Monday, June 26, 2017

Café Olimpico

Ma work girl Margo pretty much forced me, with all her might (and she's a small girl) to try her fave coffee place in the Mile End. I don't like coffee, so, for me, it wasn't a life or death situation. But for her, it was. So I dsid, I tried Olimpico a couple weeks back right before hitting up le roller derby a couple blocks away. Perfect!
The place is an institution: it's been there for I don't even know how many years but believe me when I say they have regulars. I'm gonna go ahead and say 50% of their clientele are. We sat on the terrace where they only have benches: very suitable for chatting and meeting new peeps. Clients hang out there, right outside, inside, pretty much everywhere. Iz nice. I can see why some would feel like home here.
Since I didn't want no coffee and it was damn hawt outside, I had a cold chocolate milk. Oh, and I had the affogato. I know it was, like, blasphemy, to not drink le coffee but what can I do? I've tried to drink the stuff more times than I can count and I just CANNOT do it. I cannot. Do it. Last time I took a couple sips, I was sick all day. Not pleasant!
El chocolate. Let me reiterate: I loathe coffee. I LOVE hot chocolate. On that day, it was way too hot for me to drink hot stuff so I asked for a cold one. No, not a beer, I hate that too. Hahaha. I know, I suck. The drink was very sweet and sort of meh. A bit disappointing. Hey, Olimpico is not synonym of chocolate, it is synonym of coffee!
Which is why I had to have somethin' with coffee in there. I had the affogato with hazelnut ice cream. At 6 (or 8... can't recall) dollars, I thought it was a touch expensive for ice cream but it was quite good indeed! The shot of espresso went really well with the ice cream and although it was quite a big dessert, and I didn't have the hunger to finish it, it was quite satisfying. I NEVER say this about anything with coffee. Eva.

Service was very friendly and quick. The dude at the counter told me what to get because I had next to no clue and I was satisfied with his choice :)

And now, les scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 9

Not sure if I'll go back on my own but I'm pretty positive Margo will make sure I do :)

Café Olimpico Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Friday, June 23, 2017

J'm la frite

Sometimes, I just need some good fries. And where else to go but J'M la Frite? OK, that's a stupid question... there are a LOT of places to hit up some good fries in Montreal. In Verdun and Pointe St-Charles only, there are about 12. I am not even kidding.
As soon as I entered the resto, I somewhat regretted it. Everything was soooo old. And dusty. AND old. The décor is really lovely though. OK, I'm clearly kidding. Everything should be changed. Everything. Ugh. I'm sorry, but those fake flowers have been there fore roughly 10 to 20 years. They have accumulated so much dust that the dust has become an extension of said flower. The peach walls hurt my eyes, and the frames on the walls were so damaged by the sun and time that the pictures had almost disappeared. True story. Everything is rickety and the whole place would need a hell of a makeover. Example: when the guy sitting in the booth in front of me moved, I moved. Yish!

I was there to eat the fries of course. I tried to order merguez sausages but they didn't have em'. You know when you want to order something and you're excited about it and they're out? Sucks.
So, I had le burger and les fries. The potatoes were perfect. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside! The meat was a bit dry and it was a basic, really basic, uber basic burger. Oh and to top it off, a nice little Kraft Single in there. Aaaand I was 5 years old again. Needless to say the burg (ya, I'm using 'burg' now) was a letdown.

Service was ok. I guess. The guy clearly did not belong there. I would have seen him more as a bell boy for the Ritz. He was forty ish and French and, well, I don't know why, but it was whhheird. He was not very present and seemed to spend most of his time either in the kitchen or seated in a booth at the entrance.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6 Fries save the day again!
Service: 5.5

I can tell you I shant go back. I don't even need to think about it.

J'm la frite Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Farrouj

Best pic EVA
A couple weeks ago, I was heading to Toronto right after work. I decided that I deserved to buy myself some lunch. You see, I always either have a salad full of protein or meat/fish and veggies. It was pig-out time. I loves me a good Lebanese. Let me be clearer: I ain't being dirty or anything, I'm talkin' about the great food. Sheesh!

Farrouj is part of (or should I say 'THE') the food court in Galéries du Parc, right under my place of work, in the Transat building. OK, there are about 5 restaurants, but after speaking to some colleagues, Farrouj remains the best one.
I had a HUGE plate. It was a tad expensive at 16$ but hey, I don't buy Lebanese food every day! A girl can only dream! Let's begin, shall we? The taboule was right ON except for one thing: peppers. Who in their right mind puts peppers in taboule. WHO? I need names. The rest was SO nice and lemony and taboule-y (ya, it's a thing). Just take the peppers out. Thank you for your cooperation. Hummus was good but a bit on the pasty side and not seasoned enough. The garlic sauce was... effin garlicky. Wow! No vampires for me tonight OR I'd say for 2 or 3 nights. Ya, it was THAT strong. Some would have found it whhhhay too much, but for me, it was just perf. The chicken was, for a lack of a better word, perfection. Remember, in Friends, when Chandler is stuck in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre and he says that gum would be perfection? No? Well, I DO. And this juicy, perfectly grilled, seasoned just right chicken WAS perfection. The beef wasn't as good and it was a bit on the dry side. The pieces were too big to put in ma mouth and it was annoying to bite into them. The falafel salad, I had never seen before. Lots of spices in there made it very tasty but the sesame sauce they drizzled (major understatement) on top made it soggy. The chickpea salad seemed a bit old but it wasn't that bad so, I mean, imagine if it would've been fresh!

Service was good. It took a while to get ma shtuff because they were cooking the meat but that just means it was that much better and fresher!

And now, le score!

Food: 7.5

I'll go back if I have a craving for Lebanese OR if, let's say, I forget my lunch!


Farrouj Express Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato 

Sunday, June 4, 2017

IKEA

About twice a year, I IKEA. Oh ya, it's a verb: I IKEA, you IKEA, we IKEA. As in 'hey, you want to IKEA today'. Yes. Don't mind if I do. When I went with my mom recently, I specifically asked we go around lunch time so that I could try somethin' on their menu. Somethin' other than their (awesome) meatballs. It was time for new adventures.
Last time I was in the IKEA cafeteria, it must have been last year. Thing is, from my recollection, it had about 10 tables and a small counter. That hardly makes any sense seeing as now, they have room for at least 100 clients and they have an actual ordering system in place. I told my mom about this and she was like 'ça fait longtemps que c'est comme ça, fille' (it's been like this for a while, daughter). I instantly blamed my brain surgery. Hey, I gots to use that excuse!
The actual place is very nice, complete with every last piece of IKEA furniture you'll find in the store. I mean, is there a better way to showcase what you are selling? No. No there isn't. You can take a little cart to put your trays in and sometimes, if you have the family card, you get discounts. Yaaassss! I loves me a good discounted meatball. The ambiance included lots of rolling cart noises and the view was on the big ass parking lot. Lovely, really. I'm kiiiiidding.
IFS or IKEA food services include the Swedish food market (hello, meatball sauce) and the restaurant. Whoever had this idea was a damn genius. A genius I say! They have good quality food and very competitive prices. OK, so, you go shopping, right? And then you stumble upon the restaurant and you decide, HEY, why not have a meatball or eight, and you have more time to talk about furniture buyin'. Then, you leave, you go through the store, and you buy more sh*t, because you are well rested and full of energy. And BAM: you've just spent another 200$!
We both had the salmon, another IKEA classic. Well, I think the meatballs are number 1 and the salmon is number 2. Oh, but then there are the hot dogs downstairs. AND the ice cream! F*ck it, they have a bunch of classics. Anyhoot, poached salmon with mustard sauce and barley salad. Hey, you can't go wrong with this healthy alternative. The fish was nice and hot and went really well with that smooth mustard sauce. A match made in heaven. Actually, I've been cooking my salmon with mustard ever since. Yes, I'm that impressionable. No I'm not. OK, only if YOU say so :p I really loved that salad: I rarely eat barley and damn it, I'm lookin' for new grains in ma life. It was cooked just right. The parsnip was undercooked but the other veggies were damn awesome. All I's gots to say is that it did NOT taste like cafeteria food.
After the cash, thee are more opportunities to get us with extra purchasin': ice cream, hot-dogs, fries, oh my! We just had to have ourselves a nice little choco/vanilla soft served ice cream cone.
I wasn't the one that got up and went to the counter but according to my mama, service was quick and efficient and very well organized. I would not expect anything else from the most organized store in the world.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5
Service: 9

Don't even ask; like the Terminator, I'll be back! (OK, it's only because I JUST saw Arnold on my computer... and no other reason)

Ikea Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato 

Friday, June 2, 2017

Le Festin du Capitaine

I was invited to The Captain's Boil seafood boil battle. Not sure how I like the word 'boil', but let's skip that part. I invited ma gurl Bridge whom we will call boo. Because, she's ma boo, god damn it! Ya, we're tight like that. Get over it!
The premise of the bb or dsouble b as I like to call it is this: four Montreal chefs battle for the best seafood boil. Did you say seafood? I'm there! There was chef JC from Presto Gourmet (catering), chef Christ from Le Petit Creux (they serve everything from poutine to burgers to soup to dessert), chef Denis from pub Brewskey (in marché Bonsecours, where beer is the main ingredient!) and chef Victor from Tacos Victor (tacos, hello! ceviche, hello!!!). Btw, Victor had brought his cute kids!! And every dang time I said something inappropriate (or innapropes as we like to say) to Boo, he would pass by and look all shocked, and then she would make me feel bad about it. I must have said *fuck* at least three times around him. Way to ruin a childhood, Marie. WAY. To. Go.
The chefs had 45 minutes to prepare their boils (this word is not getting any better), so in the mean time, the hostess announced something that both made boo and I very happy. More than happy actually. I'd go more for 'ecstatic'. This is how it was announced: 'so that you have something to do while the chefs are cooking, we will be serving lobster. Excuse me, WHAT? Oh ma GAWD. I jumped on that sh*t faster than a cheetah jumps on its prey. Ya. I'm that quick.
Ah, the lobster: my ALL TIME favourite food. My mom once told me that when we use to head to Maine in the summer time when we were young'uns, she just wasn't able to be as fast as my sister and I when it came to breaking and eating those bad boys. I've been known to win lobster eating contests here and there and I owe it all to my mom. Merci, maman. Merci. Anyway. They served us half a`*huge mother freaking* lobster each with some spicy cajun style fries and we were in heaven. It was big. It was buterry. It was garlicky. It was awesome. They had provided bibs and gloves to eat the heavenly creatures but boo and I just went at it. Our table was full of carcasses in no time and we almost had butter dripping from our mouths. And then, an opportunity came along: the boys beside us had trouble cracking one of their HUGE claws. I said 'why do I go to the gym?' and then I spent 4 minutes trying AND successfully getting that meat out of that claw. It was my finest moment. Ever.

Back to the contest...
1st dish: Ceviche by chef Victor. Mussels and shrimp. Full of flavour and very fresh. There was also a nice sweet side to it which made it that much better.

2nd dish: 'Around the world' by Chef Denis. This was a bit odd. First bite was way too sweet and then it was way too spicy. Rice was overcooked and the temperature wasn't right. The clam was good though, and the shitake were meaty and effin awesome.

3rd dish: Somewhat of a paella by chef JC. The risotto was largely overcooked and the flavours just weren't there. The mussel was also way too huge. That sh*t kind of creeps me out. Seriously, even giants would have found this creature big. Alright, that made next to no sense.

4th dish: Louisiana seafood boil by chef Christ. Seafood, potatoes and corn; what else would a girl want? Well, these girls didn't really want them potatoes, but still. A bunch of spices including curry were in there and it was delightful. Delightful I say! Oh, and there was also a crab leg in there. Hello! The mussel had taken on all that awesome flavourin' and the corn was cooked to perfection. At some point, the spices became a bit too much for Bridge and I but it was still a great dish.

The winner (drum roll please): the 4th dish! We both LOVED chef Victor's ceviche but didn't find it as original as Christ's dish.

Service was... busy. We got there and got a great welcome. It's always nice to say that you are 'Eating Out Montreal' and guest. That will NEVER get old. We sat down, got some drinks and were told to mingle a bit before the real shiz started happening. It took everything in their power to get us extra napkins (we ravaged that lobster) and it took a while for us to get our second round of beverages. Yes. I AM demanding. All in all, it was good service. One really, REALLY bad thing they did was throw AWAY that big ass lobster claw I broke free from the shell when the guys were absent from their table. I mean, who DOES that? The answer is no one. NO one. It was all smiles though, which is always better!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 9

Will I go back? Of their actual menu, we only got a taste of the lobster and that probably costs a gazillion dsollars. PLUS, a restaurant called the Captain's Boil isn't that appetizing to me. But hey, who knows, when I get rich and I feel like a having a little seafood snack, I might pass by :)


Le Festin du Capitaine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato