tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58245988889032655042015-07-13T23:31:14.736-04:00Eating Out In MontrealBonjour à tous! Welcome!
Le but de ce blog est de vous transmettre mes opinions sur les restos que je visite à Montréal. Je me suis permis d'élaborer un système (très simple) de points pour chaque resto visité: 10 points pour la bouffe et 10 points pour le service. Je vous parlerai bien sûr du resto en tant que tel, de l'ambiance, du menu, des gens, etc. Je vous avise déjà que ce blog sera bilingue: when I feel like it, it'll be written in english :)
Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-88339440787433043782015-07-10T22:29:00.000-04:002015-07-10T22:33:46.585-04:00Le Vin Papillon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3B5vJWrqGE/VZnj9iGyKrI/AAAAAAAADSE/9GqBz2fhuv0/s1600/ro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3B5vJWrqGE/VZnj9iGyKrI/AAAAAAAADSE/9GqBz2fhuv0/s320/ro.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Le Vin Papillon had been on my list for a short time, basically since Val had gone a couple weeks prior to my visit. She had loved it and raved about it so, hello! I had Lena and her hubby in town that weekend and I wanted to bring them somewhere hip and cool and all that jazz so I thought about this restaurant. Plus, it's a 12 minute walk from my place, like a lot of new restos. By the way, I'm a cool person that lives in a cool hot neighbourhood. Yes, that's correct.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This resto is David McMillan and Fred Morin's third baby after Joe Beef and Liverpool House. It's tiny and corridor-like and sadly went unnoticed (by me) for about 1 year and a half. Note to self: open eyes. They take zero reservation so get there at a weird eating time OR pray that you'll get a table. We did the latter on a busy, warm Friday evening and I think we waited about 10 minutes. Nice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As soon as you get in, the ambiance of the restaurant fills you and suddenly you feel happier. Seriously; smiling faces everywhere, people hustling and bustling, waiters explaining the menu left and right. It was just a welcoming, wonderful atmosphere. There was a terrasse out back which seemed happening as well. The menus were on the wall, which as we all know can be a good and a bad thing. A tad annoying when you're sitting up against them and you have to turn around. Oh, also annoying when it's quite dark.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now the premise of this resto is, if I'm not mistaken, tasting good wine (hello!) whilst eating some simple, yet well made dishes. These dishes are made with fresh produce, mainly from Québec, if they are available of course.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3NLZFlFlweI/VZvrZEB0Y7I/AAAAAAAADSg/6uqlA7LhCTs/s1600/u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3NLZFlFlweI/VZvrZEB0Y7I/AAAAAAAADSg/6uqlA7LhCTs/s320/u.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Our first dish: sea urchin. I had actually neva eva tasted those. Me! What. So obviously, this was an obvious choice. It turned out to be a tad bit disappointing: although the texture was actually quite nice en bouche, the taste was nearly nonexistent. It was kind of a sad beginning. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zvmbp9uaGJU/VZvvAxiXzcI/AAAAAAAADSs/2T5ogFF-Sts/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zvmbp9uaGJU/VZvvAxiXzcI/AAAAAAAADSs/2T5ogFF-Sts/s320/c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaved ham with awesome cheese (I totally forgot to note which cheese, damn it!). Now THIS was goooood! The ham was so thin that it melted in your mouth and the [awesome] cheese was peppery and sweet all at once. Mmmmmm, it was yummy, peppery salty goodness. I want you to promise me that if you go there, you WILL order this. Just do it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mw-XW4I11qw/VZvv2remXxI/AAAAAAAADS0/Yn-GlpL8qfk/s1600/r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mw-XW4I11qw/VZvv2remXxI/AAAAAAAADS0/Yn-GlpL8qfk/s320/r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gravlax! Oy, the asparaguses (that's how you spell it, right?, hehehe) were cooked just right. I hate overcooked asparagi (second try?) and I loathe undercooked ones too. The fish just right smack melted in yo damn mouth. It wasn't too salty, it was just right. Texture was just right. Ok, it's safe to say it was just right, yes? The bun that was accompanying it was just lovely. Airy, soft loveliness. Probs (it's a word) almost just out of the oven. Although it was wonderful, it didn't really belong in this specific dish.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K66nvKO91SQ/VaB5a_5RxqI/AAAAAAAADTM/VyP7EZqiTHc/s1600/l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K66nvKO91SQ/VaB5a_5RxqI/AAAAAAAADTM/VyP7EZqiTHc/s320/l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The 7 layer dip. YES, 7. I can't even begin to describe everything that was in there; I just know it was tasty, zesty, feta-y and soft. The chips, on the other hand, were a bit on the too-hard-for-my-liking side.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k12qyFuiAYA/VaB6EHZByoI/AAAAAAAADTU/39ftYXeS8qk/s1600/n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k12qyFuiAYA/VaB6EHZByoI/AAAAAAAADTU/39ftYXeS8qk/s320/n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Morel stuffed bread. Or, as we should say en bon québécois, guédille aux morilles. This was a tough one. Only because we were three and I think there were two morels in there. Lots of button mushrooms, but two morels. It was good, but again the lack of the main ingredient was kind of frustrating. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Uz4X9duXiok/VaB8MLJGBAI/AAAAAAAADTg/yiw0IXCzxyc/s1600/20150612_211736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Uz4X9duXiok/VaB8MLJGBAI/AAAAAAAADTg/yiw0IXCzxyc/s320/20150612_211736.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>The best picture ever. I mean, the cauliflower. AND the worse pic ever taken by anyone, EVA. I think le Vin Papillon is popular in part because of this plate. Why? Because everyone orders it and everyone likes it. Plus, it's so damn simple yet oh so good. Mmmmm, I'd go for another charred one of these bad boys!<br /><br />Service was on par, even if it was a bit slow at times. the restaurant was full to the brim so perhaps that was why. We didn't really feel it so that was all good. Our waitress was cute and quick (those two qualities go together, right?) and she explained the wine and the food and answered questions.<br /><br />And now, the scores!<br /><br />Service: 8<br />Food: 7.5<br /><br />Well, its a 12 minute walk from my place, it's good, AND cute girls work there? I'm obviously going back.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.zomato.com/montreal/le-vin-papillon-sud-ouest" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Le Vin Papillon on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16640315/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-52594795869045758582015-06-24T21:30:00.001-04:002015-06-24T21:30:17.913-04:00Burgundy Lion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A0DsEIdTfkU/VYtQAB1Ix2I/AAAAAAAADQ4/sok9HjkNx0Q/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A0DsEIdTfkU/VYtQAB1Ix2I/AAAAAAAADQ4/sok9HjkNx0Q/s320/m.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />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 :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />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!<br /><br />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!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R01GQ0Wio68/VYtRwaZ4O2I/AAAAAAAADRE/eCLtymCcGjg/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R01GQ0Wio68/VYtRwaZ4O2I/AAAAAAAADRE/eCLtymCcGjg/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>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 :) <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2NXAceX7sk/VYtTMpPk4FI/AAAAAAAADRQ/bqGT58TUYrc/s1600/u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2NXAceX7sk/VYtTMpPk4FI/AAAAAAAADRQ/bqGT58TUYrc/s320/u.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">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!</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 7.5</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 8</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, let's do the math: 1 huge breakfast and 2 caesars cost me 35$ including tip. Yes, yes I'll be going back. </div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.zomato.com/montreal/burgundy-lion-montreal"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Burgundy Lion on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16637104/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-33831205888858606842015-06-05T23:19:00.001-04:002015-06-05T23:21:48.581-04:00Terrasses Bonsecours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LDgz2ztthNw/VXJe9-mtasI/AAAAAAAADPQ/y4EpSxirF_M/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LDgz2ztthNw/VXJe9-mtasI/AAAAAAAADPQ/y4EpSxirF_M/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was invited to attend the Summer opening of Les Terrasses Bonsecours in the Old Port a couple weeks back. It was beautiful and sunny and rather hot, basically the opposite of the crap we've been having in the passed couple days (read: weeks). It was hosted by Jillian Zrihen, the grand master of huge openings. Oh and it was. Huge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was going with my friend Jer and obviously we got there at 4h55 for 5 o'clock. You know me, I hate being late. Anyhoot, we were given selfie sticks... whatever those are... We never really were able to take an actual pic. Maybe we're just retarded. Or maybe they just work on IPhones.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First off, we could not have asked for a better day: it was warm, like, only wear-a-t-shirt-warm and even as the evening got colder, we just got drunker so it equaled itself out. This was to be a 5 à 7 with free booze (hello!) and free bouchées (well hello!). There was a lot.... a LOT of free booze, but the food was practically nonexistent or just really bad. I'm sorry, but when you are serving obviously-straight-from-Costco-frozen food, it ain't restaurant food. Therefore, this will be short and sweet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I would like to give a shout out to all (and I think there were about 8000 of them) the girls that were working in super high heels (I do not know how no falling occurred) and super high skirts. I mean thanks but oh poor you! I just felt like petting them and telling them it would be ok. Hahaha. No but I'm pretty darn sure they got good tips out of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyhoot, we started off with rum and cokes or, you know, vodka cranberry. And then we discovered that we could just take these... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GT3pQ5M3fAA/VXJiPgFoOqI/AAAAAAAADPc/zEn9IgZJgg8/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GT3pQ5M3fAA/VXJiPgFoOqI/AAAAAAAADPc/zEn9IgZJgg8/s320/m.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shots! Oh. God. Vodka anyone? Best and worst decision of that week. THIS is the reason why I was hungover the next day...although in my defense, the hangover wasn't AS bad as I thought it was going to be. Anyhoot, we had many of these. Many. And when the 5 à 7 was done, I heard Jer say to the waitress: 'open a tab with this card'. And then, it was over. Donzo. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I won't speak of food because in my opinion, there wasn't any: dry chicken on skewers, bruschetta on a cracker or tasteless meatball on a stick.... it was all bad food. Kinda just there to say 'hey, we have food' (but not really).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was obviously good. I say 'obviously' because, well, I likes the ladies. And there were a lot of them. In short skirts. And quite tall. Yes. Seriously, they were very attentive to our demands and drunken orders... and drank lots of shots with us. Which we all know is very important.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jaw5Ijd9P7o/VXJj3JMEVtI/AAAAAAAADPo/a62_VoYRyWY/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jaw5Ijd9P7o/VXJj3JMEVtI/AAAAAAAADPo/a62_VoYRyWY/s320/f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The venue itself was wonderful. This picture was taken when we arrived (the first ones) but when it was full, people looked oh-so-comfy on those couches. We were sitting at a more modest table ;) Seriously, the outside portion could easily sit at least 100 people and I don't even want to venture a guess about the inside which boasts two stories. The view was nice all around: Old MTL, Old Port, the St-Laurent. This is the real deal, guys. THE partay place. Seriously, if I had the money, I would bring my friends there every Friday evening to have 2 or 8 drinks. And ps, they did have a menu... we just were too cheap to actually BUY food from it. Ha. Ya, joke's on us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 11 for drinks (but really, 9)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 8000 for short skirts :p (but really, 9)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>As I said, once I win some kind of amount of money OR I become a jet setter, I'm there! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1880441/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Terrasses-Bonsecours-Montreal"><img alt="Terrasses Bonsecours on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1880441/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a> <br /><br />Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-31340667806274083432015-05-23T20:15:00.001-04:002015-05-23T20:15:33.924-04:00Branzino<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fR1wdIJdOPQ/VWEIgE3LBkI/AAAAAAAADNs/jFuTRlSqSxA/s1600/y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fR1wdIJdOPQ/VWEIgE3LBkI/AAAAAAAADNs/jFuTRlSqSxA/s320/y.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Recently, I was invited to try Branzino, the restaurant located in l'Hôtel Méridien in Downtown MTL. Actually, it was one of my old ITHQ peeps, who is now the manager, that invited me. Let me paint you a picture: when I started at ITHQ in restaurant management, we were around 65 in our class, about 35 or so graduated, half of which have left the business and I'd say about 3 or 4 have managed to get jobs as manager/boss. The rest are like me, fools! No, I didn't mean that. We are either in the kitchen or in the dining room. Ps: although I would love to be ZE boss (cause y'all know I can be bossy!), I do love my job :) I must also mention that this restaurant is at least 50 % ITHQ: the manager, the chef, the sous, the waiter. Talk about surrounding yourself with family!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Getting off track here. P-F invited me to try their new menu before the soft opening (which was taking place this week). How special am I? Yep! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uM0F5P1lO0g/VWEIfw0j5II/AAAAAAAADNo/R4Rahc_UV0s/s1600/w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uM0F5P1lO0g/VWEIfw0j5II/AAAAAAAADNo/R4Rahc_UV0s/s320/w.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The place itself is located right at the corner of St-Mathieu and Sherbrooke. There's a huge sign in front of it so it's hard to miss. Let's just say if you miss it, you should get your eyes checked, seriously. It seats over 100 people, including the terrasse and has somewhat of a dark décor which actually fits really well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I7Y00gX7Sc0/VWEISCp9Q5I/AAAAAAAADNE/tZjzV8d_fHo/s1600/nb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I7Y00gX7Sc0/VWEISCp9Q5I/AAAAAAAADNE/tZjzV8d_fHo/s320/nb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aight, so I started off with a nice drink, as every dinner should. P-F just read out the names of their cocktails and I chose the one I liked the most: Torreador! Good for me cause it turned out to be a sangria! I loves me some sangria! It was white wine, vodka, basil and watermelon. Hello refreshing! The basil wasn't too present which was a shame but the watermelon was just a burst of loveliness. Mmmmm, I can just taste it now! But not really. DAMN IT!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I asked the chef to decide what I would eat since, well, A:he was sitting right beside me and B:he knows what's good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vCKkP5CIJc/VWEKqh7WtfI/AAAAAAAADOU/V0DbnX-hmXk/s1600/yp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vCKkP5CIJc/VWEKqh7WtfI/AAAAAAAADOU/V0DbnX-hmXk/s320/yp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First off, the scallop. Wonderfully, wonderfully done to perfection. Crispy and tender and seared and raw. Basically, just what you want when you cook a scallop. You could just see that lovely char on it just begging to be eaten. Oh and I did! Accompanied by an edamame puree that was nice and smooth and some corn that added a great texture. And a lardon emulsion. AND a maple-y sauce that tasted almost fruity and paired really well with the dish. Hello! Basically, the perfect appetizer. I just might be biased because this is one of my fave things to eat, like, eva.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOZIrrfiTVI/VWEIexNBH_I/AAAAAAAADNQ/9xpNTXJ4Bww/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOZIrrfiTVI/VWEIexNBH_I/AAAAAAAADNQ/9xpNTXJ4Bww/s320/h.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second appetizer (that's right, I'm special so I get two) was the grilled octopus and pork flank. There were also root veggies which just scream out 'garden' or 'hello it ain't winter anymore'. The pork flank was the best damn pork flank I've eaten yet, in my long long life ;) It basically just melted in your mouth. No need for a knife there! Ah man and it tasted so good! Seasoned just right. The octopus was not as satisfying. I love octopus when it's well cooked but I have such a hard time eating octopus when it's not. It just became really tough to cut and although it had a very tasty charred flavour, the fact that it was so hard and chewy was really what mattered at that point. The radishes were awesome and fresh but the potatoes were just a tad undercooked. There are some things you could eat if undercooked OR overcooked but octopus and potatoes are not in that gang. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DpLTQdicTIY/VWELk267g4I/AAAAAAAADOc/haLu_3UG3NQ/s1600/p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DpLTQdicTIY/VWELk267g4I/AAAAAAAADOc/haLu_3UG3NQ/s320/p.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The main course! Man, as soon as this was in front of me, my mouth started watering. Hake (think cod or haddock) was the main part but the star of the dish was surely the Israeli couscous. I think I had only eaten Israeli couscous once in my life. ONCE! I now think my life has been a waste. To live without eating this is just...SACRILEGE! It was like having little balls of goodness in my mouth. Mmmkay, I realise how that sounds, but still. It was like an explosion of flavor! The morels on and around the fish had a great texture (not much I like less than squishy mushrooms) and had pockets full of that lovely jus that was swimming on the plate. Asparagus were not shaved but were thin enough and perfectly cooked. Oh and there was this perfectly silky sweet potato puree. And then, there was the fish. Sadly, it wasn't the star of the dish and it should have been. It was a tad too flaky for my liking and quite dry. Tears ensued. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nxgZE-2oJTA/VWEIfScCV4I/AAAAAAAADOE/q62KB9CU0hc/s1600/r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nxgZE-2oJTA/VWEIfScCV4I/AAAAAAAADOE/q62KB9CU0hc/s320/r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Oh, I must mention the bread! Deeeeelicious, home made by the sous chef who was inspired by one of my teachers at ITHQ, Julie Faucher (whom we all feared and loved) who made everything herself including tofu and taught spinning at 5 am and walked her dogs at 3 am.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sClxx6WCyWw/VWEIe_9cbII/AAAAAAAADNM/pZ5OiBYcZmE/s1600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sClxx6WCyWw/VWEIe_9cbII/AAAAAAAADNM/pZ5OiBYcZmE/s320/i.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dessert. I was asked if I was too full and I responded by 'yes but I'll still have it please'. Spoken like a true pig :) This was damn didely good. Just looking at that picture...On the left, a lemon panacotta. Holy crap. I took only a couple bites and it was like I had a lemon in my mouth but not the sour kind. It was a tad on the thick side but I still enjoyed most of it before taking a bite of the next dessert. Ah yes, they called it the chocolate log. And man, if there would be a competition for the most chocolaty dessert, this one would definitely be amongst the top contenders. A crunchy base and a soft middle plus some Chantilly on top just made me see stars. I SO wanted to finish it but just couldn't. And last but certainly not least, a chocolate macaroon. Crunchy enough, soft enough, just like it should be. It was scrumptious.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was great, duh. I was sitting at the bar the whole time, chatting with some good peeps I went to school with a couple years ago. Twas nice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the much awaited scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 8.5</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 10</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was highly surprised by my meal at Branzino. Highly. Don't know when I'll go back but if I have the chance, I shall!</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1928053/restaurant/Montreal/Downtown/Branzino-Montreal"><img alt="Branzino on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1928053/biglink.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-42088896654148366902015-05-18T08:29:00.000-04:002015-05-18T08:29:42.589-04:00T & T Tacos and Tortas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dpuilMQ4byM/VVQOWLnCWJI/AAAAAAAADKA/xLbyZtR6agU/s1600/yp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dpuilMQ4byM/VVQOWLnCWJI/AAAAAAAADKA/xLbyZtR6agU/s320/yp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was invited, a couple weeks back, for a 'blogger event' at T & T Tacos and Tortas on Rachel in Le Plateau. I think they've been opened for about a year and I guess they wanted some good publicity from us bloggers. I just have to say that I'm always in for that. Hint hint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I went with of my favorite people, my little cousin, who it so happens is only about 7 months younger than I am. Oh and she's taller. Little cousin my arse!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been to big openings and smaller openings but never a blogger event. Basically, we got there and I wondered if I had misread the date. There were maybe 2 other tables and that was it. Usually I have to force my way in... kinda :) Turned out great in the end: more time to talk to my cuz and my fellow blogger Val (from Juliette et Choco)! Plus, hello, more attention from the super cute waitress! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TekTi0fyXHc/VVk7k0ko2zI/AAAAAAAADKg/zAD5hvgBBbY/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TekTi0fyXHc/VVk7k0ko2zI/AAAAAAAADKg/zAD5hvgBBbY/s320/b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Gen had been there a couple times since her office is about 3 steps away and knew what she liked. I, on the other hand, know I love tacos but didn't know what to pick on the menu. Actually, I must admit that in the end, we totally forgot about the tortas! Bad blogger, BAD! <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IsVn8M77uOs/VVk9I6_QY8I/AAAAAAAADKw/mDZlNH9fCUo/s1600/q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IsVn8M77uOs/VVk9I6_QY8I/AAAAAAAADKw/mDZlNH9fCUo/s320/q.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But I obviously didn't forget about my drink! We could order one and then pay for the rest: good deal! I had me a mojito. But it wasn't just any mojito, it was the BEST mojito I've had... EVER. Ever, people! You know, minty but not too minty, sweet but not too sweet, perfect but oh-so-perfect? Ya, that was it. Good God I'd want one of those right about now!</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We wanted to get an order of every taco on the menu (there are 6 kinds and 4 tacos per order) but the waitress strongly suggested that we calm the f*ck down. SO, what we did was narrow it down to 4 and got 2 of each instead of crazy 4. But first, there was the tortilla sopa!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8MwnaJ7zrs/VVk_3OokgII/AAAAAAAADK8/eFOTB951400/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8MwnaJ7zrs/VVk_3OokgII/AAAAAAAADK8/eFOTB951400/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was a tad watery but it was the only bad thing about it. The flavors were great, the avocado was oh-so-good and creamy and there were little islands of sour cream that just popped in your mouth! Coriander was also present and as always, appreciated. I just LOVE coriander. I remember, when I was in my 'Découverte des aliments' class at ITHQ, we had to make something and present it in front of the class and then the students would eat it. I made coriander pesto. Because I love it that much. The tortilla itself was ok but could have tasted more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M-Yp4Pg5dss/VVlA5wZY9_I/AAAAAAAADLE/EJmu-K4mk64/s1600/j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M-Yp4Pg5dss/VVlA5wZY9_I/AAAAAAAADLE/EJmu-K4mk64/s320/j.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Beef with grilled cactus taco was a tad disappointing. Basically it was thin sliced marinated beef with some onions, and grilled cactus. The cactus was special, cause seriously, when does one eat cactus, but the meat was dry. So dry that we needed to add some lime juice but to our very dismay, the lime wasn't juicy! *Sniff* There were some great salsas on the table that helped out: salsa verde, and two salsas rojas including one hot one that y'all KNOW I was licking off by the end of dinner.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The other tacos on this plate were the chorizo ones. You can add cheese for 1$ but when it's free you don't even need to think about it--just add the damn cheese! Unfortunately, they weren't much better than the beef tacos (enter sad face). The meat was also a tad dry--although not as dry as the beef. The coriander saved the dish-ish but again, we needed to put lots-o-salsa on it for it to taste good. Hey, at least the tortillas were good: crunchy but not too much, and flavorful!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zPRCtT4kqJI/VVlFi0nzNfI/AAAAAAAADLQ/-fq7H7OtGzI/s1600/y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zPRCtT4kqJI/VVlFi0nzNfI/AAAAAAAADLQ/-fq7H7OtGzI/s320/y.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tacos el pastor should be renamed 'tacos al Maria'. Mmmkay, I see how that makes no sense but they are my fave. Just having pineapple on a taco makes my mouth water. This one was very nice: the juiciness of the pineapple and the tang of the onions made it heavenly. The pork was nicely cooked and well, you know, the coriander :) This was our fave by far. The last pair of tacos were the carnitas: pork belly, onions and coriander. The meat itself was a bit tough and chewy and lacked in spices. I love pork belly but this was a bit of a let down. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tzxUNtsKdY0/VVlHYL33G0I/AAAAAAAADLc/y6zr7zL9bKc/s1600/t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tzxUNtsKdY0/VVlHYL33G0I/AAAAAAAADLc/y6zr7zL9bKc/s320/t.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Churros!!!! The tacos may not have been up to par but the churros were riiiiiight up there! A set with chocolate and the other with dulce de leche, they were cinnamony, crunchy, yummy goodness. I was suddenly back in Spain. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Again, food may not have been extraordinary that evening but the service surely was! First off, there was the hotness of the waitress, of course. But apart from that, we always had water, we got our drinks in no time and she explained the menu to us and what we should order.</div><br />And now, the scores!<br /><br />Food: 7.5 (those churros and drinks saved the day)<br />Service: 9.5<br /><br />I think I'm gonna be bold here and say that I'd go back. I feel like this place has a lot to offer and that maybe, just maybe, it was a bad night.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1865716/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/T-T-Tacos-Et-Tortas-Montreal"><img alt="T&T Tacos Et Tortas on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1865716/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-88112036529826388452015-05-11T23:55:00.001-04:002015-05-11T23:57:03.243-04:00Kazu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WbrOS_k6RVw/VUq5V6x9UKI/AAAAAAAADIk/_9T4KrGbu0k/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WbrOS_k6RVw/VUq5V6x9UKI/AAAAAAAADIk/_9T4KrGbu0k/s1600/unnamed.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>My bro's bestie, Erik, loves this place and swears by it and assured me it was THE best Japanese resto in MTL (that doesn't serve sushi). You have to believe him because he lived in Japan, goes back whenever he has time off, pretty much exclusively goes out with Japanese girls and well, lives and breathes Japan. Just like I live and breathe everything Asian.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I believe I'd been wanting to eat at Kazu for years. YEARS people. Do you know how long years are? OK, that's an easy question. How would you feel if you didn't have to just wait 5 minutes or 5 days for something, but freaking years! Mmmkay, you get the point. And it's my fault really: the thought of waiting in line to eat doesn't usually please me. A couple weeks ago, I made that leap with Lea! She went to Tokyo last year so she really wanted to try Kazu and since I'm almost half Asian (work at a sushi place, hang out in Chinatown ALL the time-it's basically my second home, buy all these Asian produce and make Asian food at home), we went for it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JwMfg3ZL-Q8/VUq6ynMY_NI/AAAAAAAADIw/UnRwSXEgRT0/s1600/r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JwMfg3ZL-Q8/VUq6ynMY_NI/AAAAAAAADIw/UnRwSXEgRT0/s1600/r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kazu is this tiny restaurant with around 20 to 25 seats MAX. Now you know why there is always a line up. Don't even think about going there early; there WILL be a line outside the restaurant. The menu is pretty much written on the wall... somewhere :) But they do bring you either the lunch or dinner menu... hand written... WITH corrections....which are stuck on with scotch tape. Love it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zpz1qh0xsRA/VU_4OmEWMcI/AAAAAAAADJM/6emEhfQqmno/s1600/t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zpz1qh0xsRA/VU_4OmEWMcI/AAAAAAAADJM/6emEhfQqmno/s320/t.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I had my heart set on the Japanese Bibimbap (uh, hello!), but when the time came to order, I was told this was a dinner special. Noooooo! I didn't feel like ramen or a salad so I chose the 48 hour pork bowl. Pork? Good. 48 hours? Good. 48 hour pork? Hells good. Lea had the Tuna and Salmon salad bowl. Oh and we also had a tiny soup and an even tinier salad to start with. When I say tiny, I do mean it; two bites and donzo!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TVg4LRvipt8/VU_4jod1-5I/AAAAAAAADJU/R1SlDYP6pxs/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TVg4LRvipt8/VU_4jod1-5I/AAAAAAAADJU/R1SlDYP6pxs/s320/k.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The salad. The crispy noodles on top made the plate look oh-so-good! I mean come on, look at it! And they were actually tasty; I've had my share of non-tasting crispy noodles. A big ass portion I would call it! There was rice in there, some veggies, dem noodles, and lots of flavors! Thing is I didn't taste the fish as much as I wanted to and it needed a bit of spice. Either that or I'm just a spice whore now; seriously, I put sriracha on everything, even my cereal. AND I'm kidding. Sheesh, I ain't that crazy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pjYYI8sKIpk/VU_5nY43mhI/AAAAAAAADJg/kzxuXGxuEn4/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pjYYI8sKIpk/VU_5nY43mhI/AAAAAAAADJg/kzxuXGxuEn4/s320/a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pork. Basically, pork with onions, green onions, and ginger. The flavors were there but they weren't necessarily in every bite. I dunno, I felt like one bite was better than the other and vice versa. What I have to say was that the onions were abundant and y'all know I loves me some onions. They tasted great too: perfectly caramelized to the power of 1000. The green onions gave a little kick to it and the ginger was nice too. The rice was unfortunately a tad overcooked. It was a sad moment for me. Japanese resto hailed for being one of the best (or THE best) in MTL and they f*ck up their rice. Mmmmkay, I'll stop it with the anger. What I really appreciated was the fact that even if there was still fat on the pork (not usually a big fan of fat), it wasn't squishy like it usually seems to be and it was full of flavor. Let's just say I gained 5 pounds of actual pork fat that day. Again, I could have used some kind of hot sauce to make everything pop a bit more. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For dessert, we could choose out of many flavors of ice cream: basic vanilla + syrup. I had the wasabi one! Oh ya! This was exciting! And it tasted just the way I pictured it in my mouth ;) Wasn't too hot but in the end, with the melted ice cream left in my bowl, it reminded me of a little shot of wasabi. It wasn't too much and it was cool to try something different!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The service was, well, Asian ;) It's actually a good thing people: they know what they have to do and they are super focused. Plus, you know you'll get your food 10 times faster in an Asian resto than in any other type of cuisine in the city. Bam bam bam. Done. Sit, menu, drink, order, food in seriously, and I'm not even kidding, 2 minutes. Out. You don't really need to talk to your waitress cause you have no time. Ps, everyone that works there is straight from Japan, which is actually kinda great. Do me a favor and go on their FB page, you'll see what I mean! They write cute stuff like this: 'We'll closed 2.3.4.5 to the staff meeting. It's to ensure the feelings don't forget forever when we began the restaurant.' How cute is that? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 8.5</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 8</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I'm going back fosho. But next time I'm going for dinner, I'm ordering the bibimbap AND I'm going with Erik so that we can be Japanese together.</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1512026/restaurant/Downtown/Kazu-Montreal"><img alt="Kazu on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1512026/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-54352553271637613102015-04-22T18:27:00.002-04:002015-04-22T18:27:28.727-04:00Fortune<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3QuNJ3kQ5QI/VS8V-K-VjRI/AAAAAAAADF4/ojtcl5pQegk/s1600/20150331_122304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3QuNJ3kQ5QI/VS8V-K-VjRI/AAAAAAAADF4/ojtcl5pQegk/s1600/20150331_122304.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I swear, this is the place! Don't you see 'Fortune' in between the cars? Hehehe. So, I had heard great things about this new taco place close to Little Italy and you know me: new? tacos? I was in fosho.<br /><br />We had a 'business' meeting, Val, Shar and I and what better way to business it up than while eating? Don't think about it, there IS no better way.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZKB0XziokY/VTaDiP8okXI/AAAAAAAADGM/77fEhLG7YbQ/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZKB0XziokY/VTaDiP8okXI/AAAAAAAADGM/77fEhLG7YbQ/s1600/b.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br />Alright so this place is tiny with about 12 seats and some at the bar. The music was nice and jumpy (without being a number one hit on Virgin kinda thang) but then turned into some type of Snoop Dog type thang so that got annoying quite fast. There were a couple girls workin' hard in the kitchen with tuques on. No, it wasn't because they were cold dumbie, it was for style. Sheesh! Dunno how I felt about that; it was kinda half hot half too much with a big side of hipster.<br /><br />We got the new waitress because when does this not happen to me? Nah, I'm only kidding, she was really nice and when she didn't know, she would ask her boss. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4m4IPXb6GrQ/VTaDs1ffUUI/AAAAAAAADGU/J1mMTBKep_4/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4m4IPXb6GrQ/VTaDs1ffUUI/AAAAAAAADGU/J1mMTBKep_4/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br />We obviously started off with some drinks. Duh. Shar had a beer and Val and I went for the margaritas. Hello! And damn we did NOT regret that choice! They were quite strong but the tequila was actually lovely and with that lime, oh it was great! Val says it's the BEST she's ever had. I say she was totally hammered (note: Val, our driver, was NOT hammered. That was a joke). <br /><br />We were quite excited to share everything: pork el pastor (spécial du jour), cauliflower, chicken, and fish tacos plus a shrimp guédille (why not!).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dZZygJAkFUQ/VTgTV-yTpUI/AAAAAAAADGo/dgI1CAubyOA/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dZZygJAkFUQ/VTgTV-yTpUI/AAAAAAAADGo/dgI1CAubyOA/s1600/a.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fish tacos (upper two): the fish was not the best, a tad tasteless. I would have a loved some more seasoning. Like Emeril Lagasse would say: BAM! But no, there was no BAM. Not even a little bam. I had to put a bunch of hot sauce on it and it still remained 'meh. Next up, pork el pastor! Wait, nope... that's chicken. Hold up. Oh, they switched it up... let's call it chicken el pastor. The marinated radish was really nice and brought a needed kick to the dish. Unfortunately there was some fat on the meat and although a bit of fat here and there isn't the worst thing (some even like it... it adds more flavor), it was a bit overwhelming. But hey, the pineapple was great and sweet and the coriander added a little somethin' somethin' that I loved. I have to say though that the bread wasn't the best. It was kinda hard to cut and it tasted next to nada (what, I'm practicing my Spanish!).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zEPum9-Q5s0/VTgXJD8dXXI/AAAAAAAADG0/XQ3DduU1fZ4/s1600/n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zEPum9-Q5s0/VTgXJD8dXXI/AAAAAAAADG0/XQ3DduU1fZ4/s1600/n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cauliflower tacos (the ones on the left): I love cauliflower! I also really appreciate the fact that I fart them out as quickly as I ate them. But in other news...The cauliflower was tasty and grilled (yum!) and I even liked the fennel seeds (I ain't a fennel kinda girl). The pickled veggies were excellent (I'm a sucker for pickled stuff...pickled beets, pickled cucumbers, pickled carrots, pickled onions, pickled you get the point) but the whole thing was on the cold side which was a tad disappointing. The pork tacos were alright. Btw, this means they weren't alright. The avocados were great and just the right amount of ripeness and the green onions were appreciated (y'all know I love ALL onions, I ain't no onionist!).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0p3v6jpgYXo/VTgaQEQbFPI/AAAAAAAADHA/8t2Q6UdlXr4/s1600/bh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0p3v6jpgYXo/VTgaQEQbFPI/AAAAAAAADHA/8t2Q6UdlXr4/s1600/bh.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The shrimp guédille! For you none guédilleurs, it's basically a hot dog bun filled with lots-o-goodness. And this one was full to the brim baby! The shrimp were cooked to perfection (hello!), the cucumbers gave a nice crunch and I believe there were some grilled pickled radishes in there which was really nice! The onions were lovely too, of course. The whole thing was actually really nice and liked by the three of us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aight, let's talk about the service! We were warmly welcomed and even if we had 'the new girl', it was still good. We got water pretty quickly and even though our drinks took a while, the fact that they were amazeballzzz made up for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 7</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 7,5</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I gotta say that I was expecting a magical taco experience and I didn't get it. I'd probably go back for a guédille though!</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1891828/restaurant/Saint-douard/Fortune-Montreal"><img alt="Fortune on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1891828/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div><br />Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-20517162551194135042015-03-31T11:17:00.001-04:002015-04-04T09:39:49.852-04:00Chez Bong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lM9VGrfzBk/VRGaofmGlyI/AAAAAAAADEQ/XdkSPCh_ndQ/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lM9VGrfzBk/VRGaofmGlyI/AAAAAAAADEQ/XdkSPCh_ndQ/s1600/k.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had been meaning to go back to Chez Bong for a while--I went about 5 or 6 years ago mostly because it was in the book 'Cheap Thrills' (they tell you where you can eat for cheap in MTL). Obviously I had loved it AND I love Korean food AND it's in Chinatown (because here, if it's anythin' Asian, it's in Chinatown...which we will henceforth call Asiatown).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tLOc943QPb0/VRNQrQRn_VI/AAAAAAAADEk/OZO6iE9RBkU/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tLOc943QPb0/VRNQrQRn_VI/AAAAAAAADEk/OZO6iE9RBkU/s1600/m.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyhoot, went a couple weeks back with my homie Lea with a sole purpose: to eat a good bibimbap! Oh how I love thee!If you don't like bibimbap (for shaaaaaaaaame!), you have about 27 choices on the menu. Dem Asians don't do shiz half assed I tells you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Aight, so when you get into this resto, there is, you <i>didn't</i> guess it, techno music! What the what? The place looks nice and out of the ordinary with wood everywhere including the walls. The ceiling though is made of panels... with some mold. I tried not to concentrate on that.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bC2jd9RpcBI/VRNSCQK5nsI/AAAAAAAADEw/Y44b_1hsVzg/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bC2jd9RpcBI/VRNSCQK5nsI/AAAAAAAADEw/Y44b_1hsVzg/s1600/c.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We started off with some pork dumplings. The looked great but turned out to be a bit on the doughy side and even though there was a nice, vinegary sauce to go with, it couldn't save the dish. They were still alright though, por favor don't get me wrong (that's right, I use Spanish only when I'm serious about somethin').<br /><br />They also brought us some boiled potato cubes and my fave by 8000 units (it's a thing!---remind me to tell you about that time in the tent when my friend Jadster said I was taking up 8000 units, just do it!), the BEST thing ever to come out of Korea, kimchi. Ps: I tried my hand at making kimchi last summer and it was quite good indeed (if you don't know what kimchi is, for the love of little baby Jesus, look it up! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi). <br /><br />The potatoes were a tad overcooked and although they weren't necessarily bad per se, they didn't taste like much. Obviously the kimchi was wonderful. Oh God, I want some now! That fermented cabbage, in my mouth, RIGHT NOW. OK, I shall calm down.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OvpIvHWP6Vk/VRNUdEanCUI/AAAAAAAADE8/arLGW5QPNEI/s1600/s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OvpIvHWP6Vk/VRNUdEanCUI/AAAAAAAADE8/arLGW5QPNEI/s1600/s.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>Bibimbap actually means mixed rice, did you know that? Well, I didn't either until about 3 seconds ago :) The egg is kind of supposed to be raw but I was happy with this one; raw egg is a thing I not-so-much appreciate. Traditionally the rice is served with veggies, some meat and chili paste. I had all sorts of goodness in my bowl (which is scalding by the way---which is why I had to blow on my food throughout the meal!). There were some pickled veggies that had just a hint of vinegar and went well with the rice, the meat and the egg and well, everything. There were even some fiddleheads which was quite surprising! A damn nice surprise! They were cooked to perfection. And I ain't used to eating warm cucumber but you know what, it's pretty damn darn tootin' good!<br /><br />Service was alright: we got water quickly and he came to take our order in a timely fashion. He didn't come check once if we liked our meal or to serve us water so that's -23 points right there. He did, however, bring us hot sauce 3 seconds after asking. <br /><br /><br />And now, the scores!</div><br />Food: 7.5<br />Service: 6.5<br /><br />If I ever get the bibimbap craving again, I'm going back! Oh, wait, ya, it's here :) You know where to find me!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/720785/restaurant/Chinatown/Chez-Bong-Montreal"><img alt="Chez Bong on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/720785/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-26310674718083334582015-03-18T18:07:00.002-04:002015-03-18T18:07:46.909-04:00My Canh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0QGU9-SmNJs/VQYNP_JrbWI/AAAAAAAADB4/0H97QnK1xIc/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0QGU9-SmNJs/VQYNP_JrbWI/AAAAAAAADB4/0H97QnK1xIc/s1600/2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>After our not-so-good experience at Pho Bang one week prior, we were really hoping that My Canh was going to be oh-so-worth-it. Val and I even started this joke at work: I can, you can, MY can! Ha...haha! Ya? Alright, fine.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85kGu_qevWY/VQYOAuWNi4I/AAAAAAAADCA/uIHy1GMWEH0/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85kGu_qevWY/VQYOAuWNi4I/AAAAAAAADCA/uIHy1GMWEH0/s1600/4.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The place is less than inviting. I'd say UNinviting, yes. And a bit ghetto. You don't go there for the ambiance, that's fosho! Basically, you enter and there are about 40 to 50 seats around picnic style tables, so you share it as we did at Pho Bang NY. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5824598888903265504#" id="_GPLITA_0" in_rurl="http://s.srv-itx.com/click?v=Q0E6ODU3NzU6OTQwOTp3ZWxsbmVzczo4OTFkZjgxY2ZmNjYyZDVhNzZkOWJiMTY0MjVhZGFlYjp6LTE3NTAtNTY0MzUwOnd3dy5ibG9nZ2VyLmNvbToyNTMxMjY6NmIyM2IyOGRlZGQwMDhlZDM4ZThiMDk1NDNlNjhjYTI6ZmM3ZjZhNTNmNWJiNGQwZmI0ZTUyYTY1ZjI5MjNmMzg6MDpkYXRhX3NzLDY2N3gxMjUyO2RhdGFfZmIsbm87OjQ0OTI0Nzk&subid=g-564350-1f351425c0d846968a70f4a3161d4496-&data_ss=667x1252&data_fb=no&data_tagname=P" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent ! important; border: medium none ! important; display: inline-block ! important; float: none ! important; font-weight: bold ! important; height: auto ! important; margin: 0px ! important; min-height: 0px ! important; min-width: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; text-transform: uppercase ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important; width: auto ! important;" title="Click to Continue > by TicTaaCOupon">Well<img src="https://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent ! important; border: medium none ! important; display: inline-block ! important; float: none ! important; font-weight: bold ! important; height: 10px ! important; margin: 0px 0px 0px 3px ! important; min-height: 0px ! important; min-width: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; text-transform: uppercase ! important; vertical-align: super ! important; width: 10px ! important;" /></a>, except that evening it was -1000 so we were about 6 in the resto so no table sharin'. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We didn't want to have any more pho so we both decided on a stir fry. But that was after looking at the huge menu. I swear, there were at least 100 items on there. How can one choose? We both had the table d'hôte which included a soup and a main.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evH9dWBh6uc/VQnq61MNt6I/AAAAAAAADCg/cADIjCaLu4M/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evH9dWBh6uc/VQnq61MNt6I/AAAAAAAADCg/cADIjCaLu4M/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The soup. Smelled wonderful. Simple. Not great. The noodles were cooked to perfection and the green onions and coriander gave it a nice fresh taste. But dude, I don't want 'fancy' pre PRE cut carrots or freaking brocoli in there. No! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LOTNtSaczM/VQnrhzDqCkI/AAAAAAAADCo/orGwP3wR3Qw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LOTNtSaczM/VQnrhzDqCkI/AAAAAAAADCo/orGwP3wR3Qw/s1600/1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had them crispy noodles! I hadn't had those in years! Verdict: they were crispy, yes, but the taste wasn't there. They were quite bland. This was quite the let down :/ The veggies were nice and crispy and seasoned just right. The mushrooms though were a bit on the overcooked, mushy side. The chicken had a nice char on it and was quite juicy which was appreciated. There was this massive coriander branch right on top which served absolutely no purpose. No purpose at all I say! I'm just gonna go ahead and say no to branches.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was alright or 'aight' as I often say, cause I'm THAT cool. Ya you know it. Ok, getting sidetracked here. We got water as soon as we sat down and some tea. The one thing that was a bit off-putting was that it was jasmine tea; we both found that it was way too floral for a meal. Our waiter was nice but not as present as we would have liked, especially considering the fact that that was practically no one in there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 6</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 7</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were disappointed for a second time in a row at [I can, you can] My Canh and I don't see us going back there.</div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1568137/restaurant/Chinatown/My-Canh-Montreal"><img alt="My Canh on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1568137/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-62655706134538004582015-03-15T17:58:00.001-04:002015-03-15T17:58:06.387-04:00Hoang Oanh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHiF-cZQPeE/VPz9-AOfKoI/AAAAAAAADA4/861UKUomV5A/s1600/g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHiF-cZQPeE/VPz9-AOfKoI/AAAAAAAADA4/861UKUomV5A/s1600/g.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't know why but I had been craving a banh mi (uber vietnamese treat) for about a month. Well, that craving was satisfied at Hoang Oanh last Sunday! Called up Lea, told her about my banh mi dreams and set to meet up in Chinatown (I just want to mention how much I appreciate the fact that when I go to Chinatown, I can eat chinese food, korean food, vietnamese food, japanese food etc! Now if it could only be a tad bigger!). Half an hour later, we were there baby! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--WU00KFcX5Y/VQX2xqDhtOI/AAAAAAAADBg/9oExqBydUNc/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--WU00KFcX5Y/VQX2xqDhtOI/AAAAAAAADBg/9oExqBydUNc/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The place is tiny and has no room to sit, which kind of sucks for people like us who had not planned on eating this loveliness at home. Iz ok, don't cry for me Argentina, we hopped over to the Palais des Congrès and found a comfy sofa to drop our crumbs on :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyhoot, we practically were in and out in 3 minutes! These banh mi girls are fast I tells ya! We didn't want to eat the same sandwich so Lea got the veggie one and I got the beef one. Oh and a big ass ps here, it only cost 4$. Yes I say.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sxH7WoUU1Sc/VQX2xreknvI/AAAAAAAADBk/0iGrE3a06A8/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sxH7WoUU1Sc/VQX2xreknvI/AAAAAAAADBk/0iGrE3a06A8/s1600/m.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the veggie one (and the only good picture---the other ones, they just look like 'well I see some ingredients but it doesn't look like anythin'). Lea had the choice between tofu marinated in curry or marinated in soya sauce. Great choice with the curry; I hardly ever tasted tofu that tasted this good. Ok, rarely. Alright, never. My beef was really tasty too; they apparently really got their proteins right :) Seriously, it was kick-you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic (thanks Rachel) but in a good way. The bread in both sandwiches was a tad stale though which was not that super. Plus, you know, all the crumbs. When we got up, we actually saw a reverse body-shaped crumb infested area on the couch. The veggies were so darn good: just a tad pickled and oh-so-fresh! Carrots, daikon, coriander and a hint of hot peppers; so basically all the right stuff. Oh and there was a little bit of yummy yummy sauce that just made everything better. I's gotta say that the veggies were cut a bit too big but in the end, who gives a crap when it tastes this good? Precisely no one! Oh and the hint of really hot peppers was a good choice on our part; it just gave it a nice little kick.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although I won't be grading the service because of the super duper short time we were in there, it was great! Fast, efficient, nice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the score!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 8</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll be back every day I can. Now THAT is a promise!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721350/restaurant/Montreal/Chinatown/Hoang-Oanh-Sandwich-Vietnamien-Montreal"><img alt="Hoang Oanh Sandwich Vietnamien on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/721350/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-12297920141093876332015-03-08T10:31:00.000-04:002015-03-08T10:31:40.588-04:00Pho Bang New York<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_scBttRe4_Q/VPPipFOmdyI/AAAAAAAAC_c/Op8ksS9GuXQ/s1600/u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_scBttRe4_Q/VPPipFOmdyI/AAAAAAAAC_c/Op8ksS9GuXQ/s1600/u.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My friend Val and I LOVE restauranting (oh ya... btw I invent verbs now) together: she doesn't care that I spend a third of the time taking notes and pictures and I don't mind if she talks on the phone. Anyhoot, Val and I decided that, since we are uber poor right now, Chinatown will be our new hang out spot. Many restaurants, some of them good, most of them cheap! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That evening, we decided on a place that had gotten mostly great reviews; Pho Bang New York. Well, for me, any place with 'Bang' in its name is a done deal. So we're about to walk in and notice that it's full, overly lit and cafeteria style, meaning there are long tables and many dining groups sitting beside one another. I know it's not going to be a long dinner so cafeteria style sitting is ok by me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were seated quite quickly and as soon as we hit the chair, some tea was on our table. Thank the little baby Jesus (or as I like to call him, Heysus) for that hot tea 'cause I believe it was nearing the minus 8000 Celsius outside. Not cool man, not cool. We looked at the menu but knew what we were going to have, we were there for some Pho (more on pho: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho). I really needed something hot to thaw my insides (insert picture here).<br /><br />We decided to share a spring roll entree and both ordered the grilled chicken pho.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5QI1QCacY4Y/VPaI9TCHcsI/AAAAAAAADAQ/x1a-kosGfxo/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5QI1QCacY4Y/VPaI9TCHcsI/AAAAAAAADAQ/x1a-kosGfxo/s1600/b.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>The spring roll. I LOVE spring rolls. This one, unfortunately, did not live up to our expectations. I was dry and quite hard. Plus, I did not even taste the shrimp. And y'all know how much I loves me some shrimp.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-POdfKDnCbzE/VPaKWeEsFKI/AAAAAAAADAc/k_1qiF48VUo/s1600/y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-POdfKDnCbzE/VPaKWeEsFKI/AAAAAAAADAc/k_1qiF48VUo/s1600/y.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grilled chicken pho. Not the best decision ever made by either of us. The broth didn't taste like much; let's just say we added a lot of sriracha and hoisin to make it taste like somethin'. The chicken was good, thank Heysus, and the charred taste really came through. The choice of veggies... I mean, who wants what I call 'carottes d'avion' (you know, those tiny stooopid carrots) or cauliflower in pho? It smelled amazing when it was placed in front of us but even the yummy thai basil, the lime, nor the sprouts could save it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was lacking, as it is in a lot of Asian restaurants that serve a shiz load of people per meal. Water was on the table quickly and we got the food really fast too but our waiter was looking around while taking our order and that just pisses me off. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 6</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 6</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not sure I'd go back, even for another kind of pho. Pho sho (hahaha, get it? mmmmya).</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1462895/restaurant/Chinatown/Pho-Bang-New-York-Montreal"><img alt="Pho Bang New York on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1462895/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-76994327919236301242015-02-23T20:31:00.000-05:002015-02-23T20:36:14.600-05:00Le Smoking Vallée<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6mysYhiDVgg/VOQV7upVqfI/AAAAAAAAC9o/dNdvqFMyTYg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6mysYhiDVgg/VOQV7upVqfI/AAAAAAAAC9o/dNdvqFMyTYg/s1600/1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have wonderful friends. Two of them (Lea and her main squeeze) decided to invite me out on February 15th for a little Valentine's day dinner. How nice! And to Le Smoking Vallée no less; a BYOW restaurant I'd been meaning to visit for a while.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We got there, on a -8000 evening and were nicely welcomed by the waitress and unfortunately coldly welcomed by the room... the temperature inside does not need to be the same as the temperature outside, people! It was 6 PM so it was quite empty...but it was about to fill up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rn3ov-ESsjU/VOfEuIHLtVI/AAAAAAAAC-c/JI6ac9gCiwU/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rn3ov-ESsjU/VOfEuIHLtVI/AAAAAAAAC-c/JI6ac9gCiwU/s1600/4.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The place is very simple, lots of wood, mirrors, industrial type lighting (recurrent theme recently), no music (a tad whhhheird), and a 'menu à l'ardoise', meaning of course that the menu was written on a black board on the wall.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our cute little waitress came and explained all the specials. She actually needed a piece of paper where she had them written all down and I don't blame her! I think there were about 5 or 6 specials that evening! I stuck to the menu, which I had thoroughly studied on their website. That's right, when I go to school, f*ck studying, but when I go to the restaurant, it is time to learn the menu, learn about the place and know what I should order in advance. OK, that 'f*ck school' isn't true, I mean I <i>did </i>graduate :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3p79nv1y9Mk/VOfEXnhPg4I/AAAAAAAAC-U/AiGPlkVM7sA/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3p79nv1y9Mk/VOfEXnhPg4I/AAAAAAAAC-U/AiGPlkVM7sA/s1600/3.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As soon as this plate was in front of me, I started drooling. And then it became a puddle of drool on my table and it was just not classy. Alright, I'm kidding. But it could have happened! Puff pastry with enoki (to be honest, I'm not sure they were enoki because the head was a tad bigger, but I looked it up and I just cannot find a description) and button mushrooms, truffle, watercress and a poached egg. Let me just say that if I'd only be rating this dish, I'd give it a ten. A ten I tells ya! The puff pastry was super flaky, just like it should be, the mushrooms were juicy and full of flavor, the egg...OH the egg. I broke it and the yolk ran over everything and created the best sauce EVA! Holy bejesus. So silky, creamy, soft and unctuous! It was literally one of the best poached eggs I've had in my life (and we all know how old I am ;p ). The watercress added a great texture and another taste level to the dish and the bacon...OH, the bacon. Y'all know how I feel about bacon :) 'Nuff said.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vf-6eyLTnXE/VOpUeYtgcjI/AAAAAAAAC-s/TUzPLAqmtoU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vf-6eyLTnXE/VOpUeYtgcjI/AAAAAAAAC-s/TUzPLAqmtoU/s1600/2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My reaction to this plate was pretty much the opposite to the first one. Aight SO I had asked for the meat to be rare. It was rare alright... nope.... actually it was blue. For y'all who dson't know, blue is a notch above raw. I don't like my meat raw. I like some fish raw. But not freaking beef. (And I'm too shy apparently to tell the waitress...but I've thought about it...and I will next time instead of looking at my plate in disbelief). I used to eat it 'well cooked' until I discovered the beautiful world of rare. Flank steak (bavette) can get chewy if not done well and damn, f*ck, it <i>did</i> get chewy. I pretty much ate around the middle and left the raw part for the waitress. What they describe on the menu as marinated veggies is actually coleslaw. That's fine. With just a touch of vinegar, it was actually quite enjoyable and balanced well with the other elements on the plate. The potatoes were perfect: crunchy on the outside, smooth on the inside and well seasoned. The mayo tasted like there was a bit of wasabi in there. The hint of spice was very welcomed. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_RixzB04GR0/VOvI5dNBBeI/AAAAAAAAC_A/5r6xdekuu7o/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_RixzB04GR0/VOvI5dNBBeI/AAAAAAAAC_A/5r6xdekuu7o/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>Brownies with some caramel whipped cream. Whipped cream you say? You had me at 'whhhh' :) The brownie itself was a bit dry and un-fluffy, the caramel chantilly type cream was wonderful and was like a perfect girlfriend to the chocolate. All in all, it was a bit underwhelming but still OK nonetheless.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The service was.... uneven. Good welcome but then it kind of faded into oblivion. But forget about the service; the people watching was wonderful that evening. Lea and I had the better view... of people fighting, laughing, exhibiting most of their boobs (for me, of course) and then when we started singing the Star Wars song, everyone turned around... duh. Why again were we doing that? OH, because I brought TWO bottles of wine to the party :) Anyway, sad thing is that I believe one of the couples may have broken up during their Valentine's day dinner. Happens every year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!<br /><br />Food: 7<br />Service: 7<br /><br />I'll go back fosho but y'all know what now? I now speak/write with a Southern accent. Hehehe, no but seriously, I won't have the bavette, oh and if I do, I'll say it if it's blue. Mmmmmthank you.</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1657025/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Le-Smoking-Vallee-Montreal"><img alt="Le Smoking Vallée on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1657025/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-31062782294883327092015-02-18T22:48:00.000-05:002015-02-18T22:48:58.735-05:00Sandwicherie St-Henri<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fNx4TFGWeNs/VOQVxbrnm8I/AAAAAAAAC9g/b_fxgpUcji4/s1600/n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fNx4TFGWeNs/VOQVxbrnm8I/AAAAAAAAC9g/b_fxgpUcji4/s1600/n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday, I was supposed to go out with my Sushi Taxi girls for lunch at Orange Rouge in Chinatown. That went down the drain. But when I KNOW I'm going to a restaurant, I just cannot NOT go. I just CAN'T. So, I decided to go to this random 'Chinese' spot called, and I'm serious here, 'Jean Guy Épicerie'. But they were closed.... and I think it's a forever thang cause I've been passing by a lot and they are always closed. SOOO, I decided to take the metro to Lionel-Groulx and walk on Notre-Dame (the cheap St-Henri side, not the more expensive Petite Bourgogne side) and find a restaurant. Wow, this story about how I found this restaurant is getting way too long, I'm deeply sorry. Anyhoot, the end of the story is that I went into the St-Henri Torréfacteur and when they said they didn't serve any meal-type food, they suggested I go to la Sandwicherie St-Henri a block away. And THAT, my friends, is how I found this place. Longest explanation of my freaking life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I almost missed it because it's so tiny. But when I got in, I was welcomed with such warmth by the only guy working there: the cook dude, the recipe dude, the sandwich dude, the soup dude, the waiter dude. It showed that he was proud of this place. He even came up to me and explained all the sandwiches!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aeK2CThqnss/VOVYFBWdyZI/AAAAAAAAC98/6_3cCPCWB3E/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aeK2CThqnss/VOVYFBWdyZI/AAAAAAAAC98/6_3cCPCWB3E/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He answered all my questions and I ended up choosing the one with beet bread (uh, hello, when do YOU eat a fushia sandwich?). Oh and btw, for people on tight budgets, this is the place for you. It cost me 8$ including taxes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NC4q5w1oqpE/VOVYp-8iOXI/AAAAAAAAC-E/9xVe3WGPxFo/s1600/h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NC4q5w1oqpE/VOVYp-8iOXI/AAAAAAAAC-E/9xVe3WGPxFo/s1600/h.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">OK so I instagrammed this picture BUT I swear that's the real bread color. Ps, holy fudge instagram has changed my life, merci Lea for literally FORCING the shiz outta me to open up an account. Alright, so it was goat cheese, sprouts, olive paste, pesto, roasted walnuts and tomatoes. It was so fresh tasting. It was like I was crunching into a garden. The sprouts gave kind of an onion-y flavor (y'all know how much I love onions), the bread was really tasty and very beet-y(?) and just lovely with a nice crunch to it, the nuts gave a great texture to it all (even though, at first, I thought they were going to break my teeth), the tomatoes gave more of a fresh feelin' to the whole thang and the goat cheese rounded it out nicely. And there was a lot of it. And I loved it. The only thing I could have done without was the olive paste. I'm not super fond of olives in other things than just themselves. Basically, lots of flavors in there! The potato salad was great too, thick mustard and mayo dressing and chives. Just in my flavor palate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was great. It showed this guy loved his place and was passionate about what he was making. He made sure everyone liked what they were eating and service was prompt. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 9</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 9.5</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I left assuring him that I was going to be back. And I will, for sure!</div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1925310/restaurant/Montreal/Sud-Ouest/Sandwicherie-Saint-Henri-Montreal"><img alt="Sandwicherie Saint-Henri on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1925310/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-71829981014023798332015-02-11T21:38:00.000-05:002015-02-11T21:41:51.115-05:00Agave<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uFXsp4ScqHw/VNv41G7RuJI/AAAAAAAAC70/qQIcFy2HA_0/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uFXsp4ScqHw/VNv41G7RuJI/AAAAAAAAC70/qQIcFy2HA_0/s1600/4.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my friend's ex just opened this new Mexican restaurant and guess what? I happen to love me some Mexican food. Oh and guess what else...I know some friends who do too. True story. So, this is how, on a very, VERY cold last Sunday, Val, Lea and I decided to head to Laurier Ouest and go to Agave.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We entered and it was completely empty except for one table, but soon enough after that, we were the only ones in there. Duh, it's freaking -30 outside. Sheesh. Anyhoot, we were warmly welcomed by the waitress and chose our table (again, duh). The restaurant itself has high ceilings, about 50 seats and cute hanging lamps. There was something missing though... I don't know...maybe the ceilings were too high? Anyhoot. Music was ok when we got in and then it was happenin'. Maybe it's all the margaritas we drank. Wink wink.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1FknP1PybY/VNwDjEjzZRI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/RDIr0AmhVHU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1FknP1PybY/VNwDjEjzZRI/AAAAAAAAC8Q/RDIr0AmhVHU/s1600/2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The waitress explained the menu and told us what she liked the most and what was most popular. We shared three entrées (pigs).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But first, ooooobviously we needed drinks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ls7hwm65_yw/VNwC6GIUd9I/AAAAAAAAC8I/X-7Tpgc23hY/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ls7hwm65_yw/VNwC6GIUd9I/AAAAAAAAC8I/X-7Tpgc23hY/s1600/8.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> I had meself a nice little margarita (oh, and then another...hum...cough...gotta warm up on those cold winter nights :) ). It was perfect. Hit the spot. So good, lime-y and refreshing. Excellent. You want a good margarita, you go to Agave. As Nike says, Just Do It.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DbRXB82Lsww/VNwDtMVEuxI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/clG3HKkXas4/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DbRXB82Lsww/VNwDtMVEuxI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/clG3HKkXas4/s1600/7.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ceviche: good flavors and nice little pieces for my tiny mouth. At first I wasn't too sure but after the first bite, it hit me; this was good. The onions and the tomatoes brought in extra freshness and the lime made everything that much better. All in all, a hit. Oh and it was a huge portion too! Well worth that 10$.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73NvY1BGUkw/VNwETrX7foI/AAAAAAAAC8g/demqOafF05E/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73NvY1BGUkw/VNwETrX7foI/AAAAAAAAC8g/demqOafF05E/s1600/5.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cocktail de camarones: shrimp, onions, and avocado in tomato and lime juice. This was nice. Very fruity, and well seasoned. Just perfect, really. It actually tasted as if there were strawberries or pineapple in there. Again, huge portion! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T31mkheqvcY/VNwFgKxZyuI/AAAAAAAAC8s/9cqsDdPbC_s/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T31mkheqvcY/VNwFgKxZyuI/AAAAAAAAC8s/9cqsDdPbC_s/s1600/6.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mango guacamole. Wait. Mango? YES! Guacamole? YES! What do you do? Put 'em together man! The guac was soft and tasty and the mango obviously added some fruitiness but also a nice texture. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh I almost forgot! With our entrées, we also had tortillas (what, were we supposed to eat those with our hands? You crazy!) and salsa roja AND salsa verde! My mouth was pretty much on fire. But damn did it ever bring me back to Mexico (ok, I've never been, but it's pretty much like I have). </div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QGtfrL8ITec/VNwMNFqCzDI/AAAAAAAAC88/DqfT2QlyG9w/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QGtfrL8ITec/VNwMNFqCzDI/AAAAAAAAC88/DqfT2QlyG9w/s1600/3.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the main course, I chose tacos el pastor: pork marinaded in pepper and pineapple. This was totally me. I love sweet and savory dishes and this didn't disappoint. The rice (on the left...) was on point, and I know my rice, the pork was really tender and oh-so-tasty, the guacamole was amazing, the pico de gallo was refreshing and went perfectly with the pineapple, the frijoles (black bean puree) was even better than the one my Mexican friend makes (do NOT tell him). Let's just say I was pleased. We were all pleased. AND oh so very full by the end. So full that when the waitress came to ask us if we wanted desert, we looked at her with 'oh-please-don't-tell-us-you-have-deserts' faces.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fi7zmwYVBY8/VNwOYHp6jnI/AAAAAAAAC9I/oJKuBwizutQ/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fi7zmwYVBY8/VNwOYHp6jnI/AAAAAAAAC9I/oJKuBwizutQ/s1600/1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No desert, but a tequila shot? Sure. Ah, I remember my tequila shootin' days. Or... I guess I don't ( I DO remember saying something like 'no more tequila for Marie' many times during parties...while drinking it). But this one was good. I believe it was tequila anejo, which tasted waaaaaaaayyyy better than what I used to drink! Leave it to a restaurant named Agave to have good tequila :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The service was great throughout the meal. It IS true that we were the only ones in there, but still. Water service was good, she gave us suggestions, she asked if everything was good. I guess if there's one thing I can say it's that at some point it took a tad too long to get food. But a: that's not technically her fault and b: there was only one dude in the kitchen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 8.5</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 9</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is certainly one of my new favourite Mexican resto in town, so watch out, I'll be back. Margarita anyone?<br /><br />ps: and to make things even better... they have a we-are-a-new-restaurant 15% discount. dsamn! </div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1935477/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Agave-Montreal"><img alt="Agave on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1935477/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-11877252828834383522015-02-08T17:02:00.000-05:002015-02-08T17:04:47.580-05:00Osco!*This is a special post: my ex English teacher (ok, my fave ever English teacher) at ITHQ asked me if I'd be willing to post some of her students' reviews on my blog (this one is by Darquise B.). Here's one. Oh and there are no pics (and, well... it might not be AS funny as my reviews, but you'll survive).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Hotel restaurants are not just for hotel customers. Indeed, in general, people do not necessarily think about going to those restaurants, but, in fact, the food is usually well done and flavourful and service very attentive. Yesterday was my first experience in a hotel restaurant. I went to the Intercontinental restaurant, Brasserie Osco, with my boyfriend, Guillaume (he is not really my boyfriend, but let me dream a little!) and wanted to share my impressions and comments with you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />First good thing about hotel restaurants is the atmosphere and decor which is often comfortable but luxurious. It is the case at Brasserie Osco. In the entrance, they impress their customers with their imposing and gorgeous glazed wine cellar. The dining room is elegantly decorated as well, with a mix between victorian and contemporary. The lovely hostess guided us through the colourful but subdued room to our romantically decorated table. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />With a beautiful view on the Palais des congrès and the love of my life, everything was set up for a perfect date! However, we waited a few (read several) minutes for that perfect date to happen. Let’s just mention that this week was Montréal à table week, so that little (long) wait was understandable even if it bothered me slightly inside. So we finally met our courteous waiter, or I should say the manager, who took advantage of the busy evening to experience service customers again. He took control of the situation and the little wait at the start was quickly forgotten. He suggested to us <br />probably the best bottle of wine someone ever had suggested to me and served us impeccably until the end of our dinner, taking time to discuss with us between the services. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />We enjoyed the Montréal à table menu which was an interesting selection of dishes. I chose the foie gras with stewed fruits and a brioche as a starter and braised rabbit with red rice for the main. The two plates were delicious especially the very well prepared foie gras which is one of my favourite meal of all time. The only thing I would say about the menu is the missing vegetarian dishes selection. Guillaume being vegetarian, it made things a little more complicated, but our attentive (and vegetarian) waiter dealt with the situation very well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I could not say if Guillaume, the waiter or the wine was responsible for my excessive happiness when we got out of the restaurant, but let’s just say that the overall experience deserve a 4-star mark. To be very honest, I was, at a certain point, extremely disappointed by the eternal wait at the start, but as a waiter, I can understand that that kind of thing happens and would definitely go back to appreciate the experience to the fullest.</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1495675/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Osco-Restaurant-Montreal"><img alt="Osco! Restaurant on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1495675/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-3154349865807514682015-02-01T23:13:00.001-05:002015-02-01T23:13:28.130-05:00Sumac<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yhsl7wxZAWk/VM7w0qFvTUI/AAAAAAAAC7E/OoONLtkG3t0/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B19%2B07%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yhsl7wxZAWk/VM7w0qFvTUI/AAAAAAAAC7E/OoONLtkG3t0/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B19%2B07%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> Last week, I was feeling rich. Oh-so-rich! I had booked my Via1 ticket and felt on top of the wooooorld. And then I realized that the reason I felt so rich was that I hadn't been to a restaurant in a while! This had to be fixed: I decided to try Sumac. My super friend Lea had tried it the week prior and oh so wanted to go again so I had my resto partner! Yay!</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This middle-eastern restaurant seemed very inviting. OK so I was kind of comparing it to a restaurant that is 100% better than Amir. Don't get me wrong, I love some Amir here and there but this... this! Basically... no comparison! At all!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rXXHOTvEjNo/VM7w9Vk24dI/AAAAAAAAC7M/FLXpg9UZhMQ/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B20%2B07%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rXXHOTvEjNo/VM7w9Vk24dI/AAAAAAAAC7M/FLXpg9UZhMQ/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B20%2B07%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The place itself is very white and pale wood, loft-ish, open kitchen at the back, lots of movement. And, on top of it, they were playing Livin' On a Prayer by Bon Jovi! Hellllooooo! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The thang is that you get in and get in line. Some peeps pass by and give you numbers (for your order) and a table. After you order, you go to your table and wait for the marvellousness to arrive.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IGis5njzm5A/VM7xHiNZXCI/AAAAAAAAC7U/ewCKF62Cjdo/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B24%2B04%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IGis5njzm5A/VM7xHiNZXCI/AAAAAAAAC7U/ewCKF62Cjdo/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B24%2B04%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh and it did (can you tell I like this place?) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZP_K8UbVTSs/VM7x7JTMgaI/AAAAAAAAC7c/MkO6XkWvlX0/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B45%2B42%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZP_K8UbVTSs/VM7x7JTMgaI/AAAAAAAAC7c/MkO6XkWvlX0/s1600/Photo%2B2015-01-29%2C%2B7%2B45%2B42%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The yumminess. I don't care if you fight me on this, 'yumminess' IS a word. I had the Sumac fries and the falafel sandwich and Lea had the baba ghanouj and the chicken shawarma.The bread was fluffy and moist, and there was a perfect mix of textures in there: crunchy, soft, and down right good. The fries were a tad spicy and lemony (sumac is known to be lemony) and oh so good AND totally worth that measly 4$. The baba ghanouj was tasty and smooth. Although it seemed a bit slimy at times, it was still very good. My falafel was wonderful: so many veggies in there, and great falafel balls! Not dry at all, very tasty, although a bit too crunchy at times, it was nice to have somewhat of a contrast in there. Plus, as you eat it, because of the bread, the sandwich stays together! The shawarma also had some nice veggies in there and the chicken was so tender and wonderful! You could taste a bit of cinnamon in there which was great! Their sandwiches were so big that when I went to take a bite, my nose dipped in the sauce. Hehehe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was good. Although our waitress AND what seemed like the maitre-d' sih guy forgot some things we asked for (and later got from the 2nd waitress), everything else was on point. We got our food and drinks fast and our water even faster. All in all, great service. the only thing that's not going to work in the end; getting in line and being assigned a table and then ordering and THEN sitting down. It was quite unpleasant to have a line-up behind us for half of our meal, with some pushing and shoving. This won't last, but this restaurant will.</div><br />And now, the scores!!!<br /><br />Food: 9<br />Service:8 <br /><br />I will definitely go back 100% to share this wonderful experience with all my friends (all of em, I swear!)!<br /> <br />ps: it cost me 15$ or so with tip. Uh hello, can you say 'worth it'?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1891225/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Sumac-Restaurant-Montreal"><img alt="Sumac Restaurant on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1891225/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-34727473717229734902015-01-18T19:46:00.001-05:002015-01-18T19:46:41.178-05:00Portus Calle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZfpdNGoGfE/VLxS6IN1MsI/AAAAAAAAC50/mHOB3YJ_bHw/s1600/20150102_190230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZfpdNGoGfE/VLxS6IN1MsI/AAAAAAAAC50/mHOB3YJ_bHw/s1600/20150102_190230.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> This restaurant has been on my to go list for a while, especially since I went to <i>Helena</i> last year and was just amazed by the tasting menu. Sooooo when a benefactor gave me 250$ to 'enjoy good food and have fun' (heeeeeelllls yes!), I called Portus Calle right away.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was going with my friend Rach, who was here on vacation from them Cayman Islands (lucky bastard), and she was pleased with my choice of resto.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We got a very pleasant welcome by the maitre-d' that showed us to our very lovely table close to the window. The place itself is quite big... lots of room at the bar and even more room in the brick walled dining room. Portuguese music was playing, which was a nice change from let's say a Mexican restaurant playing 95.9 (ok... I'm not aware of the radio stations here.... but let's just say I was happy it wasn't pop music!). It was very cozy and cute.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since everything on the menu looked great, and we were about to order every damn thing on there, our waiter suggested the tasting menu for 55$ each. OH YES!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4I0B2BPnuIM/VLw9nXoxfqI/AAAAAAAAC38/ndVJ_zJD67E/s1600/20150102_191315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4I0B2BPnuIM/VLw9nXoxfqI/AAAAAAAAC38/ndVJ_zJD67E/s1600/20150102_191315.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> We started out with a glass of Porto, because hey, with that money in my pockets, we could! Ha! It wasn't too strong and went down well. If I had to, I'd have no difficulty drinking that all night! We wanted to have some vinho verde with our meal but the one we wanted was not available so we went with white wine.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_g2bEXlir-0/VLw-JmYRGUI/AAAAAAAAC4E/WBU4WeMr-2E/s1600/20150102_192306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_g2bEXlir-0/VLw-JmYRGUI/AAAAAAAAC4E/WBU4WeMr-2E/s1600/20150102_192306.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> Alrighty, fooooooooooood (enter drooling here). First was chorizo aioli (hello!), olives, olive oil, bread and tuna rillettes with daikon. Hum, yum! Tuna melted in your mouth but tasted a tad like it came out of a can, the aioli was damn wonderfully greatness and had just a touch of spiciness! The olives were great but the bread.... meh... it was a tad too dry for my taste. Ps: wine service was ITHQ worthy and perfectly executed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KjnxWVhYjAA/VLxAcB0t41I/AAAAAAAAC4Q/H0cXIUGUhto/s1600/20150102_193408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KjnxWVhYjAA/VLxAcB0t41I/AAAAAAAAC4Q/H0cXIUGUhto/s1600/20150102_193408.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> Uh, hello tuna, is it me you're looking for? I really liked the plating on this one. Very modern and Picasso like (what? I dabble!). The crab salad was great and kind of sweet and had somewhat of a rice cracker to add some crunch. Breaded tuna looked like it was going to be a warm offering but alas, it was cold. Still yummy, but cold. The tuna tataki was melt-in-your-mouth good with a nice sesame crust and a wonderful tartar sauce. I could not have asked for more. Totally woke up my taste buds!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t5usqXnOysc/VLxBp4H6eMI/AAAAAAAAC4c/_rqMko7dEc0/s1600/20150102_193415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t5usqXnOysc/VLxBp4H6eMI/AAAAAAAAC4c/_rqMko7dEc0/s1600/20150102_193415.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, who knew warm tomatoes and goat cheese could be this good? It was a nice take on the bocconcini and tomato salad, but 100 times better. Flavours just popped right in my mouth. Man, this was good, yet so simple!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TBe3A0SLAEU/VLxHURInJMI/AAAAAAAAC4s/ULfsSRf2_rs/s1600/20150102_194342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TBe3A0SLAEU/VLxHURInJMI/AAAAAAAAC4s/ULfsSRf2_rs/s1600/20150102_194342.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div> Cod cakes. I've had them before and I'll have them again... these were good but a tad too potato-y but I loved the sauce which was quite spicy.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGCLrb4Rk-8/VLxH9McyMaI/AAAAAAAAC40/rXfKOAgM73k/s1600/20150102_194958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGCLrb4Rk-8/VLxH9McyMaI/AAAAAAAAC40/rXfKOAgM73k/s1600/20150102_194958.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /> OK, obviously this picture doesn't do it justice, but this octopus was WOW. Like, wow WOW! Fak! Perfect 'cuisson'. Puuuurrrrrrfect. Plus, the fried kale and the white beans were great with it. It's as if they were born together. Seriously. This was a good one.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C2StaMiNOiM/VLxIl4XUZPI/AAAAAAAAC48/vW0HDpK6cEE/s1600/20150102_195540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C2StaMiNOiM/VLxIl4XUZPI/AAAAAAAAC48/vW0HDpK6cEE/s1600/20150102_195540.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>Scallop with bacon 'chips' on top and lima bean puree with a cranberry and onion confit. OK, you guys know by now that's I'm a sucker for seafood but this was something else! The mix of flavours was to dssssiiiie for and the bacon chip? Well, I was aware that bacon could taste THAT good (yes, I'm aware it's freakin good!). Oh and that puree was so smooth and so tasty and well seasoned! Nothing bad to say about this at all.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-diBF9UOHY78/VLxJYeACwgI/AAAAAAAAC5E/bWMCTImDvKo/s1600/20150102_201424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-diBF9UOHY78/VLxJYeACwgI/AAAAAAAAC5E/bWMCTImDvKo/s1600/20150102_201424.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You must also know that apart from lobster, shrimp is at the top of my list. Since the good old summer days in Maine when I was 6 and eating an actual PILE of shrimp, they have been my fave. They were garlicky spicy buttery unctuous goodness. Most importantly, perfectly cooked. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WS0PxXg4Uw0/VLxLIyCZ8rI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/NWAiFV-3pQE/s1600/20150102_203231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WS0PxXg4Uw0/VLxLIyCZ8rI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/NWAiFV-3pQE/s1600/20150102_203231.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div> Pork cheek with aubergine puree. The veggies were cooked to perfection and the meat was so tender, so soft, melted in your mouth. It was perfection, basically.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-si6Xxt4Vp8o/VLxNIpgidrI/AAAAAAAAC5c/NI83qLQmRww/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-si6Xxt4Vp8o/VLxNIpgidrI/AAAAAAAAC5c/NI83qLQmRww/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> Our desert. Well hello there, how you doin'? First off, the pasteis de nata was exactly like it was when I tasted it in Portugal about 3 years ago. Hoooooolly! The truffles were good and dsamn good: the chocolate one was good but a bit too fruity for my taste and the champagne one... well hello champagne! It was so airy and right on. The panacotta had some sap and herbs in there and made it absolutely delicious. The last desert on the right was such a nice surprise: many stories of fluffy egg whites and caramel. The whole desert plate was just didily damn good!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Awa3_zFtxcI/VLxRkzCkL9I/AAAAAAAAC5o/QBR_mWldNeU/s1600/unnamedn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Awa3_zFtxcI/VLxRkzCkL9I/AAAAAAAAC5o/QBR_mWldNeU/s1600/unnamedn.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div> We had one last glass of porto to finish off the meal. What??? We were rich that night :) If we had known it was going to be 20$ a glass, I don't think we would have had it but hey, we were on vacation! It was even better than the first one.<br /><br />Service was wonderful: great wine service as previously mentioned, we always had water in our glasses, plates were taken away and brought to our table in a timely fashion.<br /><br />And now, the scores!<br /><br />Food: 9<br />Service: 9.5<br /><br />What a great experience! When I have the cash, I'm going back for sure!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/722336/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Portus-Calle-Marisqueira-Montreal"><img alt="Portus Calle Marisqueira on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/722336/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-25605800299636650902015-01-12T22:19:00.000-05:002015-01-12T22:32:12.384-05:00Junior<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tOKRnuJokHk/VKDCM_EAUDI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/9eX4aVytMmo/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tOKRnuJokHk/VKDCM_EAUDI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/9eX4aVytMmo/s1600/k.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A new restaurant opened a couple months ago near my restaurant (yes, it's mine...all miiiiine!) and the owner kept on coming for sushi and telling us about this place so we were bound to go at some point. Tonight, I went with my partner in crime, Val, thinking hey, we're gonna have a good Filipino dinner (and there are just a handful of Filipino restaurants in MTL...) in a cute little place. Mmmmya, we were wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JWzcGnUwx8/VKDDHkIgXTI/AAAAAAAAC2g/-hMTSdW6OVc/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JWzcGnUwx8/VKDDHkIgXTI/AAAAAAAAC2g/-hMTSdW6OVc/s1600/m.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The place itself, we weren't wrong about: it's very cute, with vibrant colours, tiny, about 40 seats, complete with a very good vibe and ambiance. It's kind of like being in your living room with some strangers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got there and 5 minutes later, we ordered and 2 minutes after that, I got my wine glass. So far, so good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And then...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IqIoJRuCwz4/VKDDpoNlA1I/AAAAAAAAC2o/l2M1SgekAJg/s1600/y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IqIoJRuCwz4/VKDDpoNlA1I/AAAAAAAAC2o/l2M1SgekAJg/s1600/y.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lumpia: pork and veggie rolls. Nothing exceptional at all. Even the sauce needed adjustments so we added Suka Pinakurat sauce which is a hot and sweet chili sauce and then it was just too vinegary. Pffff. This was a fail. A fail that cost us 7$. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iIDwdpF9-dE/VKDDv9nBz8I/AAAAAAAAC2w/uNIXeV6fbfs/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iIDwdpF9-dE/VKDDv9nBz8I/AAAAAAAAC2w/uNIXeV6fbfs/s1600/f.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This fish literally tasted like, hum, what's the word I'm looking for? Nothing. The onions and peppers were good but could not save the dish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WGdjUEGqBi0/VKDFPDEqLNI/AAAAAAAAC28/HwJumkyd7S8/s1600/c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WGdjUEGqBi0/VKDFPDEqLNI/AAAAAAAAC28/HwJumkyd7S8/s1600/c.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seriously, I don't even feel like talking about this dish. Vermicelli that was overcooked with tiny (and when I say tiny, I mean tiny) shrimp and some veggies. When I say I could not detect any flavor in there, I'm right. No, you KNOW I'm right. We had to drench it in relatively hot sauce for it to taste like anythin'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tm6De0O5fr4/VKmDskjiSFI/AAAAAAAAC3U/9sYahlTlp50/s1600/v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tm6De0O5fr4/VKmDskjiSFI/AAAAAAAAC3U/9sYahlTlp50/s1600/v.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Adobo chicken with lemongrass. I could detect a bit of taste but not nearly as much as I wanted. If I hadn't known there was lemongrass in there, I could not have tasted it. At least the chicken was moist and the broth not too salty.<br /><br />We also ordered some rice, do NOT ask me why. It was very blend and way too pasty.<br /><br />Service was alright. I think I was more preoccupied with the lacking aspects in the food to even notice most of the service. I mean, we got some water, they asked if we wanted a second drink, they gave us food. It did take a while to get the bill. And when you want to really leave, you want your bill quickly god damn it!<br /><br />And now, the scores!<br /><br />Food: 4<br />Service: 7<br /><br />I'm gonna say something very wise right about now: I will not go back.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1907519/restaurant/Montreal/Sud-Ouest/Junior-Montreal"><img alt="Junior on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1907519/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-65089115282928286292014-12-28T12:16:00.000-05:002014-12-28T12:16:16.471-05:00Vicolo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5V_ui4w_FS8/VJstIYt86cI/AAAAAAAACzc/AYY2aRDUl8Q/s1600/resto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5V_ui4w_FS8/VJstIYt86cI/AAAAAAAACzc/AYY2aRDUl8Q/s1600/resto.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Like Rachel in Friends once said: 'I <i>think </i>there was a restaurant... I <i>know</i> there was wine.'<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I was invited to try a new Italian restaurant called Vicolo a couple weeks ago! And everyone knows that getting invited by Jillian Zrihen of Tracy Brooke PR means one thing: it'll be a party! And a partay it was, but I'll get to that later!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First off, I just want to mention how ridunculous it is (really!) to have an opening on a weekday evening. Why? This only means I'll get to work hungover the next day. I mean, make it a Friday, and then I don't care what I look like or how dizzy I am the next morning :p<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n8eqWPh2ZVU/VJstcWe2rzI/AAAAAAAACzk/Qqf_MvCGn7c/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B7%2B02%2B51%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n8eqWPh2ZVU/VJstcWe2rzI/AAAAAAAACzk/Qqf_MvCGn7c/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B7%2B02%2B51%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We were welcomed by all smiles and DJ Abeille Gélinas, who has been at all the openings of recent. Good vibes and good people! We waited a couple minutes to give our coats and then, we were off upstairs to the dining and bar area. The place looks really good, with leather booths and lots of wood on the walls. There was also a huge bar, which is always important! Hehehe.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ihyj6bjjFzE/VJsvwSf_LaI/AAAAAAAACz0/djBk4gZ7Ycg/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B7%2B02%2B41%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ihyj6bjjFzE/VJsvwSf_LaI/AAAAAAAACz0/djBk4gZ7Ycg/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B7%2B02%2B41%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Wow, the place got full at around 6:30 and OH-SOOOO-FULL as in I-can't-move-a-bit at around 7.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dUY1yvujomA/VJswxSi9QsI/AAAAAAAACz8/xKH3b208rh4/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dUY1yvujomA/VJswxSi9QsI/AAAAAAAACz8/xKH3b208rh4/s1600/m.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />We obviously (uh, duh!) headed straight for the bar because I just knew it was going to fill up real quick. We had their signature cocktail of the evening, Il Vicolo, which is gin, blood orange, lemon, egg whites, orange flower water and soda. It was...alright. Not really my cup-o-tea (or my cup-o-gin?) Too gin-y for me. I mean, I can handle too vodka-y or too rum-y but too gin-y? Nah. <br /><br />OK, so basically, the evening was to be composed of free drinks, free food (tiny versions of their plates) being passed around by waiters, a tiny cheese, bread and meat buffet type thang and a pizza etc table. That pizza etc table was really diddly damn good!<br /><br />Alrighty, let's talk food, shall we?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q7aY9SoAmPM/VJ84R1-3LDI/AAAAAAAAC00/JN3_Oq7EnIM/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B40%2B36%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q7aY9SoAmPM/VJ84R1-3LDI/AAAAAAAAC00/JN3_Oq7EnIM/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B40%2B36%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The cheese, bread and sausagy buffet. It looked really good! It looked so good that I wanted to put everything in my mouth at once, but let's face it, my mouth is way too small :p The olives were, what's the word, oh-so-good! Mmmmmm, they pretty much melted right in my mouth (yes, apparently olives can melt). Some bread was a tad too hard but some was soft and yummy! Same with the cheese, some was soft and tasty and others were on the harder side, but good nevertheless. The only thing that really disappointed me were the little sausages wrapped oh so carefully in paper: they were so hard, I thought I was going to break a 5th tooth (mmmmya, I don't have the best teeth). Plus, my guest, Lea, found them way too spicy.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSCtKxP7_ko/VJ851ynMbkI/AAAAAAAAC1I/rWknk7mSQA0/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSCtKxP7_ko/VJ851ynMbkI/AAAAAAAAC1I/rWknk7mSQA0/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />First thing that was offered to us by the waiters was this butternut creamy goodness heavenly thang. It was hot, which is not the norm when soup is served, especially during an opening, and so soft and unctions! I could have eaten about 11 of those. Just because.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wIxhQM3jHDI/VJ85wsYJuSI/AAAAAAAAC1A/1zgcTUAb298/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B44%2B58%2BPM-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wIxhQM3jHDI/VJ85wsYJuSI/AAAAAAAAC1A/1zgcTUAb298/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B44%2B58%2BPM-1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />This was a hit! Burrata atop an olive tapenade and crushed tomatoes on a crouton. The crouton wasn't too hard, the cheese was just lovely and surprisingly, the olives weren't salty at all. As I said, a hit!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--G3x-0trtmc/VKAulJfihrI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/vt3tv9P64Oo/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B45%2B50%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--G3x-0trtmc/VKAulJfihrI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/vt3tv9P64Oo/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B45%2B50%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was also wonderful! Beef carpaccio with fleur de sel, parmesan, and truffle oil. I thought, like in many cases, that the oil was going to overpower the dish but it just added what was needed to complete it. The beef melted in your mouth and it was just goodness all around.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-33ZDlfUHf68/VKAvsCMAWPI/AAAAAAAAC1k/TjoK7mPIEbg/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B53%2B09%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-33ZDlfUHf68/VKAvsCMAWPI/AAAAAAAAC1k/TjoK7mPIEbg/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B6%2B53%2B09%2BPM.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ze calamari. Not squishy, thank the looooord! They were rather crunchy with a nice little mayo. Very pleasant!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAoXfj2WoE4/VKAww8fUdDI/AAAAAAAAC14/njLgeddQhaM/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B8%2B17%2B50%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAoXfj2WoE4/VKAww8fUdDI/AAAAAAAAC14/njLgeddQhaM/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B8%2B17%2B50%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pizza bar! I think we hung out next to it for at least half an hour, just eating our way through every single pizza. There were meaty pizzas and one mushroom pizza which was to dssssiiiieee for! All were thin crusted and wonderful and oh-so-cheesy! And I don't say that lightly because I AM a pizza enthusiast. <br /><br />We also tried their mushroom risotto with a bit of parsley. It was nice and creamy but a bit too hard for my taste (FYI: risotto is not supposed to be soft, it's actually supposed to have some crunch to it).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dx0uAbMBe9E/VKA1V1mfrCI/AAAAAAAAC2A/vpcjLvi0RBI/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B7%2B15%2B01%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dx0uAbMBe9E/VKA1V1mfrCI/AAAAAAAAC2A/vpcjLvi0RBI/s1600/Photo%2B2014-12-03%2C%2B7%2B15%2B01%2BPM.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, for the service! Seeing as the place was full or 'plein à craquer' as we say, service was actually on par (and the door dudes were really cool---I even gave one of them a plate of goodies :) There was a huge agglomeration at the bar and they were quite fast giving out drinks! At some point though, they stopped giving out free drinks :( That's alright, we became fast friends with the drunkered owner, so we paid for half of our future drinks. Hehehe. And then, like magic, everything became blurry....From what Lea told me, we hung out with the owner and a hot girl (hello!!!) for some time when everyone was gone. Oh and I woke up with her card on my night table AND in my jacket. I dream of a threesome, mmmkay? Hahaha. We ended up getting our pic taken in the Vicolo photo booth at the end, looking ridiculous, in good Marie fashion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food:8</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 8.5 </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We had an excellent time, although the morning after wasn't so excellent! I'll go back for sure to have the REAL Vicolo experience! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1917336/restaurant/Montreal/Golden-Square-Mile/Vicolo-Restaurant-Bar-Montreal"><img alt="Vicolo Restaurant & Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1917336/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-79196145548402063942014-11-22T14:44:00.001-05:002014-11-22T14:45:02.520-05:00La Petite Mangue<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGWOnoMiQec/VHDFXQTjp5I/AAAAAAAACwg/HPzbR67f4lw/s1600/getimage.php.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGWOnoMiQec/VHDFXQTjp5I/AAAAAAAACwg/HPzbR67f4lw/s1600/getimage.php.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of restaurant-montreal (forgot to take a pic!)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I was invited to try this Cambodian restaurant a couple weeks ago through my blog's facebook page and was quite excited! The menu looked so darn tootin good! Plus, when do I get to eat Cambodian food? NEVER!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8eCDREksvpY/VHDIA7jQxDI/AAAAAAAACws/-YI2Rhkq1H4/s1600/20141025_185021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8eCDREksvpY/VHDIA7jQxDI/AAAAAAAACws/-YI2Rhkq1H4/s1600/20141025_185021.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got there with my partner in crime, Val, and waited. And then, we waited some more. AND some more. Oh, and then the busboy came to see us and I tried to explain that I got invited because I have a blog and what have you and he seemed highly confused. Man, this wasn't going to be easy. Finally, the waiter (who was busy serving around 50 people!!!) came around and sat us at the most romantic spot in the restaurant. Hahaha. Yep, this was going to be quite romantic indeed! NOT! Anyhoot, I had to show him my fb with the invite! I think both parties were embarrassed by this. Point is, he got it. He suggested some items on the menu and the table d'hôte. Ps: you will find the best, cheapest, wine in town there. A bottle worth 16$ at the SAQ is being sold 24$ there. HELLO! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The place itself doesn't seem to have the best set up: you enter and BAM, tables everywhere, some, cafeteria style with 3 or 4 tables stuck together. The decor is nothing to write home about and I have to stress, again, that that poor waiter had the whole restaurant to himself that night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, let's talk food, shall we? We ordered two table d'hôte + a salad. We also ordered a bottle of white wine that, and I'll say it again, only cost us 24$!!!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_t8WZs81-gc/VHDJkStSh8I/AAAAAAAACw0/y4LPQg2pSr8/s1600/20141025_190310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_t8WZs81-gc/VHDJkStSh8I/AAAAAAAACw0/y4LPQg2pSr8/s1600/20141025_190310.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Siem Reap: curry soup with vermicelli, iceberg lettuce, onion and lemon wedge. A tad spicy and a lot lemony, with great flavours! This was a hit for sure! Loved all of it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KUprqmQ_i8U/VHDScYBQraI/AAAAAAAACxE/Du43ayjGivA/s1600/20141025_193409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KUprqmQ_i8U/VHDScYBQraI/AAAAAAAACxE/Du43ayjGivA/s1600/20141025_193409.jpg" height="320" width="240" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Your basic spring roll with mint, carrots, and what have you. Wasn't the best in town but still tasted good. The sauce was good without being too spicy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbK29EDM4WI/VHDSd0zI6tI/AAAAAAAACxM/OHJn5YDVvO4/s1600/20141025_193433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lbK29EDM4WI/VHDSd0zI6tI/AAAAAAAACxM/OHJn5YDVvO4/s1600/20141025_193433.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br />Imperial rolls: obviously we had the pork ones (we love our pork!) and they were good but not great. Again, the sauce was lovely and not that spicy.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kzRL29H_NdE/VHDTtOLgrVI/AAAAAAAACxU/ECWGZeNjrro/s1600/20141025_194036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kzRL29H_NdE/VHDTtOLgrVI/AAAAAAAACxU/ECWGZeNjrro/s1600/20141025_194036.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />A bad picture. I mean, the papaya salad. Very spicy! I mean, we could definitely handle it but some might not. The green beans added just the crunch that was needed. The tomatoes... didn't really have a reason to be there, we found. the lemon added the my-mouth-is-on-fire-I-need-something-to-calm-it-down part :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w1WuvGyjeQ4/VHDaP7KzVoI/AAAAAAAACxk/5b_WBKfAFPI/s1600/20141025_195323(0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w1WuvGyjeQ4/VHDaP7KzVoI/AAAAAAAACxk/5b_WBKfAFPI/s1600/20141025_195323(0).jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Amok: a Cambodian specialty! Fish bathed in coconut milk and infused with a lemongrass blend. You had me at coconut! Wait, no, you had me at lemongrass. The fish was spicy and moist but the broth was a tad too salty. The coconut was very present and the lemongrass as well. Great mix of flavours! An overall great dish. We hadn't even ordered it but the waiter thought we should try it. GREAT idea dude, great idea.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ufxo6b9lFIg/VHDcDa4wCOI/AAAAAAAACxw/fa82LWfQjGw/s1600/20141025_195317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ufxo6b9lFIg/VHDcDa4wCOI/AAAAAAAACxw/fa82LWfQjGw/s1600/20141025_195317.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kroeung: traditional Cambodian sauté with onions, peppers and infused lemongrass and peanut sauce. The beef was a bit on the cold side but the spices made it damn good! the veggies were well seasoned and were crunchy, which gave a nice texture to the dish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SWVDFH5clTQ/VHDk2Y8N6DI/AAAAAAAACyM/NnXxAAJd-x0/s1600/20141025_195335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SWVDFH5clTQ/VHDk2Y8N6DI/AAAAAAAACyM/NnXxAAJd-x0/s1600/20141025_195335.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Savory sweet pork with crispy bamboo shoots. It was good but not as good as the beef. The rice that accompanied it wasn't nearly as good as it should have been. I mean, the whole was good, just not the best.<br /><br />And now, the service. The busboy turned out to be very entertaining. At one point, we were cracking up about something and he came to our table and started cracking up too. Twas very cute! The dishes didn't come as fast as we would have liked but I blame the fact that the other waiter was probably out sick for the evening.<br /><br />And now, the scooooores!<br /><br />Food: 8.5<br />Service: 7<br /><br />This was a hit! I'll totally go back at some point and try their other dishes!<br /><br />ps: with our food being free and our wine (we had a bottle and a half) being something like 30% off, we ended up only paying something like 12 dollars each plus a hefty tip. Good deal? Hells YA!</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1747347/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/La-Petite-Mangue-Montreal"><img alt="La Petite Mangue on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1747347/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-12078828890926847082014-11-17T10:56:00.000-05:002014-11-17T11:07:11.181-05:00Imadake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gZu6P6UTjPw/VGl73OYCPqI/AAAAAAAACvA/2ci6MvgMt_Q/s1600/20141101_195350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gZu6P6UTjPw/VGl73OYCPqI/AAAAAAAACvA/2ci6MvgMt_Q/s1600/20141101_195350.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">MTL à table is a wonderful event that takes place every year where restaurants lower their table d'hôte prices so that people can discover them and enjoy some good food. This year, most of them had their table d'hôte at either 19, 29 or 39 dollars. I think Toqué! was at 69$ but that's a whole different cup-o-tea. When a friend suggested we go, I immediately thought of Imadake because a: it was at 29$ and b: I'd heard lots of great things and had been meaning to go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6so1y5FaqY/VGoL0zE9vqI/AAAAAAAACvQ/yc9XvzRxiNQ/s1600/20141101_223300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6so1y5FaqY/VGoL0zE9vqI/AAAAAAAACvQ/yc9XvzRxiNQ/s1600/20141101_223300.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">An izakaya is basically a Japanese pub that also serves up good eats. Actually on Imadake's website, it reads 'Come eat and drink, yum! Good!' Makes me think of the shirts my best friend used to bring me back from Japan that made close to no sense. Anyhoot, when you're outside, you hear absolutely nothing and once you open those doors, WOW! It's really loud and vibrant, and everyone seems to be having the time of their lives. Plus, they sell sake bombs where there's something about hitting the table with your fists and the waiter yells 'SAKE!!' and the clients yell 'BOMB!!' like three times. This was fun at first but then, we just had a hard time hearing ourselves talk! But, you know, it's part of the Imadake experience! The place is quite big with a bar in the middle and lots of wood. Most tables are lower with wooden blocks as chairs (which, as it turns out, not too comfy for a 2 hour dinner).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, the way MTL à table works is that you have a menu with 2 choices per course. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all! I had already checked out the menu and knew what I wanted to eat of course!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TXyCPyKf-Y/VGoS1LYxw0I/AAAAAAAACvg/mDO38hl34QI/s1600/20141101_201004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TXyCPyKf-Y/VGoS1LYxw0I/AAAAAAAACvg/mDO38hl34QI/s1600/20141101_201004.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was the first one there as per usual so I decided to order a nice little drink for the waiting time. I didn't want anything too heavy so I ordered the Shiso mojito. Basically a run of the mill mojito but with shiso leaves instead of mint. And since shiso is in the same family as mint, it was a nice little refreshing, well executed mojito. At the end, it got a tad too sweet but it was still yummy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fnbW-WYH_mQ/VGoTxklkiKI/AAAAAAAACvo/f49yacQMHFE/s1600/20141101_210449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fnbW-WYH_mQ/VGoTxklkiKI/AAAAAAAACvo/f49yacQMHFE/s1600/20141101_210449.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My entrée: bonito tataki. The bonito itself had a nice texture but the dish was lacking an extra level of seasoning. Still great and and there was plenty!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JxZdjz7Lpc/VGoUlPt82DI/AAAAAAAACvw/BG5V94qB_lY/s1600/20141101_210931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JxZdjz7Lpc/VGoUlPt82DI/AAAAAAAACvw/BG5V94qB_lY/s1600/20141101_210931.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second course: Karaage fried chicken with wasabi sauce. There was a LOT of chicken. Like, a LOT! The chicken itself was very moist but the breading was so crunchy, I thought I might break a tooth. There was a bit too much fat in there which made it unpleasant at some point. The lemon added a nice touch and I loved that wasabi mayo! If I were beginning to be sick, this totally reversed it and unplugged everything! I even shed a tear or two :) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wrmMBZ_2R14/VGoVp-LHVrI/AAAAAAAACv4/GtHKznmPT4Q/s1600/20141101_212325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wrmMBZ_2R14/VGoVp-LHVrI/AAAAAAAACv4/GtHKznmPT4Q/s1600/20141101_212325.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Third course: Steak Yaki Niku. THIS was a nice surprise! They bring you a hot ass (yes, hot ASS) plate and some uncooked marinated beef with a teriyaki soya sesame kinda sauce that tasted great. The beef had a wonderful taste to it but some pieces were way too big to fit my tiny mouth so I had to cut them with chop sticks which wasn't ideal. Still, as I've said, and I'll say it again, this was like heaven in my mouth. Heaven I say! Mmmmm! So, you put the beef on the hot plate with a bit of sauce and then some chives and you barely cook it and then, wait for it, you put it in your mouth. AND you've reached umami (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami) heaven!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xEkGB8purC4/VGoW_a1R54I/AAAAAAAACwA/2CB3RxfyBGk/s1600/20141101_222833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xEkGB8purC4/VGoW_a1R54I/AAAAAAAACwA/2CB3RxfyBGk/s1600/20141101_222833.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for desert, I chose the sesame ice cream. It looks, well, not too appetizing but it was oh-so-DAMN-good! It was so soft and smooth! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, let's talk service, shall we? When I got in, I found it weird that the girls were all wearing school girl skirts but then I figured that a lot of them are wearing that in Japan right now so it became less weird. What WAS weird is that the waiter told us that the dishes came out when they were ready so we all ate at this different times which was kind of annoying. It took a while to start but then the food came in relatively good timing. Oh and, y'all know I'm serious about my water and we all had to ask for some, at different times during our meal. Meh.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: 7.5</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 7</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, I'm not disappointed and I'm happy we chose this restaurant for MTL à Table! Will definitely go back!</div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1581250/restaurant/Downtown/Imadake-Montreal"><img alt="Imadake on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1581250/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-89089469561548399752014-11-16T19:01:00.001-05:002014-11-16T19:01:38.552-05:00Nini Meatball House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OxxZ5wYPb2c/VGQVpq2AIGI/AAAAAAAACuI/ablBmwY4rsg/s1600/20141104_144909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OxxZ5wYPb2c/VGQVpq2AIGI/AAAAAAAACuI/ablBmwY4rsg/s320/20141104_144909.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />I was meeting my ex English teacher J and her girl Yez for dinner. Soooooo, I thought we should meet two doors from work (Sushi taxi), you know... cause I have such a hard time being away from work :p Geez! So, we did! On top of it, since I'm two doors down, I'd been through the buying, the remodeling and the everything that makes this resto what it is today!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9v3n2g53rV4/VGk11hYNbTI/AAAAAAAACuw/PGMpAFQX-vc/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9v3n2g53rV4/VGk11hYNbTI/AAAAAAAACuw/PGMpAFQX-vc/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br />The place: very simple, very white, industrial type of lighting. Cool feeling.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LL57vKCSxg/VGQVu2IKqrI/AAAAAAAACuQ/6hAPxVZeaA0/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4LL57vKCSxg/VGQVu2IKqrI/AAAAAAAACuQ/6hAPxVZeaA0/s320/a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />The drink: Rebel lemonade. Maker's Mark, soda, lemon juice, simple syrup. Told the waitress we make a really meeeeaaan lemonade at Sushi Taxi and she convinced me that hers was going to be better. Nope. It was OK, very strong and not lemon-y enough.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PIhJWeULacQ/VGQWtOhtB2I/AAAAAAAACuY/KrqfohcINs4/s1600/no.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PIhJWeULacQ/VGQWtOhtB2I/AAAAAAAACuY/KrqfohcINs4/s320/no.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">OK, let's talk food! First off, I must mention that their menu has pretty much nothing too original or new, which was a tad disappointing. We ordered 4 sets of 3 meatballs and our own sides. 1- Beef meatballs with tomato sauce and parmesan: lacks taste, lacks salt, nothin special there. 2- Beef, cheddar and bacon meatball with a smoked BBQ sauce: the sauce was great! I'd even go as far as to say mouth watering. BUT the meatball itself was tough and again, lacked flavour. 3- Pork and fennel meatball with spicy tomato sauce: I'm not even kidding when I say that this tasted like NADA. 4- Pork and chorizo meatball with chimichuri sauce: Man, you had me at chimichuri! I LOVE that stuff. Needless to say this one was my fave. As a side, I had the mashed potatoes which tasted alright, although they could have used more salt. I was more annoyed at the price (7$).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service was alright: we got water quickly and the dishes a bit less quickly. Plus, our waitress kept on going back and forth between English and French so that got annoying really fast.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: an average of 6 </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 6</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you ask me again to pay 7 dollars for mashed potatoes, I'll say no.</div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1892710/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Nini-Meatball-House-Montreal"><img alt="Nini Meatball House on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1892710/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-17366822806992793202014-11-08T08:21:00.001-05:002014-11-09T22:26:30.182-05:00Bolo Bolo<div style="text-align: justify;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:HyphenationZone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> 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gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tableau Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} </style><![endif]--><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HpKG1k5v2OE/VF-8mZMxdpI/AAAAAAAACto/LUT_Kt9NO4A/s1600/m.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HpKG1k5v2OE/VF-8mZMxdpI/AAAAAAAACto/LUT_Kt9NO4A/s1600/m.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">*review written by my friend C.S. because I could not attend the opening*</span></i><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My sister and I are first-time critics of restaurants and had the great honour of representing M-C and her fabulous blog for Bolobolo’s opening night in early October. We entered the gourmet meatball (boulettes gourmandes) restaurant/bar with keen and empty stomachs. Located on the Boulevard Saint-Laurent in the space adjacent to the Excentris theatre (in the old Caf</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">é Méliès: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">an ambitious location?!), we imagine that Bolobolo is looking to attract movie theater goers and late night snack-seekers.</span><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As we entered the bar, we were pleasantly greeted and offered free cocktails--- in exchange for posting Bolobolo’s hashtags to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. We took advantage of this early on in the evening and ordered a few of their “signature drinks”: the “Sweet Mexico” (spicy and aromatic, with fun chilies rimming the glass), “Hocus Pocus” (very yummy with a giant mint leaf), and the “Smoking Hot Bloody with a Ball” (Bloody Mary + boulette). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All great drinks, particularly the one with the meatball! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed our fun free drinks as the night began, but it wasn’t long before things at the bar got out of control. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Free drinks = total chaos in no time at all, we found out. The most obvious issue was that there weren’t nearly enough staff to accommodate all the drink orders. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As hunger was setting in, we were promised over and over that the boulettes would be making their grand entrance at 7pm. There really were a lot of people so I didn't get too worried when it was 7:10 and I hadn't yet seen anything closely resembling a meaty sphere rolling my way. A few minutes later though, we noticed the intermittent and fleeting rushes of people around the back of the restaurant, which we assumed to be in the vicinity of the doors to the kitchen (we were right). Okay, okay, I get it: the first few trays were quickly attacked and we just had to be a little patient until they brought out some more food. Soooo, um, yeah, bring out some more, please! Right? Weeellll, didn’t quite go that way: they had about two or three wait staff bringing out a paltry 5-10 tiny 2-boulette bowls at a time from the kitchen. It took over half an hour for us to get our first bites. We did our very best to make ourselves visible, but things did not improve as the night went on. I understand that they had a lot of people there, but heck, you invited them all so ya better feed 'em, no?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Of course, this was an opening night event and, though we are but rookies of the food critiquing business, we understand that these things are probably not logistically super simple. Though we really hated having to try so hard and compete against so many people to finally get some food, we get that it’s not necessarily indicative of what service would be like on any other night. We did eventually, finally manage to get some food and were in fact quite pleased with what was served. First to sink our teeth into: a classic beef meatball with tomato sauce. Good, but our least favorite, just a little dense. The next boulette we managed to get our paws on was the spicy veal ball. A nice touch was the parmesan cream/foam served along with it, which went well with the sauce and spice. Next to arrive were the delectable mac + cheese balls, which we happily tucked into. Not impressive from the outside, but a very nice snack: not heart-cloggingly fried, lightly breaded and super cheesy, with a nice kick (good dose of cheddar).</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ivNmlSWYMzY/VF-9paLbkVI/AAAAAAAACt0/gRHmBkr2eFA/s1600/c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ivNmlSWYMzY/VF-9paLbkVI/AAAAAAAACt0/gRHmBkr2eFA/s1600/c.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Another yummy meat-a-ball we tried was pork boulette served with a good amount of ricotta and a tasty sauce. This was the juiciest ball we had (aside from the one the came with the Bloody Mary) and we agreed that we would certainly order this dish again. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Overall, to get your meatball fix, this place is a fair to good bet, based on what we sampled. We didn't get any of their “plats principaux” (described as “pizza” and “sandwich” boulettes, amongst others), so we can't speak to those. The restaurant also offers some basic sides and desserts. In truth, food-wise, you’re really here for the meatballs, which you can order in quantities of up to 20. It’s comfort food done up all fancy, and we figure you might come here for 5-à-7 or a pre-/post-movie bite and cocktail. It may also be fun for late night drinking munchies (it’s open until 4am Thursday through Saturday, and until 11pm on other nights). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Bouffe: 7.5</span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Service: 5</span><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><i>Note from me: I wish I could have been there! MUST go try these meatballs... and soon!</i></span><br /><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><i><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1890970/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Bolo-Bolo-Montreal"><img alt="Bolo Bolo on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1890970/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a> </i></span></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-77072412739030936062014-11-04T10:21:00.002-05:002014-11-04T10:23:19.319-05:00Pasta Casareccia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqSK_x736TI/VE5ehpl0JbI/AAAAAAAACrk/f83x4TEsCxI/s1600/20141021_123320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqSK_x736TI/VE5ehpl0JbI/AAAAAAAACrk/f83x4TEsCxI/s1600/20141021_123320.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Val and I had some early business at Sushi Taxi and when we were done, since I wasn't on the schedule till later in the afternoon, we decided to have lunch at her friend Mauro's restaurant, Pasta Casareccia. This family owned place is located where I neva eva go, Sherbrooke West. There's a bunch of nice restos in this end of Sherbrooke, it just seems too far, ya know?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TyueDPK0h7g/VFTtTme5mxI/AAAAAAAACr8/lQ5Wknrh1yo/s1600/20141021_123358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TyueDPK0h7g/VFTtTme5mxI/AAAAAAAACr8/lQ5Wknrh1yo/s1600/20141021_123358.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyhoot, there is a large terrasse, obviously closed because it ain't getting any warmer, and two dining rooms inside. Oh, and they also have a gourmet boutique where Italian everything is sold. My mouth was watering just looking at the sausages and meat and fresh pasta and home made loveliness. Drooling isn't polite, is it? I HAD to eat, like NOW. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSHz42EImmc/VFTtc-edoZI/AAAAAAAACsE/uFPdMkoNwSc/s1600/20141021_124619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSHz42EImmc/VFTtc-edoZI/AAAAAAAACsE/uFPdMkoNwSc/s1600/20141021_124619.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br />We didn't even see the menu because Mauro knew what Val liked, therefore what I liked: Val and I have some pretty similar tastes when it comes to great food!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUlFzlD1YBs/VFUZOZLRvHI/AAAAAAAACsU/JwdrA8YkmCQ/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pUlFzlD1YBs/VFUZOZLRvHI/AAAAAAAACsU/JwdrA8YkmCQ/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div><br />The starter for two: antipasti. Hello! Homemade or Italy made, this was a plate of wonderfulness! Olives, old cheddar glazed with balsamic syrup, homemade olive bread sticks, homemade fennel -tiny- bread ...thingys, sopressata and capicolli. Everything was darn good. The bread sticks were freshly made and the cold cuts were just so good! I'd even go as far as 'mouth watering' good. Yes, that's right. The olives were a tad saltier than I would have liked but still hit the spot.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGxDh8oHZ7U/VFjgA5y03wI/AAAAAAAACso/ZqePCXriQwE/s1600/20141021_124919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HGxDh8oHZ7U/VFjgA5y03wI/AAAAAAAACso/ZqePCXriQwE/s1600/20141021_124919.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Olives ascolane. Although I am TRYING to watch what I eat, especially everything breaded, I just couldn't resist these meat filled, breaded olives. With just a tad of lemon, they were, well, heaven in my mouth! The lemon helped bring out all the flavours and I just wanted more!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYeOwF9DDRI/VFjn986uiHI/AAAAAAAACs4/SfzGjvNo9vM/s1600/20141021_132605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYeOwF9DDRI/VFjn986uiHI/AAAAAAAACs4/SfzGjvNo9vM/s1600/20141021_132605.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Pumpkin risotto. Pumpkin: YES. Risotto: hell YES! It was very silky and the pumpkin was well cooked and super soft. The pancetta was great although it made the dish a bit too salty. Green onions made for a nice texture change. All in all, I would have this risotto over and over again. Maybe i'll go now! But first, there's more!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YDFlouIZtN0/VFjo9Tuy6WI/AAAAAAAACtA/osoRLO6FTNY/s1600/20141021_134626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YDFlouIZtN0/VFjo9Tuy6WI/AAAAAAAACtA/osoRLO6FTNY/s1600/20141021_134626.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br />Speck and porcini tagliatelle. Oh man, eating one mushroom was like an explosion of flavours in my mouth. It was like they had been marinating for 100 years! Ok, that would be a bit gross but you get the idea. They fly them in from Italy and rehydrate them here. Dry, hydrated, rehydrated, I don't care; they were probably the best mushrooms I've ever tasted. Chopped parsley added some freshness to the pasta which was not too creamy and not too wine-y. Val had guaranteed this was going to be good (she had tasted it before) and she was right! The speck, which is a type of prosciutto, was, again, a bit too salty in itself but within the dish, was just the right salty element.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m4zVRDnzJsI/VFjrXixIbPI/AAAAAAAACtM/bfOJTCzr_N4/s1600/20141021_141303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m4zVRDnzJsI/VFjrXixIbPI/AAAAAAAACtM/bfOJTCzr_N4/s1600/20141021_141303.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Lemon sorbetto. Very tasty but it was sooooo cold that my brain surgery scar started hurting! Hahaha!<br /><br />Let's talk about the service! Well, when you're friends with the person that owns the restaurant, it certainly helps! We got water in 3.5 seconds from our waiter and our dishes arrived in a timely fashion. Plus, we got the chance to learn about the history of the restaurant and where most of the products come from straight from the owner's mouth! He also answered every question we had about the dishes.<br /><br />And now, the scores!<br /><br />Food: 9<br />Service: a well deserved 10<br /><br />I'll say this: if ever I'm on Sherbrooke West again, I'm coming to see you, Mauro!</div><br /><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/722109/restaurant/Notre-Dame-de-Gr-ce/Pasta-Casareccia-Montreal"><img alt="Pasta Casareccia on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/722109/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5824598888903265504.post-45117014224158121822014-10-26T18:12:00.000-04:002014-11-04T10:58:09.600-05:00KYOZON part deux<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2IIXVr2rB8s/VDtCT_MUS_I/AAAAAAAACno/r7GjOIGRwe8/s1600/20140917_190251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2IIXVr2rB8s/VDtCT_MUS_I/AAAAAAAACno/r7GjOIGRwe8/s1600/20140917_190251.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I was re-invited to try Kyozon 'for real' since the opening in September. Obviously, openings are mostly grandiose with a full house (and then some), a dj and lots and lots of staff.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VbgxrI-3B2U/VE1tJl41TuI/AAAAAAAACrU/BpCx2tw8qFU/s1600/20141008_185351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VbgxrI-3B2U/VE1tJl41TuI/AAAAAAAACrU/BpCx2tw8qFU/s1600/20141008_185351.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This time, we got there for an early dinner with the intention of trying dishes I hadn't eaten when I had gone two weeks prior. We were warmly welcomed in an almost empty restaurant. What a difference! Our waiter came to take our order and made some nice suggestions. We ended up getting four entrées (yes, we are pigs) and we were to share the duck and all its fixings as a main. What a treat this was going to be! Oh, we also had a cocktail on the house and then got a couple more glasses of wine for our meal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leeeeeet's do it!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pQ1hVYqY0vk/VE1dKC_4T4I/AAAAAAAACqI/HxLhD4DRcDk/s1600/20141008_184940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pQ1hVYqY0vk/VE1dKC_4T4I/AAAAAAAACqI/HxLhD4DRcDk/s1600/20141008_184940.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The drink: 6 May 2014. Hennesy very special, bergamot liquor, palm sugar, kumquats, mangosteen, fresh mint. Man, talk about a fresh tasting cocktail! It was very citrusy, almost too much. It hit all the right tastebuds.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0dXaNBuTcB4/VE1fk-NzYhI/AAAAAAAACqU/eZxUNtFMvaw/s1600/20141008_190656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0dXaNBuTcB4/VE1fk-NzYhI/AAAAAAAACqU/eZxUNtFMvaw/s1600/20141008_190656.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The calamari were a disappointment. When I ate them at the opening, they were perfect but when they arrived at our table this time, they were cold. Not like 'oh, they must have been hot in the kitchen' but more like 'oh, they must have been cold for a while'. They were good the first time and oh-so-unappreciated the second time.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HmyScKLH_YI/VE1gNHyFfvI/AAAAAAAACqc/h22E6C26qCM/s1600/20141008_190706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HmyScKLH_YI/VE1gNHyFfvI/AAAAAAAACqc/h22E6C26qCM/s1600/20141008_190706.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Crab and chicken Sui Mai with smoked chili jam. I found them full of flavor, not too spicy, not too mellow. The sides were a bit on the hard...side. My dining partner wasn't as fond of them as I was. Which turned out to be good for me because I got to eat three quarters of the dish. Hehehe!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gL7Zl1RdBCc/VE1j8rsRW3I/AAAAAAAACqo/PJX6_veOank/s1600/20141008_190720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gL7Zl1RdBCc/VE1j8rsRW3I/AAAAAAAACqo/PJX6_veOank/s1600/20141008_190720.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Beef teriyaki on skewers. They were a bit hard to chew but they still tasted great. Again, they were a bit on the cold side. I've said it and I'll say it again, dishes that are meant to be served hot should be on hot plates! The pickled veggies were great, with just the right amount of vinegar. This finished off the dish nicely.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G4GRXNT1hC0/VE1k5dlZbYI/AAAAAAAACqw/zKEhxA48BBA/s1600/20141008_190736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G4GRXNT1hC0/VE1k5dlZbYI/AAAAAAAACqw/zKEhxA48BBA/s1600/20141008_190736.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Baby pork spareribs with black bean sauce. Holy bejesus this was good. OH-so good. Food orgasm good, I'm not even kidding! The meat was fall-off-the-bone goodness and the seasoning on the veggies was just right. Not too salty but not bland either. The black bean sauce was wonderful and added just what was needed to the dish. I have to say, next time I make ribs (and I'm oh-so-due), I'm making a black bean sauce. To tell you how good this was, we both gave it an 11 (on 10, of course).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vbQvYwZTj8I/VE1ocjea_sI/AAAAAAAACq8/VT89Yk0VDSY/s1600/20141008_193139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vbQvYwZTj8I/VE1ocjea_sI/AAAAAAAACq8/VT89Yk0VDSY/s1600/20141008_193139.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Kyozon's take on Peking duck. THIS was a winner. The duck was cooked to perfection aka on the rare side and the little pancakes were a great vessel but were a tad on the cold side (I think they are having a problem in the temperature department). There were two sauces; hoisin, which I looooove, and prune, which could have been a tad sweeter. This was accompanied by some greens, some pickled veggies, coriander and mint. Mmmmm... put all of that in that little pancake and it's the perfect mix of sweet and sour! I pretty much devoured this.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39KAnuZjBzY/VE1rg9ZvDLI/AAAAAAAACrI/hvvFrV8Zvmg/s1600/20141008_203015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39KAnuZjBzY/VE1rg9ZvDLI/AAAAAAAACrI/hvvFrV8Zvmg/s1600/20141008_203015.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />We were very full after all these dishes but were convinced to eat desert. We had the brownie, which always seems like a good idea! The brownie was a bit on the hard and dry side but mixed with whipped cream, well everything is better with whipped cream. The cream itself was supposed to be infused with green tea but we didn't really detect it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Service was wonderful throughout the meal. Our waiter was more than present and we got visits from pretty much everyone that was working there, including the owners. One of them actually sat down with us to discuss the dishes. That was pretty cool. The ambiance at first was quite non existent but at around 7, it began to fill up so there was a good vibe in the house. We got the dishes in a timely manner, except for desert, which took quite a while. Anyhoot, courteousness was all around and well appreciated. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And now, the scores!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Food: an average of 7,5</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Service: 9,5</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A great new restaurant with very affordable dishes! I would definitely go back!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532161792617458658noreply@blogger.com0