Café Clarke

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

The now defunct Boulangerie Clarke in the Mile-End had a little baby. Frank Servedio, the owner, use to work at the boulangerie, which was owned by his parents. This is a big great family story! Café Clarke is basically a sandwich shop that serves awesome coffee (or so I've heard!). What differentiates them from other sandwich shops is the fact that their sh*t is fresh as can be. Sandwiches are made to order AND they cut their own meat. Hello. What a difference that makes!

The place feels very homey and warm. Feels like you want to bring all your friends there, you know? I also really loved the color scheme: green, white, and light, classic brown. Yes, 'classic' brown. It's a thing.

I started with the pasteis de nata, because it was already right there! I was a bit dispointed that it wasn`t A: made in house and B: not supes fresh. Obviously, it was a day old. I just went to Portugal, see. I KNOW what a day old pasteis de Nata tastes like. I am used to the yummy, crunchy, soft, pastry. Not the dry one. Don't get me wrong, it was still OK, but it just wasn't worth it. I got so excited! And then I got so annoyed. At them. For selling me a day old nata :/

La sandwich in a croissant! I loves me a good croissant sandwich! A good looking sandwich, without any fla fla. Dunno if that's a thang in English, but I'm dsoin it. It just means that it is simple. Thinly cut ham, almost like paper: THAT's the dream. The croissant was buttery and right about melted in my mouth. The only negative, if you can call it that, is that the tomato was a tad too juicy.

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

And now, le score!

Food: 6.5

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

Sushi Pro

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

I called to order because I was being super lazy: what's better than to order in advance so that everything is already packed and ready to go when you get there? I was ordering an avocado roll, a spicy salmon roll, a salmon nigiri and ---. That woman crushes my sushi dreams when she said 'no avocado roll, we are out'. How? How is that possible? Do NOT tell me that there aren't any more avos! So yes, basically their supplier had brought them unripe avocados. And they were paying the price. I remember, when I worked at Sushi Taxi, and I was ordering our supplies... the avocados were a very tricky game. How many do I want ripe, how many do I want almost ripe, and how many do I want green. They were supposed to have all three but it wasn't rare that they, themselves, didn't have any ripe ones. I had to do all the grocery stores in the area to find avocados. THAT was a pain in the ass.

The nigiri. Since when are nigiris sold separately (by Maden!)? By separately, I mean by unit. Who gets ONE nigiri? Well, except me, hahaha! Didn't they all used to come in a pair? Anyhoot. The salmon was ubes fresh, and the nig was well... nigged :p You could see she knew what she was doing.

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

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

And now, le score!

Food: 7

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

 

Le Petit Sao

Le Petit Sao is the new little baby in Pointe St-Charles. You know how much I love babies! Well, AND new restaurants :) It's not the BEST location, located almost at the end of rue Centre in PSC. It used to be no man's land, but it's getting a bit more popular. A bit.

The place itself is supes cute, with a bit of a tropical feel (the best kind of feel!), vibrant colours and plants on tables and along the walls. It was empty when I went because, like an old lady, I was eating dinner at 5pm. What??? I was hungry!

I had the table d'hôte, which included a soup, an imperial roll, and a grilled chicken 'bun bowl'. I loves me a good Viet bowl. The soup was pumped with MSG, like my colleague Margo would say, but hey, no one ever died from MSG consumption. It tasted so damn good! It kinda created a layer on my palate, you know, the way McDonald's does?! Mmmya. The chicken was perfection, and the green onions added a bit of a tang :) I just love myself some good green onions. The noodles were also perf, not overly cooked. I hate overly cooked noodles. I also hate underly cooked noodles. Bah.

The roll was hot, but not scorching. It brought me back to my young days in St-Laurent, when my mom used to bring us to Chez Lien. OK, I would never go back there in a million years, but Chez Lien used to be good (and clean), once upon a time. The grilled chicken was perf and tender and, cringe, moist. I actually wrote in my notes that it was like meat candy. Haha. I could've done without the salad and I wanted more mint. Mint is such a key ingredient when it comes to Vietnamese goodness like this bowl! This is what you have to tell yourself: ALWAYS more mint. Always. I think you get the point. I really loved the marinated veggies and also appreciated the hot n' cold aspect of this dish. Mama likes a good mix! I asked for more nuoc cham, and the guy said 'sure, I'll bring more fish sauce'... and I was like, wait a second. He just needs to learn a bit more about the culture and the food, it's ok. HAHAHA, said the expert. OK, there IS fish sauce in there, but to just call it 'fish sauce' would be a mistake. AND I'm OUT! The noodles were good and, mixed in with that sauce, were even better. I'd put that sauce on anything: noodles, meat, boobs. You know.

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

And now, the scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 7

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

Machiavelli - Brunch

The first time I ate at Machiavelli was, pffff, like, hum, 6 years ago? It's an actual question, people. Ya, around 6 years. I remember, I lived in Côte-des-Neiges then, and went with my ex. Right after leaving, I discovered I had to pee and instead of walking the 5 steps back to the restaurant, I walked two blocks away and peed on the church's lawn. I know, GREAT story. Best story EVA. Fun fact: when I went there from Côte-des-Neiges, I had ABSOLUTELY no idea where the F I was. It was like I had been dropped by helicopter (what? I'm fancy!) right in the middle of butt f*ck nowhere. And now, I live a block away. Ah, how life is funny sometimes. Ha. Laugh. Laugh NOW.

Machiavelli is one of the cutest restaurants around and probably one of the most underrated. It's two (small) rooms, decorated with fresh flowers, cute little wooden tables and cute little wooden chairs. Vintage dishes and tableware completed the very cottagey feel. As I said, everything is cute. Oh, and the music was cute too: indie for the most part, and very shazamable! Second oh, it's a BYOW! Quuuuuwhat! And for brinch, you can bring your bubbles and you can enjoy a mimosa or 8 :)

We went there on a very, VERY rainy Sunday. The kind of rain that lasts all day and that makes you want to stay in and watch Netflix. ALL. DAY. Instead, ma work girls Bi and Little Boo and I dragged our asses around 200 meters to Machiavelli. In Netflix's defense, I DID watch at least 6 hours of it after brunch.

First, they brought us warm bread and home made brioche (both rare, let's face it) with a little nugget-o-butter and, excuse me, homemade blueberry and rose water jam. As some of you know, I ain't a fan of jam. On anything. Meh. But this one? THIS one was effin good. Just a little bit of rose water makes the medicine go dsown! OK, that should totally be a song. Or not. We'll see :) Seriously, it was a match made in heaven! Just a tad of butta, with a tad of jam and I had myself a winner!

I had some nice and chilly AND bubbly San Pellegrino because, when I have the choice, I always choose them bubbles! Bi had tea. But not any kind of tea: home made tea! Yep, they grow herbs and flowers in their garden and make things like tea. WHAT! The waitress made her smell at least five different kinds of tea before she chose this pretty one. It was the waitress' fave, somewhat of a Spring blend, whatever that means. Oh, and we all really enjoyed the 'cuillere monster', with all dem teeth!

Oeufs à la commodore: poached egg, truffle oil béchamel, button mushrooms, rustic potatoes and side salad. One thing about truffle oil is that it's easily over used. EASILY. I love it but when there's too much, it's just not enjoyable. Like, at all. Ugh. Yuk. OK, you get it. There was just the right amount and it was loverly (that is not a typo). The salad, although it being my very hated mesclun, was very fresh and crispy. The potatoes were perfectly cooked and seasoned. The button mushrooms were so good that I had to ask which kind they were. Button. Freaking button mushrooms done oh-so good! I was like, ooooh, these must be fancy ass mushrooms. But no! The egg was more than perfect. Hard, I know. But true. It was flowin' in all the right directions. Gawd, that sounds dirty. Anyhoot, skipping over this awkward moment...The béchamel had the right consistency and the truffle oil added a certain je  ne sais quoi to it. By the way, 'je ne sais quoi'=awesomeness. The homemade brioche completed this awesome dish, with its fluffiness and great taste. Ah man, now I really want to eat that again!!!

Chocolate mousse with chantilly and banana. This was such a nice way to finish off our meal! Not overly sweet, uber soft chocolate mousse with just the right amount of chantilly and bananas. A match made in heaven, once more! AND the presentation was so cute!

Service was very good. It had better be because we were the only ones there on that rainy, cold, and ugly Sunday morning. Apparently, usually, it's pretty full. She explained everything to us and water was a-plenty.

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 9

No doubt in my mind that I'll be going back! Like, I'd say there's a 172% chance that I'm going back.

Machiavelli

I've been to Machiavelli before: once, about 8 years ago for dinner, and the second time, about 8 months ago for brunch. I absolutely loved it both times. Like, THIS is love. And good for me (and them), I live a 5 minute walk from the restaurant. I went with ma boo, Bridge, who is an ultra regular at Machiavelli. As I was talking to the chef-owner (that, just by the by, has owned this resto for the past 4 years and is freaking TWENTY NINE), she suggested I come for dinner so I can eat to my heart's content and take pics and what have you. That sounds like a pretty damn good deal if you asked me. Go ahead, ask me. YA, iz a GREAT deal.

Machiavelli is this cute little restaurant that has a nice terrace right at the back. Like, supes cute. Lots of flowers and herbs and outdoor lights. On top of it, the ambiance is just lovely. Basically, you feel like you're in a friend's backyard, but with people serving you freaking awesome food. Disclosure: this picture does NOT do it justice.

I asked them to surprise me and told them that the only thing I didn't want to eat was pasta or anything ubs heavz (you get it). Bridge knew exactly what she wanted. Heeeere we gooooo! (Let the feast begin)

The mother f*ckin' giant oyster. This thing was so huge, it had it's own area code. Ya, I went there. Nostalgic for old 'Yo mama's so fat' jokes. Hehehe. Anyhoot. They cut up the meat and mixed in some onions, peppers, cucumbers, and horse radish. There were endive leaves on the side that we were supposed to use as a vessel... but we realized this only after pigging out with the spoon. Wonderful flavours ensued. I would like eight more please.

There was also the Trois petits bernardins (like the mason jars!): three dips with homemade pita chips. Tzatziki with orange essence, salsa of mango, tomato and cumin, and a spread of roasted veggies. My fave was the tzatziki, because it was so smooth and the orange actually fit really well with the garlicky softness. Ya, it's a thang. The middle one was a fresh salsa that Bridge found way too cuminy. I gotta say, I'm fond of the cumz but this WAS on the bit-too-much side of things. A tad too intense. On the other hand, I did love the combo of tomato and mango! The third was the spread of roasted veggies; Bridge's fave. The roasted goodness really came out, especially in what seemed to be eggplant and zucchini. Quote from Bridge: 'I want to eat this forever'. Well said Bridge. Well said!

The escargots. Bridge really wanted them escargots! And now I know why! The ONLY bad thing about this dish was that there were only six. Come oooon, I need at least 14. Sounds like a good number. Sounds like the RIGHT number. I digress. They were perf perf perf. Just cheesy enough and garlicky enough and hot AF, which is what is needed with the escargots. Of course, we dipped the remaining pita in the butter. Duh.

Le foie gras. mama likes her a good foie gras. Mmmm. They marinated it in Brandy for one day with a bit of salt and poached it at just the right temp. It had just a pinch of fleur de sel to make the flavours pop and it was accompanied by somewhat of an apple jammy. A jammy. Just by looking at it, it was spreading itself on le bread. The apple dippy was the perfect pairing. It wasn't too sweet nor too strong tasting, so that the foie gras was still the star of the dish. But when is it not, am I right?

A little palate cleanser is always what the mouth needs between courses. And also because we're fancy damn it. It was raspberry, blueberry and Brandy. It was quite refreshing and my palate called and said it was totes cleansed.

Boo's gnocchi looked DElicious. Stuffed with mozzarella, with a buttery sage sauge. Oh ma gawd. Bridge took one look and said 'oh Imma goonna take this home fosho'. Ya, with her tiny little stomach, poor thing was already ubs full. Even I was gettin' there. OK, think of a cloud. A very fluffy cloud. And now, put it in yo mouth. They were just perfectly round and cheesy. Also, usually, I'm not the biggest fan of sage because I think it's quite a strong herb that is not used very well, but this was so good! It married very well with le cheese. Sage and cheese=winning combo! Let's just say she had the best lunch at work the next day.

Pork El Pastor. I think I'd like anything El Pastor. That sweet mix of pineapple and pork, coriander and onion. That just does it for me. Gimme that every day and I'd be the happiest of girls! The pork was so tender and was breaking up so easily! That is what I love... in life: meat that falls off the bone. It was accompanied by a tasty pineapple salsa that went supes well with the marinated meat. The coriander, as we know, goes with everything. Meat? Yes. Fish? Yes. Seafood? Yes. Veggies? Yes. Dessert? Sure, why not? I had a little taste of the potato and it was just perf on top of perf. Just cooked enough (ugh, I hate over OR undercooked potatoes--it's a fine line!). With a squeeze of lime, it brought this dish to a whole other level.

(Note: my picture was SO bad that I don't feel right posting it here :o )
Le dessert. What? I HAD to have dessert! Pistachio crème brûlée and brownies with blueberry coulis. Decadent? Oh, just a bit. You know, when you've decided to pig out... The crème brûlée was perfectly hard on the outside and soft on the inside. I think I have as much pleasure as Amélie Poulain when I break through the top layer of the crème brûlée! The taste of pistachio wasn't ubs strong, just present enough. The brownie was so soft and moist, I just couldn't, you know, not eat it. And with the blueberry coulis, hello. Oh, hello.

Service was right ON throughout the evening. I gots to be honest here and say that most times, when I am invited to a restaurant, MY service is rockin' and not so much for the other patrons. In this case, everyone looked happy. Our waitress totes accepted the fact that we were speaking in Frenglish (no explanation needed), and she, herself, started speaking the same language :) We got water quickly, we got an ice bucket for le wine and she asked us if it was to our liking many times. She also didn't judge us when we got slightly drunk after drinking 1 bottle and a half of wine hahaha. We got to meet Natassia, the chef/owner after our entrées and when we left, and I half drunkenly thanked her SO MUCH for the AWESOME dinner, I don't even think she said thanks... she just said that these two other cooks (next to her) worked as hard and I should thank THEM. And then, I fell in love with her. Natassia, if you read this and you're single, please write to me. (ps: she DOES have a bf, I FB stalked her...pps: YA, I'm like that)

Just FYI, Machiavelli serves up an AWESOME brunch on Sundays!!! I've been and damn it ever was it ever mouth watering! LETS GO!!

And now, les scores!

Food: 9
Service: 9.5

You and I both know Imma be back. And I'm telling everyone I know to go. E-ve-ry-one.

Cari Mela

Cari mela is literally right around the corner from my house. It's really a mystery why I haven't been before. I just...I don't understand it. I went with my girl V, who is a big fan of the Indian persuasion, a couple weeks back, for lunch.

The place itself, like a lot of Indian restos, is nothing special. Dark room, old tables and chairs, crap on walls. That sums it up, I think. We got there for a late lunch and had not realized that they close again at 2PM until dinner time, so our lunch was cut short a bit, which kind of sucked. But hey, we should've checked! My bad!

We had the midi table d'hôte, starting off with the dahl, a lentil soup. This was such a great soup. WOW!!! The lentils, the coriander; so fresh!! Really... wow! There was a hint of lemon that added a bit of tartness and went really well with the lovely coriander. God, I love coriander. If I could marry it, I would. I would've ordered another if it wasn't a dish that was about to make me fart up a storm. Ps: gym peeps, I'm sorry, it was me.

The vegetarian thali. I loves me a good thali. Usually, I have the non-veg one, but this time, I didn't really feel like eating le chicken. Don't get me wrong though, butter chicken is oh-so-effin-good! That was a sh*t load of rice though, damn! The chick peas were perf and the coriander, once again, was so fresh! Seriously, I'd eat a big bouquet of that, any time. Just imagine a big rabbit, but instead of a carrot, it's coriander. Anywaaaaaayyyy. The eggplant was uber tasty but salty AF. Damn! The boiled veggies were very good but I thought they could have used more spice.

The naan. I'm serious when I say this was the best naan that has ever touched ma lips. Ever. It was so buttery and soft. Basically, what dreams are made of.

Dessert. I'm not going to say much about this. I WILL say that they had just taken out of the freezer and mine was still... frozen. Everything was just wrong.

Service was very quick and efficient, like in most Indian restaurants. GO GO GO! $$$! Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8 (let's just NOT take that doughnut into consideration)

Service: 8

Well, I can't NOT go back: they are my neighbours AND they have the best naan. Hello.

Miel

Another day, another meeting with friends. This time it was with ma boos from Sushi Taxi, Val and Mel. It's so sad when I'm almost forced to go eat at a restaurant. Ugh, I just hate it. You sense the sarcasm? You should. Peeps that personally know me KNOW I'm sarcastic 87% of the time. Miel had obviously been on my radar, it being a new restaurant AND in my neighborhood. Hello.

They fixed up the place in record time, in the span of a couple weeks. Chapeau. Cha. Peau. It looks really inviting and warm inside, with two separate rooms, lots of frames, dark tables, wood everywhere. It was super cuteness.

They brought us homemade focaccia first. Do you even realize how much I like homemade stuff? I like it because it means that a: they care about their products and b: they care about their clients. Oh, and it also means that they are competent. It's soooo easy to buy ready-made stuff and serve it on a plate! Way too easy. SO MANY restaurants do it. You don't even know. You know, because I know ALL their secrets. Ps: trust me, it's better if you don't know :p

It was a table d'hôte so I started with the gazpacho. This is supposed to be cold tomato soup. With, perhaps, some peppers, cucumbers, garlic, what have you. If there were any tomatoes in there, then that's a surprise to me because all I tasted were peppers. It was a tad too much on the sour side for me, as well as the two other girls that tried it.

The lamb burger. A big meh for this. MEH. There you go. The meat was unfortunately dry and the bun was nothin' special. The harissa mayo wasn't... harissa-ed enough (it's a thing, yo) and the caramelized onions were few and far between. All in all, somewhat of a miss. On the other (very surprising) hand, the salad, which was the ever-dreaded mesclun, was uber fresh and crunchy and actually quite tasty. Y'all KNOW I ain't a fan of that sh*t, but this was actually nice.

Dessert! We shared because the three of us were full BUT we are also little piggies, sooooo... That can only mean one thing! D-E-S-S-E-R-T!!! We had the feuilleté with strawberries and a lemon mousse. I'm not the biggest fan of fruity desserts (I mean come on, fruit is not a dessert!), but this one was nice and fresh. The lemon mousse was perfectly cold and the pate feuilletée was perfectly crunchy. One word: yummy!

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

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 9

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

Chez Dallaire

This place was on ma list. Two weeks ago, I was supposed to hit up Chez Victoire and then plans fell through, bla bla bla, and it took me a good 40 minutes to figure out where to go instead. It had to be on my list, not too far, and, the clincher, open on Sunday. Chez Dallaire was the winner. I met Daiz there for dinner and drinks! Because, in life, what's better than dinner and drinks? The answer is NOT MUCH.

The place itself is located buttf*ck nowhere. That's where. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to curse like that. It's on Wellington where no one goes, like, ever. It's on a very sad strip of Wellington between the happy stores and restos in Verdun and the trains and all those container yards. Exciting, right? NO. Basically, a no man's land.

Music was quite loud when I got in and then they calmed down a bit on the base. It was heavy metal music at first but then they started putting classics from the old days (my high school days), which was great! Daiz and I shazamammed all those bad boys. It was nice to hear Matthew Good Band, which, excuse meee, I've seen twice in concert, and Fatboy Slim, which I'd hoped I'd seen twice in concert. It was a cozy space, separated in 3: when you got in there was the bar with a space for dancin', on the right, a space with some tables and on the right another room with some booths and more tables. The look was classic: brick walls, forest green chairs, wooden tables and light brown booths. Wooden floors, some candles and art on the walls completed the décor.

We arrived right before happy hour was done so hello 5$ glass of wine! I believe we ordered at 6h59. It was cutting it a bit close! We were to share the food because SHARING IS CARING... and things like that.

Los nachos: house pork sausage, red peppers, green onions, L'armateur cheese (which I can't find anywhere on the net... whhhheird) with sour cream and salsa. They weren't cheap on the salsa nor the sour cream, I'll tell ya that much! The peppers were grilled very nicely and full of flavour, and the green onions added a nice tang to the dish. Yes, a tang. TANG. Not a thang, a tang! You must get it by now. The sausage was juicy and spicy and I would've wanted more! Speaking of more, the nachos to toppings ratio wasn't awesome. Way too many nachos for the amount of toppings. Or more like not enough toppings for the amount of nachos.

The Dallaire poutine. This was interesting. Instead of fries, it was somewhat of a shredded potato patty which I found great! I believe the word I use was 'wow'. Yep, I went there. I enjoyed this 100% more than regular old fries. The duck was a bit dry (it seems to be a recurring thing recently) and the sauce was a bit too salty. I must say though that it tasted way better than the usual brown sauce. Ugh, brown sauce. The peas were nice and completed the 'hot chicken' look. The cheese

Service was wonderful at first: I got seated in 2 seconds and while I was waiting for Daiz to get her butt there, I got the two boys comin' over, asking me if I wanted anything, bringing me water, bringing me the menus... And then we were ready to order and suddenly, no one was there :/ I MAY be exaggerating... one of them came about 5 minutes later. Five minutes is long when you're starving! They didn't ask us if we liked our meal but the food came in a timely fashion.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6.5

Service: 7

Contest---BOOM J'S

Do you loooove Jamaican food? Restaurant Boom Js Cuisine is THE Jamaican connection in MTL! Share my blog FB page (https://www.facebook.com/EatingOutMontreal/) OR this picture on your timeline AND like this pic! Oh and why don't you go ahead and love my fb page and Boom J's page (https://www.facebook.com/BoomJsCuisine/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf&qsefr=1) while you're at it. In 6 days, a lucky Jamaican food, Jerk chicken lover, will win one of three dishes (3 draws: 1 BBQ chicken, 1 jerk chicken and 1 SPICY jerk chicken!!).

Vous êtes amoureux de la bouffe Jamaïcaine? Boom J's dans Pointe-St-Charles est LE resto Jamaïcain en ville!!! Partagez ma page FB OU cette photo sur votre mur et aimez la photo! Et pourquoi pas aimer ma page FB et celle de Boom J's! Dans 6 jours, il y aura trois tirages (1 assiette poulet BBQ, 1 assiette poulet jerk ET une assiette poulet jerk ÉPICÉ!!)!

No problem man!

Le café Bloom

I discovered this cute little café last summer with Val and since then, I've seen way too many colorful pics of their dishes on facebook: I just had to go back. 

This place most likely survives because of all the regulars. Seriously, you get in there and it's like everyone knows everyone! Plus, it's not located in the best spot: near the end of Center street where no one ever ventures. It has a nice vibe and chill music with just plain friendly staff. With its mismatched tables and chairs and comfy lookin' sofas, you just know why people stay there for hours.

When I got in, since one of the waiters was busy, the one at the counter just took my order and it was just that much quicker. The menu is mostly really healthy and simple (even though it looks kind of disheveled on this pic) and I knew what I was going to order, anyway!

Hello, perfection! The Sweet and Sour bowl with tofu (you can also have it with pulled pork). If I could eat this every day of my life, I'd be a happy camper. Plus, they change it up every now and again. Basically, this was a mix of a shiz load of shiz that I love: quinoa with grilled veggies, grilled tofu and a little cabbage salad on top. The mix of hot and cold was great and always makes for a nice bite. The tofu was marinated in soya sauce and sesame and, although it was a tad on the salty side, I could have eaten twice as much (yes, I am now a tofu enthusiast, people! Watch out!). The quinoa, which, by the way, is one of my favorite things, was smoky, which is a flavor profile that I've come to adore (read: 'adsore' with the hand gesture) with some veggies cut up in brunoise (I know, I know, I sound fancy). The quinoa, compared to the tofu, lacked salt. I guess one would say they balanced each other. The corn added some sweetness and the peppers were grilled to perfection. Although I do appreciate somewhat crunchy cooked veggies, the carrots remained too hard for my taste. The cabbage salad on top (..of a salad!) was refreshing and had just the right level of acid. The whole dish was very sesame-oriented (I swear, it's a thang) and I just loves me some sesame!

Oh and right before leaving, a bunch of yumminess on their counter were calling out my name so I bought myself an energy ball made of oats, peanut butter, coconut and all that jazz and it was a-maze-ballz.

Service was great. Ordered on the spot and got my dish within minutes. Much more efficient than last time, if I remember correctly. Water was on my table about 15 seconds after I sat down so that was a plus! Although he didn't come and check how I was liking my meal, he was very present.

And now, the scores:

Food: 8

Service: 8

Ya, I'm gonna go ahead and go back the next chance I get!