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 :)

Queue de poisson

I loves me a good fish n' chips! I had already eaten at La Queue de Poisson a couple years ago but since I went with my aunt, I didn't write a review. Ya, I can be nice, you know! Anyhoot, Em and I were looking for a nice little lunch spot after gym one day and we didn't have to go very far. 28 steps to be exact. I am lying, of course.

The place is really cute. First of all, you feel like you're on a boat. I will forever remember the 'I'm on a boat' ad for Old Spice. I wanna watch it over and over and OVER. But enough about tv. They have about 30 seats and, as I mentioned, it was like we were in the ocean. Which, btw, is a pretty freaking good place to be. There was no music, but we didn't really care because we were right at the window, so we had some noise happenin' on the street. What's also very cool is that it's basically a fish shop. That's pretty damn awesome.

We shared one order of fish and chips, because a: we're poor and b: we weren't THAT hungry. We had the fried cod: moist AF and oh so tasty! We actually regretted sharing one portion of fish for a moment. Ya, it was THAT good. By the by, the fish was SO fresh: he legit took it from the display at the front and battered it up. The fries were crunchy and crispy and the salad was great. Yep. It's rare that I say that about a salad. It was just so simple and well done: lettuce with some marinated red onions and colored carrots. The carrots and the onions brought a bit of sweetness to it all and the vinaigrette was just present enough. All in all, a great little dish.

Service was OK. Took a while for him to take our order and then a while for us to get our meal. He was the only guy there AND he was taking care of the orders too, so I get it (but I don't). We had water quickly, so at least that's one good thing hahaha. He WAS a nice boy tho, very smiley, which is always appreciated.

And now, les scores!

Food: 9
Service: 6

Awesome fish n' chips: ya, imma be back!

Su

One of the few Turkish restos in Montreal, Su is gaining in popularity in Verdun. And they've BEEN gaining in popularity for a while! This is why, the other day, when ma gurls Mar and Al suggested we go there, I jumped on that sh*t.

The resto itself is bigger than I thought: it looks quite small from the outside! Once you enter, the décor, I found, was somewhat weird: the bar section has these very bright neon lights (I remember calling it hypnotic blue), a part of the restaurant looks more traditional, with lovely lookin' plates on the walls, and another part, looks modern. Quweird. It looked like quite the popular place, which actually surprised me; I had never seen anyone walk in or out of it!

Can you tell I looooved the plates?

The way it works is that they bring you some bread, things to put ON bread and a little salad and you choose your main. Quite satisfying for 16,50$/person!

I had a Turkish tea (black tea) because, well, I don't think I've ever had one before! I loved how it came in a glass! It was quite the warm-me-up!

SO, on the board: honey and kaymak, olives, tomato and ricotta salad, nuts and dried fruits, nut spread, homemade jams, warm bread. The honey and kaymak was perf and hit the spot. Many spots. For some reason, this sounds sexual... I swear it's not! Kaymak is, for a lack of a better explanation, Turkish crème fraîche. Ya, I think that's it. Just the mix of honey and kaymak was damn good, but dipping the chick pea bread in it? Hello. Oh, HELLO! Soft, thick, perf. The apricot jam, although not usually on my to-eat list, was damn fresh. Do we have apricot trees in Verdun? Sure seemed like it. The ricotta was soooooo good!!!! Just salty enough and melt-in-ma-mouth yum! So simple, yet, so good! The jams, although y'all know I ain't usually a fan, were right on and, again, so fresh! I actually ate some... drum roll please... without bread! There was also the tahini and hazelnut spread. Did someone say 'hazelnut'? Yes, yes I believe someone did! Hazelnut's rich and velvety loveliness just took over my mouth! OK, I'm becoming poetic here. Aaaaaand digressing. The nuts and dried fruits: it was more like oh look, there's something else here. Everything else seemed more important.

For my main, I picked the baked eggs and sudjuk (Turkish homemade spicy lamb sausage). I loves me a good sausage. Wait... that sounds like I loooove me a good sausage! Ya, I ain't afraid to say it! But enough about the penis (let's be honest...)! The sausage was great, albeit a tad dry. Reminded me of the Hungarian sausage I buy for my friend Lena when I go see her in the states: spicy and on the dry side. The egg was good, but even if I do prefer a runny egg to a hard one, this was just too runny. Don't get me wrong, it was lovely to dip my bread in, but when it's a runny white, it's too much for this girl.

Service was awesome, throughout the meal: seated right away, great waitress, explanations, answers, asks if we are pleased, water. As you may have noticed, I just felt like putting words together in a random order. Hahahaha. Don't judge, it's 5am right now.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7.5
Service: 8.5

I might go back, you never know! Obviously, I still have 2500 brunch places to hit before I go back to the same one :)

 

 

Baba Yaga

Ah, Polish food. OK, I have NO clue why I opened with that. But seriously: Polish food. Some people say that Polish food is super simple, and usually not uber tasty. I say that you can make anything tasty with a bit of creativity :) OK, that's a terrible saying! I just suck today. Point is, I went there with my friends Lea and Chris. The latter being Polish so that was just perf.

The place is located only two steps away from metro Lionel-Groulx, in the South West. Let's face it, the South West of Montreal is exploding right now. Yes: exploding! It's a cute and tiny restaurant that was playing old school hip hop. WHAAAATTT!!! That was totes awesome. It was very basic, but, seriously, name me one fancy Polish restaurant.

I started with the braised beef pierogies. Let's get something clear: they had me at pierogies but they had me more at BEEF pierogies. DAMN! It was paired with celery of all things and it was perfect! Tender, juicy, hot. With a splash of sour cream and a drizzle of onions, this was an awesome dish. A filling dish. But an awesome dish. Two words: awesome and filling. I am done, this is NOT a class. Geez.

Kielbasa sandwich with Polish mustard and sauerkraut. I loves me a good sausage! The sandwich was egg bread, which was ubs fluffs (I'm really into shortening words now btw) and the sausage was juicy and perf (see!). The sauerkraut was just fermented enough and the mustard had a bit of a spiciness to it, which went really well with the sausage. I didn't finish the bread itself because, hello dinner full of carbs. But that don't mean it wasn't good!

Lea's dish was, in our opinion, the winner. It had ALL the good flavours, for ALL the good mouth feels. The meat was oh-so-tender and the little tiny kopytka (dumplings) were balls of happiness (no, I was not on drugs). The mushrooms were right up there too: we thought they were fancy mushrooms, but noooo: button. You know when something as simple as a button mushroom is cooked just right? Now THAT'S satisfying!

I did not have dessert on account of my ubs full bells (uber full belly--geez, get with the program!).

Service was very friendly, efficient and quick. Water was on the table. One small detail: they had their blender going for almost half of our visit. Blenders aren't really pleasant. Especially when you are trying to have a conversation. Don't get me wrong, I get it: you have an open kitchen, when you need to use le blender, there WILL be noise!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5
Service: 8.5

A very nice experience. I will def be goin back.

Barley

Barley is new new NEW. So new that most people dson't even know it exists! BAM! Yes, I'm that cool. I knew it was opening before THEY knew they were opening. What do you think about THEM apples. Wow, I'm obviously getting overwhelmingly intense. Imma stop. I went for lunch-ish, last week, with ma girl, little Boo.

Barley is the new (and only) cereal bar in Montreal. It's located on Notre-Dame (what else is new?) and it is a huge space. HUGE. Think about the biggest thing you've seen, ever. Multiply that by 8 and you have Barley. Hihihi! Basically, you enter the place, you have couches and tables and comfiness and then you enter somewhat of another room and you have some more tables. There is also this meeting room surrounded by glass, which, I think, is there only to, like we say in French, nous faire parler. 'Like, what the f is THIS doing here'. THAT kind of talk. We weren't even certain that it was actually part of Barley's... I really dug (ya, I talk like a surfer dude now) the brick wall and the fact that there was a lot of greenery. I likes me some good greens! No, not THAT kind of green. Sheesh! 

At the far end (far, far, faaaar end), the cereal bar. The owner actually brought in cereal from many places, and a lot of them reminded me of my childhood. OK, not necessarily MINE, because my parents weren't really fond of us eating crap like fruit loops, or just any kind of cereal that was overly sweet. But I totes get the reminiscence. Hey, I remember my rice krispies like it was yesterday. They don't only serve up cereal, but also smoothie bowls, parfaits, chia bowls, and salad.

I started off with a white hot chocolate. Excuse me, homemade white hot chocolate. I specifically asked because I do NOT pay for powdered choco at a resto. I do NOT. I was uber happy to be able to order a homemade white hot choco. When do you get that? Well, not all the time, that's when. I took my first sip, getting ready for pure joy, and I got... pieces in my mouth. I was like 'what the f*ck is that?'. Little boo tasted it and, in 2 seconds flat she said 'it's coconut'. She is a coconut expert, see. I love it as well. I can't get enough of it. EXCEPT, when I'm getting ready to drink soft, velvety goodness, I get coconut flakes in my mouth. I would've loved for them to warn me so that a: I would not have been so surprised and b: I would've probably thought long and hard about actually having it IN ma drink. Apart from the coconut incident, it tasted lovely: not too thick, as if I were drinking a chocolate bar, and not too thin either. Also, it wasn't overly sweet. White chocolate tends to be just that and I was glad to be drinking a hot chocolate that wasn't on the uber sweet side-o-things. I'd go back for one of those ASAP IF I'd have the no-coconut promise.

We were there for lunch, and I hardly saw us having, like, a bowl of cereal on the side, as you do with appetizers in most restaurants. So, we both went for the smoothie bowls. The guy behind the counter told me it was thicker than most smoothies and it was more consistent, seeing as there were berries and grains and what have you on top. I had the Tassie Devil: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, avocado, tofu, acai, double chocolate granola. It was very VERY berry! I loved the fresh berries on top and although the acai added an extra crunch, they added TOO MUCH crunch. As in, if I crunch you one more time, my teeth will break. I am being very serious. I am ALWAYS serious when it comes to my poor little teeth! I liked how the smoothie was thicker than a usual one, but, let's face it, this was not a meal. I really don't know how I feel about this. I'm having a big internal dilemma. OK, here it is: even if I would've had this for breakfast, I would've STILL have been hungry. On top of it, if you're going to be open all day, perhaps add stuff to this dish that will make me full. Like a salad with protein or something. NOT a mesclun. Don't do that, because then I'll really be disappointed.

Le Tannery: avocado, baby spinach, pineapple, mango, banana, ginger and green hemp granola. I do give them props for two things: beautiful presentation and different granola flavors! I absolutely loved the ginger-avocado mix! It was fresh on top of fresh! The granola was good (better than mine) and the banana was perfectly ripe. The whole time, I was thinking DAMN I should've ordered this.

Basically, you go up to the counter and you order and they bring it to you. What we found a bit on the funny side was that the guy gave us a block with a table number 'in case' it got busy. We turned around, only to find a very empty (except for 2 patrons) restaurant. I think it took just a tad too long to get our food; just long enough for us to look at each other and give each other weird looks. He checked up on us which is always a plus.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 7

Maybe I'll go back for a snack, but I hardly see myself going there for lunch or any other kind of meal.

123 Bulgogi

A couple weeks back, it was bbbbbb-eautiful outside so I spent the better part of my day with Gigi, playing with Maya, the dog she was babysitting. Well, dogsitting. Anyhoot, we walked on the canal, we went to the dog park, we drank some fine wine (thank you, one litre dep bottle!) and then we went out to get some take-out. We ended up going to 123 Bulgogi, this new-ish place on Notre-Dame. As you know, I am Asian at heart, so this was right up my alley!

We had one order of fried dumplings and one order steamed. Hey, variety is key! The fried ones were very good but it felt like the stuffing was almost... not there. Kind of like looking for intelligence in Trump. OOOOoooh! DISS! Booya. BAM! I'm done. The steamed ones were perfect! Just the perfect amount of dough to stuffing ratio. Disclosure: my dumb*ss self did not even write down what kind of dumplings these were. I know they were vegetarian, and I know there was cabbage. AND I know I liked 'em!

On top of dem dumplings, we had the bibimbap. I looooves me a good bibimbap!!! I would do a lot for a good one: I'll spare you the details! Sadly, this one was quite the disappointment :/ First of all, it was cold. And I'm sure it was cold even when they put it in the container. The veggies weren't pickled in any way, shape or form and there was no meat. The egg was no good, and even if it would've been, the rest was cold, so... a cold egg on cold rice is, again, no good! But you know what, the rice was good. Au moins! 

And now, le score:

6.5, only because of the dumplings

I shant go back for the bibimbap (can you tell?), but I might for those dumplings :) You never know when I'll get a craving for a dumpling OR a cravling. Damn it, that is a bad mix. You get it.

Les Street Monkeys

This restaurant JUST opened up on Wellington. And you KNOW I needed to go! Hello, a new Asian resto, a 6 minute bike ride from my place? Uh, YES! I was QUITE excited to try this gem. See, I knew it was going to be a gem because my fave boy from CEGEP, Mike, told me it was THE best Cambodian in town. Oh, did I mention he is Cambodian? Mmmya. So off I went with ma girl Margo!

This place is nothing like the other places on Wellington in Verdun: it's hip, it's cool, it's happenin'! It has roughly about 60 seats, with cement floors and a long bar. They serve up tapas style dishes. I loves me some good tapas because I like tasting every damn thing on the menu. OK, I MAY be exaggerating! Sheesh, I ain't THAT rich (I wish!).

We had to start with a drink, duh. They have a very nice, very original cocktail list so that pleased us right away. I likes me a good cocktail! I had the Mango Monkey Mojito. The triple M! OK, no, that's not what they call it. Although it was a tad too much on the sweet side, it was lovely nonetheless. The Thai basil in there was so refreshing and the mango flavor was oh-so present!

Shrimp ceviche with wasabi. Wow oh WOW! Did I say wow? Yes, yes I believe I did. As soon as we took the first bite, our eyes started watering, and Margo's cold went straight out the window. I believe I actually wrote this in my notes: "Margo is dying". F*ck that was HOT!!! Just thinking about it now, my eyes are watering. I SWEAR! The shrimp were perfect (y'all know I loves my shrimp!) and the wasabi was a perfect match.

Poisson Amok. Le fish. Oh. My. Bejesus. This was like a gift sent down from heaven. Heaven I say!! It was crunchy, yet soft. It was oh so tasteful with the lemongrass hitting your palate like a ton of bricks. Ya, that much. The fried taro on the side added crunch and even if it was fried, it wasn't oily at all. Just the way I like eating fried stuff! I HATE it, nay, I LOATHE it when it's oily. Ew.

Chicken skewers with Khmer spices. You know when you eat peeeerfectly cooked chicken? Do you even know how good that is? OH, iz good! Perfectly grilled, perfectly cooked, perfectly chickened! The spices were perfect too. Oh, did you notice I wrote 'perfect' more than once? That's because it was damn PERFECT! Juicy, tasty chicken that literally melts in your mouth!

Beef laab. Yes AND yes! A little lime vinaigrette, thai basil, rice powder, galanga, dried peppers and fish sauce. Mmmmmmmm! That's what I'm talking about! All those flavours together definitely equaled a big win in ma mouth. So fresh. The lime brought out all the flavours, the rice powder gave another texture to the dish and the galanga was just a great surprise that my taste buds appreciated to the fullest. Everything went well together. Ah man, I want to eat more. NOW!

Beef skewers with Khmer spices. Super tender and super well seasoned. Oh, those Khmer spices, how I love thee.

Portions were a bit small, we thought. Yes, they are tapas, but the shrimp and the beef laab were way too small. And when it is SO good, you always want more!

Service was very good at first: we were seated in a moment, quickly got water and our waitress was uber nice and had a huge smile on her face. And then it got later and later and the restaurant got fuller and fuller and the service got slower and slower. That's the big challenge: how to maintain the same quality of service throughout the evening.

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 7

Duh, I'm going back fo shizzle! AND I'm telling all my friends.

 

Marché La Pantry

Obviously, I've been on an ice cream bender recently. Next up was Marché la Pantry in St-Henri, right smack in front of my friends Chris and Leannah's apartment. There was a sh*t load of construction right in front which basically just reminded me that I was in Montreal. Ugh.

 

I didn't go in, although it does look super cute and charming, because there's an actual old school window to get yo fix. They sell soft serve ice cream, dipped or not, sundays and other goodness. They always have a special soft serve like green tea or banana or vanilla or vegan lemon. I had the lemon one.

I have neva eva tasted lemon ice cream! Whaaaaat!!! I've tasted sorbet before but that stuff had nothin' on this. Yes, it was vegan but it was so creamy and soft. The taste of lemon wasn't too strong, just present enough. One would even say there was the perfect amount of lemon flavour. On top of it, it was only 4 bucks. I'll take 8 please.

 

I must say that I had been wondering what replaced the dairy products since it was vegan. They obviously put way more sugar in there. My subsequent dehydration and pooping session made me realize that. But you know what, pfff, it was worth it.

 

This little cuteness of a place is uber popular: even with all that stoopid construction, people kept on comin'! Perhaps because it's a new gem in the neighbourhood (they opened last year).

 

And now, the score!

 

Food: 9

 

I'm going back fo shizzle. Dizzle. Drizzle.