387 replies to this topic

[Orik]

another thing - most coffee shops (and there are many of them) either use Illy or roast their own (it seems like the horrible environmental effects that seem to make this impossible in Manhattan do not exist in Montreal). One particularly nice coffee/sandwich shop/bakery, considered to be somewhat overpriced by locals, is Olive & Gourmando. It's located in the "charming" and "quaint" old city.


"We can sit in the window and imagine we're in Paris" - tourist A to tourist B

Or you can sit in the basement and imagine you're in Fallujah

[omnivorette]

We had lunch one day at Olive & Gourmando. I don't get what all the fuss is about. It's a sandwich place. Big deal. I mean, the sandwiches were good, but I don't get why it's a destination place. Unless people just need a sandwich place when they're touring around the old part of town.

[omnivorette]

Okay - the place I couldn't remember the name of is Chez L'Epicier.

You can read all about it on eG and CH on the respective Canada/Montreal boards.

Beach: I think this would suit nicely for the meal you need that's not too expensive, informal but still nice, for the junior associates...

[Orik]

We had lunch one day at Olive & Gourmando. I don't get what all the fuss is about. It's a sandwich place. Big deal.

yeah, like the thousands of good sandwich places lining the streets of Manhattan

[omnivorette]

If anybody's interested - we had a quick meal in the old part of town in some Belgian pub place - I can't remember the name, but it's on the main drag there, a couple of blocks from Olive & Gourmando - anyway it wasn't a good place, but I did have a decent piece of cheval, which I liked, and which is unavailable in the good ol' US of A.

[Steve]

(Orik -- guess what the dessert was?  no need to discuss it here, but you know).

did it contain 12 spices or so?

Speaking of tomato, the Quebec tomatoes are surprisingly good - the closest to Italian tomato I've tasted in North America, although the don't look like a convoluted Zebra and do not pretend to be anyone's heirloom. There's a shop dedicated to local tomato products - La Tomate and it being near the end of the season, many places offer their own tomato sauces and ketchups, not surprising given that tomatoes in the green market cost as little as 6 loonies for 30 pounds:



Going to Marche Jean-Talon again reminded me of the shit that New York greenmarkets are. There were beautiful tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, haricots, berries, giant cabbages and cauliflower and other fruits and vegetables selling for about between a half and a quarter of the prices in Union Square.

There was even a demonstration to improve the nyc markets (not really):



beachfan -- thinking about what you wrote in the past about food preferences, I think you'll dislike APDC. Another idea for less expensive dining is one of the many BYO (called AVV) restaurants - I'm not sure which one is considered the best and I've read that some of them feature less traditional menus, but here's a typical one:



Also, an article from one of the free local newspapers lists some places to get offal, horse meat, etc. (very easy really, offal is on the menu nearly everywhere and the second butcher I saw had horse meat):

http://www.hour.ca/f...iIDArticle=4306

If interested in BYOB, considered the best are Le Christophe, Le P'tit Plateau, & La Colombe. Le Christophe opened several months ago, a shop at a different location for their foods to go(they're charging half price for same dishes, compared to dining at their restaurant). Le P'tit Plateau has hanger steak on their menu. La Colombe is very close by to Au Pied de Cochon.

You just mentioned the Hour paper. It's a good place for out-of-towners to check for their restaurant reviews, by checking them online. Their restaurant critic is Maeve Haldane, & the restaurants she reviews are always pretty interesting. The top Montreal restaurant critics writing in English are Lesley Chesterman(fine dining), Sarah Musgrave(casual-dining), & Maeve Haldane. The first two write for The Montreal Gazette, but unfortunately the paper's website is now a pay site(it doesn't matter to me, as I'm a 7-day subscriber to their paper, & get their site included in my subscription). I find all three of these critics make very interesting choices for the restaurants they review. Another reliable source for restaurant information, is at montrealfood.com(http://www.montrealfood.com/index.html).

[beachfan]

Okay - the place I couldn't remember the name of is Chez L'Epicier.

You can read all about it on eG and CH on the respective Canada/Montreal boards.

Beach: I think this would suit nicely for the meal you need that's not too expensive, informal but still nice, for the junior associates...

Merci Beaucoup!

[beachfan]

beachfan -- thinking about what you wrote in the past about food preferences, I think you'll dislike APDC.

I was thinking of the seafood platter and the fois gras and be happy.

OK, so I have
Lemeac or Chez L'Epicier
Le Chevre

anyone have another high end option? La Chronique might do, it didn't sound compelling though. Correct me if I'm wrong.

What I'm looking for at the less expensive option is the low end of fine dining. Any other comments re: Lemeac or Chez L'Epicier.

[Orik]

I was thinking of the seafood platter and the fois gras and be happy.

You would, but there's no seafood served this late in the year.

[Steve]

During the summer, when they carry fresh seafood, much of it comes from the Magdalen Islands(including the fish). I think there's still a bit of seafood served at APDC, but no seafood platters available now.

[beachfan]

I was thinking of the seafood platter and the fois gras and be happy.

You would, but there's no seafood served this late in the year.

Yikes! Thanks for the heads up!!

[rozrapp]

anyone have another high end option?  La Chronique might do, it didn't sound compelling though. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I was quite disappointed with dinner at La Chronique last year. My first course foie gras preparation was sensational, but the portion was teensy, particularly egregious, considering the cost. A main course magret was ho-hum, and I have no recollection of what I had for dessert, which, for me, is a bad sign.

Another thing that really bothered me about La Chronique was the welcome we experienced -- or should I say the lack thereof. They didn't have anyone who handled reception so that, when we arrived, my husband and I had to stand there like the proverbial bumps on logs until one of the wait staff bothered to stop what he was doing, ask for our name, and check it off in the book. He then returned to his server responsibilities. Although we had been prompt in arriving for our reservation, we were left to stand there for quite some time, a situation made doubly unpleasant since there is no reception area where one can wait comfortably. Finally, my husband was able get the attention of one of the servers to ask how much longer it would be. The server indicated a table where two diners were finishing dessert and, in a curt manner, said that that would be our table when they were done. It didn't take too much longer after that, but the whole business didn't made for a happy start. If this had happened to us in NYC where we are much more familiar with restaurant possibilities, we probably would have left because we don't usually put up with this type of situation.

An interesting sidelight is that two couples who arrived while we were waiting were informed that the reservation they had made and confirmed that morning was not in the book, and they could not be accommodated that evening. Needless to say, they were upset. They, like us, were visiting Montreal and so were at a loss as to what to do. I pointed out to them that Anise was directly across the street and, perhaps, they could get a table there. Through La Chronique's front window, I saw them go in and not come out, so I presumed it worked out for them. I wanted to go to Anise this year, but they were closed for vacation the weekend we visited Montreal.

[Orik]

anyone have another high end option? La Chronique might do, it didn't sound compelling though. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Not very compelling, but not bad either. There may be better options out there - try and consult the CH and eG boards.

rozrapp -- my foie portion was very decent, but it seems that service is consistently bad there.

[rozrapp]

my foie portion was very decent, but it seems that service is consistently bad there.

Orik, Lucky you with the foie gras! Actually, once we were seated, we had no problems with the service. Was there a specific person handling the reception desk when you were there?

[Orik]

Was there a specific person handling the reception desk when you were there?

Not really, but one of the three waiters noticed us after a few seconds.