Baba Yaga

Ah, Polish food. OK, I have NO clue why I opened with that. But seriously: Polish food. Some people say that Polish food is super simple, and usually not uber tasty. I say that you can make anything tasty with a bit of creativity :) OK, that's a terrible saying! I just suck today. Point is, I went there with my friends Lea and Chris. The latter being Polish so that was just perf.

The place is located only two steps away from metro Lionel-Groulx, in the South West. Let's face it, the South West of Montreal is exploding right now. Yes: exploding! It's a cute and tiny restaurant that was playing old school hip hop. WHAAAATTT!!! That was totes awesome. It was very basic, but, seriously, name me one fancy Polish restaurant.

I started with the braised beef pierogies. Let's get something clear: they had me at pierogies but they had me more at BEEF pierogies. DAMN! It was paired with celery of all things and it was perfect! Tender, juicy, hot. With a splash of sour cream and a drizzle of onions, this was an awesome dish. A filling dish. But an awesome dish. Two words: awesome and filling. I am done, this is NOT a class. Geez.

Kielbasa sandwich with Polish mustard and sauerkraut. I loves me a good sausage! The sandwich was egg bread, which was ubs fluffs (I'm really into shortening words now btw) and the sausage was juicy and perf (see!). The sauerkraut was just fermented enough and the mustard had a bit of a spiciness to it, which went really well with the sausage. I didn't finish the bread itself because, hello dinner full of carbs. But that don't mean it wasn't good!

Lea's dish was, in our opinion, the winner. It had ALL the good flavours, for ALL the good mouth feels. The meat was oh-so-tender and the little tiny kopytka (dumplings) were balls of happiness (no, I was not on drugs). The mushrooms were right up there too: we thought they were fancy mushrooms, but noooo: button. You know when something as simple as a button mushroom is cooked just right? Now THAT'S satisfying!

I did not have dessert on account of my ubs full bells (uber full belly--geez, get with the program!).

Service was very friendly, efficient and quick. Water was on the table. One small detail: they had their blender going for almost half of our visit. Blenders aren't really pleasant. Especially when you are trying to have a conversation. Don't get me wrong, I get it: you have an open kitchen, when you need to use le blender, there WILL be noise!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5
Service: 8.5

A very nice experience. I will def be goin back.

Burgundy Lion

This pub, being a 10 minute walk from my place was on my must eat list, but after 1 year and a half of living in close proximity, I still hadn't gone. Damn it! So, a couple weekends ago, it was time. I mean, when I go out to drink in my neighborhood, it's either there or at La Drinkerie but this is brunch we're talking about. Brunch people! English brunch :)

This place runs like there's no tomorrow; a must go in Griffintown with two stories, a terrasse on Notre-Dame, an interior courtyard and lots of cleavage. LOTS and lots of it. Ok, some times too much, even for gay ol' me! But that's neither here nor there. Let's talk boobs. Shiz, I mean brunch!

I knew what I was getting, duh. This is what happens when I get really excited about a place. I wanted the whole English breakfast experience. I wanted the whole shabang. I wanted...blood sausage!

But first, a morning drink shall we? Oh, we shall! Recently my brunch drink is a good Bloody Caesar instead of a mimosa. I believe the spices and all that jazz is better for one's hangover. So I had two :)

Alright, so, y'all know my number one rule: always get the biggest breakfast. Oh and I did. Let's begin. The beans were a little piece (or tiny pieces...) of heaven IN my mouth. Heaven in my mouth I say. And I know my beans. They were amazing: just salty enough, well cooked but not mushy, great tasting overall. The eggs were good and again, well seasoned, but a tad cold. The tomato was the disappointment of the plate. It tasted as if they took an old tomato and cooked it with lots of spices. Which is probably exactly what they must do. Meh. Didn't taste fresh at all. The potatoes were yummy and crispy with a nice moist interior. Ps, you guys know I HATE the 'm' word so it's a big deal if I describe something by it. The ham was nice and maple-y but sadly, a tad on the dry side. The pièce de résistance, the boudin noir, was amazing. A-mazing. It was onion-y (hello is it me you're looking for?) and well seasoned and lovely and had a great texture. So basically, perfect. Oh, and the bacon was so thick and fatty that I felt like I gained 300 calories only by tasting it. But that too was oh-so-good! Mmmmmmm....faaaaaaat!

Service was great. Quick and efficient as any good service in any good pub should be! We had our water glasses refilled and were asked if we were satisfied with our food. Plus, I got a boob or two near my face...I was a happy camper. ;) The only thing that was kinda meh is that it took a while to get my second drink. It's ok, I forgive you.

And now, the scores!!!

Food: 7.5

Service: 8

Well, let's do the math: 1 huge breakfast and 2 caesars cost me 35$ including tip. Yes, yes I'll be going back.

 

Ma tante quiche

Ma Tante Quiche is now one of my fave breakfast spots! Whenever someone's in town, where do we go? Ma Tante Quiche. I go kayaking with a friend, where do we go after? Ma Tante Quiche. They know me now. I mean, I go there to buy a quiche or two but I mostly go for their 'everything homemade' breakfast! YUM!

This lovely establishment is run by a couple of lesbians in their 50's (ish) and employs people that are so damn nice, like my friend E would say, you'd want to drop kick them in the face. But not really. They sell a bunch of great homemade stuff. And it's ALWAYS good.

That day, I went with my best girl, we'll call her Sylvia, for a nice hungover breakfast. I think it's a given that half the people eating breakfast anywhere are hungover. Right? RIGHT? Anyhoot, the ambiance is nice and chill and the music went with that setting. Quite enjoyable indeed!

Since I'm mostly a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast: I always have the biggest breakfast offered on the menu. In this case, I had the 'Assiette Ma Tante Quiche' which is basically braised ham (in local beer--Brasseurs de MTL!), beans, cretons (hello!), baby potatoes with mushrooms in mushroom stock, homemade sausage, smoked bacon, an egg (or two), and some fruits.

Ok, so, fruits. So, I love fruit, blablabla, but they basically are an afterthought when I eat my 'déjeuner de la construction'. But hey this fruit 'cup' deserves an A: fresh raspberries, blackberries and blueberries? What what? Three of the most expensive fruits we can find in our supermarkets? Well hello foodcost! :p Nah, I'm sure they make up for it elsewhere; these are two smart ladies!

Aight, let's get down to it! The egg. OK, so eggs usually are just... eggs. But this was a GOOD egg. You know what I mean? I believe it may have been cooked in a bit of maple syrup which obviously makes it taste whhhhay better than other eggs! The ham that is cooked in beer for many-a-hours basically just melts in your mouth. It just MELTS in your MOUTH! The flavours explode and you are in ham heaven. And yes, there is such a thing! The bacon is smoked so obviously all the yummy bacony flavours come out and again, bacon heaven! The potatoes are just lovely! What a great idea to cook them with mushroom and add mushroom stock! Not too salty, just great! The sausage is also home made but it was a tad tough to eat and the beans, even if they were perfect the time before, seemed a bit fermented which was not so great. The cretons just melt in your god damn mouth. I'm a HUGE fan of cretons and these are well worth the trip!

Service was good. OK, not as good as many other restaurants but here, they seem so chill that YOU are chill, ya know? We got water quickly, food not THAT quickly and she didn't check if we liked it which, in my book, they should do.

And now, the scores!!!

Food: 8
Service: 7

I LOVE this place and anyone and everyone that lives remotely close should visit it at least once!!!

ps: and the price is right too! I believe it costs around 12$ for this plate!