Café International

I was invited once more to go to Café International! This time, it was to try their breakfast. They are new in the breakfast area (you know, THAT area!) and wanted my opinion. So, I brought my Bridgert, who, by the by, has been to two failed invitations because of bad food. She's one lucky girl, because this was [not] third time's a charm.

You can read all about Café International's decor and shizzle here: http://www.eatingoutmontreal.com/2016/06/cafe-international.html. There was 'jazzy' music; you know, the kind that plays in malls. Where only old people go to. That are about to dsie. But seriously. I would prefer some fancy Italian singer in my ears than that! 

I feel like it's my duty (and Bridgert would certainly agree) to mention the 800 errors on their breakfast menu. A couple mistakes is a-ok but more than a handful is just pushing it! Many accents were forgotten, syntax was all wrong and even some letters were omitted (its gruyère, not guyère---written like that every time).  It was pale blue with little drawings here and there of a sun OR a piece of bacon OR an egg. Come on. COME. ON. 

I hate bashing restaurants, especially the ones that invite me to eat fo FREE. I appreciate it, I really diddely dso! But I's got a job to do people, and that is to give my honest opinion about restaurants. And when the menu has shtuff like '2 eggs and bacon or sausage' or 'pain doré' or a fruit bowl or a damn bagel with damn smoked salmon on it, I get a little mad inside. Or a LOT mad, like the hulk. For a moment, I just wanted to leave, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

To make matters worse, I was told that the chef was to cook for us and surprise surprise, he wasn't even there when I arrived and did not for a good 30 minutes. Fun. He was awesome last time I went and he's a really super duper nice guy (you get it!) but gosh darn it boy, show up on time when someone is coming to see you!

The waitress suggested we have three dishes from the menu to share and I just felt like telling her we did not know what to pick because it all looked way too simple/bad/been there done that. I'm not even being mean, I'm being realistic here, people! 

Le croque madame. The only difference between this and the croque monsieur was that there was an egg.The egg was absolutely perfect and as y'all know, I'm egg-difficult. AND it was perfectly seasoned. 8 points! The ham was nice and on the thicker side of dem cold cuts, the tomato gave it some moisture, although the piece of bread on the bottom got a bit soggy. The bread was nicely grilled but there was something missing, like some pepper perhaps. Oh, and speaking as a butta-lovin' girl, there was a tad too much of it in this dish. I do know that butter makes everything better (I can't tell you how many times my 350 pound chef-teacher at ITHQ said this), but this was on the 'too much' side.

As a friend mentioned on Facebook when I posted this picture, 'why would you actually pay to eat that?'. Well, I didn't pay for it and I wouldn't have! I don't know if you can see it but there's a whole layer of butta kind of floating near the omelet. Ya. That's a whole layer of butter. It's like the omelet is Canada and butter is a whole province. You see what I'm getting at here? I'm going to have to tell my old prof, chef Jean-Jaques Morand, that he was wrong about butter. You CAN put too much. Apart from that nonsense, the omelet was alright but nothing spectacular: the seasoning was done right,  but the cheese wasn't completely melted. The homemade sausage was full of fennel which was quite tasty but it was unfortunately dry! Ugh.

The potatoes were the best part of the dish: crunchy, hot, soft on the inside and very well seasoned. Seasoning is very important, kids! The fruits were hanging around there and apart from the pear that was nicely cut, they were pretty much thrown onto the plate.

Pain doré. Let's face it, this is NOT pain doré. It wasn't thick enough, it didn't have a nice crust, and it just wasn't pain doré. Actually it tasted more like an uncooked pancake. I can honestly say that the best thing about this dish was the fact that there was a bit of lemon in the batter and that was very refreshing and awesomeballs. This pain doré was a big disappointment.

I had to make it up to Bridgert so I ordered what I had ordered last time: tiramisu. Ah, tiramisu: the dessert from Italian heaven. And you KNOW that heaven is filled with wonderful food. MmmmmmItalian heaven! It certainly did not disappoint! That soft cream that tasted just enough like coffee. Just love.

Service was alright. Could have been better. The waitress frowned when I said no thanks to coffee but I'd want a hot chocolate please. I just don't like coffee. I've tried. I am not a fan. It took her a while to bring us the menus and may I just mention that at that point there was only one other person in this huge restaurant. We had to ask for water and I must point out that at some point her boyfriend came in with their 4 year old and although he was totes adorable, it just didn't feel right for her to have her family at work with her.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6 (tiramisu saves the day!)
Service: 5.5

I have to be honest here and say that unless they drastically change their breakfast menu, I shant go back.

The County General

After getting up super early to be at Ontario Place for Sylvia's bf, Morton's triathlon, we needed something to eat that would hit the spot. On the way home, we passed by The County General and thought that perhaps this could be the spot. 

 

As soon as we got in, we were seated at one of the 5 (or 6) 2 person tables. There are also about 10 seats at the bar and 6 or 7 outside. As luck would have it, they had room for the three of us. Half an hour before we finished our meal, a line started to form. 

It was quite a modern looking restaurant, with chic lines and lots of wood. The music included 90s classics such as Postal Service and Radiohead. Oh, the memories! It was a great ambiance overall with the music and the chatter around us. Not too loud but loud enough.

Bloody ceasar

Mimosa

They have great drinks so I started with a mimosa which was, well, a mimosa. Nothing special, you know, orange juice and bubbly. Seeing as it was freaking 12$, I would have liked something more...exceptional. No? Isn't 12 bucks a bit steep for a mimosa? On our way to this resto, we saw a place that was advertising 4$ mimosas and 4$ bloody ceasars. Pff. Then I had the bloody ceasar and THAT was dsamn good: a very spicy rim with paprika and other spices and the whole thang just had this incredible taste to it. It was spicy but not too spicy and tasted like celery and loveliness (that's right). Needless to say I really liked it.

Let's get down to the food! Sylvia and I ordered the fried chicken (do you not KNOW me?) and Morton ordered the Croque Madame which was HUGE (well, he burned QUITE a lot of calories this morning so he probably could have eaten two!)! Fried chicken is apparently their specialty. They change the menu a lot but that item never changes. They served this in a milk bun which was soft and airy with an avocado chutney spread. I wouldn't call that a chutney; actually you didn't really taste it until you really looked for it. There was also coriander which added to the mix of flavors in a great way and pickled red onion which completed the sandwich. The onion was great but hey, I'm biased because I'm an onion freak. Now, the chicken. YUM-MY! In Sylvia's words, it was much lighter than she had thought and I agree. It was well seasoned and moist. Just the way you like yo chicken! 

Fried chicken

Morton had the Croque Madame and for him, the highlight was the pickled tongue. The rest was really good too and filling. Perfect for after a race but maybe a tad too much for a 'normal' person.

Croque Madame

Now, you could choose between fries and salad. Sylvia had the salad and in her words, it was not exciting. The fries were good, although some were not crispy enough and they were tiny. Tiny little fries. Kinda hard to dip them into anything without putting your fingers in there. Meh. Speaking of dipping, the plate came with their homemade smoky ketchup, made with hints of cinnamon and paprika. Delicious.

As for the service, it was OK: we got water 2 seconds after sitting down but it took the waitress more than 10 minutes before getting our order. Also, it feels like it took a while before we got our food, but then again, maybe it's because we were so hungry.

And now, the scores!

Food: Morton gives his tongue :) an 8.5, and for the chicken, it's an average of 7,75

Service:7.5

I would totally go back. They have interesting ideas and I think it's fun that they change the menu!