Le Well

Le Well is this cute-ass new resto on Wellington in Verdun and it was on THE list! I'm always in for a good brunch. ALWAYS. Especially during the week, when there are barely no brunch options in the city. Hey, mama needs to know she can have brunch any day of the week! So I headed there with ma girl Isa, last week.

The place is quite small, very bright, adorned with lots of greenery. Ceramic counter and wooden tables and chairs. And then, there was the music. Music from the most awesomest show, Broad City. Do you know Broad City? No? Well you should get on that. You're welcome.

The menu looked great, but a couple things jumped out at us. We were hungry. Very hungry. Starving, really.

Grilled cheese with braised beef, Dijon mustard, pickles, swiss cheese. I gotta say, I loves me a good GC. Ya, I'm SO cool, I can abbreviate everythin' now. Before getting this, we asked if it was going to be enough for our very empty stomachs and the waitress laughed a bit. OK, a lot. And she had reason to. When it arrived in front of us, we too laughed. How huge is this??? The meat was ubs tender and juicy, and the bread, perfectly grilled. The egg on top was just runny enough to envelop the whole thang when broken with a fork. Mmmmm... runny egg. The bread was just toasted enough without hurting my teeth (yes, I's gots bad, sensitive teeth), and the mustard gave it a nice tang. Isa wasn't super fond of the mustard being in there but I liked it. The pickles, well, let's face it, they are good in everything. The potatoes were a hit and miss: some were hot, some were not. Some were crispy, some, not so crispy. Basically, what was lacking here was a hot plate. When will people learn? Hey, if my step-dad can heat the plates before serving food, restaurants can. Thank you for listening.

El Pablo: fried chicken, avocado, lettuce, tomato, coriander, and egg on top. The chicken was a tad on the dry side, which is never what you want in chicken. Well, it's never what you want in any meat, really. The romaine was a bit meh, and the tomato sort of made everything a bit soggy. Who likes soggy? Not me, that's fosh (short for fosho, of course!). The coriander was good, as always (I'm sure you know by now that I'm NOT one of those people that find the herb soapy. Pfff, come on!!!) and the egg was perf.

Service was on and off. We got water very quickly and as ALL of you know by now, water is more important than the actual food. But not really. The only girl on the floor looked like she was struggling a bit, and it took a quwhile (yes, it's a word) to get our dishes. As in we actually had to get up to ask her when we would be able to order and then a while before we actually were able to eat. Eating is fundamental, ya see. I'm kidding, but NOT. She was really nice though.

And now, the scores!

Service: 7.5
Food: 7.5

I'm fosho going back. Did I mention it's one of the only brunch spots around ma place during the week? Mmmmyes.

Le Gros Jambon

One of my faves, Mona, was in town on a layover (I have friends in high places, I know) so we had a lovely drinking night and the next morning we walked to Old Montreal to eat at Le Gros Jambon. I'd been there once and had enjoyed it so, you know, just HAD to go back!

license plates from all over!

This place is tiny: a real diner :) It only has counter seats... about 20 or so. Last time I went, we were sitting at the window counter which was excellent for people watching (one of my favorite activities!) but this time, those seats were taken. 

We were very warmly welcomed by the hostess and then not as warmly served by the waitress. But we'll get to that later!

Let's talk food! The brunch menu looked very fun, interesting and mouth watering. I had the fried chicken and waffles, duh. I had eaten that same breakfast at Prohibition on Monkland and had looo-hooooved it!

First off, kudos for the cutest freaking plate eva! So damn didelidoo fitting! The dish, not so much. Let's start with the positive things: the beans were not too salty, not too sweet and I just didn't have enough. There were also these amazing little cheese galettes with some chives in them that were a-MA-zing. Mmmmm, I'd go back just to eat those. Alright, now, the bad: the waffle was nice but not nearly crunchy enough and the chicken just seemed like it was 50% fat, 30% bone and 20% meat. It was crispy but that didn't make up for the lack of seasoning and, well, the fat!

Mona had what I should have taken. Damn it. Huevos Rancheros. The tortilla was a tad annoying to cut/eat but the avocados were obviously wonderful and the salsa verde and tomatoes added a touch of freshness. The eggs were nice and not too TOO runny. I enjoyed her dish way more than mine. Grrrr.

The service was nothing to write home about: our waitress seemed a bit rude and it looked like she just did not want to be there that day. Girl, I get it, we all have those days, just don't show it. GEEZ! Plus, she never came to ask us how we liked our meal. Meh.

And now, the scores!

Food: me: 5.5 Mona: 8
Service: 6

All in all, not the best experience, though I like to think it was an isolated case and would be willing to go back in the future :)

Dinette Triple Crown

Another flash review! You know what? I loveS them because once in a while you want to enjoy your food but you also want to enjoy the company (especially when you don't see that person a lot!) !

This place is TINY. Like, tiny, tiny!!! And oh so cute with jars everywhere! What's fun is that you order and then they put your food in a picnic basket so you can eat accross the street, in the park! SO cute!

Sweet potatoes

-A tad burnt (but good burnt, you know?)
-Nice texture
-Moist
-Added cinnamon made it that much better

Macaroni and cheese

-Cheesy (uh, duh!)
-Creamy, yet dry :/

Fried chicken

-Great spices
-Good crunch
-Crispiness galore
-A tad dry

Sauces

-Some were too vinegary and the one in the styrofoam cup set too quickly, it was whhhheird. On the other hand, the BBQ sauces were dsamn great!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8 (my prof drank a lovely lemonade with some ginger in there)
Service: 9 (True, we didn't deal with the waitress that much but she was nice and explained the dishes very well)

Such a cute place to go to! I mean, when do you get to say you ate 'at a restaurant, picnic style, in the park' ?

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!

Prohibition

Third time's a charm when it comes to Prohibition. Actually, I believe it was four. We tried to go there on many occasions only to be told that there were no seats or they were closed or it was a holiday. Sheesh! But we did end up going 2 weeks ago. This place, in the heart of Monkland boulevard, is always full. ALWAYS. I think we reserved 1 week and a half in advance for this, so it had to be good!

All the people trying to get in

The NON alcoholic bar

The place itself is in a half basement, kinda dark-ish, with a piano in the corner and about 60 seats. The ambiance was good: a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of forks and knives hitting the plates :) And this is not your normal breakfast place with eggs and bread on the menu; they have huevos rancheros and, wait for it, fried chicken with maple fried challah french toast. They also had eggs benedict with garlic yogourt! Ps: don't order the juice or the hot chocolate... they are store bought and really not what you'd expect from a good breakfast place. Oh, they also don't serve alcohol. Goodbye mimosa!

After trying to get there so many times, you start looking at the menu and so we all knew what we wanted right from the get go. I actually was debating between the huevos rancheros (they looked damn good) and the fried chicken. The latter won. Ze wife had the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote and sweet bacon.

Fried chicken and challah french toast

Wow! If someone can fry chicken, it's the cook at Prohibition. Yum yum YUM! Deeeee-freaking-licious! Man was that ever good. Can you tell I liked it? It was moist and well seasoned and HOT. I took tiny bites to make it last longer. OK, perfect bite: piece of chicken, piece of french toast dipped in maple syrup. Tiny food orgasm right there. The chicken was so good, the bread so soft and well, there ain't nothing wrong with maple syrup! 

Lemon and ricotta pancakes

Ze wife's pancakes were good and soft and blueberry-filled but the star of her plate was the bacon. Baaaaacon! I liked it so much that, even though I was full, I took a side order of the lovely stuff. Thick, melt-in-your-mouth bacon goodness. I could eat that bacon 3 times a day, 7 days a week. But I won't. That would be wrong (yet, so right!).

The service was so not up to par compared to the food. First, they seemed to be understaffed. Second, the waiters and waitresses were running around. Third, they were not that polite and fourth, our waitress kept on forgetting stuff. Like my friend's plate. Like my precious bacon. Like my watered down hot chocolate. Two different waiters also attempted to take our plates away before we were done and we had to tell them to back off! If I go back, it won't be for the bad service.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5 Don't get me wrong, my plate was perfect, but I tasted ze wife and ze friend's food and it wasn't AS good. But that bacon.... that bacon!

Service: 5.5 They forgot stuff and they were rude.

Definitely go with friends for weekend brunch. Have the fried chicken with a side of bacon and you'll be in heaven.