Archive | Plateau Mont-Royal RSS feed for this section

Majestique

29 Jun

Moving away from the Main as I have recently have led me to think about all the great restaurants up and down the Main that I have enjoyed over my 9 years a short walk away… The only disappointment to my new location is I now have to bike or drive to them all! Despite my best attempts, there were also a few spots that I never got to in my time so close by.. luckily a beautiful Sunday evening recently allowed me to cross another one off the list, Majestique.

Located in an old Lester’s deli, owned by the Holder brothers and with the menu designed by the former Chef-de-Cuisine at Toque, Charles-Antoine Crète, Majestique recently has an interesting pedigree within the Montreal restaurant scene. The vibe is very casual but the menu and cocktails speak to a certain level of refinement. Looking at the menu, it’s an interesting mix of dishes but one that really doesn’t fit any true designation. Given the beautiful day, we requested a table on their small terrasse but as there would be a slight wait, we started our evening inside in a room that is probably best described as hipster deli/chalet. The old deli is still clearly visible but just covered in an insane amount of knickknacks ranging from sports pinnies to bowling pins and coke bottles. The look is not from everyone but I really enjoyed it.

As we waited for our table outside, I went with the SPF 45 cocktail – White Barbancourt rum, lime juice, kaffir lime syrup and dashfire chinese bitters. A surprisingly mild cocktail where the lime really comes through. A solid summer terrasse drink.

Very shortly after, we sat down on the terrasse and ordered some oysters to start because my girlfriend had never had some raw before and because why not? Served with a classic mignonette and a very interesting apple cider mignonette, these oysters were beautiful and fresh. As always, more could have been ordered but with the rest of the food ordered, we held off to save some room.

The first of our entrees came up next. First was the tostada topped with sushi rice, avocado and nori. What a lovely dish! The tostada in this case was using rice paper which had a light and fluffy texture. The combination of creamy avocado, sticky rice, the nori and a spicy mayo worked very nicely on top.

The next dish was whelk served with herb butter and fried bread, so sea snails served like traditional snails but with a twist. The herb butter was a great discovery on my end – didn’t overpower the natural fattiness of the whelk like traditional garlic butter but still brought a subtle adjustment to the flavour. The whelk has delicious and the fried bread added a bit of crunch to the combination.

Then came the squid salad with cherry tomatoes, pancetta and fava beans. Such beautiful squid – so rich and tender. Paired simply with the fresh veggies and herbs, the squid is so good that frankly it could have been the only thing on the plate and I would still love the dish!

A dish that definitely surprised was the burnt salmon confit served with an apple and almond salad. I really didn’t know what to expect from salmon confit and the answer was a ridiculously soft texture. It may perhaps be seen as too soft, almost mushy to some people but we really dug it. The salad was very non-descript and honestly just felt like filler on the plate.

We couldn’t say no to a side-order of fries and those came through nicely as well. Good sized with a nice crunch and already salted, they paired very well with our final main dish – the foot-long Nordic shrimp roll. Best dish all night and it’s not that close despite the positives I stated of the previous plates. Great flavourful shrimp filling in an insane toasted brioche-like hot dog bun. Best hot dog bum I’ve ever had without a shadow of a doubt. Knowing what this ended up being, I would have skipped one of the previous dishes to order another just for myself. So so good…

For dessert, we had two options available to us – sucre à la creme and cheesecake with rhubarb. The sucre à la creme was small in portion but oh so good. Dangerous little sugar packages. The cheesecake was nice and creamy with a nice rhubarb jelly over top. Solid sweet options to end our meal.

Majestique was quite a nice meal from beginning to end. Solid cocktails, great technique and execution throughout the meal. The overall menu left me somewhat baffled in terms of how one describes this place. Regardless, the quality of the food and the fact that the kitchen is open late nights makes this a great option for a late bite along the Main. Majestic is just another sign that the heart of the Main food wise continues to work its way northward and now I have another reason to re-visit my old neighbourhood.

Cheers!

Majestique
4105 Saint Laurent
514 439 1850

Click to add a blog post for Majestique on Zomato

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Maison June Rose

31 May

When ones hears of All-You-Can-Eat Chinese, you tend to automatically think about dingy looking places in strip malls where everything is fried, the tables are covered in plastic and plenty of little kids are screaming about. Not the most enjoyable experience for sure. Well, the people who brought us Big in Japan last year ventured into this space with the opening of Maison June Rose just around the corner from their restaurant. Being a fan of Big of Japan, I could not help to be intrigued by June Rose and how exactly they would do All-You-Can-Eat.

First thing, this space is just beautiful. A beautiful ornate wall welcomes you when you walk in and then your eyes focus on all the lanterns above you. About 75 or so from my rough count which provide nice diffuse lighting to go with the candles in the booths around the edge of the room or on the larger U-shaped counter in the center of the room. And while the look is certainly old school Chinese, the sound certainly is not. A mixture of classic oldies from the Beatles to Steve Miller Band to the Four Tops played throughout the evening. Certainly a winner for me and likely most of the patrons who come here off of the Main late night. Service was quick and attentive as well.

The format at Maison June Rose is pretty simple – 25$ per person for the All-You-Can-Eat menu. Extra for alcohol and desserts. The menu consists of 18 items which the staff recommends you order in group of 2-3 at a time. The portions are Tapas-size so pretty small but the service is quick so you can have a steady stream of dishes coming to you without too much difficulty. Which is what we did as we ordered every item on the menu safe for the marinated vegetables… just didn’t feel like them for some reason. Looking at the dishes, you will notice that most of the items are definitely not of the classic “Chinese” variety that most of us are used to and also the plating is pretty nice for what is an All-You-Can-Eat place. Definitely not the kind of attention to detail you would expect.

We were first presented with an amuse-bouche of prosciutto with pear and pickles. A nice combo of fat, sweetness and saltiness.

The chilled Won Ton soup was an interesting idea for the season – a warm pork ravioli in a cold broth. Nicely sized and fully stuffed with pork, I loved the ravioli. The cold broth was okay. The right flavours but the temperature change didn’t work for me.

The scrapple Imperial rolls were served with a roasted peppercorn vinegar. One of the big hits for us – a nice crunch on the rolls and meaty goodness inside. I also really enjoyed the dipping sauce – a cool mixture of pepper and acidity that added an interesting component.

The duck rillettes were okay. Nothing that special and frankly the use of jalapeño overpowered the fatty duck. The use of a very large rice pancake also made it impossible to eat in a single bite which seemed to be the point in the first place.

The BBQ Char Siu pork was served with hoisin sauce. Thinly sliced, I enjoyed the flavour of the pork but the hoisin sauce was way too sweet to be used more than once in my case.

Our first vegetable dish was the Wok-fried Chinese broccoli. Perfect texture to the broccoli as the leaves were wilted while the stems stayed a bit crisp.

The mustard greens were exactly as one would expect – strong mustard-like taste but cooked down enough to have a softer texture.

The braised eggplant and pork was another favourite. Nice soft but slightly firm texture to the eggplant although the pork was only crumbs in the sauce which was not what we expected when it arrived. Larger pieces of pork would have been nice.

The salt and pepper tofu was a real surprise. I hate tofu. My girlfriend as well. Neither one of us could believe how this preparation gave the tofu a nice crispy exterior while the interior was soft but not the mushy kind we both despise. Served on some wilted fried spinach, this was the surprise hit of the night.

The salt and pepper smelts were essentially the same preparation as the tofu but with fish. That gave this dish more saltiness and fattiness than the tofu. The additions of some cooked onions provided some sweetness to offset.

The Kung Pao chicken had strong flavour although a touch too sweet perhaps. The fried texture was perfect as well although the fact that they were small bones to contend with, despite having been warned by the waitress in advance, made this less enjoyable to deal with.

The black vinegar cloud ear mushrooms were very vinegary in flavour which I enjoyed however texture wise, the addition of the egg folk made this dish almost gelatinous which wasn’t as much of a hit.

The Singapore curry rice noodles were exactly what you expected and wanted. Noodles were perfect, the mixture of onions, celery and scallions worked well and the scrambled egg put it all together.

The orange beef served with a caramelized orange was a slightly disappointment. The very thinly sliced cold beef was good but I didn’t get the orange flavour I expected. The orange itself brought that instead.

Shepherd’s pie with sweet and sour sauce. This was awesome. The use of a sweet and sour sauce really made this an Asian play on a classic Quebecois dish.

Roasted salmon head was something I never would have ordered if it wasn’t for the fact this was All-You-Can-Eat. Preparation was excellent and what I eat of it was good. Some good fatty meat to grab hold of there but definitely not a favorite.

At the end, we then treated to the combination of fortune cookies and oranges where the pulp had been pureed and placed back on the rind. A cool approach that worked pretty well.

After all of that, I am ambivalent about Maison June Rose. Love the look and feel of the space so much. I also loved the All-You-Can-Eat approach and how the dished are not too your usual “Chinese” junk. However, when it comes to the dishes themselves, there were only a couple of items that were true hits to me. The vast majority were good but not enough to make me really want to order them again. And there in lies my issue. I enjoyed Maison June Rose enough to know I could have a good meal there but I’m not sure I have a strong pull to go out of my way to visit again.

Cheers!

Maison June Rose
16 Des Pins Est
514 439 7054

Maison June Rose on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kaza Maza

13 Apr

My enjoyment of Middle Eastern cuisine is a very recent occurrence. Part of that was never being exposed to it younger outside of bad shawarma at fast food joints. Hard to enjoy something when you’ve only known the bad stuff. My discovery of Sumac a few months ago peaked my interest in this cuisine and I’m now more inclined to try some stuff I perhaps wasn’t previously. This came into play a few weeks ago when a friend of my girlfriend’s invited us to a restaurant for what she called the best eggplant dish ever. The catch was she wouldn’t tell us where we were going! The day of, she told us to meet her at Parc and Mont-Royal. Because I couldn’t resisted guessing, I thought about possible restaurants nearby where an eggplant dish would be likely. My reasoning led me to Kaza Maza which is exactly where she brought us. I clearly have a little too much knowledge of Montreal restaurants at the moment!

Kaza Maza is located on Parc Avenue in a non-descript brickhouse. The space is sparse but nice – very much in keeping with the neighborhood and the building itself. Brick walls, white crown moldings, old wood floors, an old fireplace, minimal artwork and some nice chandeliers. There is also a bar which is nice but because of the layout of the space, it is not really intregrated with the dining room.

The menu is a variety of Middle Eastern dishes – most of which I had no clue about prior to entering the restaurant. As a starter, we went with a trio of spreads to go with some pitas. First was the mutabbal betteraves – roasted beet puree with tahini, yogourt, lemon and garlic. The vibrant pink colour of this dish is a clear indicator of just how much beet there is. I am not a beet fan generally speaking but I loved the flavour of this puree. Not overbearing in the least. The inclusion of the yogourt provided a nice smooth consistency.

The second spread was the mouhammara – ground walnuts with bread crumbs, pomegranate molasses and spices. A grainier consistency than the previously one and a much different flavour profile as well. Much more nutty and spiced with that hint of sweetness from the pomegranate molasses. Very enjoyable.

Our last starter was the one I already knew prior to this meal – Labneh. A thick yogourt, this was a rich, creamy and slightly sour spread that provided a perfect constrast to the other two.

Once we finished off the spreads, our mains arrived. First we had the arrayes kefta – Grilled pita stuffed with spiced minced lamb served with hummus and pomegranate molasses. To me, this dish was a slight miss. Compared to what we had so far, this felt fad and lacked strong flavour which is a surprise given the use of spiced lamb.

The grilled octopus with lentils was a much bigger success. The octopus was grilled perfectly….I simply wish there had been more! If that is my only complaint, you know the dish works well.

The final main was the catalyst for the whole evening – The fattet makdous – layers of fried eggplant, crispy pita bread, yogourt tahini sauce, garlic tomato sauce, pine nuts and almonds. Yeah…. this is an excellent eggplant dish. The use of crispy pitas seems weird when you read it in the description but it works beautifully to add some crunch to the mix. The sweetness of the tomato sauce, the creaminess of the tahini sauce, the nuttyness of the almonds and pine nuts – all of it works well with the fried eggplant and makes this a very satifying dish. Is it the best eggplant dish in Montreal? Not willing to go that far but it’s top of the list for now!

For dessert, we had classic baklavas as well as. The baklavas, thankfully not drenched in honey, were just sweet enough without getting on my nerves – an issue I’ve always run into with baklavas. We also had what I believe to have been halawets – our waitress told us but I honestly forgot the name. Pretty good as well – once again, not too sweet and a nice creamy texture.

Kaza Maza was a great meal and a wonderful introduction for me to new Middle Eastern dishes. In cases like this, it is always great when I can order a meal of almost entirely unknown dishes and have a great night. I know that Middle Eastern cuisine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I highly recommend you give Kaza Maza a try and yeah… don’t forget the eggplant dish.

Cheers!

Kaza Maza
4629 Avenue du Parc
514 844 6292

Kaza Maza on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Maison Publique

11 Mar

Warning: this post will be of the rather gluttonous variety. Copious amounts of food was tried and enjoyed on this particular occasion – even more than usual for yours truly. What was the reason you ask? Well for the occasion of my best friend’s wedding, I was tasked to find a good dinner option for the groomsmen, fathers and brothers the night before the actual wedding. One of my many Best Man duties as it turns out. After a little bit of last minute drama – my original reservation elsewhere somehow didn’t exist anymore the day before after I had called 2 months prior to book it! – I was saved by chef Derek Dammann and Maison Publique. Able to accommodate a party of 10 on a Friday night with only a day’s notice…. I will forever be grateful.







While a huge fan of their brunch service, I had never found time to experience dinner at Maison Publique. I was very excited to try the dinner menu and also introduce this wonderful restaurant to my best friend and the rest of the group. As I wrote in my original brunch post a couple of years ago, I just love the vibe and look of Maison Publique. I’m happy to see that it remains the same and even better during dinner. Great music, relaxed vibe – our group just loved the space. Such an beautifully eclectic joint for the neighbourhood. If I lived any closer, I would come in for a beer on a regular basis.









As a large group, we had two different group tasting options for us to try. Best friend’s wedding so we said F it and went for the bigger option of the two. We wanted to make it count. Prior to the food arriving, we went for a few… okay make that many growlers of Beau’s Brewing Company beer. The fact that Maison Publique has Beau’s on tap just makes them that much better – love that they support Canadian brewers.



As we enjoyed some drinks, the first batch of menu items came over. First up, we had the Maiale Tonnato which is boiled pork with pureed tuna sauce on top. It doesn’t sound that great but believe me, as the picture shows, this was a beautiful dish. Topped with some fresh herbs and some grated cheese, I loved the saltiness of meat with the creaminess of the sauce. Great technique showcased in a seemingly simple dish.



2nd dish of this first round was baked oysters. Such a decadent dish. Massive fresh oysters topped with bacon and cheese. Tasted like a baked potato but with oysters…. huge hit at the table. Loved the different play on oysters.



The final dish of the first round was raw Albacore tuna with lemon and horseradish. Simple and elegant – quite the contrast from the oyster dish. The tuna was beautiful – fresh and flavourful. Subtle hint of the other ingredients but the tuna was the star.



Great first round of dishes so the kitchen staff decided to give us a mini break with….foie gras on toast. Yeah clearly this meal wasn’t going to be light. If you hate foie gras, this wasn’t going to sway you. For the rest of us, simply heavenly. Rich and creamy foie gras with a bit of salt and parsley on toasted bread. Loved the simple addition of salt to play off the inherent fattiness of the foie gras. Thankfully a few people at the table didn’t like foie gras so I got a couple extra pieces!



On to the second round now! First up, Andouille sausage, herring (or at least I think it was herring.. my memory is failing me this time) and a mini slaw on croutons. Very nice mixture of ingredients and flavours. The fresh fish and the acidic slaw paired nicely with the very spicy sausage. The Andouille started off soft but left quite an impression afterwards. Unless you had a strong stomach, two croutons was as much as any of us could handle.



The final dish of this round was the beef salaison – cured beef with a black pepper rub served with a creamy slaw (again… I have forgotten exactly what the slaw was made of… damn poor memory). Beautiful texture to the cured meat and a strong peppery taste. The hint of oil and salt over top helped to dull that a bit as did the wonderfully creamy and cool slaw. Great contrast again in this dish.



At this point we still haven’t gotten to the main yet! First one was the baked cod with lima beans and leeks. Coated with a parmesan and terragon mixture, the fish simply fell apart as you took a fork to it. The nature of serving it as a whole fish meant that we had to deal with the fish bones – minor quibble but one to note for those of you who don’t like to search from them in your fish. Such great flavour from that fish. The roasted leeks and lima beans underneath were simply delicious as well. I need to start using leeks more in my cooking… I don’t think I ever realized how good they can be when used this way.



To pair with the fish, the other main we were served was the fried rabbit (pardon the picture – badly timed flash from across the table that I didn’t notice until the next day…). Served with some lettuce, the rabbit was game meat at it finest – tender and flavourful. The added crunch from the frying process brought a nice texture to the dish. Loved this dish as did the table – I think the serving plate was empty within 2 minutes!!



The final dish of the third round was a plate of seasonal winter vegetables. A mixture of carrots, beets, potatoes and celery with a small sauce. Very much appreciated the lightness of this dish after all the meats… and made me feel less guilty about the meal since I now got my vegetables in.



After all of this, we still needed to keep some room for dessert! First we had the butterscotch pot de creme. Smoothy and creamy, a wonderful dessert that I wish had been bigger!



The ricotta cheesecake was perfection. Fluffy yet creamy and smooth. Topped with some prunes and some maple syrup, a very nice combination indeed.



And lastly we had the des bois and amelanchier ice cream. Flavours I’d never had before and now hope to have again. Perfect texture to the ice cream itself. None of these desserts lasted more than 10 minutes despite all of us being stuffed to the gills.



Chef Derek and his team simply knocked it out of the park for us. From the level of execution throughout, the amazing flavours, the quantity of food and the great service, this meal was one that my best friend and the rest of the wedding party raved about afterwards. Simply for getting me out of a jam in my Best Man duties, Maison Publique would hold a special place for me but the overall experience on this evening confirmed that more than that, Maison Publique is one of the best Montreal has to offer. Thanks again Chef! and Bravo!

Cheers!

Maison Publique
4720 Marquette
514 507 0555

Maison Publique on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Le Sieur d’Iberville

15 Feb

When it comes to finding a good spot to watch a game, it is amazing how little people generally care about the quality of the food. As long as the drinks are cheap and the screens are plentiful, we are suddenly okay with mediocre burgers, junky fries and bad fried foods. I, for one, want to enjoy both great food and a great sport watching experience – it really shouldn’t be that hard to find. Recently, I organized a small Yelp event to watch the Habs play at a tavern that I hoped would be what I was looking for – Le Sieur d’Iberville.

2015/02/img_3065.jpg

Opened by a group headlined by Taverne on the Square’s Chef Stephen Leslie late last year, Le Sieur d’Iberville is a revamp of an old neighbourhood taverne and a beautiful revamp at that. A massive bar at the center of the room is the focus of the space with tables all around. The room is quite large and thankfully isn’t too cramped by the general “flair” that these kind of bars can use to create a vibe. The old visible beer elevator is a nice touch to the space’s old roots. Music was a touch too loud for great conversation – I did find it a bit funny that they had a DJ at the bar for the night – but I did appreciate that they alternated between the live TV sound and music during commercials and intermissions.

2015/02/img_3066.jpg

2015/02/img_3067.jpg

A nice touch for Habs game is their free shot game. Each table selects a player for the game using cards. If that player scores, the table gets a free round of shots on the house. I selected Alex Galchenyuk and he actually scored so shots of vodka lime came quickly to the table. Fun way to get everyone involved in the game and create a little “chatter” between tables.

2015/02/img_3074.jpg

Foodwise, the menu is a nice blend of “staple” bar food with additions befitting a joint whose cousins include Monkland Tavern and Taverne on the Square. Two items present on our table which I didn’t get a chance to try were the pork and beef chili nachos with house chips, corn, grilled tomato salsa, smoked cheddar, jalapeños, avocado puree and marinated onions as well as the Sieur Caesar salad with oven roasted tomatoes, house bacon, sourdough croutons and anchovy vinaigrette. In both cases, I enjoyed how more developed and refined Le Sieur made these dishes but still kept their essence in tact. Given how quickly both were finished, I believe my fellow diners would agree.

2015/02/img_3070.jpg

2015/02/img_3071.jpg

On my end, I first started with a dish that intrigued me tremendously when I read it – maple syrup braised bacon sticks. What I got wasn’t exactly what I expected – more like a cubes of fatty ham than bacon but regardless… they were delicious. Fatty goodness with a touch of maple sweetness. A nice little salad on the side helped to make the dish feel a little lighter.

2015/02/img_3068.jpg

As a main, I went with the Sieur grilled cheese sandwich composed on rotisserie chicken from their house rotisserie, bacon, house cheddar, grain mustard, caramelized onions and a house squash relish. Just a wonderful sandwich – every component listed on the menu was perceptible and enjoyed tremendously together. Gooey, cheesy, sweet but with a hint of tang. The true star was the rotisserie chicken – just wonderfully moist and tender. Everything I had heard about the rotisserie was on-point. It is a guarantee that next time here I will order the chicken. I need to try it on its own now.

2015/02/img_3072.jpg

As a side dish, my sandwich came with their Lyonnaise poutine comprised of grelot potatoes, onions, smoked cheddar and cheese curds. A intriguing play on a poutine which was best summarized by someone at our table – it’s like a French onion soup in poutine form. The amount of cheese in this dish was absurd but oh so perfect. I really enjoyed the richness of the gravy but its consistency was more like a broth hence the perfect soup analogy. Very very good.

2015/02/img_3073.jpg

Finally, I couldn’t leave without trying a dessert. The “Ooey Gooey” chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream was a huge cookie baked in a mini skillet and yes it was certainly ooey and gooey. Quite easily shareable amongst friends, this rich and sweet cookie was a great way to finish the meal.

2015/02/img_3075.jpg

Le Sieur d’Iberville was exactly what I had hoped – a great bar to watch the game, enjoy a drink or two and have great food at the same time. Loved the overall feel of the place and definitely want to come back to try more of the menu. When people recommend a junky sport bar next time you want to watch a game somewhere, please remember Le Sieur d’Iberville – friends don’t let other friends eat bad bar food. You won’t regret it.

Cheers!

Le Sieur d’Iberville
2490 Mont-Royal Est
514 525 4448

Brasserie Le Sieur D'Iberville on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Dirty Dogs

21 Aug

Every week (well almost anyway…), I head up the Main to Hof Kelsten for my dose of fresh rye or sourdough bread. Thinking about grabbing something different for lunch on one particular occasion, I was reminded that Dirty Dogs was only a minute away on foot serving up gourmet hot dogs. I had first heard of Dirty Dogs in the spring via some friends but never found the moment to go. My first chance had been during the Mont-Royal street fair earlier this summer but their free hot dog special that day created a lineup that snaked off Mont-Royal and down Saint-Laurent street so that didn’t happen. Seeming like the perfect lunch option in this instance, away I went with my loaf of bread in hand.

20140816-232858-84538945.jpg

Dirty Dogs is a small diner space with maybe 8 seats inside but thankfully there is a takeout window in the case where seating inside isn’t possible. The interior is a rustic diner look – dark wood bar counter, wood panels on the walls. It is a sparse space but functional. At least the music is a good mix as you wait for your order!

20140816-232855-84535575.jpg

20140816-232856-84536941.jpg

The menu consists of 10 special dogs each with their own unique toppings and sausages. Each hot dog can also be modified for the vegetarians among us which is a cool touch from a hot dog place. To pair with the dogs, there are a number of sides and drinks to enjoy. Given that this was a solo mission on my first visit, I actually went back a second time to enjoy other items off the menu – good time I have a build-in excuse with my bakery of choice…

The side I tried was their mac n’ cheese – made to order nicely enough and topped with crispy bacon and green onions. Creamy enough but something didn’t click with me… perhaps the cheese wasn’t strong enough. Not sure to be honest. The bacon added some nice crunch although personally I would have preferred softer to get the fattiness into the macaroni. Might as well go full glutton.

20140816-232857-84537605.jpg

I went all in with my first visit so I ordered the “Maurice Richard” – Bourbon vanilla sausage with pan seared foie gras, bacon, 3 year old aged cheddar, caramlized onions and maple syrup. A pricy dog but one that packs a heck of a punch. The sweetness of the vanilla bourbon sausage is subtle but still noticeable which is a good thing given the sweet kick from the onions and the maple syrup. Add to that mix a general amount of foie gras and plenty of bacon and you have quite a hot dog on your hands! Only negative to me was the bun – i actually like the choice of bun used but they are barely served warm… I would preferred them more steamed or even grilled!

20140816-232858-84538270.jpg

For the second visit, I went a little more traditional in my choices. I ordered the “Denis Coderre” – Fine herb pork sausage, coleslaw, onions, yellow mustard and bagel seeds – with a side of regular fries and spicy mayo. Fine issue with the bun again. The hot dog itself is solid – you pick up the fine herb taste in the sausage, the coleslaw/onion/mustard combo is classic and continues to be so. The bagel seeds is an interesting addition that works well. The classic fries are exactly the kind of fries I like with my hot dogs – very reminiscent of your classic Belle Province/ Lafleur. The house spicy mayo had a nice kick to it as well. A solid second visit.

20140816-232856-84536268.jpg

All in all, Dirty Dogs is a solid bet from what I tried. I like the more unique approach to the dogs and the varied choices you have. The macaroni didn’t do it for me but I enjoyed the rest. The price on the higher end dogs may turn off some people used to more standard pataterie prices… same goes for waiting time since these dogs take longer than your regular steamey. Overall a worthwhile visit if you are in need of a bite near the plateau.

Cheers!

Dirty Dogs
25 Mont-Royal Est
514 508 3647

Dirty Dogs on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , ,

Saka-Ba!

19 Apr

Minor culinary confession time: I had never had real ramen before. One of those food blind spots that I figured I would eventually correct given the right context. Truth to known, giving my lack of knowledge regarding ramen, I was never quite sure what to look for in good ramen or where even to find good ramen here in Montreal. Well, Chef Junichi Ikematsu, owner of JUNI on Laurier, solved that part for me with the opening of a Ramen Bar in the Plateau, Saka-Ba!. Taking advantage of some vacation time, I went down on a Sunday night with a couple of friends to finally try out some Ramen.

20140412-112519.jpg

Located on Mont-Royal east of Christophe Colomb, Saka-Ba! is a sight to behold when you walk in. Modern in look but still very welcoming – nice touches of Japanese culture (art prints, anime strips on the walls) amongst the wood floors, grey walls and bright red tabletops. The focus of the space is the massive red wrap-around bar which really makes an impression. The kitchen in the back is visible to all so you can see the craziness happening as you wait for your food. Saka-Ba doesn’t take reservations so depending on when you go, you may end up waiting. We were there for 8pm on a Sunday night and still needed to wait 30 minutes so please take that into consideration.

20140412-112532.jpg

20140412-112542.jpg

Food-wise, the menu consists of 3 types of Ramen with a variety of Izakaya or Japanese pub dishes available as well. As we were 3 pretty hungry guys on this visit, we attacked the menu with fervour and eat almost everything available. First up, Tako kiuri – an octopus salad with a spicy sauce. Deliciously tender octopus tossed with some cucumber, green onions, sesame seeds and a little sauce – a very nice starting point. The killer here was the octopus – texturally perfect without any of the chewiness one fears with poorly prepared octopus.

20140412-112553.jpg

Next up, Kimchi daikon. Kimchi, for the un-initiated, is a fermented vegetable dish using a combination of spices which typically create a very strong and spicy flavour. In this case, the vegetable in question was daikon. Served in a tiny preserves jar, Saka-Ba!’s kimchi started off softly but packed a strong punch at the end.

20140412-112602.jpg

The third dish was the Gyoza – fried pork and cabbage dumplings. Big fan of these through my multiple Izakaya visits so these weren’t hard to enjoy on my end. Nice sear on the dumplings and the filling was quite flavourful – there really wasn’t much need for the dipping sauce in my opinion.

20140412-112611.jpg

Next, we had the Kara Age – fried organic chicken with spicy mayo. Probably the best of our starters – great crunch to the chicken while still remaining juicy and tender. The spicy mayo was also on point – even though we ran out of chicken, we finished off the sauce regardless!

20140412-112622.jpg

To follow the path of fried food, we also had the Corn cari – curry stuffed doughnuts. Probably the most disappointing dish sadly – the fried balls themselves were great however the curry mixture inside lacked much punch. It really didn’t add anything to the dish and left all 3 of us wanting.

20140412-112630.jpg

The final starter (yeah I know…. what can I say, we were hungry) was the Satsuma Age – sweet potato fries. Served with more of that great spicy mayo and lightly tossed with some paprika, these thickly cut fries were delicious and not over breaded either which was appreciated.

20140412-112643.jpg

And now we reach the main course – the Ramen. Saka-Ba! offers 3 types of broth each with their own extra ingredients to mix with the house made noodles and the boiled egg. First up, the Shoyu Ramen – pork and soy broth, braised pork, bean sprouts, bamboo and green onions. As a first experience with Ramen, this one struck me as a very good one. The broth was rich and flavourful – huge pork notes within the broth. The noodles were awesome – great texture with their own nice taste. The braised pork simply fell apart – so good. The egg added some rich creaminess to the mix and the rest of the ingredients provided some nice notes to the mixture. A great intro to Ramen for yours truly.

20140412-112652.jpg

The second variety was the Ebi Miso Ramen – Lobster and pork broth, miso, braised pork, corn, bean sprouts, bamboo and green onions. The addition of lobster in the broth and the miso brought forth a slightly less pork flavoured broth with not much of a lobster taste to be honest. The rest was as great as the first bowl.

20140412-112703.jpg

The final variety was the Tori shio Ramen – chicken and salt broth, pain seared upper leg chicken, fried onions, bean sprouts and green onions. This was a very different profile than the other two due to the lack of pork and the use of chicken. The chicken meat itself was nice and tender and the fried onion brought some crunch. The broth here was quite a bit saltier than the previous two – more noticeable for the two of us who primarily ate the other two than for the one who ordered this bowl but still. Of the three, I would likely stick to the 1st one but each had their strong point.

20140412-112713.jpg

As an introduction to Ramen, Saka-Ba! hit all the right notes – great decor, nice vibe and awesome food. As someone who hates waiting in-line for any meal (still the biggest reason why I don’t return to Kazu), I am not sure I would do so again for Ramen but Saka-Ba! certainly made a great impression on me. As a starting point for Ramen, I definitely feel I got the proper experience to judge future bowls. I’m sure you will as well.

Cheers!

Saka-Ba!
1279 Mont Royal Est
(514) 507-9885

Saka-Ba! on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pub Sir Joseph

23 Mar

I love a good pub. It is my favorite type of drinking establishment. The relaxed atmosphere, good food, good music and a great selection of drinks – there is a reason why I spend WAY too much time at the Burgundy Lion instead of something closer than my apartment. During the Montreal en Lumière festival last month, after going to La Cuvée (an awesome beer, whiskey and retro music event) at L’Eglise Saint-Enfant Jesus, my friends and I walked across the street to Pub Sir Joseph to grab a bite and continue our evening in the right way.

20140323-220954.jpg

Pub Sir Joseph was opened by a group which included chef Martin Juneau of Pastaga fame and is located along the Main corner St-Joesph in a space which has seen numerous restaurants come and go – the previous tenant was there for under a year from what I recall. So not the most successful location it would seem but Pub Sir Joseph has some positives going for it – A British gastropub is not a common sight in the Plateau and chef Juneau & company’s menu influences is a nice selling point.

20140323-221007.jpg

The interior space has a clean, more sparse vibe than your typical pub – solid wood and stone tables, high chairs and an L shaped bar which is the focal point of the space as it should be. The dim lighting was all candles on the tables with a few pot lights and an interesting lightbulb fixture in the middle of the room. The music was present but not too loud – conversation was actually possible which at a bar/pub around midnight on a weekend has become a big challenge in Montreal. The service was quick and very friendly – to the point where the 2 waiters on the floor would actually start conversations with us a few times over the evening. At first, that level of attention was a little odd – not necessarily a regular occurrence for any of us – but in the end, it was rather endearing and enjoyable. The fact that it didn’t slow down their service was pretty impressive as well.

20140323-221021.jpg

20140323-221032.jpg

On the drink front, Pub Sir Joseph has a nice selection of local and British beers as well as different cocktails – with a primary emphasis on gin as they have 10 different varieties in house. I went with their “Smoky” cocktail – Bowmore scotch whiskey, maple syrup and angostura bitters. A nicely balanced drink – the sweet maple syrup softened the bitterness and bite of the whiskey and bitters.

20140323-221050.jpg

Foodwise, Pub Sir Joseph focuses primarily on pub-style food in small plate “Tapas” style designed to allow sharing amongst the group as you sit around with a few drinks. Certainly an intriguing concept for a pub-style joint. The menu hits some classic pub items with British and Indian influences, however they definitely are having fun playing off the conventions of the setting. First up, we ordered their Worker’s plate – a mixed cheese and charcuteries dish. Served with some bread and marinated vegetables, there was a nice combination here – chorizo, salumi, cheddar, goat cheese, etc. A nice starting plate.

20140323-221103.jpg

Next up was the Onion bhajis with curry mayonnaise. Bhajis, for those who don’t know, are essentially Indian fritters – in this case done using onions. Inherently sweet due to the onion, they had a nice crunch to them which added something texturally. The curry mayonnaise added some bite without letting the curry become overwhelmed – something that used to bother me until the day I was introduced to true good Indian cooking by some of my University classmates. I only wished they had been more Bhajis on the plate!

20140323-221114.jpg

The final dish we ordered was their Meat pie composed of beef, kidney, braised vegetables and scotch ale. Took some time to reach our table (which our waitress had told us ahead of time) but a solid dish worth waiting for. A nice flaky crust with a rich stewy mixture of beef and vegetables – classic meat pie and a great choice given the evening of drinks we had just had.

20140323-221124.jpg

Our visit here was a last minute call but one that definitely enjoyed. Chef Juneau’s influences on the menu are visible in terms of quality and presentation – as a fan of Pastaga, that is a huge positive for me – and I loved both the variety of Gins and the quality of cocktails available. The service was very smooth and much more personable than I expected. Pub Sir Joseph fills a void in the area and did enough for me in our brief visit to warranted a larger meal as a well as further late night gatherings. For a pub experience, that is really all you can hope for.

Cheers!

Pub Sir Joseph
4902 Saint Laurent
514 564 7477

Pub Sir Joseph on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Hof Kelsten

12 Dec

Over the past few months, I had heard plenty about a bakery right on the edge of Mile End. A place started by a chef who, turns out, sells bread to many of the best restaurants in the city – Joe Beef, Toqué! and Nora Gray to name a few – something that I had never known and that completely blew my mind. The fact that all of these places look to Chef Jeff Finklestein for bread speaks volume about the quality of his product. His new bakery Hof Kelsten now allows us common folk to get a fresh loaf for ourselves.

20131211-224213.jpg

Hof Kelsten is located just off the corner of Saint-Laurent and Mont Royal in what I recalled being an old super club Videotron which was confirmed when I noticed that the overnight return slot in still present with the sticker above it. There is no sign outside and the interior is relatively sparse – unfinished wood counters, a white tile wall, concrete floor and a few spot to sit down. The only indication of the name is the green fluorescent lights shaped into Hof Kelsten above the counter. Behind the bread wall, you can see the large kitchen where all the work is done.

20131211-224223.jpg

Hof Kelsten offers a variety of bread and pastries with a few weekly specials such as Challah only available on Fridays. For my initial visit, I went with a loaf of their sourdough. Now I love sourdough bread – it is pretty much the only bread I eat when in the States as it is readily available there. I have never been able to find good sourdough to bring home here until now. This bread was great – beautiful crust, great flavour and perfect texture. I finally have sourdough bread in Montreal. Thank the heavens!

20131211-224235.jpg

For the bread alone, I will be coming back quite often from here on out but there is even more. They also have a sandwich menu and a number of other items with a strong Jewish influence. Grabbing lunch, I went with the brisket sandwich with a half portion of Matzo ball soup and some latkes. The brisket is served warm with sliced apples, red cabbage and beet slaw with what appeared to be a homemade thousand island dressing all on the house rye. Just a wonderful sandwich. I never would have thought of apples and thousand island dressing with brisket but the combination works extremely well.

20131211-224246.jpg

The Matzo soup was wonderful as well – great depth of flavour in the stock (and surprisingly not as salty as I expected), generous amount of chicken and vegetables in the soup and the matzo balls themselves were great. A perfect addition on a cold December as it was.

20131211-224257.jpg

The last item was the latkes – quite large individually. Great crust on them while maintaining a nice texture inside. The surprising plus was the dipping sauce – a nice sweet addition that offset the lack of actual apple sauce to use instead (Note that I’ve always been a apple sauce over sour cream guy).

20131211-224308.jpg

All in all, Hof Kelsten is a great bakery that lived up to all the praise I’ve heard and then some. The fact that I am only a quick bike or drive (or longish walk) away means that I have found my new “neighbourhood” bakery. Getting restaurant caliber bread on a weekly basis will be a beautiful thing and something that everyone near and far should run over for as quickly as they can.

Cheers!

Hof Kelsten
4524 Saint-Laurent

Hof Kelsten on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , ,

La Fabrique

27 Nov

Sometimes the closest restaurants to you are the ones you never check out. They sit on your “to visit” list and get ignored. Be it because you forget about them or get distracted by other places. This year’s taste MTL allowed me to finally eliminate one such place from my list – La Fabrique Bistrot. Situated in front of St-Louis Square and a short walk from my neighbourhood, this open kitchen concept restaurant makes quite the impression when you walk in. The kitchen right in the middle of the room, beautifully wood panelling all around and tons of lighting accents. It creates a very inviting and rustic feel all without losing the fine dining element.

20131111-095945.jpg

20131111-095959.jpg

20131111-100018.jpg

For taste MTL, they were offering a 39$ menu that combined regular menu items with some other options. They also offered a wine pairing option for an additional 27$ for each of the meal. My dining companions and I went with this option and were satisfied with the selections – particularly the Muscato I received during the dessert course.

20131111-100008.jpg

20131111-100028.jpg

Prior to the actual menu, we received a small bowl of squash, corn and nut soup as an amuse-bouche. Nice and rich, we were pleasantly surprised by the addition of the corn and the nuts. The corn provided some sweetness and the nuts a little salt on top of the texture additions both provided. A nice starter to the meal.

20131111-100040.jpg

The 2 appetizers offered for Taste MTL were a beetroot, carrot and orange salad with horseradish cream and ratatouille in a terrine with Vitello tomato and foccaccia. The salad was wonderfully light and fresh with a strong kick from the horseradish to spice things up. The ratatouille terrine was a very unique concept that worked beautifully and the sauce provided a nice creamy component to mix with the terrine.

20131111-100049.jpg

20131111-100102.jpg

The first main course was a slowly cooked pork with apple, squash, turnip and sweet potato sautéed with Papineau’s maple syrup and ginger. Perfectly executed, the pork just felt apart. The fattiness of the pork was augmented nicely with the sweetness of the maple syrup and the freshness of the vegetables in the dish. The addition of the cheddar on top added some nice sharpness as well. A very creative and delicious dish all around.

20131111-100111.jpg

The second main was salmon preserved in sunflower oil with miniature pepper, parsnip, onion and a carrot purée. The preparation here was a bit more straight forward compared to the pork dish but very well done. The salmon was perfectly cooked and the carrot puree was wonderfully sweet. The other vegetables were good but didn’t hit home as much as the puree.

20131111-100120.jpg

We also ordered an extra side of home fries as they are fried in duck fat and served with house ketchup. Duck fat always adds a little something extra to dishes and that was no exception here. The fries had just that little extra taste and bite which was nice. The house-made ketchup had a nice tanginess to it as well.

20131111-100128.jpg

For dessert, the options were French toast with clove caramel and fleur de sel or an apple and maple syrup in a homemade yogurt cream. The French toast was ridiculous – a thick cut slice of bread with a rich and cream caramel with just the right hint of salt to balance out the sweetness. The apple, maple and yogurt mixture was quite good as well but got quickly overshadowed by the French toast. And then, once the bills came, so did our final surprise dessert – house cotton candy! Nice, sweet and fluffy without that pesky stickiness which hampers handling. A very playful way to end a great meal.

20131111-100139.jpg

20131111-100147.jpg

20131111-100156.jpg

From beginning to end, la Fabrique was a great experience. Having the kitchen in the middle of the dining room is a cool hook to get you in but the great food and atmosphere are what will make you come back for more. It is nice to know I have another awesome restaurant a short walk over in my neighbourhood. Just another reminder to not ignore what you have close to you. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Cheers!

La Fabrique
3609 St Denis
514 544 5038

La Fabrique on Urbanspoon

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →