Perles et Paddock

I've had my eye (well, eyes) on Perles et Paddock for a while now. Ever since I wondered what the f*ck had become of that old garage on Des Seigneurs in Griffintown. Well, they did a hell of a job. A HELL of a job. And so, this is where Jer Bear and I went for brunch on a lovely Saturday morning (let's face it, I can't afford their actual dinner menu :o ).

Perles et Paddock, as previously mentioned, is located in an ultra renovated old garage that was quite the eye soar on des Seigneurs in Griffintown. They made it into a legit wonderful looking restaurant. Like, a WOW restaurant. Like, a WOW WOW WOW one. You get the point, iz nice. Compared to what you see from the outside, the inside looks much grander: a big mirror at the back makes it look like a much bigger space than it already is and it seems like the never ending restaurant. Plants everywhere, two big garage doors that open up onto the street, and a huge skylight make it seem like we're still outdoors. The bar was quite spectacular, all dressed in marble, with uber comfy seats (along with a step for short people like me!), and quite an array of bottles under very favorable lighting.

I loves me a good brunch and I was excited about this one, fo shiz! Jer bear had the guédilles aux crevettes de Matane (the best of the small shrimp...). The shrimpies were not in the usual hot dog bread; they were in a home made brioche. They had been mixed into this mayo-ish sauce that was supes taste. Just enough that we still tasted the deliciousness of the shrimp! They were like butta in ma mouth. You know what I'm gonna say though: not enough shrimp!!! NEVER enough shrimp. But I am also the person that, at 6 years old, was eating an actual PILE of shrimp in Maine on family vacays. I go cray for shrimp. Kinda like Bubba from Forrest Gump, you know. I found the brioche was too hard `n' dry for me. Jer bear found it alright. He's too easy to please, pffff. The coleslaw was on the effin ball. One of the best coleslaws I've had, like, ever.

I had the surf and turf! Cod cake, hollandaise mousse, salad, and a big ass slab of bacon. I loves me a good big ASS slab of bacon. The salad was cut on the mandolin and was just dressed enough. You know, I'm talking skirt... not pants. The fish cake was a bit dry, and not even the hollandaise on top was saving it. It did taste good though, with just the right amount of dill and the yolk from the egg atop it, melting onto it. Mmmmm. The bacon was, you know, bacon: fatty and smoky awesomeness.

Service was a bit on the slow side. We had a nice welcome and quick water service at first, but then we waited what seemed like 8 hours for our food (I tend to exaggerate) and did not get more water until the end of our meal. They also didn't ask us if we liked it. I will also mention that they seemed to be overstaffed. Take care of yo peeps, especially when you are overstaffed! On the other hand, I must say that the dude at the bar, in front of us, was really quite nice and did flash his million dollar smile more than once :)

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 6

Ya, I'm going back for more brunch!

Fortune

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

We were quite excited to share everything: pork el pastor (spécial du jour), cauliflower, chicken, and fish tacos plus a shrimp guédille (why not!).

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!).

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!).

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.

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.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7

Service: 7,5

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!