peloquma's Profile
High End, Old Montreal
Hi Kat, I am also making reservations for ASHG. I am local but my group is bigger, you should take advantage of your smaller groups and hit spots that are smaller and busier.
DNA, CCP, Garde manger should be on your top list. DNA and Garde manger a bit more hip, CCP is very nice also. Add to that Les 400 coups and St Gabriel.
Le Bremner is also owned by garde manger, two different concept. I consider the Bremner to be high end stoner food from the sea... This might be what Chuck was hoping for...
I would stay clear of Local since these folks are now into legal battles between owners.
Graziella is as classic Italain as can get, high end. De Emma is also interesting although not great without the terrasse.
Hope you have a nice meeting
Quebec City- want neighborhood restaurant and food suggestions for around $25
The issue is that Quebec City is mostly a Village by your standards ( I know, I go to SF every other month) and it's snow white caucasian in flavor... One of the reasons my first stop in SF is a tacquerilla or a bun shop...
I am pretty sure you would be able to find a good lunch offering at that price in some of the nicer restauarnts (clocher pencher, le cercle bistro). Other wise, you fall into the category of not local chain or average food.
Give Cafe Kriegoff a try, it's an institution but you will not be amazed compared to SF unless you pay a bit more. We are very very far from a mission dolores here.
Quebec City next week!
I would recommend the new 3S on st pierre street. New late bistro from Toast. Stay away from Italian in QC I am sorry to say... but no...
For best coffee right now, NEKTAR is one up anyone, almost best of all of the province IMO. They also serve a mean filter coffee.
Brunch at Clocher Penche is nice.
Adonis Better Than Ever
------When it comes to vegetables and fruits, Adonis seems to get the Grade A version of everything. Their produce is generally the largest and freshest I've found.-Apparently that's because they actually have their own farms in Mexico, a source tells me.------
It's a shame I find talk about Mexicain shipped veggies when we are in an amazing harvest season locally. I don't want to be a party pooper but...
classic steak frites in Quebec City?
No sweat, I actually have the duck there also, its one of the better choice on the menu. Let it be said that I also enjoy the atmosphere there cause on a Tuesday night at 9:30, its about the only place I can go eat and have a chat at the bar with staff and patrons. The roasted chicken,lamb and salmon isn't to shabby either. Le cafe du monde is truly an empire now, part of a huge chain that I like to affectionatley call the ''QC French mafia''... I just liked it so much more when they were at the old spot.
best pizza in montreal
I was just there last week. I`m a big pizza nuts, I try to make it as best as possible, in true Napolitane fashion. First of all, the service and ingredient at Bottega where topnotch. We had four kids and they made everything versy simple for us. Bottega has that simple sophisticated flair to it, add the oven. What struck me the most was the texture of the crust. Everything about the pizz is perfect but one thing IMO. The crust just simply lacks a bit of crunch, pizza crust should have a slight crackle. I can tell they use the appropriate flour and the taste is great but its a tad to chewy for me. I felt so obligated to ask them about thinking of using maybe a table spoon of durum flour per pie just to add a bit of crackle but I held back. I know how protective italians are of their pizz but I wished i was heard by the pizza gods cause Bottega is very close to perfect pizza if it was just for a slightly harder crust.
A pizza should not fold in a limp way in your hands, fold without braking yes, lift in one piece yes but not feel drippy. Espeically not with this gorgeous oven I wish I could work on...
Restaurant Toast: Report: Quebec City
they have an amazing brunch lunch, very similar items but simplified witha great price. I live part time across the street (50 feet away) and I often hang out in their amazing courtyard. I brought the office for a week to stay at Priori hotel, we actually had all our meetings in the private dinner room.
classic steak frites in Quebec City?
I`m sorry but cafe du monde steak is a joke in 2008... I have gone there for ages and the quality has gone down every time. To call that thing steak is serioulsy wrong, my century old waiter there feels sorry for me when I look at it on the menu, its like an inside joke.. In fact, there is a steak problem in QC for a place that serves mostly french and market cuisine. Le charbon might serve one at a price. Les freres de la cote might have an OK one at night. The best I have had recently is at the new Le Cercle that is done by Utopie staff next door.
I have had an extremely nice steak at Noce but it is not steak frite, its a bavette that is seared and well seasonned, very very good.
L'Echaudée and Graffiti will likely do ten times better than cafe du monde.
Shish Taouk
It`s like anything persian, a big free for all, everyone eats standing, there are afew seats but really a hole in the wall. Across the street you can have all day breakfast a la Arabic with the best omelettes in the world.
Unique (but affordable!) dining experience to impress a date?
aix at 25 bucks thena room upstairs ! Seriously can't go wrong there.
Fresh Eggs
This needed to be said... Maybe only three stalls at JTM wher an actual farmer is talking to you. I`m still suprised at how people think these folks lining up at marche central at 4AM are actual farmers... The best eggs are through:
a local agrrement with a gentlemen farmer
your own chicken if you neighbors don't mind the cackle:
http://boakes.org/chickens/
Equiterre baskets as suggested by spanky.
I know that the couple and son working the stall facing the new building close to the center are farmers, they only sell what they have, thank god they reminded me to plant my garlic before winter. Early in sping, they also sell their seedlings.
Shish Taouk
Abou Elias all the way, best eaten standing up, anywhere in the commotion between watching al jazira on the flat screen and having to move your car cause 25 other patrons are taking out.
The secret to Abou Elias is three fold:
- the meat cut to perfection and tradition
- The charcoal grills
- The fact that they make the rolls and then re-grill them for a slight crust feel... mmmm
You`ll need at least 4 per person cause they are small and also, you can call in advance for your order. You`ll understand everything when you get there...
Pizza Stone?
My apologioes if I am repeating stuff said. I get my stone at Dante on Dante, I have cracked one in about 10 years and paid 30$ for it. I leave in the ven all the time, it`s a benefit, it will only dissipate the heat better.
As far as using it with pizza, I basically pump the hell out of the oven (even use autoclean if possible) I do have a transfer pizza board. Make sure that you build your pie on the spot on a good layer of wheat seminola. That will make the crust slid on the rock much better. I also throw a bit of seminola on the rock. The wheat simply locks out any remaining humidity in the crust and also creates tiny burns in the crust, this as close as you could get from wood ash burns.
Kid-friendly in Quebec City
I second, Paillard (bread and pastry heaven), there is also cafe du clocher penche (best all day), le cafe du monde (all the time also). Le cafe Kriegof. The brunch in the summer at Toast is amazing. Les Bossus. Greasy spoon au acfe des Antiquaire. The original poutine kingdome at Ashton. There a few good list, on a non busy week day, you could walk in in many places with kids no problem.
Which cupcake shop?
I have to completely agree with the following cup cake review, this blogger OWNS !:
http://underthehighchair.blogspot.com/2007/06/montreals-best-cupcake-and-then-some.html
Romantic QC dinner on a Monday?
good choice IMO, probably best choice on a Monday. Les Anciens Canadiens romantic ? Meat pie ? No.
Best restaurants in Quebec City
Also, I do not live in QC but am there every 10 days for a few nights and I would not recommend St-Amour, touristy, ridiculous prices too.
Best restaurants in Quebec City
Sorry Bahuaud has closed more than a year ago. The closing went silent, the building and terrasse are all there, lonely and forgotten, quite a shame in this beautifull hidden diplomatic area of town... The place would make for a beautifull new hotspot.
Best pizza in MTL
Reguardless of the oven, you need a space that will retain the heat after opening the door. I use a massively thick slab of pizza stone, I sprinkle a bit of wheat semilona on the rock and let it dry a bit, this will dissipate any humidity that lays at the bottom of the crust while cooking,letting it bruns will also mimick that firy ash like taste. To know when your pizz is ready: you should be able to pick the side up by one hand, flip up the whole thing, if it bares slight signs of burns just slide it off on a plate, it should be stiff but still flexible. Don't go putting hords of crap on there.
re: mrbozo beckybee Apr 28, 2007
Unfortunately, the best Pizza is just off the island and onto the South Shore in Greenfield Park at a place called Miss Italia.
Again, Miss Italia, nothing "Italia" about it but it's not a bad cheese on top amercian style.
If you live on the south shore, go to Primi Piatti on Green Street in Saint-Lambert. They can handle that nice oven.
My last great pizz was at Delfino`s pizza in San Francisco, they have an american white pizz special, layer of chopped leeks, fontal cheese, few pieces of cured meat, four asparagus and two eggs sunny side up broken on delivery, layered with olive oil. Very salty but good.
Best pizza in MTL
Well, I think most folks need to specifiy American style pizza. I have had too much of the real Italian Pizza and even in Italy, they will have pizza scams for tourist, italian pizz made for north americano, typically, this is your bardeco, amelios etc... I consider this junk food, bad fatty cheese of poor quality, single rise pizza using all purpose flower, bad pepperoni or amercian prscuto, yerk,etc... In pizza less is more, oven is as hot as can get, crust is thin enough to hold thinned out ingredients, crackly but can fold. There is NO tomatoe paste (grossly used at Napolitano) and the ingredient are as fresh as possible. I find bottego has it, Prato not bad, quite frankly I do mine on a rock with oven at max (if needed I will use the autoclean mode) using 00 flour and beer yeast, any greens are tossed before serving just enough to wilt on the cheese. I am sure there are other spots as mentionned above.
This is an old debate and if you like fat cheesy pizz, all the best for you. I consider New System pizza to be discusting, that place is run by the mob, the person they have in mind when they make pizza is not the person eating it... That`s just wrong and sets back the art of pizza that has existed long before this civilisation... sorry but i compare this to someone from Tim Buk 2 explaining to a Montrealer how a big mechanised puffy bready bagle is so much better than that Montreal crap...
Best Coffee in Montreal?
ha the good old coffee debate, you`ll never get over it !
I wanted to mention that if Capitol offers Illy at low prices using sub standard baristos, it is because they are the Illy distributor for Quebec... and believe me, there is a coffee control war out there, so now the Illy is going to the people and the Costco...
Also, I like to have a good coffee at Club Social myself or Graze Mille.
Girls night out in Quebec City
You're kind of out of luck with BYOB restos in Quebec City that I know of. A few cheesey vietnamese places or so. There is Tokyo Suhi that does BYOB but I have no other idea. Hotspots for dancing, well it depends, the main circuit is on GRande Allée boulevard with huge discos, if you are travelling, then you will meet other travellers... locals tend to be in other places, with older crowds, such as galerie Rouje shows, there is Sonar club on Cartier, the boudoir lounge in Saint-Rock. If you just want to dance to cheesy lambada moves with the odd 4 latinos of Quebec City, then you can go to Maurice... All nights are different in Quebec City.
5 nights in Quebec City- need rec's
Your list is good, I do not know le Patriarche. I would definitely try a night at Utopie, better if not best
http://www.restaurant-utopie.com/
Initiale, Utopie, Laurie are very nice. Toast is always nice, it is a tad more exotic in how they mix flavors. Utopie as a great wine list.
Without the shadow of a doubt, you want to have either brunch, lunch and dinner at Cafe de Cloche Pencher. It is in St-Roch quarters, very close to Utopie. Personnaly, I almost live there. The staff is great, the lunch prices are beyond any understanding. You might be suprised to find it one of your better dinners.
Le Café du clocher penché
203, Saint-Joseph
Québec City – 418 640-0591
Also, go taste a good croissant at the new French style Bakerie and lunch box, Paillard on St-Jean.
The Montcalm quarters (south of Loews Hotel) has a few good eats for your money. They are all on Cartier Street. Kreigoff Cafe will serve complete from morning to late night. La Noce, wich is more upscale but still a great value and Dahura which is a small thai take out (we are talking thai made in Quebec City, nothing particuly traditionnal but stilla good deal).
