Saturday, September 16, 2017

Miel

Another day, another meeting with friends. This time it was with ma boos from Sushi Taxi, Val and Mel. It's so sad when I'm almost forced to go eat at a restaurant. Ugh, I just hate it. You sense the sarcasm? You should. Peeps that personally know me KNOW I'm sarcastic 87% of the time. Miel had obviously been on my radar, it being a new restaurant AND in my neighborhood. Hello.
They fixed up the place in record time, in the span of a couple weeks. Chapeau. Cha. Peau. It looks really inviting and warm inside, with two separate rooms, lots of frames, dark tables, wood everywhere. It was super cuteness.
They brought us homemade focaccia first. Do you even realize how much I like homemade stuff? I like it because it means that a: they care about their products and b: they care about their clients. Oh, and it also means that they are competent. It's soooo easy to buy ready-made stuff and serve it on a plate! Way too easy. SO MANY restaurants do it. You don't even know. You know, because I know ALL their secrets. Ps: trust me, it's better if you don't know :p
It was a table d'hôte so I started with the gazpacho. This is supposed to be cold tomato soup. With, perhaps, some peppers, cucumbers, garlic, what have you. If there were any tomatoes in there, then that's a surprise to me because all I tasted were peppers. It was a tad too much on the sour side for me, as well as the two other girls that tried it.
The lamb burger. A big meh for this. MEH. There you go. The meat was unfortunately dry and the bun was nothin' special. The harissa mayo wasn't... harissa-ed enough (it's a thing, yo) and the caramelized onions were few and far between. All in all, somewhat of a miss. On the other (very surprising) hand, the salad, which was the ever-dreaded mesclun, was uber fresh and crunchy and actually quite tasty. Y'all KNOW I ain't a fan of that sh*t, but this was actually nice.
Dessert! We shared because the three of us were full BUT we are also little piggies, sooooo... That can only mean one thing! D-E-S-S-E-R-T!!! We had the feuilleté with strawberries and a lemon mousse. I'm not the biggest fan of fruity desserts (I mean come on, fruit is not a dessert!), but this one was nice and fresh. The lemon mousse was perfectly cold and the pate feuilletée was perfectly crunchy. One word: yummy!

Service was very professional throughout the meal. We got water in a timely manner and the waitress explained the menu very well to us. We also had the pleasure of meeting the owner because he knows Val, my ex boss. Ya, she cool like that.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 9

Well, it's literally a 5 minute walk from my place and since restaurants are few and far between in Pointe St-Charles, there's a big possibility I'll be going back!

Miel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, September 4, 2017

Cafe Neko

I stumbled upon Café Neko right after their opening, a couple months ago and had put it on THE list. The BIG list. The ever-growing list. Ugh. so many restaurants, so little time! Café Neko is this cute little Japanese restaurant right at the corner of St-Urbain and des Pins, and although it doesn't look like much from the outside, we were about to be pleasantly surprised! And you guessed it, I was having lunch with my main Asian squeeze, the Asian connection himself, Jer Bear.
There was a lot of construction right outside the restaurant, so once we opened the door, with the lovely classical music, it was like an oasis of serenity. Ya, I'm deep like that. The place is quite small with some tables and some seats at the window. Lots of pictures on the walls that were pretty god damn nice. It's owned by the two sole workers: a white dude and an Asian woman with a baby on her back. Basically, the cutest thing ever. I thought it was a back pack at first, but then realized it was a bébé and then I fell in love.
Jer and I started by sharing a couple very, VERY cheap entrees. Those are my FAVOURITE entrees. First: the Asian slaw with sesame dressing. Mmmm, mmm, mmmmm! So fresh, they had probably just picked the cabbage from their garden 2 minutes prior. It was nice and crunchy and the sesame vinaigrette was a bit gingery too which made it THAT much better. I actually don't think I've ever enjoyed a slaw that much in ma life.
Kimchi. I loooves me a good kimchi. I also hates me a bad kimchi. Thankfully, this one was up there! Perfectly fermented and just spicy enough. It wasn't my all time fave but kudos to the chef!
Beef dashi. FYI, dashi is a fish stock or simple broth usually made with kombu, bonito flakes, and it tastes damn didely delicious! There was rice, edamame, marinated ginger, green onions as well as some boiled onions. This was just wow. You should've seen Jer's face when he bit into a piece of beef. Holy hell that beef was tender. It was just falling apart in my mouth and oh, the flavor that it had absorbed!!! Umaaaamiiiii! Every time I say that word, I remember my Food Science teacher making a 'mmm' sound. Ah, ITHQ! The ginger added just what was needed to complete the lovely taste and the edamame added a nice texture. Oh, and the rice was perfect! Damn that dish was good!
Jer took the salmon tataki. I'm ALWAYS in for a good tataki. By the by, tataki means half-cooked. This was also a hit. The salmon melted in my mouth and the avocado just fit so well in there and had the perfect consistency! The nori added umami to it and the rice was perfect. YUM!
We were forced into having dessert. FORCED I say. OK, not really. We were full but didn't want to miss out on all that homemade goodness! I had the yuzu cheesecake. YES, a YUZU cheesecake. I'm gonna say that again: a yuzu cheesecake!!! I don't even know what to say to this except DAYUUUUMMMM! After each bite, it was like a punch to my taste buds with all that lovely citrus flavor. After Jer took a bite, his eyes opened wide and he said he wished he had ordered that instead of his homemade goodness.
Jer bear had the green tea ice cream sandwich. The ice cream tasted like green tea just the right amount and the homemade cookie was really freaking good and crunchy. But this had nothin' on my cheesecake. Nothin'!

Service was great throughout: water refill, quick service, smiles all around. Extra points for carrying the cutest little baby whilst doing it!

And now, the scores!

Food: 9 overall, 11 THOUSAND for the beef
Service: 9

What a great new discovery this was. Jer bear kept on saying he'll be going back and I'm for SURE going back too. OH, and it was cheap too! Excellent when you're on a budget!

Café Neko Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Il Cortile

My dad eats lunch at nice restaurants about four times a year with his cousin and uncle. The last place had been Il Cortile and let's just say they had a bad service experience. My dad is difficult but for him to get three free meals because of this was something else! So, my dad decided to bring my step-mom and I. And we all know how much I like free food. A lot. I like it a lot.
I waited for my step-mom and dad right outside, from where the restaurant looked like, well, a cave! And then you enter somewhat of a basement type place and then BOOM, one of the best kept terrasse secrets in Montreal. This little courtyard was beautiful, with flowers hanging from balconies and paintings on the brick walls. Uber cute! I kind of felt like I was back in Europe. Ah, Europe, my first love! But enough about me and my lovers, apart from the cuteness, this place seemed to be hosting quite the richest in Montreal. Plastic surgery, fancy scarves and Louis Vuitton purses were everywhere I looked. It was almost like a secret society. Fo serious yo. So I was basically hiding under the table. But a girl's gotta eat...
The waiter brought us antipasto that consisted of prosciutto, grilled veggies, and parmesan. Basically, some of the best things on earth. I'd have more of that right about NOW. Those portobello mushrooms were literally to dsie for. DSIE. FOR. Stuff that is cooked in butter is ALWAYS good. The prosciutto melted in my damn mouth. A bite with mushroom, parmesan and prosciutto was like a little piece of heaven in my mouth.
Mushroom risotto. The risotto was cooked for just the right amount of time. Still a tad crunchy and not mushy. Texture was on par. They had cooked it in mushroom stock and they were very abondant in there as well. Again, who doesn't like mushrooms cooked in butta? The waiter shaved some parm on there and BAM, you got yourself a winner. That dish was so filling, it felt like I had gained 10 pounds in one sitting.

Service was probably one of the best I've had so far. In ma life. We got sparkling water very quickly, wine was served the proper way, and our waiter was more than present the whole time. He checked on us, refilled our glasses and asked us if we needed anything else.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5
Service: 9.5

I can say that I won't go back because, hello, I ain't no millionaire. But I did appreciate the wonderful service!

Il Cortile Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato