivery (preferably 2 for 1) ASAP
I am organising an event downtown and need a delivery of about 12 16 inch pizzas. I had been going to use Pizza McGill on Milton, but I went by tonight and found out a) they only do two for 1.5 (he said they don't make 2 for 1 quality pizza and b) I tried a slice and didn't really enjoy it - the crust was quite thick, heavy topping of cheese, pretty blah. So, I need a new place to deliver! Ideally it would be similar to Pizza Mory in Verdun - not earth-shattering pizzas, but reasonable pizzas at a good price, thin crust, toppings you can actually taste. Does anyone have any recommendations?
(please don't suggest Amelios, these are out of this event's budget! I am trying to do my best with what I have been assigned!)
Thank you!
SAT Foodlab
ahh that makes sense too - I didn't realise it translated to mean full! I thought it meant complete as in finished!
SAT Foodlab
Was checking out the menu for this weekend (mmm pashka!) and noticed this
Le Foodlab sera complet le 27 avril
Does that mean this is over come the end of April? I guess it makes something to try something new during the summer - anyone know what Seth and Michelle's plans are?
Rippled Salt & Vinegar Chips?
Have you tried Tourtiere Australienne? They might import some from Australia - they would be expensive, but might satisfy your craving! A guilty pleasure of mine is to make a white bread, butter and salt and vinegar chip sandwich - so bad but so good!
Montreal food tour
Here is a link to an old thread, in which a much loved hound posts about a Mile End bakery. It is a little out of date - Guillaume has now opened in the neighbourhood, as has Patisserie Rhubarbe, and those two should definitely be on your list. And I would never recommend Toi et Moi cafe on Laurier for food - their drinks are ok (some interesting smoothie options) but their breakfasts are some of the worst I have eaten in Montreal. Other than that, this classic post would be an excellent starting point!
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/522858#3723112
Authentic English Clotted Cream in Montreal?
Here is an old thread that might be useful to you
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/801259
Have you heard of M4 Burritos?
So excited about this - M4 seems to stand for Mission Quatre, so hopefully they are Mission District-esque burritos! We have been waiting for these to appear in Montreal! (though we make a pretty good version at home, sometimes you just don't want to go through all the prep!)
Jo Blo lounge - Verdun
I went to JoBlo last night and was very pleasantly surprised. I had none of the issues cpdp4u described. We arrived at 7pm, a group of 4, and were unexpectedly confronted with a full dining room! There was a couple of tables for two available, but no larger! Really encouraging for a Thursday night in Verdun! We managed to score some seats at the bar, after a bit of shuffling of patrons, so we could enjoy a drink whilst we waited for a table. Nice champagne cocktail to begin ($9), very reasonably priced. We were seated at a table, orders were taken relatively promptly. There was a bit of a lengthy wait for food (explained at the end of the meal as being due to a waitress calling in sick) but the food was hot and fresh was it arrived. The food was very tasty, but very rich - very much in the comfort food genre - there was even mac and cheese on one of the burgers! The fries were good, thin, crispy, much better than a similar style I had recently at Deville Diner. We all tooks sandwiches or burgers - my burger was the Western - advertised as having jalapeno and cheese sausage on it, I was surprised to find that it actually featured a split and griddled whole sausage! A pretty decadent burger! For dessert, we shared a slice of chocolate cake (it had a fancy name but I can' remember now) and coconut cream pie. Both were good - the chocolate cake especially had quite an unusual texture - a bit cheesecake-y, a bit mousse-y. The waiter suggested it was like a ferrero rocher, however we couldn't taste any hazelnut.
A mention about the staff and the service - we received excellent service all night, despite them being down a waitress. Our waiter in particular was very friendly and personable, the service was professional but still easy going. Too many times lately I have mediocre service - pleasant, but with no real warmth - but this was not the case here.
Also, for reference, they have the standard, legal cash receipt now, with the hieroglyphs.
Their future plans include making a long narrow room on the side of the dining room into a cocktail lounge, in the style of a rail carriage bar.
Benelux opening in Verdun in the spring
I found out about this last night, from the waiter at JoBlo. Supposedly they have been fighting the Verdun council for 6 years (!!) and have finally succeeded in winning their case. Forty seven years of "prohibition" in Verdun comes to an end! A bit of googling found some more articles related to the news! I recently moved out of Verdun, but still work and socialise in the area, and this is great news!
http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/regional/archives/2012/03/20120311-213737.html
http://www.encyclobeerdia.com/?p=339
Why there's no Conveyor sushi Restaurant
It's funny how sushi culture differs between western cities and cultures! In my opinion, Montreal already has its own sushi gimmick - all you can eat sushi. When I moved here in 2008 I was so surprised to see this on offer! In Australia, we had plenty of popular conveyor belt sushi restaurants, which served good sushi, with high turnover (and normally an optional a la carte menu to order from) - but no all you can eat sushi!
Other differences that I find interesting - Australians love chicken katsu and chicken teriyaki sushi (usually chicken katsu/teriyaki, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, mayonaise) and there more fast food sushi places sell whole rolls, about 11cm long, rather than rolls cut into pieces (you can see them here http://www.sushiroll.com.au/menu.html) I like this style as it keep the sushi a bit fresher.
Anyway I find all the regional differences really interesting!
Where can I find a restaurant that cooks rare burgers?
Just had a "medium" burger last night at Burger de Ville on St Laurent. It was actually the first time the server had asked me how I wanted the burger cooked, though I eat there often and had seen other people take medium burgers - it was absolutely delicious! We chatted with the owner a little and he mentioned he is changing up the steak selection soon - he will have to raise the price of their steak (from 14.95 to 16.95, still a bargain imho) but he will be introducing some smaller, different cuts so people on a smaller budget can still afford a steak!
Marché Soupson (Jean Talon/Waverly)
Just wanted to echo the love for Marche Soupson - I passed by on Sunday and picked up one of their 1L soups - Spinach and Curly Cabbage with fine herbs! Oh my gosh it is delicious - something a bit different from the usual flavour combinations and I love the use of cashew cream rather than heavy cream! I can't wait to go back and try more of their soup varieties and explore some of their other options - what a great find!
QING HUA DUMPLING
lol exactly what I was going to say! I still remember the first (and only) chowhound meet up that I went to was at the original Qing Hua! I still like the dumplings at Qing Hua although I find they can be inconsistent (we got a cold batch one time - quite unpleasant!) However, I do prefer the dumplings at Mai Xiang Yuan now - and those are still freshly made to order!
BYOW in Le Plateau for 10 people
I would recommend Monsieur B
http://www.monsieurb.ca/accueil/
Depending on the night you choose it can be a little crowded and maybe a little noisy, but I organised a Christmas party for a group in December (I think there was about 13 of us in the end) and everyone raved about the food and the value for money
Olivier Potier - New amazing pastry shop and bakery
The blog Glaff links to says pastries are made on site and that there is a partnership with L'Auberge St Gabriel to provide savoury food (presumably trucked in, I guess?)
Fun pub to watch the game and grab a half decent poutine?
I have visitors in town over the weekend and we are trying to maximise the number of things we can do, and eat! I was wondering if anyone has some suggestions for a good pub for Saturday night where we can watch the game and grab a half decent poutine? My favourite poutine at the moment is at Chez Claudette and I was thinking we could just watch the game in the dive-y bar across the street, and then walk over when we are hungry, but wondered if there was any way to combine the two?
Thank you!
Healthy cottage cheese in Montreal?
Yes, it is very easy! Here is a good, clear recipe
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2006/03/la-presure-home-1/
Healthy cottage cheese in Montreal?
It is quite easy to make cottage cheese at home - perhaps that would be your best bet?
