Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Pigor

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Ok, I'm back for NOW. Don't get too too excited. I like to make an appearance when a resto is really worth it, you know? It's like a service I'm offering: I will write a review if you deserve a review. And this place NEEDS to be on my blog. Like, 150%.  If you've been here, you know. You just do. 

I have been to this restaurant four times since July. It is definitely in my top three restos in Montreal alongside Sep Lai in Pointe St-Charles and Barcola Bistro Audio in Mile-End. First time I went, I fell in love. In. Love. Of course, as (my) luck would have it, as soon as I decide to write a review, the waiter tells us that they are short staffed in the dining room AND in the kitchen. Fun. 

Best seats in the house are at the kitchen bar, where you get to see all the action. This is where its at, people. You see everythin'.  In a good kitchen, it's like a dance: everyone has a section and something specific to do. It's awesome to watch, and you can FEEL the tension, you can FEEL the stress. As an old kitchen girl myself, I always worked better when I was 'dans l'rush'. 

Let's get to the food, shall we? I mean, that's why I came out of retirement, am I right? The menu is divided in 2 sections: cold plates and hot plates, and you are to share these with a lover. Ha! I WISH. This is the section of the blog post where I mention that I am looking for a girlfriend. If you know anyone, please reach out. Lover or not, you share dishes, and that's just how food should always be had. We told the server to bring us whatever the chef wanted us to try, but it MUST *always* include the beef tataki. This dish, for me, is the pillar of Pigor. Goat cheddar, shitake, lemon aioli, pearl onions, and of course, slightly seared beef, thinly cut, but not too much, just right. Like Goldilocks and the three bears. JUST like that. Anyway, getting back to this MASTERPIECE of a dish: putting everything together, it just tastes like heaven in your mouth. There are so many levels of flavors, but not too much at the same time. I'm always temped to order 8 rounds of this. But i don't. 

Second dish was the mushroom tartar with wild mushrooms, nuts, cheese, tarragon. It sounds so simple, but, again, this dish is a win every time. The crunch of the nuts accompanied with the other ingredients brings on a really great texture. The yolk gives an extra smooth feeling and just fits so well with all the flavors.

Now, for them hot dishes. First one: brussel sprouts with lardons, parmesan, croutons and a hint of cesar sauce. The brussel sprouts are perfectly charred and the fact that there is just a little bit of sauce doesn't make it that heavy. Also, let's face it, I could have lardons in all my meals (all day, erry day), so they were very welcomed here!

Second hot dish was the mushroom risotto. You know, it's a fine line between perfectly cooked risotto and mushy risotto and, you guessed it, this one was a 10. OK, an 11. I love everything that features mushrooms, and this was no exception. One thing that restaurants overuse is truffle and/or truffle oil. Why? Why must they do that? Ugh. Anyhoooot, Pigor does NOT do that. Why? Because they know their shit. Because they STUDIED to be chefs. because they are awesome. This dish has many layers of flavors, one after the other. It's like 'oh yum, I love these mushrooms, oh this parmesan is lovely and adds that salty aspect to it, and then oh yum truffle adds a je-ne-sais-quoi to it'. 

I was hellbent on not having dessert, but conceded pretty quickly when the waiter told us they had that deconstructed carrot cake. If you want to see me drool, get me that cake. So moist (yep, still hate that word, but I gots to use it sometimes), and creamy, and carroty, with a hint of cardamom. I don't think you fully understand how good this is. You'll just have to go.

Service was, well, slow. We were made aware of this when we arrived, at least. The waiter was really nice and witty, and I enjoyed his presence (when he was there). It took quite a while for us to get our first dish, but it was way quicker to get our other dishes. 

Alright ladies and gents, drum roll please, the scores are up!

  • Food: 9.5 (because I have a hard time giving a perfect 10)
  • Service: 8 (only because we were aware that it was going to be long, AND we loved our waiter)

It was nice coming out of retirement to share this extraordinary restaurant with you. I know, it's a big word. And I don't regret using it. If you are ever in Verdun, go! If you are in the province of Quebec, make the detour ;) 


Sunday, March 7, 2021

Lecavalier Petrone


I'm baaack! Ish. I just had to review this place! Think about the best chocolate you've ever eaten. Delicious, right? WRONG. You've been duped. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Why, you say? Because if you haven't tried the chocolaty concoctions from Lecavalier Petrone, you've never actually HAD chocolate. 

They sell boxes of chocolates, cookies, cakes, individual desserts, and they always have special treats for holidays like Christmas, Easter, Valentine's day, etc...

For my mom's and stepdad's 70th birthday, we celebrated as much as we could, in these effin' COVID times (oh ya, I'm totes enraged at COVID now). Part of the birthday good times was a cake. My neighbor works at Lecavalier Petrone and about 3 seconds after she told me where she worked, I was on their website ordering a cake.


We ordered the chocolate-fleur de sel cake. Obviously this was bound to be good. But we didn't know HOW good. Holy shite! Wow wow WOW.  First of all, it looked perfect. That never hurts. On top, there were pieces of chocolate, of fleur de sel, and some meringue. The cake itself had the perfect consistence, and just the right amount of creaminess. Between the layers, there was this fleur de sel coulis with pieces of freaking caramel, what in the...HEAVEN! Is it made out of gold? Well, maybe it is. I love sweet stuff, but usually, not the biggest fan of store bought cakes because its always too sweet, or the icing is artificial... But I should've known better. With this cake in particular, I didn't want the deliciousness to end. I'm lactose intolerant, and seriously...zero regrets. Woooorth iiiiiit! 

Might as well talk about the chocolates my neighbor brought me a couple weeks ago. Let's face it, when there's chocolate in front of me, I WILL eat it. She brought me a box of 4 chocolates (OMG, imagine she would've brought me a box of 12? I would've gained 10 pounds, right there!) and, well I think you know where I'm going with this... Oh. My. Effin. GAWD. First off, they are the most beautiful and colorful chocolates I've ever seen. Second of all, they tasted soooo good. I mean, I looked at them, and 1 minute later, they were in my mouth. Didn't even have time to check what flavor they were. I know, my chocolate addiction is realzzz. Hence why I never have any in my apartment haha! They were melt-in-your-mouth bites of loveliness. 

And now, le score: 12 sur 10. Du jamais vu!

I don't even think that "will you go back?" is an actual question.

Monday, August 24, 2020

Machiavelli


Another COVID-time review! Ugh, that's gonna be a thing now, isn't it? Yep, I'm gonna be that girl that came out of blogging retirement to write about f*cking COVID. Ew. Anyhoot, Machiavelli never disappoints. Like, NEVER. Every freaking time I go, I love it. Actually, everyone I bring there loves it too. You can't NOT love it.

Obviously, you have to wear a mask. They welcome you by the terrasse at the back, which is pretty much a haven in the middle of the city, a little piece of heaven. It's the cutest thing: cute little tables, cute little chairs, cute little lights, and cute little plants and flowers. Oh, did I mention that it was cute? It's basically the epitome of cuteness. 

We were welcomed quickly, and seated quickly. By the by, in these COVID times, it's always better to reserve beforehand! We got water right away and we ordered very quickly as well. The waitress showed us a QR code that our phones were supposed to decipher for us, but both our phones (or us?) failed. We just went on their website :) They don't have as many choices on their menu as usual, which is just fine. The important ones were still there: PASTA! 

We ordered bread first. Bread and pasta: carbs much? Hahaha! The bread was hot, which is always a relief: I loaf getting cold bread. I mean loathe, hehe. Seriously, when it arrives cold, I almost can't help myself and look at the waiter with a face meaning 'is this a JOKE?'. The butter was this composed butter of trufle and wild mushrooms. Ugh... YASS! Come to mama. That with the hot bread was just p-e-r-f-e-c-t. It took us less time than we were proud of to finish the bread.

Mushroom fettucine with creme sauce, button mushrooms and wild mushrooms, parmesan, and truffle oil. Just thinking about it makes me happy. The fettucine were cooked to perfection: I hate a soft noodle almost as much as I despise a hard one. OK, that sounded very inappropriately sexual. You know what I mean. The arugula gave some spice to it all, and the mushrooms were sooooo good. Great. Creamy. Perf.

The gnocchi (not pictured, Vino dug in too fast 😏) were stuffed with mozzarella and tomato. I'd describe the gnocchi as being like the most comfortable pillow you could ever sleep on. Now, imagine that pillow being in heaven. Softest damn thing in the world (or heaven, I guess). Supes tasty and cheesy and all that good stuff. No wonder my friend Bridget likes them so much: she orders them every time she goes to Machiavelli!

We had dessert. Obviously we were full enough, satisfied enough. But argh, who can resist THIS? We shared, of course. Ok, not 'of course', cause we are cray cray enough to have one each. But we DID share :) OH. MY. GAWD. Just look at it. LOOOOOK! I present to you, the decadent brownie, in all its glory. Sweet, soft, hot goodness with french vanilla ice cream on top, and a port and fresh berries atop THAT. Holy sh*t: decadence at its best. And then we died. A good death, mind you. The  brownie was hot (just like bread, brownies should NOT be served cold), the ice cream was cold (haha!) and not all melted by the time it got to our table. The coulis on top was such a good addition to this dish, and went perfectly with the chocolate AND the ice cream. 

As if our meal wasn't satisfactory enough, the lovely owner (she IS freaking lovely), Natassia, comes up to me and gives me a gift certificate for a picnic for 2! See, I had booked a table for myself and Bridget a couple weeks back and a water main had flooded the street (or something equally uncool), and our resa was canceled :( That was SOOOO nice! We are trying that picinic this weekend! I feel like every time I got to Machia's, she does something special for me. I should give back. A present of sorts. Maybe I should give her GOLD. Where can one get that? I'll look. Well I AM booking two evenings for my birthday at the resto, so... were good? Hahaha!

Service was very good. She took care of all the tables and I, myself, would've probably either died OR been found in a corner, shaking. Ya, I'm just not meant to be a waitress. Not at all. We also got our bill quickly, which is a plus. I hate waiting around to leave.

And now, les scores!

Service: 9

Food: 9

Do I even NEED to say I'll be back? Mmmya, that's what I thought.

Friday, July 31, 2020

Chez Boulay

COVID time is here. Ah, all the fun we're having, am I right? I'm kidding, of course. Ugh. Anyhoot, I'm temporarily out of retirement to write what it's like to eat in COVID times. And of course about the food. Duh. Restaurants officially reopened about a month ago, and as a restaurant goer and food lover (and blogger), I was due to go!
I know everyone hates COVID, but I HAAAAATE COVID. I loathe COVID. COVID is my enemy. I work for an airline customer service so.... ya....'nuff said! Since restaurants have reopened, they obviously have to abide by certain rules pertaining to sanitary and health. Everyone has to wear a mask and there has to be at least 2 meters between tables. I didn't think I would appreciate this, but it actually wasn't THAT bad. Just use common sense: you get up, you put your mask on. You come in, you purel your hands (I love how 'purel' has become a verb recently). Hey, you don't want to wear a mask, stay the f*ck home! You Don't want to purel your hands, stay the f*ck home! No food for you! They disinfected the table as well as the seat before I sat down. Obviously, there weren't as many tables as usual, but between having a bit less tables and having a closed restaurant, I choose less tables.
OK enough about this pandemic (sigh). Let's talk about this resto! Bistro Chez Boulay serves up a mix of Terroir and French, which is one of my fave mix :) It has some tables outside in front, and quite a large dining room. OK, I guess it SEEMED larger because of the lack of tables, but still. The lighting kind of reminded me of Nacarat, in the Reine Elizabeth: sexy and cool. That's right, I went there. Hi, I'll take some sexy lighting please. And thank you. The one thing I would change is that the table was a tad too high for me. I really hate that. I mean, I'm short, I get it. But I'm not exceptionally short. Come on. The ambiance was very nice: the waiters were hustlin' and bustlin', and it was just loud enough. I hate it when I feel like I'm eating in a club. Ugh.
Le food. This was my first course. So visually appealing! Le Charlevoix: tartare de boeuf. Yum-my! Angus beef tartare, crunchy hemp, sheep cheese, daisy capers, wild mustard seeds, cured egg yolk. This was melt-in-your-mouth good. No, it was damn exquisite. Just freaking delightful. OK, enough with the adjectives. All the flavours just popped in my mouth! POP POP POP! Seriously, my eyes were wide open! I kind of looked ridiculous. And yes, the fact that it was Angus beef made a difference. Hey, I go for the higher quality of meat. That's the kind of carnivore I am. The hemp gave a great crunchy aspect to the dish and a nice pop (here I go again with the pop), and it's always nice to get a contrast of textures! I would not have known that it was hemp per se, but it was lovely. The cheese was soft and smooth and a bit salty, which married well with the other flavours. That's right, I said 'married'. One thing I wasn't a fan of is that it was cut in uneven pieces. If you're going to serve a tartare THIS good, do it right, yo! My ITHQ profs would not have been pleased :p The daisy capers (wtf, this is a new thing to me) were so cute and weren't too salty like, you know, capers...capers ;) The cheese added a bit of saltiness, and overall yumminess (that's the technical word, of course). All in all, this dish was a hit. A big hit. I'd go back in a second if I could, and order the same thing over and over again. And for y'all that have never tasted beef tartare (shame on you!), you should definitely start HERE.
Second course. I felt like going veg for this one. They had ONE option...which is, well, not that much. In my opinion, they should have at least two. The number of vegetarians and végans are growing and in many restos, it seems like the dishes catered to them are not. It was called 'Ferme de la Grive': fresh and smoked heirloom tomato from Mélanie's farm (you know, Mélanie!), buffarella with blackcurrant, fermented shallots, homemade focaccia crouton, chervil. I must divulge...this was a bit of a letdown. Pouet pouet pooouuuet. I mean, it was pretty, sure! You eat with your eyes first...blablabla. The tomatoes that had lots of kick were the smoked! Mmmmm! The bread was literally drowned in butter (or something buttery). That was a bit too much. The cheese was marinated in blackcurrant, which gave it an extra oumf, but extra oumf on nothing... is not WOW. Was that clear? Fermented shallots were great, and the big thick slices of heirloom tomatoes were good and juicy, but this was not worth 25 dollars, I'm sorry. 18$ at best. Don't ask me how I calculated that.

Except for the wait before getting into le resto, service was on par the whole evening. I was asked if I liked my meal during the first and second course, the pitcher of water was on my table 1 second after I sat down and my Eska (haha: MY Eska) arrived very quickly too. And you know what, even with masks on, I FELT like the waitresses/waiters were smiling :)

And now, les scores!

Food:7.5 (10 for the appetizer)
Service:8

I'm going back fosho if I'm in Québec city again. And I'm telling ERRYONE to go, too!

Chez Boulay Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato 

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Le Bleu Raisin

Aaaand I am out of retirement! Wowza, I haven't written in QUITE awhile! Don't judge my writing, it's rusty. As part of my birthday celebrations (yes, it's a big thing), the girl I'm seeing, Amandine (cutest name, am I right?), brought me to her parents' resto. I NEVER turn down food. Especially not when it's part of the Festival Martinique Gourmande. All I's gotta say is I'm THERE!
Le Bleu Raisin could be called an institution in the neighbourhood...even in Montréal: it opened its doors a whopping 15 years ago! Dang! In hindsight, I was 24, was still studying nursing, and doing all the bad things a 24 year old should do under the sun. They serve up French greatness and highlight products from here in a beautiful way.

Aight, so, we had the five course 'a l'aveuglette': basically, who knows what you will eat. In any case, you just KNOW it'll be good. I'm still drooling by the way. And no, not only over the girl I was there with. Ba dum chhhh!
First course: oysters! Mama loves her oysters. And, come to think of it, I hadn't eaten any in a long while, so this was a great re-introduction! You had the usual vinegar+shallot mignonette, but it was à la passion fruit. Ugh, hello! You had me at 'passion'. SO good! It added just a bit of sweetness to the vinegar, and went wonderfully with the oysters. I would like a dozen of those a day with that mignonette, and thank you! If I'm being REAL honest here, I would`ve liked a couple more. But, you know, there WERE other courses!
Second course: bison tartare, with avocado mayonnaise, a little salad with beets, and half a quail egg on top. I've tasted pretty much all the different versions of tartare in my day (ok, so 39 years X 365 days is...), and this one is on top of my list! SOOO damn good! All the flavours were there: a bit of sweetness with the beets, and saltiness with the capers. The meat itself was melt-in-your-mouth good. The egg COULD have been a bit coulant (get a dictionnary, people!), but all in all, this was a big winner.
Third course: grilled octopus. Just look at that beauty. LOOK AT IT. And drool. Don't be afraid, just do it. Accompanied by a little salad of greens and Israeli couscous with Cabernet oil. The octopus had a lovely grilled chorizo sauce, and that just made it way more perfect. All of that, IN ma mouth. It ain't easy to cook a good octopus, I tells you! This one was oh-so-good! Just grilled perfectly. I just looked at it, and it was cutting itself up, ready to get in my belly. Ps: my belly was very happy. Another little lovely surprise: the addition of crevettes nordiques interspersed in there. It was seafood with more seafood. You KNOW I was happy about that!
Fourth course: lobster tail with lamb. This lamb had been marinating in Colombo sauce (from Antilles, composed of curry and other spices) for over 3 days (hello, tasty!). Did someone say LOBSTER? Erryone KNOWS lobster is my fave thing ever in the whole wide world. Sauce chien (this wonderful creole sauce with peppers, onions, herbs, vinegar) was what the lobster tail was cooked with, and I loved every little last bit of it. It was uber tender and melted in ma mouth. The lamb wasn't too... lamby? It's a thing, ya. Although the pieces were on the smaller side, it wasn't dry at all, and exploded with flavour! The veggies were perf and soaked in the sauce! A little cheesy tuile atop everything made for a very nice presentation.
Fifth and last course: DESSERT! Martinique rum sorbet, which was so refreshing, I could eat that on every single overly hot day of the summer. It was next to a homemade matcha bread (hello!) that A had made (more hellos!). It was spongy and not overly sweet. On top of the matcha bread: a little bit of chocolate fondant, which was just perfect, and surprisingly went really well with the bread. It was another awesome layer of flavour. And on top of THAT was a little piece of foie gras. Foie gras, you say? Hells yes. Foie gras in dessert form? Heeeeeeells yassss! It added a bit of saltiness and so much tastiness! I really had to stop myself from licking the plate. FYI, Amandine licked every plate. But, hey, I'm civilized, AND, it's her parents' resto, soooo :) 

Service was great throughout. Water was refilled, smiles were present, as well as good conversation! Well, obviously! After all, it was Amandine's mom, Audrey! The music was quite island-y to fit the Martinique feel. The restaurant itself is supes cute, not too¸big, not too small. You know, like Goldilocks and her bears :) The chef came out to see if I had enjoyed my meal and I don't really remember what I said, but it went something like kjsadkhaldslhla-yum.

And now, the long awaited scores!

Food: 9
Service: 9.5 (it's really hard for me to give a perfect score, but it's pretty damn didely close)

GO visit le Bleu Raisin before they finish their lovely Martinique menu! BTW, they will be serving it for at least one week after the festival is over (sep 29th)!!!! Just do me this favour guys, and go!

Le Bleu Raisin Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, December 10, 2018

Acqua & Farina (Roma Termini)

First thing you do when you get to Italy? Well, you look for food. Italian food. Duh. Pasta or pizza, I seriously didn't give a flying f*ck. You know, those kinds. 

On our first day, my travel buddy Em and I were walking, trying to find our way to the Colosseum, where hundreds of thousands of gladiators and animals fought, thousands of years ago. You know, the usual day. As we were going down the via (street) Principe Amedeo, our nostrils flared up and we turned to see tasty looking pizza in this tiny restaurant.

Basically, they make rectangular pizza, and they cut the piece that you want. You then pay by weight. Peeerrrfect. I'll have a whole one please. We went there twice. We would've gone at least 6 times, but we kind of lost track of where we were... and got lost more than once. Ugh. How annoying is it to get lost whilst looking for your true love? True love being this yummy pizza, of course!

The first time, we both had a pizza that had just been taken out of the oven: the zucchini pizza. Our first thought was this: 'well, let's just have the freshest one'. But then, it became so much more than that. Watch out, sh*t's about to get deep. Basically, they cut it, they fold it, you eat it. We had a pizz-gasm on our first bite, for shizzle. Em and I looked at each other and were like daaaang we going back fosho. The crust was perfect: not too thick and not too thin. The zucc was almost buttery and melted in your mouth with cheesy goodness. Ugh... I'd like to go back right about now. Just look at it up there. And say hello.
When we went back (after trying to find it for what seemed like an eternity), we both had the mushroom pizza. This wasn't a normal run-of-the-mill mushroom pizza! No, no. Sliced thin, the mushroom had that woodsy, almost meaty flavour that we oh so love. OK, this sounds like a love story. Well, it IS. 

I think we would've continued going back every day, for as long as we could have. That pizza was a revelation, man. A damn revelation. You think I exaggerate? Then go. Just go to Roma Termini, take a left and then another left (or was it a right?).

And now, le score!

Pizza: 9.5 ONLY because the second time, they didn't have the zucc one, good and ready

It's obvious that I'll be going back next time. When in Rome, am I right?


Acqua & Farina Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, September 24, 2018

Café Clarke

Café Clarke is a small and cute little café on Centre street in Pointe St-Charles. Let me make this clear, Pointe St-Charles has, like, one good restaurant worth the detour and that is Machiavelli. There are a couple other good spots like Miel and Bloom, but I wouldn't necessarily come from, let's say, the Plateau to eat there.

The now defunct Boulangerie Clarke in the Mile-End had a little baby. Frank Servedio, the owner, use to work at the boulangerie, which was owned by his parents. This is a big great family story! Café Clarke is basically a sandwich shop that serves awesome coffee (or so I've heard!). What differentiates them from other sandwich shops is the fact that their sh*t is fresh as can be. Sandwiches are made to order AND they cut their own meat. Hello. What a difference that makes!
The place feels very homey and warm. Feels like you want to bring all your friends there, you know? I also really loved the color scheme: green, white, and light, classic brown. Yes, 'classic' brown. It's a thing.
I started with the pasteis de nata, because it was already right there! I was a bit dispointed that it wasn`t A: made in house and B: not supes fresh. Obviously, it was a day old. I just went to Portugal, see. I KNOW what a day old pasteis de Nata tastes like. I am used to the yummy, crunchy, soft, pastry. Not the dry one. Don't get me wrong, it was still OK, but it just wasn't worth it. I got so excited! And then I got so annoyed. At them. For selling me a day old nata :/
La sandwich in a croissant! I loves me a good croissant sandwich! A good looking sandwich, without any fla fla. Dunno if that's a thang in English, but I'm dsoin it. It just means that it is simple. Thinly cut ham, almost like paper: THAT's the dream. The croissant was buttery and right about melted in my mouth. The only negative, if you can call it that, is that the tomato was a tad too juicy.

The only thing I'll say about the service (which was at the counter.. so I won't rate it), was that it took the dude a while to even say hello to me. Just say hello, and tell me I'll have to wait a couple minutes. GEEZ.

And now, le score!

Food: 6.5

Well, I'm bound to go back now, aren't I?! When it's only 15 steps away from where you live, you go back.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Sushi Pro

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for some good sushi. I'd even say that I'm a sucker for OK sushi. But do not fret, I know how to recognize it. I mean, as some of you may know, I rolled sushi for a good five years. For some people, that's, like, a quarter of their life. WHAT! I had a sushi craving the other day, so I hauled my ass supes close to my house to Sushi Pro, on Centre. Basically 200 meters from my place. You know, a long walk :o

I called to order because I was being super lazy: what's better than to order in advance so that everything is already packed and ready to go when you get there? I was ordering an avocado roll, a spicy salmon roll, a salmon nigiri and ---. That woman crushes my sushi dreams when she said 'no avocado roll, we are out'. How? How is that possible? Do NOT tell me that there aren't any more avos! So yes, basically their supplier had brought them unripe avocados. And they were paying the price. I remember, when I worked at Sushi Taxi, and I was ordering our supplies... the avocados were a very tricky game. How many do I want ripe, how many do I want almost ripe, and how many do I want green. They were supposed to have all three but it wasn't rare that they, themselves, didn't have any ripe ones. I had to do all the grocery stores in the area to find avocados. THAT was a pain in the ass.
The nigiri. Since when are nigiris sold separately (by Maden!)? By separately, I mean by unit. Who gets ONE nigiri? Well, except me, hahaha! Didn't they all used to come in a pair? Anyhoot. The salmon was ubes fresh, and the nig was well... nigged :p You could see she knew what she was doing.

The spicy salmon roll. I loves me a good spicy salmon roll! As with the nigiri, the salmon in this was melt-in-your-mouth fresh. And it had just the right amount of spice. I likes me some spice, but sometimes, it's like, dude, don't ruin it with too much.

The salmon kamikaze. Salmon, tempura, avocado, cucumber, goberge (apparently "pollock" in English?!?!), tobiko, some house mayo. House mayo= probs just mayo + sriracha or sambal. Maybe a bit o' yogurt. There wasn't nearly enough salmon in there. If you're not gonna put salmon in it, don't call it a SALMON kamikaze. Geesh! The flavours were all awesome together, and it was well rolled, i.e. it wasn't falling apart like some sushi I buy at the bio grocery store in Galéries du Parc.

And now, le score!

Food: 7

I'll go back next time I'm home and I have a craving, but I would prefer other places!

 
Sushi Pro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, September 10, 2018

Uncle Tetsu

Uncle Tetsu just recently opened in Montreal and it is EVERYTHING. Maybe not for you, but for someone who follows food trends and what have yous, it's somethin. Uncle Tetsu is over 30 years old and just made its entrance to Montreal, from Japan. Yass. Anything that arrives from Japan, I'm interested in. Well, except Pokémon. Anyhoot, when my friend Laura came over to my house last week, I immediately thought of this.

Uncle Tetsu is located in Montreal's second Chinatown, or Chinatown West, as some would call it. It's only a counter, with a big waiting line. OK, I went at an irregular time, so it wasn't very busy (only about 9 people in front of me), but usually they have a pretty legit waiting line overflowing on the sidewalk right outside.
We could almost say that the cheesecakes are made to order: all day, every day, the little worker bees (really seems like that) make those cheesecakes! Mine was EXTRA fresh because I got it off a new batch that was in the oven. And then they put the cheesecake (1 max per person!!) in a cute little box, and then a cute little bag. Uncle Tetsu's cheesecakes are made of cheese (duh), cream, milk, butta, sugar, flour, and lots of eggs. Actually, when you get inside the shop, it smells of cooked eggs. And then I thought about my past Asian dessert eating experiences and realized that they ARE more eggy than the usual dessert. This is not a regular cheesecake, people. It is a Japanese cheesecake. Basically, you can keep this cake at normal room temp for 24hrs or in the fridge for 72 hrs.
I found it cool, and also a nice touch that they put Uncle Tetsu right on the cake. As Laura said, 'I want him as a grandpa'. It had time to cool down between the time of purchase and the time of eating. I prefer my cheesecake cold anyway! Also, I have a feeling it would've tasted eggier when warm (let's face it, everything tastes more when warm or hot). One thing, out of many more complicated food reactions (OR footions... OR foodactions) of having more eggs in there is the fluffiness. You know what's better than fluffiness when it comes to cake? Nada. It seriously melted in my mouth. I'm totes serious about the melting, mmkay?! It was very tasty and not overly cheesy, and it wasn't as eggy as I would've thought. Or as I was afraid of. I didn't order an egg cake, damn it! Or, I guess that would be called an omelet. We kept on saying 'ok let's stop' or ' that's enough now'. 10 minutes later, it was gone. A gonner. Gonzo! Bebye. I would recommend this, but not to someone thinking they will get the traditional cheesecake. This is NOT the cheesecake you are used too, girl. Dsont dso it. Do it, if you want to try something new (and yummy).

And now, the score!

Le cheesecake: 7.5

I would definitely go back and buy one for a soirée or something like that. You know, to be that cool chick that brings Japanese cheesecake :) Let's face it, I'm ALWAYS that cool girl. OK, I'm not. Geez.

ps: Uncle tetsu also serves honey Madeleines, which looked oh so good (but I was there for le cheese)

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Barros Luco

One of my coworkers, who is Chilean, told me more than once that her and her mama's fave Chilean resto is Barros Lucco. When someone tells you this, you can't ignore it. You GO! And so, I went. With ma girl Clo!
 
Barros Luco is right on the corner of Fairmount and St-Urbain, a very busy intersection. The restaurant still manages to have TWO dining rooms AND a terrace. WHAT! Both rooms and the outdoor space seem kind of run down, or, I guess, were never new to begin with! It was somewhat dirty (ugh, the washroom), and the floor had a layer of I don't know what on top. Yikes!
 
We were going to share everything, because, damn it, that's how we do! We ordered a barros lucco (a typical  Chilean sandwich), the fried fish, and, to top it off, a churro, of course! Name me ONE person that can resist a churro. I dare ya.
The barros luco: beef, avocado, cheese and tomato. I like it when I order something with avocado, and there's actually avocado in it. Not a tiny piece or some kind of fake puree. Meh. The bread was like a cloud of butter. So basically the best kind of cloud. A fattening cloud, but a good cloud. The avocado was just the right amount of ripeness, which is always good in my book! The tomato was too juicy, and the meat was a bit dry. The cheese was a tad on the salty but we still liked it. I like it when it's cheesy. Ya, I'm like that. Although there were good aspects to this sandwich, the whole was a bit on the disappointing side.
Fried fish. It was a smart choice deciding to share this dish. DAMN! There were like 4 portions of fish on the plate. I TEND to exaggerate as you may know. The rice was, well, normal. Nothing to write home about. Salad: same. The fish was very moist, and the batter was thin, which is always appreciated. I felt like it could've been tastier. Again, butter was very present.
The churro! Mama likes her churros. I remember eating those in Spain. Ah, the life. The churro was good but there wasn't nearly enough dulce de leche in there. Obviously, knowing me, you know there's never enough. ALWAYS more dulce de leche please. Always.

Service was somewhat off the ball. Like, the opposite of 'on the ball'. The waitress barely spoke French OR English, so I had fun practicing my Spanish, but even then...At some point I think the language barrier was why we didn't get our churro in a timely fashion. Meh. And by the by, if you're looking for the Chilean mafia, they are located at Barros Luco. Hahaha!!! When I went to the washroom, they were all sitting at a table, whispering in Spanish, probably about killing some member of another clan. OR they were talking about the menu. OK, most likely just the second option. OK, it's 95% the second option.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6.5
Service: 6.5

I probably won't go back, but I AM open to eat more of that Chilean yumminess...somewhere else.
 

Barros Luco Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

No. 900

I bike passed No. 900 pretty much every day on my way to work. And every damn time, I tell myself I could go for a good pizza. Yes, even at 7am. I'm like that, you know. SO, the other day, when Val called me to tell me she was there and needed someone to share her pizza with, I was like mmmya j'arrive. I mean, I gotta say I was going more to see my girl, but a bit of pizza would also help. Hahaha. Pizza ALWAYS helps.
I left my house quite quickly, and I was interrupting a very chill session watching somethin' on my computer, so I got there in jogging pants and a sweatshirt. Ya, that happened. I mean, it wasn't a chic place by any means, but come on, girl could've made a bit of effort. Yes, I'm talking about myself.

All pizzas are cooked in a wood fired oven, for 90 seconds, at 900 degrees. dang that's hot. It's also why it's called No. 900. They so smart! BTW, there are, like, 120 No. 900 in Québec. I exaggerate. I believe there are 18. That's a lot of dough. A LOT of dough. It also makes for very quick service, which is what everyone wants. Show me ONE person that likes slow service. I dare you.
Val had ordered the caclocavallo and porchetta pizza. These pizzas were quite big and, in my head, obviously not made to be eaten by only one person. Let's face it, people, it's for one and a half person. I was more than happy to be the half person in this case. On top of that lovely meat, this pizza had pecorino romano, fior de latte, parsley oil, and roasted mushrooms.

With the pecorino AND the fior de latte, it was veeeery cheesy, veeery lactose intolerant non-friendly. Hahaha! But who gives a sh*t. Cheese is so good, I was just going to suffer the consequences later. The crust, even if it was super thin (just the way I likes my crust), it wasn't falling apart like cray. The mushrooms were charred to perfection, and the pesto was quite a great addition. Who knew parsley could be so good?! To make it even better, you know what you dso? You put some spicy oil on yo pizza. For me, that's pleasure X 100. Our hands were all oily and nasty by the end. And then, you know what we did? We licked those hands. YASS!!!

Service was great! I got there, sat down in my stupid jogging pants, and the waiter came by, asked if I wanted to order food or drinks. When we said that we would share, he brought me an extra napkin AND a plate. Oh, and much needed water (that oil was a bit a on the spicy side!).

And now, les scores!

Food: 9
Service: 8.5

Oh ya, I'm going back.


Pizzeria No 900 Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Le Petit Sao

Le Petit Sao is the new little baby in Pointe St-Charles. You know how much I love babies! Well, AND new restaurants :) It's not the BEST location, located almost at the end of rue Centre in PSC. It used to be no man's land, but it's getting a bit more popular. A bit.
The place itself is supes cute, with a bit of a tropical feel (the best kind of feel!), vibrant colours and plants on tables and along the walls. It was empty when I went because, like an old lady, I was eating dinner at 5pm. What??? I was hungry!
I had the table d'hôte, which included a soup, an imperial roll, and a grilled chicken 'bun bowl'. I loves me a good Viet bowl. The soup was pumped with MSG, like my colleague Margo would say, but hey, no one ever died from MSG consumption. It tasted so damn good! It kinda created a layer on my palate, you know, the way McDonald's does?! Mmmya. The chicken was perfection, and the green onions added a bit of a tang :) I just love myself some good green onions. The noodles were also perf, not overly cooked. I hate overly cooked noodles. I also hate underly cooked noodles. Bah.
The roll was hot, but not scorching. It brought me back to my young days in St-Laurent, when my mom used to bring us to Chez Lien. OK, I would never go back there in a million years, but Chez Lien used to be good (and clean), once upon a time. The grilled chicken was perf and tender and, cringe, moist. I actually wrote in my notes that it was like meat candy. Haha. I could've done without the salad and I wanted more mint. Mint is such a key ingredient when it comes to Vietnamese goodness like this bowl! This is what you have to tell yourself: ALWAYS more mint. Always. I think you get the point. I really loved the marinated veggies and also appreciated the hot n' cold aspect of this dish. Mama likes a good mix! I asked for more nuoc cham, and the guy said 'sure, I'll bring more fish sauce'... and I was like, wait a second. He just needs to learn a bit more about the culture and the food, it's ok. HAHAHA, said the expert. OK, there IS fish sauce in there, but to just call it 'fish sauce' would be a mistake. AND I'm OUT! The noodles were good and, mixed in with that sauce, were even better. I'd put that sauce on anything: noodles, meat, boobs. You know.

Service was supes quick, but I only got water refilled at the end of my meal. The waitress even joked about the fact that she was refilling it at the end of my visit. Why? WHY would you joke about my water? GOD! Hahaha. I kid. But not really. Also, she kept on calling me 'ma chère dame'. Honey, I am not 70. I appreciated the politeness but it was too much!

And now, the scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 7

I went back yesterday for a sick day lunch and it was quite satisfying! Can't say I won't go back a third time :)


Le Petit Sao Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato