MKT

Recently, I, as, hum hum, the 3rd most read restaurant blogger (I's GOTTA toot my own horn people!) in Montreal, am getting treated very generously by some restaurants. And no one is happier than I am.... well my guests are pretty effin happy too!

This time, it was MKT on Metcalfe. I had never heard of this place and when I looked at the menu, I wasn't too too excited, to be honest: a Mediterranean restaurant with a simple looking menu but with a big chef behind it. Basically, I got there with absolutely no expectations.

MKT is located on a second floor of a building on Metcalfe close to Sherbrooke. We almost missed it. Maybe we should get better glasses, I dunno. When we got in, I got hit with the whiteness of it all. It really didn't fit my type of decor that I like to see in a restaurant. Everything white, big light fixtures, pastels, wine bottles adorning the walls. The open kitchen in the back seemed to move a lot, which was cool. And having known that I knew someone working there (ps: good job K!!!), I'd gone and say hey! There were only older people but when 8 o'clock came, the younguns came a-flowin' and the atmosphere became more... hip, I believe is the word I'm looking for. The tables were marble and there were about 80 seats in the house. And the music. Don't even get me started on the music! I think that at some point, they put on Much Music Dance Mix 94. Totes serious. At least it was good for a laugh. 

Anyhoot, the maître d' pretty much welcomed us with open arms to... take our jackets :) It was then decided that we were to taste many things on the menu, but with smaller portions. Perfect. This way, we pretty much get to taste the best damn things on there. Oh, and did I mention that the wine/drinks for miss J and I were flowin' all night. No? Well, I just needed an excuse to say that. Drinks. All. Night. Long. 

Mozarella di buffala. I loves me some cheese! I found it a bit on the cold side but it was still awesome in ma mouth. It was soft and just salty enough. The little salsa on top was full of flavour: tomato, olive, basil, more herbal goodness. Just dipping the [homemade] bread in that freakin' awesome olive oil was well worth it! Speaking of the bread, although warm and nicely textured (does that word make sense?), it felt like day old bread. But still. The dipping.

Crab and shrimp cake. Or should I say heaven cake? Yes, we're going with heaven cake. Crevettes de 'matane', pretty much fresh out of the water and for once, real crab! REAL crab people! They were put together to form the awesomeness cake. Mmmmyes. Shrimp: fresh. Crab: oh so fresh. Apple on top was, well, come on. Apple soooo fits with both that it was just a given. The whole thing was brought together by an herb yogourt. Yes. It made it that much tastier and smooth IN my mouth. The hot sauce was hotter than Sriracha! Dsamn! But it also fit really well with the dish. To be honest, it reminded me of my trips to Ogunquit with my mom and my sis when I was young. Cue the crying. Oh and the croutons were perfect. I ate it in 8 seconds. 

Octopus. A couple years ago, before I started this blogging venture, I would not have been caught dead with octopus on my plate (much less in my mouth). But hey, I grew (but not really... still need a step ladder) and my taste buds got, well, better. More refined I should say. White bean purée, white beans, parsley, veggies. The octopus might have been the BEST I've ever tasted. Cooked to freaking perfection and seasoned just well. It's a fine line when you're cooking octopus, just like calamari: a second less or a second too much and it's elastic city. Mama don't like elastics. The puree was smooth and a bit tart, which fit well with the taste of the grilled octopus. Who knew that octopus and white beans would go so well together. SO good. I would like some more right now please. Parsley added freshness to the dish which was nice; made it feel lighter.

Quail with smoked paprika. Yes AND mother f*ckin' yes. Although quail is a tiny bird that I usually dislike nibbling at... I mean it's bones and more little bones. This one was tasty and every little bite of it was oh-so-good. It was grilled which is a flavour profile that I absolutely love. The salad right under it was simple yet lovely and fresh. Carrots, raw onions (which J and I loooove cause we're awesome like dat), and some fennel. Fennel, I have a harder time with. I'm just not a fennel person, but this one was actually good. Everything was seasoned just perfectly and my mouth loved it. The balsamic went really well with the charred-iness (new word alert!) of the quail. 

Gnocchi with provolone and smoked pancetta in a rosé tomato sauce. The gnocchi literally melted in my mouth. It was oh-so-cheesy and well, shiiiiit, I want some right now! It was herbal and tender and smooth and all that jazz. I couldn't really taste the pancetta though. I could see it, but I couldn't taste it. Damn you, taste buds!

Bouillabaisse. Clams? Yes. Mussels? Yes. Shrimp? Oh, hells yes! Basically, this is my heaven. Perfectly cooked fish and seafood in a somewhat spicy and herbal tomato broth. The salmon melted in my mouth and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. And I KNOW shrimp, people! The mussels were perfect and juicy and oh so yummy. The clams were a tad disappointing, with a slightly plasticy feel. The scallops were a tad overcooked but hey, I like my scallops raw or just slightly charred, so I think I'm just being difficult here. The potatoes were too much for me. In my defense, I'd just had an 18 course dinner. OK, not 18. but close. J usually can't stand even slightly spicy stuff and she liked the hell out of this so that counts for 100 points. 

Yes AND yes! Wow, just looking at this, I can taste it again in my mouth. And I must go back. Uh, bebye. Damn it. This was A-mazeballz. Just awesome. Wonderful, really! The semifreddo was a bit crunchy and so creamy and the berries were so fresh and such a perfect match. The hazelnut ice cream felt like the nuts had just been pick from the freakin' tree. There was a bit of mint and lemon to make the whole thing even better and get those flavours IN-MY-MOUTH. The textures on this plate were just lovely and the plate was as good lookin' as the others.

Service was just plain wow. The maître d' took care of us from beginning to end and the waiters/busboys were oh-so-there for us. We actually felt like we were queens. Yes, QUEENS. Our water glasses were always full, our alcoholic beverages, always refilled (just the way we like it!) and the plates were described very well, every time. The last plate took a bit of time to hit our table, compared to the other ones but I think that was the only thing, really. The wine service was perfect, the way they put the plates in front of us was perfect. The everything was perfect. Damn I love it when shiz is perfect!

And now, the scores!

 

Food: 9

Service: 9.5

 

Seriously, one of the best experiences I've had in a restaurant in a LONG time. I urge everyone I know to go. Oh, just dso it!

La Luncheonette

I was walking near St-Henri station the other day and noticed this cute little restaurant. Well, gosh darn it, I just had to go back. La Luncheonette is this cute-ass (yes, it's a thing) little spot made for students and regulars, run by two sisters-in-law. They serve up some home-made staples at really great awesome wonderful (can you tell my wallet was happy) prices. 

This restaurant is oh-so-cute. I would even go as far as saying that it's 'mignon'. Ha, the French in me is always ready to bust out! It has around 25 seats with mix and match tables, chairs AND benches of different colors. SO cuate! Oh and there were wood and marble tables, round and square ones! Basically, nothing was the same. I LOVE it. Even the freaking light fixtures weren't the same! It had sort of a cottage-y, country feel to it. Chill music was playing and at first I literally felt like I was wandering in a forest. 

You order at the counter, with this really cute girl... and then you forget what you wanted. You know the drill. I was gonna have meself the breakfast sandwich. For, wait for it, 5,50$. Word.

Sandwich déjeuner: ham (or bacon), lettuce, tomato, egg, cheese on a croissant. You can choose between the croissant, english muffin, and bread. I obviously had to choose the most caloric option. Duh. Well, it did not disappoint. That croissant was so buttery and flaky and yummy and oooooh (yes, that was a foodgasm). It just melted in my mouth. Right in there. The egg was seasoned correctly and half runny. It kind of coated everything else which was nice...of the egg...to do. The fôret noire ham was smoky but a bit too right-out-of-the-pack for my liking. The cheese was gooey and elastic-y and on the salty side but it fit well in there. I don't really know what to say about the tomato except that it did not get the sandwich all soggy which is basically what you look for in that vegetable (oh excuse me, fruit); non-wetness. The greens were a bit on the old side but they still fit in there for some reason.

 

Hot chocolate. Oh, that foam! I would go back for that foam. I would totes hit on that foam. Fooooaaaam. It was airy and cloud-like. Like a cloud damn it! The hot chocolate itself was OK but not amazing. It was a bit too watery or I guess, not thick enough. I like my hot chocos on the thicker side. But don't get me wrong, it was still a hit. Well, mainly because of the foam. Foooooaaaammmm.

Service was good. I ordered at the counter and she brought me my breakfast in less than 5 minutes. Her smile was just great. And by great, I mean the 'I'm smiling back like an idiot' smile. She didn't check if everything was fine though... And for a second or two, I was pissed that I didn't have any water but then I noticed this little cute water dispenser at the counter. Very practical.

And now, the scores!

Service: 10 for the hot waitress. OK, but 8 for realz
Food: 7

I'm definitely going back because, damn it, it's too darn cute!

 

Le Smoking BBQ

I was invited (yes, yes, I'm THAT special) to try a new-ish restaurant recently. Le Smoking BBQ. BBQ? Fo free? Hallo! Actually, it was a food truck first and now they've opened a place on Ste-Catherine right in front of the Forum. I invited my friend Bridgert, who had been to a previous restaurant invite that had turned out to be God awful. This was gonna have to be good.

 

The place is huge: many big tv's (which I'm not too fond of, but I guess it was OK in this case), two dining rooms, a bar, a huge open kitchen. Country music was playing and I thought that was very fitting for a BBQ joint! The floors were half cement, half wood and the tables were made of somewhat used up wood, which gave a nice style to the restaurant. Oh, and I absolutely loved the light fixtures! SO cuate!

Our plad wearing waiter (seemed to be the theme-and it was oh-so-cute) came and introduced himself and told me that usually you order at the cash and get your own food (and then you place your tray on a garbage...) but that tonight we were going to get served. What up! My guest was late (hum hum) so I looked at the cocktail menu. The 'menu' was barely three drinks, which was quite disappointing. I mean, why do you have an actual bar if you only serve up three kinds of drinks? Anyhoot. I ordered a Bourbon Caesar. What! I thought 'hey, this will be awesome and different AND awesome'.

Well.... you guessed it: it wasn't different nor awesome. Grrrr. It actually barely tasted like anything. When I have a drink--and these days they are few and far between--I want it to taste like alcohol damn it! Although I did detect a hint of cinnamon and a tad bit of spice, it was unfortunately quite bland. Like something was missing. I dunno, maybe someone had replaced the alcohol tap with WATER. Ha ha ha. No, but seriously.

So, we pretty much ordered everything on the menu. Cause, well, we be pigs like that. And we just HAD to taste a variety of dishes. For the blog, you know!?!

Yep, this was THE plate. Ugh, I'm getting a stomach ache and gas just looking at it. Ha. Haha. But really. Let's start at the beginning: potato salad. I don't even feel like talking about this salad: it tasted like water. Like nothing. I literally felt nada on my taste buds. Tomato salad was a bit tastier but could have been better seasoned. The Mac n' Cheese waffle was very heavy, very cheesy (which is the number one thing that you look for in a mac n' cheese) but burnt at some spots and the taste wasn't particularly there either.  The corn bread was dry and very greasy and barely passed the corn bread test. The poutine was good and well seasoned and I think it might be the only thing on that huge plate that I would order again (and as you may know, I am not usually a poutine fan). The pulled pork was good but was half fat sooooo... Oh and everything, yes, EVERYTHING, was on the cold side. Bah. What a nice way to ruin my dinner! The sauces on the table were really nice though: the coffee sauce I actually really dug, the spicy sauce was the least appreciated by me cause I'm a spicy kinda girl and it wasn't nearly as spicy as I would have liked it to be, the mustard sauce had a nice kick to it and the sweet BBQ sauce was a tad tangy and went well with everything. I also just want to mention that eating on (read: cutting into) a piece of paper is not the best. There, I've said it.

This was one of two desserts on the menu. We both preferred the brownie over le pouding chômeur. As you can see this is brown on brown ON brown. It's very sexy; the new 'in' thing if you like. Juuuust kidding. It had a crispy, perfect crust, and inside it was a surprisingly great mix of hot and cold. But it was a simple brownie that I could have made at home. Nothing special. 

Service, as I mentioned, is usually limited. We got the good stuff because I was a guest that evening. Our waiter was pretty awesome and we got everything served to our table. I felt like I was in a cafeteria when I had to bring my huge 'plate' to the garbage after we were done.

And now, the scores!

Food:5.5

Service: 8

Mmmmya, I don't think I'll go back. Even though I'd eat that brownie again right about now.

ps: I am aware that I am a tough cookie and hard to please when it comes to restaurants. Hey, that's why I'm a food blogger. If I seem extra tough, it's for the good of the restaurant :D

pps: Sorry Bridgert, you are quite the unlucky person (well, we all know that!) :p

Hong Mère

My friend Jer and I had been meaning to go to this restaurant for about a year and a half and it finally freaking happened last weekend! What!!! I was looking forward to eating 'real Chinese food'. Not that crap Manchu Wok, Tiki Ming or the other ones that are advertising 'Chinese food'. Come on people, General Tao chicken is NOT ASIAN. Thank you for listening. That'll be all.

You could walk right past this place and not even know it: it's tiny and does not stand out in any way, shape or form. Even when you're looking right at it, you wonder if it would be a good idea to actually go IN. Anyway, obviously, we DID go in. Surprisingly, the place holds around 26 seats. The room is decorated with, you know, Asian-y art and stuff. Dudes, I ain't Asian-ist, I'm being realz. Lanterns, fake gold stuff, the usual, really.

This establishment serves up north-eastern Chinese and Szechuan (south-western) food.  I was letting Jer do the ordering because A: he had been there many times and B: he knew his sh*t. Oh and C, he speaks Chinese. You know, a detail. Jer has these evenings called 'Strange Meats' where we go somewhere to eat cartilage-y, squishy, gooey stuff, which, although I really tried, and as a food blogger, I should be open to everything, I just can't effin do those kinds of textures. So I kindly asked (read: threatened) him NOT to order that cucumber and egg soup or the intestines, kidney or ears.

Stir fried green beans with minced pork. This looks normal. This looks just alright. This looks almost a bit boring. No. It was effin amazing. Well, first of all the green beans were uber deep fried, which, as we all know, makes everything better (I hate that!). They were crunchy and greasy and delightful. I love grease. Damn it! Second of all, that pork. Oh, that pork. Little bites of goodness. It had something like Chinese 5 spice that made it pop with flavor. I write 'something' because Jer and I, after researching the dish, can't find any example of it with 5 spice. Hot pepper added another element to the dish. That heat was awesome with the 5 spice and the beans.

Chicken with special sauce. How special you ask? Oh, very! Tasty and on the thick side, I wanted to dip everything in there. The ingredients that we remember are the following: soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, Szechuan pepper, brown sugar, Shaoxing wine and green onion. It tasted sweet and a bit sour. Yuuuuummy! The chicken was deep fried and then stir fried. Yep, fried was the word. Nice and crunchy on the outside, a tad dry on the inside. But there was the sauce so hey! The hot peppers and chives gave it that extra kick. I love me some kicks!

Leek pie. Yes. This was, according to Jer, from a usually-less-tasty part of China, if that's possible. Well, he were wrong: it was awesome. By the way, this was also fried. Ha, big surprise! I mean, why wouldn't it be good? It had leeks, glass noodles, egg. Everything was to perfection in there. But you know what made it even better? Just dip it in the sauce man! Ya, dip everything in the special sauce.

Service was wonderful. That guy spoke quite a rare language: Chifrenglish. That's right. Perfect Chinese (I presume. Oh, I mean, I know :p ), perfect French and perfect English. This is a rare occurence and I loved it. He was friendly and explained our dishes. Water service was good too. Hahaha, ok, it's becoming a bit ridiculous how important that is to me. Whatever, I like to be hydrated! 

And now, the scores!

Food: 8

Service: 9

I'm totes going back! There's a lot more deep, DEEP fried stuff I have to try.

Nouilles de Lan Zhou

I love G & D supermarket in Chinatown. Actually, it's probably my favorite: they have everything and it's clean. Oh and after speaking to 3 people, I usually get someone that speaks chinefrish (chinese-french-english, duh) that can tell me where I can find something that three other Asian grocery stores don't. Point is, it rocks. Other point is that on the main level, Nouilles de Lan Zhou is cookin' up a feast of hand pulled noodles, beef and spices! Just my cup-o-tea!

We were lucky to get a seat because the place is quite tiny! I'd say around 20 people can sit comfortably. It has beautiful lanterns right on top of the escalator bringing you down to the supermarket and little ones all around the room. The 'noodle-pulling station' is right up front with a large window so that passers by can see the gifted men (I've only seen men doing it there...) pull dem noodles. It's pretty spectacular and while I was waiting for my friend, I looked for like 5 minutes without a clue of how they actually get the noodles to such a small size from a pile of dough. If anyone knows this secret, please contact me ASAP.

I had the medium sized beef soup. The small one would have been enough! The one I had resembled the size of a large salad bowl and the large one, that our next table neighbours had, was HUGE! I'm thinking, fruit punch at a wedding party huge. Oh and they don't give you a spoon, they give you a tiny ladle! Just to make you feel like a tiny person (well, I always feel tiny but this was somethin' else)! The colours were B-eautiful! I just wanted to jump in there and frolic. Oooor... something else that wouldn't burn me to the third degree. Mmmmmkay.  

What's fun is that you can pick the width of your noodles. And yes, that counts as fun for me! I asked the waitress which one is most popular and had that one (my friend thought they were too big). The broth was very tasty: spicy (they ask you if you want some heat in there), tangy, and it just warmed up my insides. Green onions and fresh mint and coriander added that freshness I like in any dish and another level of flavour. Let's just face it, coriander and mint is just THE best herb mix you can get! The daikon was actually quite amazing in there and added some crunch! The beef was OK: in my opinion, it lacked seasoning, rendering it a tad bland. 

Service was quick and efficient (give me ONE example of non-efficient service in an Asian resto). We had tea in a matter of seconds and our soup in less than 8 minutes (why 8? because I just like that number... SEE, I AM half Asian!). We didn't get water glasses though and had to finish our tea to use our mugs for the water that was on our table. That was a bit bizarre.

And now, the scores!

Food:7.5

Service: 6.5

Yep, Imma gonna go back and try all the different widths of noodles. Now THAT's a life goal right there!

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!

Griffintown Café

Lea was doing everything in her power to beat the competition during Poutine week so she was piling on the participating restaurants! Griffintown café was one of them with their clam chowder poutine. Sounds whhhheird if you ask me! And that is why I went but did NOT have the poutine. I'm a sucker for brunch so THAT'S why I was going!

Griffintown café is in an old building with really REALLY old wooden floors. The kind that you might be afraid to walk on if you weighed over 200 pounds. It was noisy, but a nice kind of noisy, and the ambiance was nice and chill and happy! The place made me think of a hall of some sort. Brick walls made it look authentic and a whole wall was painted on with graffiti type drawings.

Let's get down to the point: the food!

Heovos divorciados. Basically, it's two eggs that are 'divorced' because they are separated on the plate (not in this case) and have different sauces like salsa roja or salsa verde (not in this case). So, basically, this was not huevos divorciados. In the original recipe, it is made with fried eggs but at Griffintwon Café, they serve the dish with poached eggs, which was just fine and dandy with me. Oh but they didn't 'have' poached eggs right now, so I had to settle for regular, pan cooked eggs. I don't really get how you can 'run out' of poached eggs. Just take a couple minutes, bring the water to a high simmer, create a whirlpool, drop the egg. A couple minutes and blamo, you's got a poached egg! Sheesh! The tortilla was good, but nothing special, the tomato was bland and the salad was.... mesclun (or mixed salad)! Who in the holy F still serves mesclun? WHOOOOOO? I demand to know. There should be a written rule damn it! The eggs were nicely seasoned and the chili was OK but it sort of tasted like it had just been taken out of a can. I mean, who puts green peas in their chili? No one, that's who! The best things on my plate were the yummy, fresh, smooth guacamole and the refreshing crema (ok, I'm pretty certain it was just plain ol' sour cream. And yes, there IS a difference!). I always like having a colder component when eating something hot.

Service was not the bestest (dudes, I swear that's a word!): the hostess/waitress who welcomed us did not even crack a smile and I don't even recall if she said hello or not! Our waiter was alright but again, not the friendliest. Water was brought to our table quickly and we got our dishes in a pretty timely fashion, which is always awesomeballs.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6.5

Service: 6

Perhaps I would try going back a second time. But I tells you what, it best not be out of a can :p

Station W

You know how the story goes (or how MY story goes): restaurant exists, I hear good things about said restaurant, I want to go to restaurant. Station W, on top of it, is right in front of my gym. A I-have-only-that-10-dollars-left-from-my-last-pâycheck kind of place. And it was right there, right in front of the Énergie Cardio in Verdun! So a couple days ago, I walked the 12 steps (Ok, I'm exaggerating, 15. I may still be exaggerating) from my home (the gym) to Station W.

This über cute café is oh-so-popular amongst students and has no doubt many regulars that live in the neighbourhood. There's a big table at the back with plugs and what have you for their computer needs, counters at the windows and many 2-person tables. A bit too many in my opinion. I get the need to have more clients=more money but it can get tight in there; as in, 'oops, I just stepped on your foot AND hit your friend simultaneously' kinda tight. It does have a very comfy feel and a very chill vibe, and all of this, with no music!  

I was rather surprised and oh so pleased that Station W turned out to be the grilled cheese nation! Uh, hello, I absolutely love grilled cheeeses. And if I get to eat bread, imma gonna make it a damn grilled cheese. Back to the 'nation': they have around 8 kinds of grilled cheeses to choose from. Whaaaaat!!! Heaven. I chose the yummiest looking one of course: raclette, caramelized onions and cranberries. Yes aaaand yes! They also have cheddar and kimchi (which I'm totes going back for), provolone and prosciutto, goat cheese, apricot, thyme and black pepper and some others that are just as mouth watering.

Obviously, I had to start off with a hot chocolate! In a glass no less! And, you know what? It stayed hot as long as it would have in a cup. Revelation of the day. First of all, look how cuuuute it looks; they made me a heart! Aaaaaw! Ok, enough! It was thick, silky and seriously, one of the best I've had. Creamy and airy; I had to control myself not to lick the foam in the end. I still have the desire to be socially acceptable, you know!

The grilled cheese. Enter Homer Simpson drooling sound. Hot and crunchy bread made for a great start! The onions were perfect and the cranberries added some nice sweetness. With the raclette, the flavors totally complimented each other. Cheese was obviously awesome, not too salty but still flavourful, but it was funny how in one half, there was a shiz load and in the other half, not nearly enough, making it just a grilled.... Hahaha! All in all, I'd totally go back to eat one of those bad boys!

Service was quick and efficient, as it should be in a busy café. I would have liked some water but I also could have asked for it (I'm a real lazy person ;) ). 

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5

Service: 8

I'm fosho going back. And soon!

Candide

I obviously forgot to take a pic. This is the presbytery they are in.

Candide is one of the new restos in Griffintown. You know, where there's a new restaurant every freaking week? On top of it, the maître d' is my brothers' cousin (it's complicated)! Oh, on top of that, Candide is located pretty much right smack in front of my restaurant. Hello!

Since it was going to be a nice, pricey meal(a pricey meal for me is over 30$!!), I wanted to share it with aaaalll my friends! No, not all 300 of them (hehehe), a select few. So there we went, E, Jer, Em, Cam, Bridgert and I, off to one of the hottest new restaurants in town (http://www.ledevoir.com/plaisirs/restaurants/457605/candide-au-presbytere)!

I was obviously the first one to get there (I'm ALWAYS the first one... it's like a rule written in a book somewhere or sumthin', I swear to Heysus!) and Valérie welcomed me with a huge smile and took my jacket and my scarf...and my mittens... and my tuque. Needless to say it was a cold, snowy kind of day!

Candide, with its downright homey feel and low lighting, makes you feel very comfortable and at home as soon as you walk in. Wooden tables with marble ends and green leather padded seats kind of gives out a cottage-y feel. I loved it. Some nice jazz oldies were playing¸ and that totally completed the ambiance for me. The place itself is quite hard to find (I had to send my fellow dining guests a map), with it not being on an actual street and all. In their defense, there IS a sign tied to a tree on Notre-Dame....

Candide offers a 4 course meal for 43$, with two entrées, your choice of main and your choice of dessert. QUITE the deal if I may say so myself! I would have loved it if the waiter would've suggested a wine pairing for every course (I believe they do that now...) but we settled on buying some bottles for the table. It's cuisine is kind of wood-sy, let's walk in the forest, eat something we don't usually eat kind of cuisine. I despise always seeing the same thing on menus (beets and goat cheese is so passé!) so this was a breath of fresh air. A plus is that they change it every season (and a bit in between). They put stuff on the menu we had never even heard of! That's eight points right there. Why eight? Cause it's MY blog :)

Let's talk food, shall we?

First entrée: wild arugula, buttermilk and sweet potato. The arugula was oh-so-fresh and crunchy; nothing like the arugula I buy at Super C and curse at when it goes bad 2 days later. The buttermilk sauce was lovely and a tad bitter and thick and so delightful that when I saw bread approach the table (I'm imagining floating bread here...), I dipped it as quickly as I could. The potatoes were nicely cooked but the skin was a bit thick and annoying to chew.

Second entrée: squash, rye and parasol mushroom (again, I'm imagining floating parasols--what is wrong with me?). Now this was definitely like eating in the woods... OR eating THE woods? Hehehe. The rye was a bit too hard for my liking and for my stupid stupid brittle teeth. The mushrooms were soft and although you would argue that they did just taste like a mushroom (ok, people that hardly know mushrooms would say this), they had a special taste, just like enoki or oyster mushrooms do. It was basically like I'd just picked them out of a clearing (you know, like a deer would!). The squash was cooked to perfection and became almost buttery. Mmmm, I want some now. NOW! Ok, imma gonna calm down.

Main: pheasant with Blue Jay beans and red cabbage. It kind of felt like a deconstructed cassoulet. For the record, the plating didn't do it for me: everything in a tiny corner of a huge plate, the cabbage on top of the meat. I actually thought for a moment that they were going to come back and put a bowl or something in that empty space on my plate.

Although the pheasant was nice and juicy, it lacked in taste. One would even go as far as saying that the pheasant wasn't too pleasant. Hahaha. I can totally picture Dr. Evil telling that joke. You know, with the little finger? Aaaand I'm officially off track. The level of doneness was absolutely perfect and the lovely juices were there, it just, in my opinion, didn't taste like much. Perhaps it lacked salt, who knows. The cabbage was cooked to vegetable perfection: not too crunchy, not too soft, just right. Boucle d'or, sors de ce corps! On top of it, it tasted somewhat smoky, which is a flavor I absolutely love. The beans were very tasty and added a certain texture to the dish. And by the way, it looks like Blue Jay beans are pretty darn hard to come by. Either that or the internet lied to me. I really do hate it when it does that.

Second main: clams, leeks and celeriac.The clams, although few and far between, were salty and briny and all that kind of salt water goodness. The celeriac, was surprisingly cooked whole (I usually see it in mashed form or cut julienne style). That and the leeks together was a great mix of flavours. One I would like to get again soon. Or, you know, right about NOW.

Dessert: Angelica cake, honey and scotch lovage. Such a nice, peaceful description, no? Angels and love! Hihihi! The cake was oh-so-moist and the honey added the sweetness that I needed after such a meal. The scotch lovage seemed fried but I think it was crisped using another method. I gotta say though, and please don't get me wrong because I used to l-o-v-e it, but the whole dish tasted like pot. As in marijuana. Seriously, I was burping pot for at least a couple hours after and it was weirdly lovely. But apart from being illegal, this dessert was sweet, fluffy, and again, kind of like I was in the woods! I swear, I'm sure if I had turned around at that moment, I would have seen Little Red Riding Hood! SEE what pot desserts do to me? Sheesh!

Second dessert: Pikauba, kale and sorb. Pikauba is a semi-soft cheese straight from Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean aged 3 or 4 months. It's so creamy, it almost melted in my mouth. I swear! And the sorb, which resembles huckleberry, was awesome and such a great pairing with the cheese. The kale was a great addition on their part and went perfectly with the whole dish.

Service was wonderful: our waiter explained every little detail and knew all the wines by heart (there were many) and talked about the menu in great length. Our water glasses were always full and the wine service was done the ITHQ way. You know; you make the person that is ordering the wine taste first and then if she/he says it's ok, you serve everyone else and you top of his/her glass last. The waiter was very upbeat and made it seem like we were the only ones in there (by a certain point, the restaurant had somewhat filled up). You could see he was passionate about what he was doing. So was the maitre d' Val. Their hearts belonged in that restaurant, as corny as that sounds.

Here are some opinions from my friends that came along...Some were actually scared at first because the portions were so small but after the meal, you could see they were mostly full. One of them was not at all pleased when she tasted both desserts one right after the other and thought it was 'disgusting'. I did the same thing and it was just fine. I loved the attention to details: how to place a fruit in a dish or a perhaps a leaf. Presentation was very 'soignée'.

Here is an elaborate opinion from my fellow student at ITHQ (which obviously means her opinion matters most, hahaha!): 'I think that it is not a restaurant for everyone. The lack of flexibility in the menu, the price, the ingredients; it felt like a tiny food adventure, and you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone i think to really enjoy it. Though nothing blew me away, I  think all the food was well presented, well executed and thoughtful. It might be because I'm a spoiled child who goes to too many restaurants (if that is even a possible thing) but I enjoy not knowing about everything on the menu, I enjoy being surprised by new tastes and new textures and having to think about what I'm eating. As it opened just a couple of months ago, I would say it was a "wait a few months then come back" cause it wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either.  I think it will become better with time.' Yep, I believe Cam pretty much summed it up.

So with no further ado (cause we know there's been enough ado here), here are the scores.

Food: 7.5
Service: 9.5

Although a tad pricey (damn you, wine!), it is a redo for sure. You know, perhaps with my birthday money or next Christmas :)

Café Lucci

A month or so ago, I was walking to work on a cold, rainy day and I was just, well, I was blah. That's the technical word of course. And then, out of no where, this kind looking older man hands me a coupon for a free hot chocolate at his new café (there's a new restaurant/café every flinging flanging week in Griffintown!) on William about a 2 minute walk from work. Hello! I obviously had to go and check it out, get my free hot chocolate, and get somethin' to eat along with it! But first, I had to work. So I decided to go the following day.

I was going to have to take it out and eat it at work because as I was ordering, I noticed I was aleady supposed to be at work. Ps, this never EVER happens. I am a very responsible employee. Plus, I got my boss' approval.The place itself is a bit dark... ok a lot dark. The kind of darkness I wouldn't want if I'd be studying in a café (and I saw some people doing it), the kind I'd want if, let's say, I'd have a migraine.

So I had the hot chocolate and the 'Nutty Goat' sandwich (ugh, I know, it's a horrible picture). The hot chocolate was great and hit that it's-minus-20-outside spot. Very creamy and smooth.

The sandwich didn't get to hit that many spots. It was so small that, well, it couldn't have! Ha. It looked like there was nothing in it. The goat cheese was good and the basil was awesome in there and very tasty and the tomato gave bursts of, well, tomato juice in my mouth. The bread was nice and crunchy and the honey gave it just the amount of sweetness I wanted. And obviously accompanied well with the cheese. The nuts were, wait, what nuts? Well they were nonexistent. I wanted that extra crunch and that extra somethin' somethin' but they were nowhere to be found, sadly.

And now, the score!

Food: 6.5

All in all, it was OK.... but the meal was largely saved by that hot chocolate. I felt a bit cheated and cetainly not full.