thelonious777's Profile
Early dinner @ Joe Beef w/toddler
There are restaurants for children. Joe Beef is not one of them. Just my opinion.
-----
Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA
Hostaria
Il Mulino (now Hostaria) owner is father of owner of Bottega.
-----
Bottega
65 Rue Saint-Zotique E, Montreal, QC H2S1K7, CA
Hostaria
236 Rue St Zotique E, Montreal, QC H2S 1K9, CA
Turkey time
That's not true. Some birds are fed animal by-products and there is variation with respect to antibiotic use as well. Cage free or not there is also generally a difference in the amount of exercise and age between supermarket and "organic" turkeys which affects meat quality. Finally, there are significant differences in processing as supermarket birds are pre-brined and frozen. I usually buy my turkeys from Saint-Vincent or Prince Noir in JTM.
Do NOT order omakase at Jun i
If it was omakase then why did you think you would get to choose anything?
Sounds like they messed up, but I assume they charged you about what that would cost on the menu. I have had good experiences ordering omakase and specifying approximately how much I wanted to eat (and I think a number of other posters here have as well).
Also completely disagree that the sushi is average. It is as good as it gets in Montreal (unless you like it stuffed with Cheetos, deep fried and served with BBQ sauce).
Cheeburger Cheeburger?
Best two burgers in Montreal: (1) Lawrence and (2) Jolifou. Neither is a burger joint but both make burgers (Jolifou on good nights, Lawrence quite consistently) that can compete with any burger anywhere.
Lesley Chesterman [Montreal]
For the record, I have never met her (and have only communicated with her on Twitter a couple times).
Lesley Chesterman [Montreal]
I don't mind being the voice of dissent here. I think Lesley Chesterman is more knowledgeable about food than approximately 100% of the people posting on Chowhound (I rounded up). I won't defend the quality of the writing, but in all fairness once you've written 100 or more restaurant reviews (as I have) you will discover that the subject matter is somewhat limiting. Also let's not forget that (IMHO) the content of the Gazette is geared to aging Anglo housewives, so many of us are not the target audience.
I think the smartest thing said in this string was don't read it, if you don't like it.
Map of Great Burgers joints in Montreal
Could someone rename this thread "Map of Places probably serving Hamburgers"?
Visiting Portsmouth, NH
Just got back from my second trip to Portsmouth in the past few years. It is not a good town for fine dining. The upscale dining experience in Portsmouth would be considered average (at best) in Boston or Montreal. Based on past experience Black Trumpet is very over-rated for fine dining--a menu that tries to be trendy but is not executed well.
Tried Jumpin Jay's this time and also found it average--no remotely local fish on offer. The fish and scallops were well prepared but everything that wasn't a protein was very amateurish. Also dingy and a very unappealing bug fell from the dusty lights above onto our table. It was OK, but I wouldn't go back.
I also tried Surf and it was the best "upscale" restaurant I have been to in Portsmouth to date, but probably because we stuck to simple fare (raw bar and lobster). Again though, the sides (especially the mashed potatoes) were terrible and most of the items from the raw bar were not very impressive (underseasoned scallop ceviche and could have been fresher tuna). Lobster was very good. Service was slow but friendly.
I think the way to go in Portsmouth is downscale--burgers, lobster pound etc..because upscale is invariably disappointing. Pretty little town, though...
restaurants in santiago de compostole
I will be posting pics on my website soon (hopefully). The most memorable was a whole lightly battered deep fried rockfish with aioli that we eat with our hands. It was beautifully presented and completely devoured.
Sunday in Barcelona
No need to be defensive--I'm not blaming anyone for a "bad"recommendation just providing my feedback as it seems La Dama gets recommended a lot on this board as a sure thing on Sundays/Mondays. The point is just that I'm not sure the people doing the recommending eat there frequently, so they might be interested in feedback. I would be.
We ordered a couple of "seasonal" apps not on the regular menu, including sauteed wild mushrooms which were poorly cooked and underseasoned. The lobster with rice (lobster paella) was also underseasoned. The rest was not bad, but nothing particularly impressive either. Could it have been the wrong dishes or an off-night? Sure. But if I had to guess, I would guess our experience was more typical than not.
I love traditional cooking (actually more than the avant garde stuff in general) but the technique was just not here. It could have four Michelin stars for all I care--my meal just wasn't very good.
Again, not to cast aspersions on anyone for recommending it--this is just my feedback.
Sunday in Barcelona
Just to close the loop, I will reiterate what I wrote in another thread. La Dama served us an extremely expensive and (almost comically) poorly prepared meal (seasoning and cooking skills of an enthusiatic but inexperienced home cook). I do appreciate all the advice I have received on this site, but think those in the know should re-consider recommending La Dama as a sure thing.
restaurants in santiago de compostole
Just a follow up with respect to Marcello--I think it is really under-rated. The tasting menu was one of the best meals (and biggest surprises) of our trip . Much more impressive than Can Fabes or Cinq Sentits in Barcelona, which are much more ballyhooed. The menu was well designed as a whole with a good dish to dish progression and reasonable portion sizes. Technically each dish was well seasoned and technically very sound and the cuisine is very ingredient driven with a bit (but not too much) of a modern twist. Nice views into an open kitchen and very charming service by the cooks who bring you your food tableside.
If you go to Santiago, eat at Marcello...I don't think you will be disappointed.
Barcelona: Filling in gaps - esp Monday!
I ended up going to La Dama on a Sunday in May based on recommendations on this board that it would be the best bet that night. The restaurant is in a very interesting Art Nouveau building but that's theonly nice thing I can say about it. Maybe one dish was well seasoned and executed. The rest were average at best and it was one of the most expensive meals we had in Barcelona. While you can never be sure, I don't think it was an off night either. It is basically impossible to pay that much for such an underwhelming meal in Montreal, so you can imagine my disappointment.
Incidentally, I also thought Cinc Sentits was overhyped, and much preferred my meal at Saüc-- very well thought out and executed plates. Tickets was, unsurprisingly, amazing.
Bilbao
Any can't miss eating experiences in Bilbao? Names that have come up are Cafe Iruna and Azurmendi. As with my other requests, it can be fine dining or a hole in the wall, as long as it is good. Thanks in advance for your help.
restaurants in santiago de compostole
To refocus on Santiago de Compostella, the most prominent names I have heard are Marcello, Carretas and Don Gaiferos. Any insight on these.
Any other input on what is interesting foodwise here would be appreciated. It can be high end or really simple. Anything memorable really. Thanks in advance for your help.
Sunday in Barcelona
I have looked through a few threads on this topic but the Sunday night advice always seems to be squeezed in with a lot of other advice.
Simple question: what is the most memorable meal you can have in Barcelona on a Sunday night?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
fish & chips?
Okay. Let's just say the lobster roll (and everything else on the menu at Muvbox) is sh!t and move forward with the negative feedback on that basis.
Please help finalize Montreal resto choices
Joe Beef and Garde Manger are French influenced? I guess its all relative but that is still a bit of a head scratcher for me. La Porte qualifies as modern French and the backbone of Les Trois Petits Bouchon is French as well. I think Mas Cuisine fits the bill best by a longshot. You might also consider Laloux.
-----
La Porte Restaurant
3627 Boul Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2X2V5, CA
Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA
Mas Cuisine
3779 Rue Wellington, Verdun, QC H4G, CA
Finding Farm-Fresh Eggs
In my experience the eggs from Le Capitaine are often no fresher than what you can find at Metro. Part of the barcode shows the day they were laid/processed so its easily verifiable.
...and just to say it, I would assume any egg with the barcode is not "farm fresh" or at least not in the way I would like it to be.
Best gourmet Lebanese
I would say its between Daou and Alep but Alep is closed so that makes it pretty easy for the next couple weeks. Very similar menu notwithstanding Alep's insistence that it is Syrian (unsurprisingly since the Brits drew the map relatively recently). Alep pushes the envelope a little bit more than Daou which is very old school but does old school well. Alep has also put a lot of effort into its wine list over the past few years. There are items I prefer more at each place so hard to pick definitively.
I prefer the Daou on Marcel-Laurin by far although a lot of people seem to prefer the one on Faillon. Having eaten at the former hundreds of time and the latter only a few times I have always found that position bemusing. I would boldly say that the one on Marcel-Laurin is significantly better. I haven't had an issue with service at either one, although I wouldn't qualify them as fancy.
Ezo is run by another Daou sister (Celine's favourite). It is fancier in an aseptic manner and is strong on mezze but weaker on the grilled stuff. I understand it was firebombed (apparently more than once) last week and this may have affected hours of operation, although I don't actually read the Journal de Montreal so I can't confirm this.
Authentic sushi restaurant
My $0.02:
Almost all sushi in North America (including from the big names in NYC and on the West Coast) is not really authentic if authentic means Edo-style sushi as prepared in Japan.
The big differentiator between bad and good and great is the experience and training of the itamae (sushi is one of the most technique driven cuisines in my mind) and the quality of the products.
More than one sushi restaurant in Montreal obtains fish other than through mass distribution channels, so its not true that all fish is distributed via the United States. Kaizen and Jun I (to my knowledge) directly source at least some of their product.
Whether the chef is Japanese or not is completely irrelevant although people tend to focus on this as a factor to establish authenticity. A chef trained in Japan may have better technique but someone well trained in North America could be better (regardless of ethnicity).
Three Days (I Promise I've Done My Homework)
Comparing L'Express and Lemeac to Cinquieme Peche or Mas is a bit like comparing apples and oranges, so I'm not surprised they "weren't contenders". L'Express (especially) and Lemeac do not veer far from traditional bistro fare while Cinquieme Peche and Mas offer cuisine that is more modern, more market driven and less tied to a single culinary tradition. No matter what you think of the former two, it's just not the same sport.
I think Cinquieme Peche and Mas do make a good comparison at least in the sense that they are catering to the same niche in terms of food and ambiance. My own impression (based on multiple meals at Mas and a single meal at the new Cinquieme Peche) is quite different than yours. The cuisine at Cinquieme Peche is market driven but with a definite French backbone, so although it might be imaginative by the standards of French classicism, I don't think it is particularly imaginative by the standards of New York, San Francisco or even the new Paris. By comparison, I ate a couple of dishes at Mas I thought were cutting edge for Montreal (marinated salmon with cauliflower florets, curry, raw grapes, currants and pine nuts and a re-working of duck a l'orange that involved emulsifying a whole orange) and I would have to say that it is hands down a more innovative kitchen.
My experience (and hearsay) is that the food at both restaurants tends to be well executed. In any event, saying "my overcooked fish at one bothered me less than the limp vegetables at the other" isn't exactly a basis for objective comparison. Although I had some seasoning issues at Cinquieme Peche, I can't say that everything I have had at Mas has been immaculate either. Having said that, it's easier to pull off a more traditional menu than one that pushes the boundaries so that has to count for something.
So in my mind it's not really a close contest. In fact until Lesley Chesterman gave it a good review recently I thought the hype was one of those Chowhound things, but now I think I will give it another shot. But if you take price into consideration (and most of us do), then Mas really comes out the winner.
-----
L'Express Restaurant
3927 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2W2M4, CA
Le St. Urbain
I will second the disappointment. Good service but it was a bit of the emperor-has-no-clothes moment for me after all the good things I had heard. I think its much more modern (and more interesting) than standard Montreal bistro fare but did not deliver for me. Maybe just a bad night.
Lollypop Steaks
According to a (less than thorough) Google search, the term , at least now, appears predominantly to refer to a frenched bone-in ribeye. That would be a pretty massive piece of meat, so not sure if it is the same as your steak of yore.
Little Italy suggestions..
I think Babbo is only more intimate than Vinizza in the sense that it is always empty. It's not so much that the restaurant needs to be small or have a patio that is the problem, its that nobody makes very good food at that price point in Little Italy. Basi might be the exception but the old Spice Safar decor has so far prevented me from eating there. Would be interested in feedback if anybody goes.
