Milos

When a restaurant has a lunch special, you go. When a fancy restaurant has a lunch special, y'all have no choice, you freaking go! Actually, Jer bear, Lea and I were totes excited to eat at this Korean resto not far from Milos, but it was closed! Grrr. I hate it when that happens. We started walking towards St-Viateur and noticed Milos. Jer said 'hey, they have a lunch special. And so, Greek food it was!

The place itself is a bit, what's the word I'm looking for, fancy. Yep, it's totes fancy. Someone takes your jacket at the door, waiters wear long white aprons, the lunch table d'hôte is, yikes, 25$. Plus tip, plus taxes. OK, I guess I should've known; it's Milos after all! The place itself seems very grandiose once you get in. I felt a bit out of place (read: a lot). We were all wearing sweatshirts and I was thanking my lucky stars (yes, sometimes I do that) that I had decided against wearing my jogging pants!

They brought us some warm bread to start off with some very good olive oil. I loves dippin' my bread in olive oil.

My entrée was the salmon tartar. So good. So fresh! Perfect cut. Hallelujah! I've had a couple tartars that were cut way too big recently and it is just NOT the same. There was a tiny bit of spice in there; just enough to give it a nice kick. LOVED it. I love me some good kicks, you know? The sesame flat bread was an excellent vessel for the tartar eating. Mmmmmm. I might even go as far as saying that this one might just be one of the best I've had. Eva. Ya. I'm dsoin it.

The main. Now, this was my bad. MA. BAD. My friends laughed at my choice and I think they will, until I dsie. Who eats chicken in a restaurant? Well, in my defense, I hadn't eaten chicken in a whiiiile and I felt like eating just that! In hindsight, I should've chosen either the freaking lamb or the fish, but nooooo, I chose the damn chicken. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but it was still chicken. It was really moist and well charred. The grilled tomato, although a good idea (ish), was meh and left me really wondering why it was on my plate. The fries were a big disappointment: too soft and, well, old. The pita was good and fluffy, although it was a bit too charred. Basically, Jer bear compared this to when I ordered chicken pho: just not the good choice.

The dessert: baklava ice cream. This was very good. Little chuncks of baklava in there with a slight hint of cherry. Yum!

 

Service was right on the whole time. It was actually wow. Water: refilled. Crumbs on table: cleaned up with a ramasse-miettes (a little piece of metal that high end restaurants use to clean the crumbs off of the tables). Dishes: always in a timely manner. I actually wrote in my notes that the service was 'quick-ass'. Yep, that quick.

 

And now, the scores!

 

Service: 9

Food: 7 damn you chicken!

 

I think I'll go back, perhaps for dinner. Try a whole other level of fanciness :)  

Fieldstone

I was invited to try Fieldstone, a very new resto on the increasingly cool St-Laurent strip in the mile-end. This restaurant consists of very interesting and accomplished people: chef Yen worked at the El Bulli Foundation in Spain (HELLO!), and owner Emiliano, who really believes (as he should) that local is the way to go. They've been serving brunch and were inviting bloggers to try out their dinner menu! Don't mind if I do! I brought ma gurl Mar to this because, damn it, it was her turn.

Fieldstone has a floor to ceiling window, which makes you feel like you are entering someone's living room for some reason. Actually, the whole décor is pretty laid back, with some shelves, long mirrors, plants. Un salon, quoi! It was very zen. It was also very quiet when we got there: even making noise with our chairs while we sat down actually made us feel bad. As the evening went on, it got fuller and louder so we felt better about the volume of our voice.

Emilio welcomed us very warmly, especially since it was freaking freezing outside. You know, the first really cold night and your car is parked just far enough (1 block), that your extremities have time to get frostbite? I exaggerate, of course. He asked if we had any allergies and informed us that we would be served a three course meal. Yes. My kinda night out. Since we were both recovering from drinking nights (I had my very boozy Office Christmas partay), we stuck to water for once.

Amuse-bouche. I love that word. As Chandler says in Friends, "It is amuuuusing". Alright guys, I WARNED you that I would quote Friends every opportunity I have. #obsession. Kimchi and nopales dumpling. Ps: Nopales=cactus looking prickly pear. With me, you learn every day. And that's a promise! All this to say that the mix was not a good one. It was weird, but not in a good way. The kimchi was too present, and although I'm a huge kimchi fan, this did not work for me. The dumpling itself was also not on par. The dough was not cooked enough and lacked crispiness.

The entrée: pear and radish salad with sumac, tamarind, oka and pearl millet. Now THIS was quite a hit. The little tiny millet created such a big explosion of flavor in my mouth! Our eyes literally lit up. For serious yo! We immediately asked what it was so that we could organize a shipment :) This was such a weird mix but such a lovely one at the same time! The heat of the radish created quite a contrast to the pear, and the cheese was such a nice addition. The sumac and the tamarind added an extra level of flavor to make this dish one of the best entrees I've had in a while.

Le main: chicken with yucca and a very fine puree of coconut n'curry. My first question was this: oh, what kind of fish is this? HAHAHA!!! I then proceeded to hide my head in the sand. But for serious, it LOOKED like fish. It was boiled chicken. Don't get me wrong, it was the most perf poultry I've had in a while, but who boils chicken? I really liked the flavor of the yuca but wasn't too cray about the texture. It was, hum, filamenteux. Ya, I tried, there are no English translations. The puree right under was bang on. That's right. It tasted perfectly of coconut and curry. OR the best food pairing ever. It was the kind of dish that raised questions in my head. And in Mar's. It was good but we wondered why all these things were together in a dish. Also, why boil the chicken? WHY?

Palate cleanser. Wow, I haven't had one of those in a while! It was quince with some sparkling wine and guava. It was different and very good. I think Mar and I could have had one of those bad boys as an actual dish. For real.

Le dessert. Foie gras ice cream and the rest. Because what's more important than foie gras ice cream? For those of you who care, there was also meringue and some blueberries. The ice cream was super soft and thick and, I was going to add 'just melted in your mouth' but I think we all know ice cream tends to do that. The mix of ingredients had been carefully chosen and everything fit together perfectly.

Service was good as well. It would've made my profs at ITHQ proud. Water was always refilled, and we were asked if we enjoyed our meal a couple times during dinner. The girl seemed a bit weird-ish. She didn't smile much and she seemed even evasive at times. In the end, we did discuss with her about the resto and what they were doing so she seemed more like a human then :)

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 8

I think it's safe to say that we enjoyed our experience. I must say that we were still hungry after so we went to Cacique to eat Tequenos. BTW, this was a whole other WOW experience.

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.

 

Otto Yakitori

My Asian boy (yes, he's ALL mine) Jer and I were continuing our Asian persuasion restaurant visits because, let's face it, we live for that (well, I know I do!). We had been meaning to go to Otto Yakitori Isakaya and had actually tried but it was closed for a private event. DAMN IT!

Anyhoot, I've been to this address before, when it was another Asian resto that served up a LOT of body parts. Jer bear used to have these evenings called Strange Meats where we'd eat kidneys, ears, hearts, the whole shabang. Ugh. As a food blogger, I would LOVE to be able to eat, like, chicken feet, or eyeballs (ugh, I just puked in my mouth a little bit), but I just cannot. I CANNOT.

The place itself is a bit on the dark side, with some very vibrant drawings on the walls, and lots of reggae music. Yes. Reggae. Basically, songs that have been reggae-ed. Not an uber fan of this genre. Especially not in a Japanese restaurant. I mean, what???

We started with a salad and miso soup. The salad was... meh, mesclun. But you know what, it was fancy mesclun. Don't ask me what that means but it wasn't as bad as usual. Maybe because it was uber fresh, I don't know. There was yuzu vinaigrette which was just very pleasant and not overpowering because they put just the right amount.

The soup was very.. fishy. They had obviously put bonito flakes in there. I like fishy but this was a tad too much. A nice surprise was that they make their own tofu which was really soft and tasty.

Chicken skewers, skin skewers and chicken BUTT. Hahaha, butt. The chicken was marinated and grilled and it was just perfect. You know, that perfect chicken? Ya, this was it. The skin: let's just say we're getting a bit too close to strange meats here, but I actually really enjoyed it. Obviously I only had a couple bites and left the rest to Jer bear because he can handle it more than me. Ya, he can handle SKIN. The butt. As Sir Mix A Lot once said: I like big butts and I cannot lie. I just had to put that in there. The butt was, wait for it, PACKED with flavor! Hahaha! Mmmmmm!!! SO good!

Pork tonkatsu and chicken curry. I've never had curry with more than one meat, so at first, I must admit, I found it whhheird. Jer was like 'meh, just put in all the meat. ALL the meat!'. The tonkatsu tasted great and was surprisingly not that fried. There wasn't that much chicken, but the pollo (yes, I'm goin' international, baby!) that was in there was full of chickeny flava! The rice was on par and the sauce was very tasty, on the thick side-o-things. Put a bit of nanami (Asian chili flakes) on top and you got yourself a winner! I have to say though that it was a big portion and it was quite heavy. Quite.

Service was great, quite unlike any other Asian resto, I must admit. We got water quickly and she even asked how we liked our meal. Dang!
 

And now, the scores!

 

Food: 8

Service: 9
 

My goal is to try every isakaya in town so I doubt I'll be going back, but certainly not because I didn't enjoy ma meal!

Omnivore

I passed by Omnivore, I'd say, a good 148 times. I'm totes serious. Obviously, I had to go (and it took me 149 to go in). Ma gurl Cat came along to taste some Mediterranean treats on the corner of Marie-Anne and St-Laurent!

I must be honest, I had already tasted a bit of Omnivore's awesomeness: my friend Isa has take-out all the time and I just happened to be there one night when she had some. But that wasn't enough; I needed the real experience!

Omnivore is this super cute place right in the heart of the Main. Or maybe a tad to the north, but who really cares about geography, am I right? It occupies quite the small space with around 25 seats, has some great indie music playin' and lots-o-plants adorn the windows. It legit makes you feel like you're in a jungle. Ugh, I'm not made to write/say 'legit', am I? Don't worry, won't happen again.

We shared (obviously) the herbivore plate and the carnivore plate. Cause that's the way we roll: we are extremists. OK, I'm definitely going too far. I can be really intense sometimes. But only when it comes to food :)

La carnivore. I loves me some good meat! Cat was actually a vegetarian for a good, pfff, 14 years maybe. And then, she came to her senses :p The meat (or kofta) was, wait for it, just wait for IT... moist! Herbal and exploding with flavor! The baba ganouche was full of spices and so f*cking good I'm even ready to say that it is the best I've EVA had. Like EVA. And I'm getting old. The garlic sauce was not strong at all and it was nice knowing that my breath was going to be ok for my business meeting the next day. OK, I had no meeting. I'm not that important at my new job. YET. I'm used to eating garlic sauce and having uber bad breath for a good 2 days. OR 8. The hummus was just thick enough and one of the best I've had. The rice with lentils was very nice and the marinated eggplant on top were out of this world: marinated to perfection. Just wow. I never thought I'd say this about eggplant. Like, at all. The pink turnips were also uber wonderful. Dang, I'm using so many adjectives, I should give English lessons. Fo realz!

La végé. This was one good lookin' plate! I just wanted to take the plate in my two hands and go to town. Please, look the other way :) The taboule was on the awesome side of things: just citrusy enough, just the right amount of parsley and, to top it off, oh-so-yummy! The orzo salad was just BANG ON: super fresh, vibrant parsley (yes, I'm serious), some nuts added a nice crunch and cranberries added a sweet side. Oh, and by the by, I'm legit in love with orzo. OK, I had to try it again and it is official, saying/writing 'legit' is just not for me.   The green beans/carrot salad was also a hit: it tasted of ginger and sesame, two of my favorite things. The chickpeas and eggplant would've tasted better warmed up. They were nicely grilled and that's why my palate was like 'dude, this should be hawt'.

Service was just ok. The girl that took our order could have smiled a bit. I only ask for a hint of smile. Please. She was a bit nicer in the end. Yay. Food came fast though :)

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 6

The food was soooo good so I can't say I won't go back. I'll obviously have to try other places before I do!

Romados

Last time I visited Romados, it was before the fire of 2013. I lived on the plateau at that time(ah, the good old days!), only a couple blocks away. I'd go there all like a floating cartoon following a smell. Mmmm!

So, when my cousin Gen and I decided to go out together for lunch, I totes suggested Romados! Why? Well, I wanted to see the new digs. But most of all, I wanted that awesome chicken back where it belongs; my mouth.

Romados is this magical place that sells Portugal. Seriously. That piri-piri, that chicken, those pasteis de nata!!! Basically, there are about 25 seats, a counter for the pastries and other loveliness and a counter for le chicken.

The chicken. With salad and fries. I said yes to some extra spice in the piri piri (I mean, who doesn't like spicy?) and had the quarter leg. Okay, let's start with the salad. Okay, we're done talking about the salad. The fries were perfect. Who says you need ketchup? They were hot as f*ck, really well seasoned, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Le chicken. Ah, le chicken! It was juicy, it had crunchy skin, it had awesome piri-piri sauce on it, it just fell off the damn bone. Basically, chicken heaven!

Pasteis de nata. Hello. Hello you! When I went to Portugal, I couldn't get enough of these (and gained 5 pounds probably). These were just as lovely. Custard-y goodness. Mmmm. Soft, flaky, everything you should have in a pasteis!

Service was good. Everyone smiled, everyone was happy. It's nice to go somewhere where people are happy. I guess selling 300 to SIX HUNDRED (yes, this is a fact) chickens a day makes you happy as can be! It was counter service but still worth mentioning!

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 9

There's no doubt in my mind that I'll be going back.

Vivalia

I was invited to one of the openings of Vivalia. I was sick as a dsawg with gastro (ugh, memories) but I brought my gurl Al to help me with the eating (or lack there of) and judging.

Vivalia is a cute little restaurant in Old Montreal. And I do mean little: if I stretched out my arms far enough, they would be as large as the restaurant itself. TOTES not exaggerating. Believe me you. It was crowded in there and at some point I felt like I was prisoner of the wall, but apart from that moment, it was nice. I felt a bit like I was hanging out in a garden. I like gardens. I like em' a lot.

The ambiance was  happenin', with some jazzy, loungy music playing and people gathering around high tables. The concept of Vivalia is that they serve up 100% organic food (gooooodies!!) in a kind of buffet style, so that you can choose what you want from what's in front of you.

As soon as we arrived, someone took our jackets. I liked it already. We were told to choose whatever we wanted to drink: bubbly, white or red wine OR between a couple different flavours of kombucha. Yay! I had tasted kombucha before and loved it and y'all know I'm a sucker for fizzy beverages. Plus, the fermentation was bound to make my stomach a bit happier.

Sometimes, when I get invited to these things and I get there right on time (as everyone should, pfff), I wait and I wait AND I wait for food. I am not a very patient person. This time, we got our drinks, we walked over to a free table against the wall and a couple minutes later, a dude came out with food. Yes. Food! And by that, I mean, 'yes, food that I will barely taste because I'm uber sick'.

I actually got to discuss with the manager and the people responsible for thinking up ways of making Vivalia better and more known. They are already thinking of franchises, which is awesome, albeit a bit early and I got to discuss with them how to do this and where to do it, which was awesome (hey, I AM important!!!).

Sushi! Since I've stopped working at Sushi Taxi, I haven't had sushi, like, at all. T'is sad. So I was pretty happy when sushi started arriving. They had a couple different kinds including a california roll, a salmon roll and a vegepaté roll! Let's face it, I'm kind of a sushi expert and these did not feel or tasted like real sushi. But A for effort! The rice was undercooked and the pieces were falling apart. BUT the taste was still there. The california roll was apparently the favorite but I preferred the vegepaté! I mean, when do you get végépaté in a sushi? Never! It was quite lovely! I've had végépaté, I've made végépaté, I've bought different kinds... one could even say I'm somewhat of an expert. Yes, it was a tad whhheird to have it in sushi, but quite original! It was moist, yeast-y and home made goodness. Just the way good VP should be.

Celery and apple salad. I gotta hand it to them, they had cute little vessels. I mean, how cuuuute is that??? But celery and apple? Meh. I'm sorry. I'm a firm believer in 'if I can make it at home, I won't eat it in a restaurant'. And could have definitely made this at home. It was good, but there was too much vinaigrette and it was missing seasoning.

Quinoa salad. Same concept here. Some veggies and some quinoa. Again, it kind of lacked flavor. AND a wow factor.

Falafel! I loves me some falafel! Awesome mix of flavors and very herbal! Which, by the by, I love! The mayo was vegan! Hey, you can make mayo without eggs, I give you 28$! Why? Who the hell knows, but I feel like it. It was very nice and my stomach actually appreciated this.

This was a favourite. Al and I wanted more of this. Like, a LOT more. Basically, this was goat cheese and.... yep... goat cheese :) It was quite strong for goat cheese but it was good and soft and goaty? Hahaha, you know what I mean! It had much pepper in there which made it taste awesome! There was a little cracker under but, really, who gives a sh*t about the tiny cracker when the goat cheese is so good?

Saaaaandwicheeeees!!! With home-made bread, no less!!! The salmon one was uber tasty with some cream cheese and some greens! The home-made bread made it even better. Yes, it was quite simple, but it was simple made awesome, you know? The chicken sandwich was as good. The chicken was moist and the tomato fit right in there. Surprisingly, the tomato did not make the bread soggy. I will have to email them to see how this phenomenon did not occur.

The wannabe tajine. Ha, my friend Val exploded with a 'whaaaaaat?' when she saw that I posted this as a 'tajine'. Hey, she's married to a Moroccan. I was a bit bummed to see more quinoa here, instead of the usual couscous. Apart from the fact that it wasn't a real tajine, per se, that little tiny dish tasted really good: the chickpeas were  nice and spiced up and actually felt like I was eating a somewhat-real tajine. Well, except for the quinoa. I would have preferred some couscous, of course.

Sooooo, there were a couple other dishes buuuuut I totes forgot to take pics. I was sick, ok? I wasn't really there :/

Service was great throughout the evening! There were a couple of uber friendly people passing around food and emptying our tables and what not! They were also moving around with bottles, which, let's face it, is very important when it comes to openings! Hahaha!!!

And now, the scores!!!

Food: 7.5
Service: 9

I'll be going back fo shizzle! Especially now, that I can actually eat and taste the good stuff!