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Mano Cornuto

30 Dec

There are places that are just cool. They are not trying to be per se but somehow they just feel cool. They have a certain feel and a vibe that you can’t quite place but you feel it when you are there. Mano Cornuto is one such place. Its location – on the first floor on a condo complex on a side street in Griffintown – certainly doesn’t give that vibe but once inside, you feel it.

Mano Cornuto evokes a old style neighbourhood Italian café – the marble-like tabletops, the old Italian signs as artwork, the wooden chairs, the long bar, the mirrored glass behind the bar – but then you have the mix of rap and R&B playing over the sound system.

Food and drink-wise, it’s designed to be a casual lunch and dinner option with a variety of sandwiches, salads, fresh pastas as well as coffee, natural wine and cocktails. Since its opening, I have been a few times and have been able to try a bunch of items.

In classic Italian fashion, the dishes feel simple in concept but still very precise in execution. The focaccia with ricotta and truffle honey is a perfect example of that. So simple but so so good. The light and airy focaccia. The creamy and rich ricotta. The rich mix of truffle oil and honey. I could eat this every day and never get sick of it.

Their version of a Stromboli – spicy sausage, pecorino, rapini, white anchovies served over bread – was another good example of this simple but well executed and flavourful approach. Anchovies may not be for everyone but it worked so well with the rest of the ingredients. When my wife came with me, she had the Schiacchiata vege – stracchino, rapini, arugula and bomba sauce between fresh focaccia. A light sandwich but very flavourful. The key is all of the sandwiches is the excellent focaccia. It provides a great base to serve different combinations over it.

Getting away from the sandwich options, I tried the arancini spaghetti carbonara. Just amazing – great crisp on the exterior of the spaghetti ball. The flavour is full-on carbonara – rich and creamy with the pancetta bringing some saltiness. A beautiful dish in both presentation and execution.

Finally, for dessert, there are also homemade campobasso doughnuts of different flavours. I went with the nutella version. Great chew to the doughnut with the Nutella filling bringing the rich chocolate hazelnut flavour. An excellent doughnut.

Mano Cornuto is a great spot – whether for lunch, dinner or happy hour. It is the kind of neighbourhood spot you would want around your home – great food, reasonable cost, good drinks and cocktails and a great vibe and atmosphere to enjoy. It is not quite right by my place but it is close enough that I will continue to make the effort to visit more frequently. Worth being where the cool kids are 😉

Cheers!

Mano Cornuto
988 Ottawa St
514 868 8451

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Le Petit Mousso

13 Nov

November is MTL à Table time and also the end of a 3 month period where my wife and I are pretty much on the go non-stop. MTL à Table is always a great way to get a nice date night for the two of us. For this year, looking at the list, I was tempted by one spot in particular – Le Petit Mousso.

I have yet to go to its big brother next door, Le Mousso. There, Chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard has been racking up accolades for his inventive and delicious tasting menu offerings over the past 4 years. Open since 2018, Le Petit Mousso took over the old space of the Mousso as they expanded next door and turned it into a ‘À la Carte’ version of the Mousso – same style of cuisine, similar decor and style – just no need to commit to the tasting menu approach. I was looking forward to dipping my toe in to see what Le Mousso’s style was all about.

Le Petit Mousso is located in the Village, corner Ontario and Atateken. The two restaurants share the same entrance – such that I wasn’t sure which half was the Petit Mousso and which was Le Mousso when we walked in. The space is very clean and simple. The old white brick walls are accented with a bit of art work. The dining room is a two level space with a mix of tables and bar-style seating. There are industrial and modern touches with the central staircase that leads to the open kitchen in the basement which is probably the coolest element in the design of the space.

Being MTLàTable, we had a 3 course menu for the evening with 3 choices at every course. We chose to not order any of the same dishes so we could taste as much of the menu as we could. The first appetizer was chicken liver mousse with elderberries and clover served with bread from Automne Boulangerie. Super light and airy texture but with huge flavours. If you don’t like chicken liver, this may not sell you on it but it was excellent. The use of the lightly fermented elderberries on top cut some of the richness down with its sweet acidity.

Our other appetizer was a plate of shrimp served in Kohlrabi ‘wrappers’ in a lightly flavoured tomato broth. Beautiful presentation on the table. A very subtle dish all-around. The shrimp were delicious and quite flavourful. I like the interesting use of the kohlrabi as a wrapper. Flavourwise, it didn’t really add much. A well executed and presented dish.

Our mains continued the great level of execution. I went with the sous-vide duck served with carrots, pleurotes and a light broth. Once again, beautiful presentation and great depth of flavours. The duck was super tender and flavourful. The carrots and mushrooms paired very well to the duck as well. Very enjoyable.

My wife went with the char served in a beurre blanc sauce with shishito peppers. Super tender fish with great flavour. The beurre blanc was the right balance of rich but not heavy. A perfect complement to the fish.

We ordered two different sides to go with our mains and sadly these did not wow us like the rest of the meal. The smoked potatoes served in a buttermilk and herb sauce were okay but no punch. The cold and slightly firm texture of the potatoes also left us wanting. The fermented cabbage with vinaigrette and herbs were a little too bitter for us as well.

The dessert course brought things back on a more positive course for us. First was a white chocolate mousse topped with a squash granité. While the initial contrast between the ice cold granité and the mousse was quite strange temperature-wise, they was no denying that the flavours worked beautifully together.

The second dessert was a ‘black jerusalem artichoke’ – a coffee-flavoured cake topped with chocolate mousse and rye crumble. Delicious texture to the cake and the chocolate mousse was smooth and rich. Personally, we don’t like coffee so that flavour profile wasn’t our favourite but excellent execution regardless.

Le Petit Mousso gave us a look into Le Mousso’s style and we came out of it very impressed. Great level of execution and creativity throughout the meal. Not everything hit for us but enough of it to confirm that we must come back for the full experience next door. If you aren’t sure yourself, Le Petit Mousso is a great way to find out.

Cheers!

Le Petit Mousso
1023 Ontario Est
438 384 7410

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Le Butterblume (Brunch Edition)

6 Oct

A brunch post?! It’s been a while hasn’t it? Well, my wife and I have crazy schedules which makes weekend brunch a bit of a challenge nowadays. However, a rare opportunity allowed me to meet up with my wife midway through her Saturday workday to finally try a more recent entry in the category of Mile End brunch staple, Le Butterblume. Part coffee shop, part boutique and part restaurant, Le Butterblume offers breakfast and lunch during the week and brunch during the weekend. Headed by Nadine Boudreau and Julie Romano, its location is easy to miss at first – right on the edge between Mile End and Little Italy just before the Van Horne overpass.

Le Butterblume is very much an open concept space. There isn’t much that separates the boutique front, the cash and bakery counter and then the open kitchen/bar and the seating area in the back. The accents are simple – the brick wall, the open industrial kitchen and then the open garage door with tons of natural sun light coming through with a view of the garden outback. It’s simple but very welcoming and comforting.

The menu, conceived by Jens Ruoff, is an interesting mix of some German/Austrian influences and more “traditional” brunch fare. My wife and I went with a trio of dishes to share together. First up, a gougère “sandwich” of nordic shrimp, sour cream, apple and pickles. The gougère itself was nice and flaky with that hint of cheese mixed in. The shrimp were very fresh but the dish in the end lack some punch. Also, the portion was limited given the price of the plate.

Our second dish fared better. A ‘Kaseknodel’ or bread pudding of cheddar and parsley served with cole slaw & juniper berry sour cream. Very interesting texture – soft and tender with strong notes of both cheddar and parsley. The slaw had a nice vinegary note to it which paired well with the richer bread pudding. We didn’t note the juniper in the sour cream but it mixed well with everything. An excellent side dish although again a little small portion-wise.

We went with one main dish to share and it was the highlight of the meal – the marinated eggplant, pepper and chickpea salad topped with grilled halloumi, mint yogourt, Ontario Peaches and served with homemade pitas. The salad itself has tons of flavour with a nice balance of acidity and freshness. The halloumi of course added some richness and saltiness. The creamy yogurt. The sweet peaches. An excellent example of well balanced and very hearty dish. Sitting at the bar, it was the most common thing coming through the kitchen and I can see why.

Le Butterblume is a solid brunch spot that is clearly a hit within the Mile End neighbourhood. Nice vibe, good food – well worth a visit if you are around the area. Just be prepared perhaps to wait in line a bit if you visit on the weekend – which is the classic Montreal brunch experience if you think about it 😉

Cheers!

Le Butterblume
5836 Boul St-Laurent
514 903 9115

Le Butterblume Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Chez St-Pierre

3 Oct

Fall has now started to arrive which as a child of summer makes me look back wistfully on the summer we just had. It was a nice one which for my wife and I culminated in a beautiful 2 week trip to Gaspésie. Despite some of the bad weather, he had a great time seeing the beautiful scenery and enjoying the wonderful local culinary fare. As soon as we booked this trip, I know where I had to reserve for dinner: At chef Colombe St-Pierre’s restaurant in Le Bic, Chez St-Pierre. Chef St-Pierre has become quite the household name in the Quebec food scene and even at the international level now. So it was with very great excitement that we found ourselves there on the 1st night of our vacation on our way to Gaspésie – hopeful for quite the meal.

Located in the small village of Le Bic just across the Church atop the hill, Chez St-Pierre is a tasting menu service of either 3,5 or 7 courses with a option of wine pairing as well. The restaurant has a nice look to it – floor to ceiling wood with tons of lighting. The kitchen is open concept in the middle of the space and the dining area is extended with a closed solarium off the side of the building. It is hard to see in the pictures but they are using wine corks as cool accents along the walls in certain places. The service throughout the night was impeccable with the different chefs in the kitchen (including Colombe) coming out to explain the different dishes throughout the evening. I enjoyed the touch of having all of the wait and kitchen staff listed on the menu as well as all the suppliers the restaurant uses for their food – a nice way to highlight the people who help contribute to make Chez St-Pierre want it is.

We chose to go with the 5 course meal for this evening. Before the meal got started, we got an amuse-bouche of a fried stuffed zucchini flower. Beautiful presentation with great crunch and a nice flavour. We were also served housemade bread – including squid ink bread – served with a soft cheese and herb spread. Just delicious and a great start to the meal.

First course provided us with a salicornia and gin cucumber gaspacho with a Scotch lovage (Persil de mer) emulsion, marinated white turnips and a chervil salad. A dish with many ingredients I had never had before – very cool use of local items and such an excellent soup. Great depth of flavour – a nice brightness punctuated with some saltiness. The emulsion added some creaminess which paired well. Honestly one of the best soups I have had in a while.

The second course was the fish course – grilled filet of turbot served over mussels and nordic shrimp with a jus of mussels. Excellent piece of fish – flaky and tender with a nice grill to it. The shrimp and mussels were super fresh and flavourful. A great platform to showcase the great local seafood and fish of the region.

Third course went vegetarian as we were served a terrine of zucchini and eggplant served with a summer savory tomato coulis and a vodka yellow pepper sorbet. Beautiful presentation and super creative idea of the sorbet which legitimately tasted like yellow peppers. However, it didn’t worked for neither my wife nor I. As a result, the dish didn’t wow us as the others had.

Fourth course brought us back on track with a beef medallion marinated ‘spicy’ served with red cabbage tortilla, tequila sour cream and pepper salsa. The cool thing about this dish is where the beef came from – it is from a dairy farm nearby. Chef St-Pierre has a partnership going with the farm where she takes the beef of the cows, ages them 60 days and then uses it in the restaurant. Given that the meat comes from a dairy cow, the meat is more lean and tough so the aging helps the texture. It was excellent and a super cool approach to re-utilizing resources from the region. The dish had a very Mexican-influenced flavour to it – some heat and some sweet, the sour cream had a nice kick to it and the pepper salsa was very good.

Final dish, of course, was dessert. We were served a black spruce éclair with strawberries, black garlic pastry cream and balsam fir ice cream. A gorgeous dish once again with tons of very interesting flavours. The éclair was airy and spongy. When combined with the ice cream, it made for a very strong pine-like taste – evoking of our Northern forests. I really liked the punch from the garlic pastry cream as well. And the strawberries, being in season, were very sweet and flavourful. An awesome close-out to our meal.

Chez St-Pierre is the best restaurant experience we have had all year. Excellent service from top to bottom, amazing dishes with tons of flavour and creativity and a wonderful use of local ingredients. It may be a little out of the way for those of us in Montreal but believe me visiting Colombe at Chez St-Pierre is well worth the extra gas mileage 😉

Cheers!

Chez St-Pierre
129 Rue du Mont Saint Louis, Rimouski (Qc)
418 736 5051

Chez Saint-Pierre Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Beba

21 Aug

While I call Pointe-St-Charles home, I am lucky enough to be close by from Verdun and the booming restaurant scene that is developing along Wellington street. As that neighbourhood has changed and developed, we have seen more and more interesting restaurants establish roots in the area that have some great pedigrees. Most recently, we have the case of Beba, a restaurant on Ethel – just off Wellington – that was started by the Schor brothers, Pablo and Chef Ari, who have some great bonafides including the fact that Chef Ari was Chef de Cuisine at Liverpool House prior to opening this restaurant. With a pedigree like this, I couldn’t wait to walk over and see what they had in store for us so I called my sister who lives in Verdun and she joined my wife and I for a nice evening dinner.

Beba has the look of a real neighbourhood bistro. The interior is very clean with simple modern touches such as the marble countertop bar, the circular mirrors along the wall and leather mid-century style banquettes. There is also a garage door on the side which allows to really open up the space in the summer. They also have a nice little terrasse in the front which faces Ethel street which makes it very calm and relaxing as a spot. The weather was so beautiful that night that we got a chance to sit outside for our meal – perfect conditions to enjoy a hopefully great meal.

Beba advertises itself as serving ‘food and drink inspired by the Spanish and Italian cultures that settled in Argentina’ which is an interesting premise and a big difference from the Liverpool House fare that people know chef Schor for but one that reflect he and his brother’s Argentinian heritage. The three of us decided to share a bunch of different items from the menu. The menu is apparently adjusted frequently so it is subject to change.

First up, we had the beef and olive empanada. A classic Argentine item – a nice flaky crunch to the pastry shell and the interior filing was quite flavourful. More beer in flavour than olive which I appreciated immensely.

Next was the Swiss chard involtini with zucchini, pine nuts and yogourt. An interesting presentation and usage of Swiss chard. Very flavourful dish – I enjoyed the freshness of the veggies and how that paired with the creaminess of the yogourt.

Our final starter was the green salad served with egg, summer vegetables and grana padano. A very simple dish in presentation but a perfect usage of the seasonable veggies available,. This was a beautifully fresh salad with a nice balance of acidity, sweetness and some richness. I rarely order a green salad at a restaurant but this one was well worth it.

We moved to the ‘bigger’ dishes of the night and started the gnudi with tomato butter and pecorino. This was the biggest hit of the night. The gnudi were light and fluffy in texture with a lovely creamy rich flavour. The tomato butter was insane – so smooth and rich of flavour. The pecorino provided some bite to the dish. We lapped this up and I would go back to Beba just for this dish.

Next was the eggplant served with a lamb ragu and peas. I really enjoyed this dish – the star is the hearty lamb ragu which had tons of that gamey richness that I love about lamb. The eggplant was good but somewhat hidden by the strong notes of the ragu. The peas provided some crispness and the little sauce a little acidity and brightness to the plate. A solid dish all around.

Our final dish was the rabbit ‘pan con tomate’ served with an aioli and a mussel escabeche. I loved the different usage of the classic spanish ‘pan con tomate’ dish to serve the rabbit. The garlicky aioli with the tomatoes, the mussels and the rabbit paired very nicely together. The rabbit itself was excellent – the one complaint is more of the presentation one. By having the rabbit pieces still on the bones, it made it more of the hassle to enjoy the rabbit with the tomato bread itself which meant that the dish was eaten more in two parts then all together. The flavours were excellent outside of that minor complaint.

All in all, Beba was an excellent experience from beginning to end and is a welcomed neighbourhood spot close to home. The dishes were delicious. The service was sharp and friendly; and the atmosphere was a perfect combination of hip energy with a relaxed neighbourhood haunt vibe. Chef Schor and his brother have a really interesting thing going very quickly. I look forward to more walks over for some good meals and hope you shall all join me.

Cheers!

Beba
3900 Éthel
514 750 7087

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Les Street Monkeys

6 Jul

We have reached July which means we have reached time to celebrate my birthday. As I have gotten older, I have gone away from a party to celebrate. I prefer just a nice dinner with friends either home or at the restaurant. The challenge, as always, is to find somewhere that works for a group – where we can easily share and where the cost to my friends is reasonable. I hate forcing my friends to splurge at my expense. Well, for this year, I decided to stay close to home in Verdun to try our hand at some Cambodian cuisine at Les Street Monkeys.

The menu is described as Cambodian-style street food. The portions are small and designed to share. The menu is mostly Cambodian but they do venture in cuisine from other south-east Asian countries. As a party of 5, we decided to grab a bunch of stuff to try. First up, we ordered their pork and taro fried imperial rolls. Solid rolls – a nice crunch on the outside. Inside, the filling was plentiful and very flavourful.

Next, we had the shrimp ceviche marinated in a lime, fish sauce and wasabi dressing. The waiter warned us the dish was quite strong in wasabi and wow was it ever! It hits you right in the nose once you take your first bite. If you can handle the heat, the dish is excellent. The shrimp is very tender and the addition of the radishes and the scallions provided some lightness and crunch.

We couldn’t say no to a traditional papaya salad but sadly it wasn’t a big hit. Texture was nice and had tons of sweetness and acidity but it lacked some punch in terms of the heat. Most of us agreed that Satay Brothers’ version is better.

Our next dish faired better. The Khmer style fried chicken drums – fried chicken with a shrimp paste, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass and garlic sauce – were excellent. Great crunch but the chicken remained moist and tender inside. The sauce stuck nicely on the drumsticks and provided a nice garlicky punch.

The positives continued with the eggplant salad – grilled eggplant tossed with a dressing made of lime, fish sauce, rice powder, dried chili, mint, Thai basil and cilantro. The eggplant was nice and soft and the dressing was super flavourful – packing a punch both umami and sweet. Everyone really enjoyed this one.

The Mee Siam – fried rice vermicelli with a soya and crab paste sauce mixed with red peppers, chives, onions and bean sprouts – was solid and a nice compliment side dish to the rest. The fried rice had a nice little crunch to it that you want.

I am a big fan of bone marrow so when I saw the Phnom Penh bone marrow dish, I had to order it. Bone marrow with butter, hoisin sauce, kampot pepper, fried garlic, marinated onion and coriander leaves served with bone broth and vanilla Chinese fried bread. Nice flavour again to the dish – a good balance of sweetness and heat. The vanilla bread was surprising as well for now well it fit with the bone marrow. The only negative was the lack of much marrow on the bones – would have loved to see more there portion wise.

The biggest hit of the night was the Amok fish – lightly breaded cod with a red curry sauce with coconut milk, red peppers and fried taro strings. The fish was super flaky and tender and that sauce was excellent. Tons of flavour to pair with the fish. The dish lasted all of a few minutes on the table.

Our final plate was the stuffed chicken wings – boneless wings stuffed with thai sausage and brushed with turmeric, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass sauce. The sausage stuffing had some heat and stayed tender within the chicken wing. The lemongrass sauce brought some acidity which paired well here. Excellent dish.

Les Street Monkeys was the perfect spot for a group dinner. Everything was easy to share, very flavourful across the board and very reasonably priced. Food-wise, it cost us about 35$ each to cover everything we ate. That is a great deal for the quality of food we got. Cambodian-style cuisine is not something that is present readily in Montreal but I am happy we got to try it and that it is so close to my place if a craving ever hits!

Cheers!

Les Street Monkeys
3625 Rue Wellington
514 768 1818

Les Street Monkeys Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Nashville 2019 – Rolf and Daughters

1 Jul

Coming back from Memphis, we had another night free for a dinner. Given our success with my pick of Husk the night before, I was given carte blanche to pick a different spot to try. Looking at all of the great restaurants that Nashville has to offer (which are quite a few), I decided to go with something outside of the ‘typical’ Southern fare but a current staple of the Nashville food scene, Chef Philip Krajeck’s Rolf and Daughters.

Located in a former boiling house at the Werthan Factory in the Germantown neighbourhood, Rolf and Daughters put Chef Krajeck on the map in Nashville and he has become a multiple winner of the James Beard award since. The restaurant is known for its mediterranean inspired cuisine using local Tennessee ingredients and producers. Chef Krajeck’s homemade pastas are particularly noteworthy apparently.

The space is a beautiful mix of industrial and modern touches. Being the late service on a weekday, the restaurant wasn’t too crowded. I will give tons of credit to our waiter – he was sharp, on-point and bitterly funny and dry with a sort of midwest/Minnesota nice accent that we throughly enjoyed all night. His cocktails choice were also excellent – I loved how all the house cocktails were named for school things. A quirky but fun detail.

Now, onto the food. We were quite hungry so we covered lots of ground menu wise. The house-made loaf of sourdough bread served with seaweed butter was excellent – great crust on the outside with a soft yeast interior.

The salad of red beet, kohlrabi, dill and smoked roe was great. The red beets were super sweet and tender. The dill and roe provided some freshness and bite to the dish as well.

The dry aged beef tartare mixed with black garlic and sprouted lentils was unique for us for the use of the lentils in the tartare. It provided an interesting textural component to the dish. The beef had a great deep rich flavour and the black garlic provided a nice kick as well.

Our final appetizer featured something I had never heard of before: agretti. This small Italian-in-origin herb tastes somewhat like spanish and was served to us slightly cooked down mixed with golden raisin, chili and anchovies. This dish was quite something – a wonderful mix of sweetness, spiciness, richness and freshness. Something I never would have considered simply by reading the menu but very happy that I got our waiter to explain it to us. My favourite dish of the first part of the meal.

Given Chef Krajeck is known for his pastas, of course, we ordered a couple of his staples within our main courses. First was the cecamariti served using cultured butter and black pepper like a cacio e pepe dish. The pasta was super tender but wow that sauce…. it tastes like one of the best cacio e pepe sauces I’ve ever had but there is zero cheese. It is all the cultured butter. It has the creamy richness with the bite of the pepper you want. So so good.

The second pasta we tried was the garganelli verde served with a heritage pork ragout and sarvecchio parmesan. Again, the pasta itself was excellent texture wise and the ragout was superb – very rich and hearty. It is funny that some of the best dishes I’ve had were in Nashville but hey props to them for nailing these dishes so well.

Our last main ventured away from pasta as we tried the pastured chicken served with preserved lemon and garlic confit. The chicken was super tender and moist. The combination of the lemon, garlic, butter and tarragon provided a nice bright and rich pairing with the chicken. Very well executed.

After all of that we still wanted some dessert so we split 3 of their 4 offerings. First up, the one that we enjoyed but that wasn’t as impacted as the others – the Japanese cheesecake with pine put, strawberries and sorrel. Beautiful presentation, the flavour was fine but we didn’t love the texture – a little too ‘dry’ for our liking.

The next two though….. first, the sourdough ice cream topped with huckleberries and chocolate. Yeah sourdough ice cream sounds weird but man it worked so well. Very cool yeast flavour came through within the ice cream. Chocolate and berry topping always works well with ice cream so that was a perfect adjunct to the dish.

The last dessert was even crazier – a rhubarb granita served with a sake mousse, mint sorbet and almond. The real star here was the mousse – so light and fluffy with the unmistakable notes of sake. Our waiter described it as a cloud and yeah that’s right. It complemented well the freshness of the mint sorbet and the sourness of the rhubarb. Excellent finish to our meal.

Rolf and Daughters has high praise around Nashville and I can see why. Excellent service, beautiful space and food that really surprises and delights whose are open to try some different stuff. The 3 of us left full and very happy to have made our way out to Germantown to experience something a little different than what we had planned for when we decided to visit Nashville. This was an excellent experience and definitely worth a stop. In the end, it is the meal I will remember most of our time in Nashville.

Cheers!

Rolf and Daughters
700 Taylor Street
Nashville, TN
615 866 9897

Rolf and Daughters Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Épicerie Pumpui

15 May

One wouldn’t exactly expect to head up to Little Italy for some good Thai food but that is exactly where I found myself over the last few weekends – being drawn to St-Zotique street by the call of curry and chicken wings. Épicerie Pumpui is a ‘lan khao gangs’ – a combination curry shop and grocery store that is common in Thailand but mostly nonexistent in North America and certainly here in Montreal. Chef Jesse Mulder – who had run Thai delivery service Chak Wow prior to opening this brick and mortar spot – and his partners opened up Pumpui a little less than 2 years ago.

The space is very casual in style – with about 12 seats in-house and ordering at the counter. The small grocery section sells a variety of Thai ingredients and items. The menu is relatively small – 5 ready to serve options and then another 5 or 6 a la carte items. The menu consists mostly of curries and more obscure dishes for a North American audience as well as a few other ‘classic’ dishes like Pad Thai and green curry.

First off, I went with the fried chicken wings with sweet chili sauce. Pumpui has developed a reputation for these and yeah I can see why. These were amazing – super crunchy skin, very tender inside and a nice sweet heat coating them. I just needed more!

After the wings, I decided to try the Curry Hunglay – a Burmese pork belly, shallot and ginger curry. Had never heard of this dish until I saw it on the menu and enjoyed it tremendously. Very generous portion overall. The curry was mildly spiced which suited my relatively weak spice palette. A nice combination of richness, sweetness and spice. The pork belly was super tender as were the shallots which was a different way for me to enjoy them. An excellent discovery for me.

On my second visit, I started with a Hibiscus mint iced tea which was very bright and refreshing.

I then decided on the Asii Pian – a dry curry of chicken, thai eggplant, tomatoes, lemongrass and galangal from the Shan region. I had never heard of galangal which is more citrus and piney version of ginger. Very different flavour which came through strongly with the sharp lemongrass notes. Again, like the previous curry, tons of flavour and a very hardy portion. Another hit for me.

Given how the majority of true Thai restaurant in the city are more formal affairs, it is great to have such a great Thai counter service to get great flavourful and more unique curry for a quick lunch, takeout or dinner. I know it seems weird to head to Little Italy for Thai cuisine but believe me, it is well worth it.

Cheers!

Épicerie Pumpui
83 Rue Saint-Zotique E
514 379 3024

Épicerie Pumpui Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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TRAN Cantine Vietnamienne

8 May

The joys of the Montreal food scene is when you get a ‘weird’ craving, you can actually easily find a spot to satisfy said craving. We are blessed with so many options and variety in our fair city. A couple of weeks ago, I got a craving for pho. Maybe it was the colder than usual weather. Maybe it was just because it had been too long since my last bowl. Either way, I wanted some pho. Luckily for me, there is actually a pho place close to my house which I hadn’t tried yet so what a perfect time to head over to St-Henri and check out TRAN Cantine Vietnamienne.

Cantine TRAN is located on the corner of Notre Dame and De Courcelle – just on the edge of the ridiculous food strip that is Notre Dame street in St-Henri. The place is simple in decor – other than the huge fish tank by the washrooms. The space is very bright through the lighting both artificial and natural from the large windows in front. Seating is for about 15-20 people. There is also delivery service through UberEats or takeout if you wish which it what I went for.

The menu is a variety of classic Vietnamese dishes. First up, a couple of different roll options. Their spring roll of chicken, shrimp, vermicelli, mint and cilantro served with peanut sauce was very bright and fresh. A classic starter roll. The peanut sauce had a nice sweet flavour which paired well with the roll. The imperial rolls – pork, mushroom, onion, carrot and vermicelli deep-fried – were okay. Good crunch but they didn’t really pop flavour wise.

Being a Vietnamese shop, of course they also have Banh Mi sandwiches on the menu so I needed to try one as well. Served in a fresh baguette with pickled carrots and daikon radishes, cucumber, scallions, soy sauce, cilantro and housemate mayo, TRAN offers a choice of chicken, pork, beef or soybean curd in their sandwiches. I went with grilled chicken on this occasion and it was amazing. Probably the best Banh Mi I have had in town – excellent bread with a perfect combination of acidity, sweetness and freshness. Very very good.

And finally we have the pho – the actual source of my craving. TRAN offers the option of either beef flanc, rare beef, chicken or soybean curd. It is a chicken based broth served with fresh rice noodles, onion, cilantro, scallions and fresh chilis, basil and bean sprouts on the side. This was exactly what I was looking for. Super flavourful and clean broth, nice tender noodles and an excellent portion. It is amazing that I can get such good pho so close to home.

TRAN is an excellent spot for great Vietnamese food. Whether for a sandwich or some pho, I think you will be very happy with your experience. St-Henri continues to be a great food haven for the Sud-Ouest part of Montreal and I, for one, am very happy for that. Now on to the next craving 😉

Cheers!

TRAN Cantine Vietnamienne
4690 Rue Notre-Dame O
514 379 4690

TRAN Cantine Vietnamienne Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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La Cabane d’a Coté

27 Mar

March means sugar shack season here in Quebec. So for the last few years, that has meant going to La Cabane au Pied de Cochon, Martin Picard’s spectacularly glorious shack up in Mirabel. It’s not traditional but frankly I want a great meal at a sugar shack which isn’t as easy to find anymore so I go a little on the crazy side. However, this year, for the occasion of my wife’s birthday, I decided to forgo that particular experience for its cousin, La Cabane d’à Coté. Located on the property just next door to Cabane PDC that they purchased last year, Cabane d’à Coté is a smaller, more intimate setting (about 40 seats) run by Vincent Dion Lavallée, Martin’s partner and formerly the head chef at the Cabane PDC.

La Cabane d’à Coté took over the old sugar shack on the property and uses the old evaporator as the cooking apparatus – heating with wood and using the flattops on top of the old evaporator to cook off of. It is a unique idea for a restaurant and creates a cool scene when you enter the restaurant as the kitchen is front and center. Other than one table, the rest of the common seating is situated in the rooms just off from the center kitchen space with views of either the maple forest on one side or the apple orchard on the other. It is a beautifully simple restaurant space which evokes a classic style (especially with the use of old style dishes and cutlery) but with some twists. Even though the space is 40 people tops, it goes get a little nozy but not so much that you can’t enjoy the eclectic mix of music through the evening – think 90s pop with classic quebecois.

Compared to the Cabane PDC, La Cabane d’à Coté’s menu is a table champetre which changes more frequently that the twice a year of the other shack. The restaurant is also open year round and doesn’t require the same reservation time – although it can still take some time to get a table. The menu is a 5 course fixed menu which they say is all you can eat but frankly we were so stuffed just with the portions they served us that I can’t imagine anyone asking for more!

The first course was composed of two dishes. First, a split pea soup with maple glazed duck meatballs, sour cream and cheddar cheese. Excellent soup that really evoked the classic hardy soup that I love but the addition of the maple glazed duck meatballs really gave it some more richness and a touch of sweetness that I enjoyed.

Paired with that was homemade raisin cinnamon bread grilled on the flattop served in a maple reduction and topped with foie gras, maple sugar and creme fraiche. An insane level of richness and sweetness that was glorious. To our pleasant surprise, the charred toasted notes that comes from grilling over the wood really came through. Quite a start of our meal.

The second course was a more subtle affair. Of the four dishes we got for this course, there were two big hits. First was the raw scallops served with fermented cabbage and cream sauce. The scallops were sliced thinly and beautiful. The acidity of the fermented cabbage paired very nicely as well.

The other big hit was the thinly sliced white ham served with bacon and bacon over a base of apple butter. Coming from the hams the group raises on the property, the ham was so good. Beautiful texture and great flavour. The apple butter underneath was a rich and sweet treasure as well.

We also got mini buckwheat pancakes served with maple syrup and a salad of endives prepared in escabeche served with fresh sheep’s milk cheese. The pancakes were enjoyable but compared to the other dishes weren’t as special. I enjoyed the salad although my wife found the endives still too bitter for her liking.

At this point, we were already starting to feel full but we weren’t even halfway there! The next course brought two dishes. First, a sort of celeriac omelette served with smoked trout. A solid dish – the big standout was the chunk of smoked trout. Beautiful texture and flavour.

The other dish was a duck tartare of mushrooms, beets and crispy duck skin served over a Jerusalem artichoke puree. A really different tartare that I really enjoyed. I liked the use of the skin to add some different texture to the tartare. My wife doesn’t love duck so this was the dish we split opinion over the most over the course of the evening.

The fourth course was an all-meat affair. First was maple glazed grilled pork from the Cabane served with a cherry sauce. Simple but very well done. The quality of their pork in terms of flavour and texture comes through and the sweetness of both the maple and the cherries paired perfectly.

The second dish wasn’t as successful sadly – quail stuffed with duck meat served in a minestrone soup. The quail meat was excellent. The issue for both of us was the soup which clearly got an extra kick of vinegar but so much so that all we got flavour wise was vinegar. The big disappointment for us on the night.

The last dish of this course made up for it however – rabbit and chicken pot pie served with maple carrots. My favorite of the night. Beautiful presentation and great depth of flavour to boot. A great flaky crust, lots of meat and a beautifully rich but not heavy sauce to pair all of it together. Chicken pot pie is one of my childhood favorites so this dish evokes much love for me.

Finally….. we get to dessert! Some how we found a way to eat all 5 desserts they brought us 😉 The ricotta doughnuts served with maple dulce de leche were solid and enjoyable. The praline and sunflower seed ice cream was a very pleasant surprise that we both loved. The Baba served with haskap berries (camerise in French) and cranberries syrup topped with maple pastry cream and whipped cream was the most visually appealing of the group. Flavour-wise, the cake was a little heavy but the fruit syrup and the maple elements paired beautifully together with it. The most unique dessert was the frozen apple poached in maple syrup served with fresh cream. The apple’s texture was very unique in this preparation and of course, apples and maple pair so well together.

And lastly, as this is a sugar shack after all, we got some fresh maple taffy which was served to us through a hidden compartment in the table which allows them to bring snow into the restaurant to pour the maple syrup over. Very cool element and of course the perfect end to a sugar shack meal.

La Cabane d’à Coté continues the excellent tradition of the Cabane PDC and turns it into a more intimate, less bombastic experience. There is still excess – it’s a Martin Picard venture after all – but chef Vincent finds a way to make it slightly more refined and subtle. I would love to come back in the summer time to see what Vincent would do with all the fresh produce they produce on the property without the sugar shack trappings. This was a wonderful night and definitely worth visiting again.

Cheers!

La Cabane d’à Côté
3595 Montée Robillard

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