toddmundt's Profile
Dinner w/ tired kids near St. Sulpice, Old Montreal
good point on the price of Holder.
Dinner w/ tired kids near St. Sulpice, Old Montreal
One thought: Holder, on 407 McGill. Short walk down St Paul to McGill and then north a block. bustling place but not too overwhelming, and menu includes fish and chips, calamari, mussels, salmon, salads, steak, veal, pastas, soups. For the most part, accessible food.
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Holder Restaurant Bar
407 Rue McGill, Montreal, QC H2Y2G3, CA
restaurant recs near st sulpice hotel old montreal?
One other possibility: I've not seen much discussion about the restaurant at Le Saint Gabriel on St Gabriel in Old Montreal. But Eric Gonzalez, a highly respected local chef, has been there for about six months. His previous credits include Laloux, XO, and Cube. I ate at Cube ('06) and Laloux (Dec '09) and both meals were excellent. I haven't returned since his move, but Le Saint Gabriel might be another good addition to your list. I'll be checking it out this fall.
Restaurant Bar et Boeuf
Thought I'd add some tasting notes from friends who ate there last night (1/19/10). They had the five course tasting menu:
A few misses (things too cold (the tomatoes) or undercooked (the risotto), but they definitely are trying very hard and given that we dined early on a Tues night, its hard to expect flawless food. Still the staff was very nice and very into the food, and the wine pairings were quite nice.
1) Mozzarella foam with heirloom plum(?) tomatoes. Not exactly tomato season here. The foam was really nice though - firm but not overpowering.
2) Tuna tartare which was really great with a mushroom puree that was very inventive. All paired with a piece of rare tuna that seemed somewhat out of place.
2) Fois gras with gingerbread (seems to be the rage these days, doesn't it?)
3) Risotto (undercooked) but with mushrooms and squash it tasted good. Plus a popcorn frog leg, which was cute.
4) Boeuf. Nice and rare but with a typical mix of root vegetables.
5) almond financier with grapefruit sorbet.
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Bar & Boeuf
500 McGill, Montreal, QC H2Y2H6, CA
Tripe at Italian Restaurant
DNA regularly has tripe on the tasting menu. The current posted dinner menu also features a Spicy Cod Tripe "Napolitano" (http://www.dnarestaurant.com/).
No Space at APDC
DNA does some interesting things with offal, if you're game. Last week, we had veal tartare, sweetbreads and tripe parmigiana... in the context of the tasting menu. It was all nicely done and all of it is on the a la carte menu too, I think.
For anyone who's interested: My thoughts on a dinner at Laloux.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience there, but I think one experience, now matter what you hear from others, shouldn't damn a restaurant. Restaurants need to be at the top of their game all the time, but they're not because they're run by people. Bad days happen; or sometimes a cranky waiter or customer creates a feedback loop that makes it hard for everyone.
Perhaps you should wait a couple weeks and give it another try. You would have a somewhat better idea whether your experience was a bad day or a trend, and it would add to the credibility of your review here.
For anyone who's interested: My thoughts on a dinner at Laloux.
Thanks for the review. We went twice last year when it was still under the Marc André Jetté and Patrice Demers regime, and it was exceptional. By all accounts, it's transitioned nicely to Chef Eric Gonzalez, and we'll be back there on our next trip in three weeks.
Favourite Chinese?
Thanks Carswell and humbert! Of course, Cuisine Szechuan slipped my mind and I'm not sure how, since I would bet it's the most-mentioned restaurant here on the board in the past year, or close to it.
Favourite Chinese?
We've not had a lot of discussion here recently, so let me raise the question again - actually two questions: what Chinese restaurants top your list for taste, authenticity, etc? Also as a sidenote, does anyone have a recent impression of Niu Kee? It used to be a favourite of a number of Chowhounders... is it off your list?
Old Montreal Resto On St. Paul
Yeah Rose Blanche - that was the name. a nice little place. closed in 08, right?
Old Montreal Resto On St. Paul
hmmm... the place, now closed, next door to Olive et Gourmando? It was very small, unassuming, with a window on the street. That would be around - what? - St Paul O. and St Pierre?
New chefs at Newtown.. Down-town new hotspot?
thanks for the pic of the space, as well as the food! We loved their creativity at Laloux, and look forward to watching their development at Newtown - and eating it, too.
New chefs at Newtown.. Down-town new hotspot?
eatkat -
Thanks for the review! What was the space like? Has it changed at all in the transition to Jetté/Demers?
Laloux a fine dine
We were visiting Montreal for the holidays (an annual trip) and our party of four dined at Laloux the day after you, I believe, Monday 12/22/08. We had the tasting menu and found the experience so exciting that we went back for the tasting menu (it was quite different) again on Friday 12/26. Friday's menu included the lobster bisque, and your description hits the nail on the head.
Two visits doesn't feel like enough for us to make a major pronouncement about the place, but we can say without hesitation that both meals were the most memorable of the eight days we spent in Montreal this year. Service for both meals was not just spot-on, it was gracious.
Laloux is an amazing place to dine, and I know we'll return next year - maybe twice.
One Des Moines Lunch
I've been to Zen Sushi around 6-8 times since it opened, including opening night. (I live in the building, which can only indicate how lazy I am about dinner.)
I read that review a couple times because, overall, I like Zen Sushi. One of the big issues in the review was tasteless sushi - and I think the reviewer might have a point. I think the degree of flavor isn't what you might expect if you eat a lot of sushi on the coasts. But it does well on texture and freshness.
There was an "I know sushi better than any of you and I know that good sushi can't be done in Iowa" tone in the review that seemed unnecessary; whether or not you think that tone was excessive is likely to determine your decision to go or not. For myself, I think it's pretty good sushi (I like Takanami in Iowa City better) and worth at least a try.
The other factors to consider, noted by the Datebook reviewer: service is professional and comfortable; and Morrow usually gets it right, even if he has a rough start. Both are true and Zen has been getting better each time I've been there.
Da Emma Italian in Old Montreal
Thanks to both of you for the great thoughts - we've never tried Da Emma but have had it on the list for an upcoming visit.
Good eats in Des Moines?
I'll second the Thai Flavors/Cool Basil recommendation. We've been to both several times since moving here in August (oh, the humanity) and we like Thai Flavors the most, but both are excellent.
Tandoor on 8th st in West Des Moines has good Indian/Pakistani food.
Hangouts: I spend a lot of time at Mars Cafe - free wifi, decent coffee, as already noted above. A couple downtown options:
Java Joes on 4th in the Court Avenue district. Free wireless, a little more grungy but I like it a lot.
Amici Espresso is also downtown at 6th and Mulberry. A great space, drinkable coffee, free wifi, and not crowded.
Ritual Cafe, on 13th street in Gateway West, downtown. cafe with outdoor seating.
Restaurant openings
carswell
Thanks for the update! Speaking of the late and lamented... any word on Anise - either the location or the staff?
Thanks!
Ann Arbor -- best dishes at the best restaurants
The crab cakes at Pacific Rim are particularly well made. They were highlights of MANY meals at Pacific Rim when we lived in Ann Arbor. I'll be the latest commenter to break the rules and stray outside the four restaurants. Call me crazy, but we developed a hankering for the polenta fries at Grizzly Peak. They joined the menu when Peak expanded to include the old Del Rio space.
Polenta fries certainly won't change the culinary world, but they were darn good to munch on, and they resulted in several trips to GP that might not have happened, were it not for the fries.
New Afghan joint in Des Moines
jwagnerdsm--
It'll have to be a late-night snack with Diane Rehm. :)
New Afghan joint in Des Moines
We went there for lunch today and thought the buffet was quite good. There's not a great variety of offerings, but the food is fresh and it has good flavor. We wanted a little more spiciness, but we're familiar enough with Afghan cuisine to know what role, if any, chilis play in it. We'll likely go back for dinner soon.
