Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Sesame

An old friend of mine (I'm talking more than 15 years here!) and I were looking for a fun resto to eat lunch at last week. I thought about Sesame right in front of Atwater market. It's close: about a 13 minute walk from my place!

The place looks nice; I've always passed by it in the evening time and the dim lights make for a cool looking space. It was kind of wood cabiny.

Anyhoot, we got there and the girl that was behind the counter told us to just order there and we'd get served at our table. Weird. I guess daytime is not their busiest time.

I had the pad thai--it had been, it seems, YEARS since I had had a good pad thai. The shrimp were very tasty and the whole thing was very peanuty. It was a tad on the sour side though which was a bit unpleasant. Still, it was a good portion but not the best pad thai I've had by any means.

My friend had the shrimp (it was somewhat of a theme here) with peanut (again, theme!). It was not too sweet which we liked. The veggies were ok. The jasmin rice was too sticky but there was a good amount of sauce.

What was fun was that we could serve ourselves an array of water: ex: strawberry or lime water. That was a nice touch.

I won't even comment on the service since it was practically nonexisting.

And now, the scores!

Food: an average of 7
Service: 5

I'm not going to say I regret trying this place but we should have gone somewhere else perhaps.


Sesame on Urbanspoon

Greasy Spoon

My friend Lea had a coupon for this place and so invited me to eat there oh so graciously! Yay!!! Me loves food.

At first, with a name like 'Greasy Spoon'.... you're thinking greasy food right? Nope! It's decor suggests more like comforting food: it's kind of like you are in a chalet or a lodge with wooden everything, skis and animal heads and skates! I really liked it!

The place has about 60 to 65 seated places plus about 10 at the bar and plays popular music. It has a nice big terrasse that was not in use because it was getting cold. It's very dark in there. Like... VERY dark. As in you have a hard time reading your menu almost. Anyhoot, what was fun is that we got there before the dinner rush so we could choose our table!

We started off with drinks... DUH! Lea had a Purple Rain  which turned out to be very grapy and dangerous---because of all the grape taste... you had a hard time tasting the alcohol... therefore dangerous! I had the I Love Sangria  because, well, let's face it, I just loves me a good sangria! It was good and fruity AND winy but not the best I've had.
And now, the food! As an entree, I had the duck tataki. It was OK. Could have been more tasty, as in they could have infused more flavours in there. The mushrooms were dsamn good. The salad that came with the duck was nice and refreshing.

Lea had the tuna. Ah, tuna! I would have chosen the tuna but I didn't want to take the same plate. It was oh-so-tasty (we almost licked the plate), with a great peanut aioli. The chips that came with it could have been crispier though.

As for the main, I had the Angus steak (I wanted to compare with L'Atelier d'Argentine!) with chimichurri, mayo and fries. The fries could have been crispier (mmmmm soggy fries!) but were homemade so at least that was a plus. Half the meat was tender and the other half was incredibly chewy. Again, mmmm chewy meat. NOT! It was well seasoned though. The chimichurri was actually really good and had parsley in it amongst the other herbs. It was very tasty! The plate was cold though so the meat became cold in 3.5 seconds. Why oh why don't restaurants know by now that when you serve something hot, the plate's gotta be hot too?
Lea had the salmon and corn. She was really hoping that the corn was not going to arrive on the cob but hey, that's exactly what happened! It was actually good corn (we know that these days, the corn ain't the best) and not pasty at all. The salmon itself had crispy side which was well appreciated by both of us and the flavours were very good. The watercress salad was kind of meh and just should not have been. It didn't add anything to the dish.
As for the desert, I had the After Eight mousse which was de-wait for it-licious! Topped with whipped cream, it was the perfect desert! And it wasn't TOO minty. Lea had the cookie with ice cream which was, as she described it, warm goodness.

As for the service, it was great. Our waiter was very present from start to finish. Water was always refilled and we were asked how we liked every dish.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 9

A great new place to try, especially the tartare! Dso it!



Greasy Spoon on Urbanspoon

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Kam Wing

After a long work day, I decided that I would get some take-out. Kam Wing is not too far from my place so I decided to go there! Warning: flash review!!!

I had the general tao combo that comes with either wonton soup or sweet and sour soup (I chose s+s) and either a spring roll or little peanut sauced dumplings (had the dumplings, of COURSE!).

Sweet and sour soup
-too thick
-a bit gooey
-some kind of tofu ishh slimy thing in there that I don't appreciate

Tiny dumplings with peanut sauce
-yummy in my mouth!
-thick and nice!
-very tasty and full of flavour
-so good, I ate three in 2.5 seconds

General Tao chicken
-Tasty sauce
-Dry-ish chicken
-Liked the fact that it's in a ball
-Rice was nice and sticky
-3 tiny pieces of brocoli (so if you're looking for veggies... mmmya... good luck)

And the score for food: 6.5.
Could have been higher but damn that soup!

A nice take out place. One of those where they sell everything asian from chinese to sushi. Ha. Worth a try if you have a small budget! (this cost me, with taxes, a mere 11$!).






Kam Wing on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Helena

One of my good friends Lena was in town for a convention last month and I got to stay with her in her hotel room at the Westin on St-Antoine so Helena was just a hop and a skip away.

We went with her boss which meant... yay... free meal :p But seriously, it was really pleasant to meet her and REALLY nice of her to pay for me! 

Anyhoot, we got seated right away in this very cute resto. Our waiter arrived at our table in 2,5 seconds and served us water in 3. He was very knowledgeable ( me hates stoopid waiters) and answered all the questions we had about the mneu and even suggested a bottle of wine.

First, he brought us some olives and oil oil with some bread---> just like in Portugal (ah...Portugal!). Also, fava beans!Yum! He suggested we have the tapas menu for three... and that's exactly what we had!

We started off with the bread and chorizo butter. Miam!!! The butter wa not over powering and the olive oil was just nice!

Then we had the octopus. Hello, octopus! Seriously, the first octopus EVER that I ate and did not go EW! It wan't squishy like most I've eaten. It was just right! It had a nice char on it and it was actually very tender!
After that, aperagus with St-George cheese. Looked quite fancy, all shaved and stuff (and no... I won't make a 'shaved' joke here... ;p ). They were well charred and the almonds on top added a nice crunch!
After that, there was... wait for it... foie gras. Well hellooooo there! It was very silky and soft but the fig that was accompanying it was a bit grainy. Also, we wished that there had been more toasts!
The next one was cured meat with peas and aparagus. It was a bit on the salty side but still very delicious!!!

The clams and chorizo was a bit on the salty side and a tad squishy unfotunately but still quite didelidam delicious!
The scallops were good, but cold :( Grrrrr! I hates me some cold food that should be hot! Parsley added a nice touch of flavor and the thick silky sauce was amazing!

Our desert reminded me so much of Portugal, its A-MA-ZING! First of all, hello pasteis de nata!!! They were even BETTER than IN Portugal (I swear!). The churros were awesome and flaky... but the figues, again, kind of disappointed.

The service was wonderful throughout the meal. Our waiter was very present and seemed to always be there when we needed him! Water? Check! Wine? Check! We even ordered a second bottle.

And now, the scores!!!

Food: 9
Service: A great 9.8

A wonderful portuguese restaurant by Helena, who also own Portus Calle on St-Laurent! Please go and feel like you're in Portugal again. OR, pleae go and just feel like you're in Portugal ;)








Restaurant Helena on Urbanspoon

Monday, November 4, 2013

Atame

I got invited to try out this new restaurant a couple weeks back. Lea came with me and we were both very excited to see what this 'aphrodisiac' restaurant had to offer.

We were invited for 6 PM and got there at that time and thank the lordy lord we did because it became really full, really fast. Mistake was to have about 8 drinks (free :) ) to offer the clients instead of just one or two. It's an opening, it'll get busy and pretty much everyone will get there at the same time. But apart from that first impression, the restaurant itself was ok, a tad tacky with white everywhere a little stage for sexAY shows and big cushion-y chairs. We were seated in front of the stage with 2 couples; one girl that writes another food blog and her boyfriend and another girl that writes a fashion blog and her husband. They turned out to be great table friends! So interesting and fun to speak to other bloggers! 

Anyhoot, let's get back to those drinks, shall we? Lea had the Red Passion which was amaretto, cranberry juice and a bit of tabasco for a kick. She said it was sweet and very tasty. Lots of amaretto=yummy! I had something like the aphrodisiac cucumber. Or somethin. It was cucumber gin, grapefruit and smoked cinnamon. Oh and a hint of I don't know what that was supposed to be aphrodisiac... The smoked cinnamon was good but this drink took about 7 minutes to make! No good for an opening. It was refreshing and tasty nevertheless.
We were then served some bubbly. More drinks? Uh, sure! We were then supposed to pay for our subsequent drinks, so we had a couple but actually did not end up paying for them! Wait. More free drinks? Uh, sure!


At around 7h30, ze food started to come out. First, we got oysters. Aphrodisiac you said? They were served with a lychee mignonette and a passion fruit jelly. Oh and there was a mango chutney as well. It was a bit too much. I mean, for Lea who had never eva tried oysters, it was heaven because the oysters did not even taste like oysters. But one who enjoys them would not have appreciated the fact that the oyster taste, the brininess of it was nonexistent. 

Then, it was veal meatballs. A tasty dip and spicy mayo went well with them balls (I had to). The lettuce was not the right vessel though; it was hard to hold on, dip and eat. The sauce was better than the meatball, which was dry. I just know, deep, DEEEEP in my heart that if that meatball would have been moist, it would have tastier great. 

Then it was the beef tartare with 'asian flavours'. Even if I like everything asian or even 'asian flavoured', this didn't taste like much. No, wait.... The first bite was alright but the problem was that all the spices were concentrated on top of it.

Lamb sausage on a homemade pita bread. I like the idea. There was actually a homemade eggplant mousse that was wonderful. Unfortunately, the sausage was dry. Yet again dry meat. Grrr. Mama likes her meat moist (oh, boy, that sounds bad). The pita was a bit burnt but still tasted ok. Really, the best part was the soft, well seasoned eggplant mousse. Kudos.

Safran and coconut milk scallops. The crust was weird, as if they had crusted them 2 hours before. It was quite an unattractive dish.

Quails marinated in truffle oil. The meat was too dry and the truffle oil was a bit too strong for my taste.
Duck with a prune sauce with figs and a quinoa, blueberry and nut salad. First off, do you see any quinoa on my plate? That's because the two grains were hidden under all that arugula. OK, I usually love arugula but this was overkill: there was arugula in at least half their plates.

Filet mignon with pepper sauce and button mushrooms. The doneness was...not done at all... I'd say almost blue but I liked it and the flavours were very nice. Thick sauce with tender meat. Yum.

Hum hi, have you met me? Ya'll know I love seafood, especially lobster!!! Granted this one was a tad overcooked but it was still good. The tagliatelle were good and well cooked. Good flavours I thought.

For desert, it was a brownie with some fleur de sel and milk+amarula. This hit the spot. It was very rich but it was goo-hood!

Let's not forget this is an 'aphrodisiac restaurant' so... well... hello! There were a couple 'shows'. First one was this cute girl playing guitar, second one was this girl reading from Fifty Shades of Grey... which we found a bit annoying (I mean... it's an opening, don't expect everyone to shut up!) and the third one was...a stripper? Anyway, she stripped down to the bare minimum. I wouldn't say this was entertaining per se (even for me :) )

And now, the service. Our waitress always made sure we had water and she was always there to answer our questions about ze food. Oh and the other waiters/waitresses kept on bringing us only 4 or 5 of everything... but we were 6. At some point, she got it and brought us 7 of each :p Plus, after our two drinks, we ordered a couple more and those ended up being free as well so yay!!!

And now, the scores!

Food: a very generous 6
Service: 8,5

OK, so the food wasn't great and I don't think I'd go there only for the service... and certainly not for the shows. Sorry, but no bananas :p


Átame Restaurant Aphrodisiaque on Urbanspoon