Panthère Verte

La Panthère Verte is a vegan, environmentally friendly-responsible restaurant. I think they had one on the Plateau about 5 years ago and now, they have 6 locations AND a food truck. I'm just imagining the cells growing when a baby is developing in the womb: multiplying and multiplying. OK, this is a weird and somewhat creepy comparison. I shall stop this at once. All this to say that ma gym boy, Leo, invited me to the one on Mackay, right next to Concordia, where he is the new manager. I'm really liking one of his first decisions as new manager: invite me to eat awesome food.

You know how much I like getting invited, right? Of course you do. Hint: I love getting invited. tell all your restaurateur friends. And I THANK YOU. But enough about me. The place itself is very inviting. It seriously feels like you are entering a jungle when you step in: plants everywhere, wood, and more plants! And, by the way, I looked and I didn't find any panthers, which I think is a good thing. OK, that was a bad joke. Hey, if my friend in Egypt can see a jaguar in the front seat of a car, there's always a possibility I can see a panther in a restaurant. Am I right? Anyhoot, there are communal tables at the back and some at the front, including this cute booth right in the window. Yes, you feel like you're in it because you have to climb into it and you have to sit with your legs crossed. I liked the style. Oh, and the music. The music was right on! Actually one of the best I've heard in a restaurant recently. Jolene by Dolly Parton, Lana del Rey, CCR. It faintly reminded me of my friend Lena's awesome mixes in the early 2000s when we were young 20 somethings in the city. Yes, I'm old.

On top of having very cool music, la Panthère Verte is uber environmentally friendly. If I knew a word that meant more than 'uber', I'd put it here. They have a green policy! I shall explain. You bring your container, you get discounts. You don't have one, you pay a small fee for the compostable container. You can also pay a deposit of 1$ for a mason jar and when you bring it back, you get 1$ in your pocket. What I found wow is that La Panthère Verte does not have a garbage. QQQUUUUWHAT? Yep. They either have recycling or compost. You empty yo plate where it needs to go and then you leave it on the shelf. It looked like it was quite well managed: we all know that this kind of procedure is difficult to maintain and that this could easily become very messy. And finally, food is organic and local as much as possible. Basically, this restaurant is quite the model citizen.

Leo wanted me to gain 18 pounds on that day so he brought me almost everything on the menu. I tend to exaggerate, but not THAT much.

The EVERYTHING: Black bean noodles (VERY interesting!), lentil salad, mesclun (but it was uber fresh, so it was acceptable), white bean salad, coleslaw, sweet potatoes, falafel ballzzz and a falafel sandwich. I told you: he wanted me to gain 18 pounds. Well, I think the dessert was responsible for most of those, but this comes later. Lets begin.

I had the ginger and apple cider drink which was oh-so-fresh and had just the tang I wanted. I'm also a sucker for bubbles. Buuuuubbles! Talk about a refreshing drink!

The black bean noodles, although original, were not my cup-o-tea: they tasted a bit flat and lacked flavor. Wait, that's the same thing. You get it. The lentil salad had this mustard vinaigrette and I absolutely loved the mix! It was a bit on the hot (n' spicy) side, which I love. Y'all know I loves me some heat! The white bean salad had dill in it. If you're starting to know me, you KNOW I ain't a fan. Like, ever. WELL, this was actually nice. Yep, I'm saying it: I liked the dill (don't tell anyone!). It actually made the salad taste fresh and went really well with the beans. The mesclun. Well, it's freaking mesclun! In my book (and you guys know I have the BEST book), mesclun is bad after having it for more than one day. Yes, I'm a tough mesclun consumer. And damn proud of it. Anyhoot, there was a lovely vinaigrette on top of it: very herbal and full-o-flavour! This made the salad, of course. Mesclun never makes the mesclun. OK, I'm getting ridiculous now. The coleslaw was... meh. OK, it was alright, but it was nothing special. The sweet potatoes looked promising but they kind of felt short of delivering. They could've had more flava. They were perfectly cooked though, which was a relief, haha. Nobody likes an undercooked sweet potato.

The falafel. Ah, the falafel. Panthère Verte actually has an award winning falafel. Ya, it's happening. First, it was Marie-Claude Lortie that said that they were the best she had tasted and that she would go back time and time again. If you know who MCL is, you know she is difficult as all hell. All. Hell. And then they were voted best falafel in Montreal many years in a row in the Best of MTL in the magazine Cult MTL. And I'm sure they have some stashed 'Winner of the best falafel' trophies, somewhere. So herbal and full of loveliness. It was perfectly fried, not crumbly and nicely moist. I'm also ready to make it MY fave falafel. Change APPROVED! There was also the falafel sandwich and although it was the same awesomeballs falafel in there, the pita was a bit on the thick side for me. Just a ps, you have the option of having everything in that sandwich, on a plate, without bread. Perfect for peeps watching their carbs :)

The sauces!!! They have many. I just love a good dip, you know? My fave (and Leo's too!) is the Yogi: vegan yogourt with lots of herbs. It was so damn fresh! I also liked the Hippie: maple syrup (nothing can go wrong here), ginger and sesame. As I said, I likes me a good dippin'.

The dessert. Was I still hungry? Hellsss no. Did I NEED dessert? Absolutely not. Did I want it? Well ya. I needed to try it, you know, for the review. Tiramisu. Or Viramisu, because it's vegan. Hehe. This was a huge mother freaking piece. The coffee taste was quite faint, which is good for this non-lover of coffee. The frosting was good and thick but not too overwhelming. It was very moist (ugh, stupid word) and I think a part of it was because of the layer of chestnut cream in the middle.

Service was done by Leo, so it was perfect. He explained everything to me in detail and gave me a drink asap! He even sat with me to tell me more about what I was eating (OK, he was on his lunch break :p).

And now, the scores!

Food: 9
Service: 10

Leo keeps on telling me that I must try more food on the menu, so, you know what, I might be back sooner than later :)

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. 

Ramen 9000

This place has been on my radar for a loooong while. Uh, ramen by two white boys? Imma say yes. If Ivan Orkin can do it, so can they! Ramen 9000 is a (long) pop up in St-Henri in an ice cream shop called Dalla rose. Dalla Rose? Well, it's for chef Michael Dalla Libera and co-owner Nick Rosati. Both hail from Nora Gray, yet another resto on my list!

Jer bear and I went there on a cold ass day, last week. It was SO nice to be in a hot resto compared to all the f*cking restos that let in all the f*cking cold during winter. Argh. The place is tiny, with four seats by the window and a counter in the middle. It's a very white place, and I'm not just talking about the boys! Cute little plants adorn the white walls. So cute that I felt like I needed to take a picture. Some funk was playing and I liked it. The stools were very uncomfortable but I guess that's fine because they are mainly used for Summer ice cream eating when people just sit for 3 minutes.

Story is, the two owners went to Japan last year with their significant others and fell in love with vegan ramen. I LOVE my ramen. Jer LOOOVES his ramen. And the quest for the best ramen in Montreal continues!

So, as it is in many ramen shops, you just write down what you want on a card. Loves it. Simple. Quick. Efficient. Not 86 choices.

The awesomeness. I had the vegan ramen plus an egg because I'm a big fan of dem marinated eggs. Hello. Heeeeellooooo (is it me you're looking for)! BTW, you can also add pork (a ramen staple), tofu or an egg to your veganism. A great way to get more clients, that's fo shizzle! They are smart, these boys.

We could choose between the larger noodle and the thinner noodle. Jer had the big, I had the small. I found that the broth to noodle ratio wasn't great: I felt like I had a lot less broth than Jer. He told me that usually they go by weight, therefore I was gettin' more noodles because they are lighter. Damn iiiit! The broth was just WOW. Jer and I really had to think long and hard about if it beat out Yokato Yokabai. It didn't, but damn it, it was close! It was thick; just the way we like our broth. How did they achieve this level of thickness without fatty meat you ask? Weeeell, I'm glad you asked! The secret is in the soya milk. First, they make a dashi (with Japanese kelp and kombu from Gaspésie). Second, they make a vegetable broth with ginger, soy sauce, sake, miso, chili paste AND soya milk. Well, and other things too but I ain't gonna broth and tell! I feel like this is a secret they should keep! Seriously, they could win contests! It was VERY good. And that's an understatement!

The shiitake were full of flavor and right ON, the cabbage was marinated (yum!!) and crunchy, the noodles were perfectly cooked. The sprouts were uber fresh and the egg was one of the tastiest egg I've ever had in ramen. Let's just say that for a 12 dollar ramen + the 1.50$ for the egg, I was FULLY satisfied. And then some. Oh, let's not forget the sprinkling of sesame seeds on top. I LOVE sesame seeds. I'd put them in my cereal... IF I ate cereal :)

Service was great. Smiles all around. Water was refilled. The front dude, I believe his name is Nick (I said I BELIEVE) was just AWESOME. AND cute. You know, for girls that like that... gender :p Yes, even if I'm a LESBIAN (argh, hate that word), I can tell if a guy is cute. True dat. When I told him I was a restaurant blogger, he really talked to me about their experience in Japan, and how they went about developing a vegan broth recipe. I gots to say, I'm pretty jealous: hello, awesome ice cream in the summer and f*cking awesome ramen in the winter? YES!

And now, the scores!

Food: 9. Easily one of the best in town. Jer added 85 points for actually having a vegan broth.
Service: 9.5

Ce fut un GROS coup de coeur. I'll be back FOR SURE. No doubt in ma mind.

La Panthère Verte mobile

FINALLY, a food truck! And by that, I mean I finally got to eat food truck style! I was meeting my English teacher, her girlfriend and my friend Gab from school. We had to find a veggie place for my veggie friend so we chose La Panthère Verte. I looked on streetfoodmtl.com and looked for trucks. Turns out La Panthère Verte was in the Old Port that day! 

We met there and it was beside two other trucks: Le Quai mobile (I think it's called) and Le Cheese which I need to try. Anyhoot, La panthère verte has two restos: one in Mile-End and one downtown. Basically, in order to have a food truck in MTL you need an actual restaurant where you can store and cook some of your meals etc. 

Obviously, since its a truck, they don't have the complete Panthère Verte menu: 5 choices + desert + sodas. I had the Tempehtation: tempeh (FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh), tomatoes, lettuce, sauerkraut, sprouts and hippie sauce which is some kind of mayo. Oh and they didn't have anymore lettuce (this is the downside of food trucks: they run out of stuff) so they just added some more sauerkraut which was just fine with me.

First off, it was really drippy. Dripping EVERYWHERE. My dress, the ground, my hands... That was a tad unpleasant. Secondly, the tempeh, which was very tasty and soft and actually just plain damn good was at the bottom of the wrap so I got there like 10 minutes after having started and I was already annoyed by the whole thing. The wrap had layers of flavours when in fact, the flavours should have been mixed together. Oh and beware tiny eaters, this wrap is huge.

And now, the score:

Food: 6,5

It could have been better, you know? Not totally pleased with my first MTL food truck experience but I can't say I won't go back to try other vegan choices on La Panthère Mobile's menu!

Aux Vivres

Last week, Isa asked me if I wanted to join her and some co-workers for dinner at Aux Vivres, this really cute vegan resto on St-Laurent. Without thinking about it, I said YES!! I used to eat at this place pretty regularly when I lived on le Plateau and well.. it had been a while.

It's a great place to eat some vegan food without being TOO vegan...if you know what I mean..., with a nice patio out back including a nice little garden (or from what I remember from a couple years back). They also have a take-out counter!

We were seated right away but waited quite a bit, I thought, for our food. I had the mumbai plate and Isa had the portobello burger. I LOVE this thing: chickpeas in a somewhat spicy sauce and coriander (!), salad, and refreshing chutney. mmmm...chutney. Isa's burger was nice but lacked a tiny bit in flavor and she had some fries with a marvellous spicy chipotle kinda mayo sauce. Yum yum YUM! And a bonus is that they always use very very fresh veggies and fruits :)

The two coworkers that were with us had sandwiches in a ciabatta and apparently they were tasty but full of lettuce (a little too much) and really HUGE...like enough for two meals... which usually isn't a bad thing per se but if you bring that shiz home, it'll be soggy the next day for lunch!

One thing that annoyed me was the fact that the waitress took away plates before everyone was done and that is against my service code... yes, i have a code :p

So for the scores (these will only be MY scores seeing as the wife is not home to tell me hers!) :

food: 8/10 loooove that chutney!
service: 7/10

As per usual, very pleasant, fun food experience! If you want vegan food and you are not a vegan, go to Aux Vivres! Also go if you ARE a vegan,of course, hehe.