Monday, May 26, 2014

Dilallo


This resto is located right at the corner of Charlevoix and Notre-Dame and I remember biking by there from my house to my friend's house many years ago. Well, I decided to finally go in!

It is quite the small restaurant with around 40 seats. It has somewhat of a diner vibe, complete with old women at the counter.

I chose the cheesebuger with fries with 2 extras: fried onions and bacon.


Because who in their right mind would not take the option of having delicious bacon in their burger? And all this for under 10$! What what! Alright now: the fries were nice and crunchy, just the way they should be! The bun was kinda loose and flaky (it MAY have been made that way intentionally... but I am NOT ok with that) and made it hard to eat without it breaking apart. The meat itself lacked a bit in seasoning but the rest was great! The bacon? YUM! The fried onions? YUM! Basically, I was very happy with my choice of extras as they added lots-o-crunch to my burger and a lot of flavour! Oh and the bacon added some smokiness which I love!

Service was good! This little boy, could not have been over 16, came to my table with water in no time and brought my food in a very timely fashion. Plus, he was very polite.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6,5
Service: 8

An OK burger joint but I think I'll try another one next time.


Dilallo Burger Original 1929 on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Noodle Factory


*Flash review alert* (yes another one... but hey... I just wanted something simple to take out and eat at home so... )

After work today, I decided to go try one of the restos on my list. I call it THE list. A list of places in MTL and this one was located quite close to work, in Chinatown. I find it funny that the best Chinese restaurants in Chinatown have very Americanized names: Amigo (ok, that's Spanish but you get what I'm sayin'), Noodle Factory, Jade Garden... It is a little place with a great menu: dumplings, noodles, etc... I got a great welcome from ze dude at the counter and I asked him what I should have for my first time. He asked me if I felt like having noodles (hand made, no less!) and I said meh... not really. SO I ordered the Hunan. Hunan is known for its use of ginger, chili peppers and green onions.


Hunan
-kind of dumpling like
-pork, my fave
-peanut-y goodness
-great spices including ginger (me loves ginger)
-some green onions to add a certain je-ne-sais-quoi :)
-lots of yummy well seasoned sauce

And  now, the score!

Food: 8

I will definitely go there again! For 7,95$ inc taxes, I got about 10 of these lovelies and I'd gone to another resto on Ste-Cat a couple months back, and got half of that for the same price! Well hello there Noodle Factory!

ps: sorry about the quality of the pics.... I think my camera got shiz on it at work today. I shall clean it up :p

Noodle Factory on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Quoi de n'oeuf


*Flash review alert!*

I was meeting up with a friend for brunch a couple weeks ago, let's call her Nohé. We had decided on La Bistrote on Notre-Dame but it ended up being too far out of the way and she had little time. So, after visiting Le Kitchen and finding it too healthy (yep, apparently, that day there was such a thing!), Lili +Oli which hadn't yet received their sandwiches, and this soup place which was just ...too soupy...we decided on Quoi de n'oeuf!

This place is cozy: brick walls, big windows, paintings by local artists, menu sur ardoise...It had a great feel to it with families and couples... just plain nice!


And now, some food talk!


Eggs benedict with brie and mushrooms

-Silky hollandaise
-Squishy mushrooms :(
-Great tasting potatoes
-Melted brie=yum!


Crêpe sucrée/salée

-Good flavours
-Well seasoned
-Very stuffing!

Service was OK. We got our food pretty quickly but had to wave to the waitress to get more water.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 6.5

All in all, a good breakfast spot! Plus, it's a 10 minute walk from my place! BONUS!


Quoi de n'oeuf on Urbanspoon

Monday, May 5, 2014

Marché Djurdjura


I was doing my weekly Wellington Ave walk in search for a good tasting restaurant to eat at and after doing the whole avenue AND walking on Verdun ave for a bit, I returned to this tiny place ( or a hole as one might describe it) located pretty much at the beginning of the street.


Djurdjura is a little Algerian market complete with arabic products and a big meat counter. They make their own sausage and merguez (yes, I know merguez is sausage!) AND have a tiny 12 seat spot near the window for lunch. They are 'known' for their bbq chicken and their potatoes but I was looking for something smaller. And when I write 'known' I mean they know it's the best and the patrons know it's the best but not a lot of people are aware of it because as mentioned above, this place is rather unknown and a hole in the wall!

I got there and was warmly welcomed by the man behind the counter. He explained to me what was on the menu and I chose the Kefta, a sandwich with minced marinated merguez (paprika, garlic, parsley) accompanied with roasted peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and harissa. All this for 3,95$ !!!! Well hello there! 


This was lunch! You should have seen the size of this sandwich! It was HUGE (and I don't want to hear a 'that what she said' joke!) !!! I later told the dude that he should hike up his prices and he simply told me that he wants people to come first and once they come back and back again, he'll think about it. Alright, so the bread was a tad dry but still soaked up some nice flavours and the meat could have been marinated a bit longer but as ze dude had told me, he only had time to marinate it for one hour or so because he had gotten the meat that very morning. The harissa was great and the mayo, although it looks like there was a shit load on the picture, was just present enough. The grilled peppers added just a touch of charred taste and the tomatoes added the freshness needed. All in all a great sandwich! I could almost compare it to a better version of a burger.

The service was great! That man was just so nice, he even gave free chicken to a client that came in and that obviously did not have enough money. Oh and the grocery store part is freaking cheap! I bought some noodles, some veggies and a pound of merguez (like 9 sausages for 5$!) for around 9$!!! Amaaaazing!

And now, the scores!

Food: 7,5
Service: 10

I'll definitely go back and try something else and perhaps buy more of that amazing merguez to bring home! What great discovery! 


Marché Djurdjura on Urbanspoon