A quick stop for poutine at La Banquise!

Wanting to grab poutine before we left Montreal on our last visit, we managed to find the time to pop by La Banquise, the 24-hour joint known by many as the best place for poutine! At around 3 in the afternoon it was packed with the line going out the door - I can only imagine what it's like in the wee hours of the morning when all of the clubs close down! It was much quicker to grab some to go, so that's exactly what we did.

Fries, gravy, and cheese curds...how bad can that?! Our order of the standard poutine was delicious and consumed in approximately 40 seconds. The fries were freshly out of the frier, the gravy just the right amount of saltiness, and there was no skimping on the cheese curds. I often wonder how this dish didn't become a hit in the states!

While I'd have loved to stick around and sample La Banquise's whole slew of poutine variations, with everything from bacon to guacamole added in, I guess I'll have to wait until my next trip up north!

Boris Bistro - Montreal

Last weekend we decided to make a little getaway to Montreal to surprise my sister and her boyfriend who were in Boston for the week. After poking around the web for somewhere that looked good, but that wouldn't break the bank, I settled on Boris Bistro, located in the downtown area not far from Vieux Montreal.

Part of the reason I chose Boris bistro was the atmosphere - tucked away on Rue McGill behind an old stone wall is a wonderful tree-filled patio with umbrellas and tables. With all of the birds chirping, Chris compared said it reminded him of the Rainforest Cafe, but only in jest of course. A large awning extending from the indoor-portion of the restaurant, which is open to the patio with a large window, extends over a small portion of the patio. I would imagine that with the trees, umbrellas, and awning, it would be no problem at all to eat outside while it was raining.

To get things moving, we put in an order for drinks as well as two appetizers. Pommes frites in duck fat served with a house mayonnaise? YES PLEASE. We also had the trio of tapenades, which included a spiced olive, a citrus-y artichoke, and a Liptaeur cheese tapenade. All three were nice and very different from one another, and the baskets of bread provided (plus a few crostini) worked well for spreading. Both apps were reasonably priced as well.

For my main dish the steak tartare was a clear choice, and I went the healthier route with the salad instead of frites after our appetizer of them. The best part about this steak tartare was the plethora of caper and cornichon bits throughout, as you can see in the picture. The salad was sizable and tossed in a nice vinaigrette.

My sister went with the duck confit sandwich, which would have been my second choice. Served on super moist nut bread, it came with a choice of frites or salad as well. The duck was almost pulled and loosely chopped into thick chunks, and it had pieces of thinly sliced celery, ample sprouts, and a spread of sweet mustard. No problem inhaling that!

Chris went with the duo of fish tartare, salmon and tuna. He wasn't a huge fan of the salmon due to the presence of pickles, but I was kind of enough to finish it for him. The tuna, on the other hand, was to his liking and topped with diced onion and cucumber. To accompany was a small Asian-style slaw and a drizzling of wasabi aioli.


Lastly was Phil's duck risotto with oyster mushrooms, sage and orange cream sauce. What immediately came to mind to both me and my sister was my family's Polish mushroom soup with imported mushrooms at Christmas Eve dinner. I would have devoured this even without the bonus of chunks of duck and nicely-done risotto!

Overall we had a really excellent meal. The only complain I might have is that the glasses of wine, averaging at 11 Canadian each, are a bit on the pricey side, and bottles are the same, starting at around 50. Next time I'm in Montreal I'd certainly consider dining here again, especially with items on the menu like grilled bison, duck rillette, and local Quebec cheeses that I didn't have a chance to try!

Montréal 2009

We love to go to Montréal during the summer, and we recently got back from our latest trip. As usual, there were fun festivals going on, and we had a wonderful time. But of course, we also sought out some good food and found some yummy treats.

Having arrived rather late due to traffic issues, we took a nice stroll down Ste. Catherine and found some late-night beers and poutine, which was just what we needed. (You know how much I love poutine.) Durimg the summers in the Village, they close down Ste. Catherine to vehicle traffic and the restaurants and bars create huge street-side terrasses; so, we popped into one of the places still serving food. Unfortunately, we didn't take photos, but we had a lovely time sitting out on the terrasse people-watching.

 ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The next morning, we got an early start and had breakfast at Eggspectation, a place we knew we enjoyed having been there a few times before. As you probably assumed from the name, they offer eggs, eggs, and more eggs. It's great.

I usually get the "Tout Américain," which is the basic American breakfast one might find at any good diner, but this time I got the "Eggquoi?" which was eggs with corned beef hash. It was good—although a bit salty. P got the "Cabane à sucre," which is also like a full American breakfast but with the fun addition of crêpes with local maple syrup and also a side of baked beans.

(The badge below says it is in Chinatown, but that is not really the case. It is at Place des Arts.)

 ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

That evening, we got a tip that Le Bourlingueur in the Vieux Port was not to be missed, so we headed that way to check it out. They bill themselves as a "French-Alsatian" restaurant and their menu changes daily with meals served 'table d'hôte' style (similar to a prix fixe menu and very common in the area). The table d'hôte comes with soup or salad, your choice of main dish, and dessert and coffee. The prices are excellent as was our food. I got the salmon quenelles which came with rice and parsnips, and P got the roasted pork which came with potatoes and parsnips. We definitely recommend Le Bourlingueur.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

  

The next day for lunch, we decided to take a walk up to the plateau to Schwartz's to have one of those big sandwiches we've heard so much about (see Jeff's post). When we got there, though, the line stretched further than our stomachs were willing to wait, so we went elsewhere. Maybe we'll try again next time...

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Les Filles Du Roy

*photo courtesy of http://www.pierreducalvet.ca*

When Chris's father offered to pay for us to go out for a nice dinner, I knew I had to pick somewhere great that I normally wouldn't be able to afford. Consequently we choose to dine at the restaurant in the Pierre du Calvet Hotel, named Les Filles du Roy (note the old spelling of 'roi'). The building itself was built in 1725 under the French regime and is the oldest historical house that is open for public accommodations in Montreal. As seen in the above picture, the dining room is absolutely gorgeous in every detail. It evokes all the grandeur of French Montreal, from the game trophies on the wall to the Louis XIII tapestry arm chairs.
Arriving at 7pm, we were surprised to find the dining room almost entirely empty, but by 8 there were many others. Before even seeing the menu we were suggested by the waiter a Kir cocktail with a local Quebequois cherry liqueur and champagne. It was topped with a Cape gooseberry native to South Africa. It was very refreshing and the berry was a nice extra touch. Oddly enough this is the second time in the past month or so we've come across this berry, the latter being at a gin tasting at the local liquor store.

After starting on our drinks, the waiter brought over some complimentary hors oeuvres. It was essentially salmon tartare served on sliced cucumbers and was a great little nibble.
After looking at the menu for some time, we finally decided on our meals and so began the real dining experience.
We both began with a soup, with myself choosing the potage of the day with tomato and basil. It was thicker than anticipated, more like a puree, but very good. Chris opted for the onion soup with melted white cheddar, which I thought was interesting.

While certainly tasty, it wasn't salty enough for either of us. I'm wondering if the French version of the dish is in essence saltier than the North American version. We've made an onion recipe from a New England cookbook and it was equally lacking in saltiness.

Anyway, moving on to our next course we had a half-dozen oysters (huîtres) served upon a bed of course salt and with just a dash of hot sauce. The description on the menu mentioned something about raspberry vodka, but perhaps my palate is not refined enough to have tasted this. Either way they were nice and chilled and very good.


For my main dish I choose the faisan rôtit, or roasted pheasant, served with cabbage and beets. I hadn't had pheasant in sometime, and being in Canada I wanted something a bit on the gamey side done well. It was very nice, especially the roasted skin which added tons of flavor.

Chris had the maple pecan roast duck, which was accompanied with potatoes and a root vegetable that escapes both of our memories. He asked for it medium, and it came perfectly tender. The sauce was also delicious and a perfect compliment to the meat.
After all that food we decided to just end with a cup of espresso to reenergize us for a night out on the town.

All in all we had a wonderful almost 2 hour dining experience in the heart of Old Montreal. The service was impeccable - never did we have to ask for a single thing, and our water and wine glasses were filled every couple of minutes. If ever you are looking for a most opulent dining experience with delicious Quebecois French cuisine, and if money isn't really much of an issue, I would highly recommend Les Filles du Roy.

Schwartz's Charcuterie Hebraïque de Montréal

Though I wasn't aware of this until reading my guidebook before leaving for Montréal, the city is apparently world-renowned for its smoked meat sandwiches. The place to experience this at its best is Schwartz's Charcuterie Hebraïque, or Hebrew Deli. Opened in 1928 by a Jewish immigrant from Romania, even today people line up outside at lunchtime for a simple sandwich with french fries and a dill pickle.

Walking up St. Laurent and seeing a line ahead of us, we know we had reached our destination. Thanks to the help of a homeless man, we were informed that one line was for take-out and the other for eating in. We decided to eat in, and though maybe 15 people back, we were seated within 10 or 15 minutes.

The restaurant's interior was pretty much like that of your typical diner, with a long counter and communal tables along the other side. Pictures of celebrities who had eaten there, including Quebec native Celine Dion, lined the walls. We were seated next to another two couples, though aside from asking if they wanted ketchup we didn't engage in conversation.

Chris and I kept it simple and each ordered a smoked meat sandwich (viande fumée) with mustard, french fries, and a pickle. Upon tasting the fries Chris commented, "they taste like potatoes" which I suppose doesn't say much for today's mass produced variety. They fries were potatoe-y, indeed, and were nice and crispy. The pickle was delicious - nice and plump and just salty enough.

The smoked meat was excellent as well, and they certainly don't skimp on the meat. It was very flavorful without being too fatty, as sometimes corned beef and pastrami can be, in my opinion.

Aside from the smoked meat sandwiches, other options include veal, salami, and stuffed chicken, as well as steaks. Coleslaw, olives, and peppers are among the other sides. So next time you're in Montréal and looking for a good deli-style lunch, look no further than Schwartz's!
-visit http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/ for more information-

A Week of Food Heaven in Montréal and Québec City

So...before I write anything further I have to admit that I failed miserably when it came to taking pictures of our trip. This is because of two main reasons: (1) our camera isn't the greatest; and (2) we were having too much fun soaking up the scenery that we often forgot to take it out. So, apologies ahead of time for the lack of good pics but I still want to share our great food finds from this past week.

Montréal:

The first 2 days we attended the Osheaga music fest so our eating was mainly limited to late dinners. But on the 3rd day the chow fest really got started. A few highlights included:

- a fabulous BYO experience at Le Bleu Raisin : This place is the real deal. The atmosphere is wonderful and the service was excellent. The prices are very affordable because you can bring your own wine. Though they offered an intriguing tasting menu we decided to go a la carte and share our own tastes. Our feast included appetizers of ostrich tartare (yes, ostrich) with a raw egg in the middle and escargots with wild mushrooms. For entrees Quinn had a wonderful venison dish with a sweet potato puree while I had lamb with a corn polenta and blue cheese tart. We shared the chocolate gateau and maple cheesecake for dessert. This place would have been much more expensive in Boston!

- We also enjoyed some great craft beer made on site at Dieu Du Ciel brewery in the Mile End neighborhood. This is supposedly one of the best microbreweries in N. America and it didn't disappoint. Also, our beers were huge and only $5. Mine was flavored with hibiscus and Quinn's was a belgian style.

- A visit to Montréal should include a stop at the St. Viateur bagel shop. These wonderfully warm and light bagels won't leave you feeling weighed down and keep you asking for more.

- We also enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Jean Talon Market (picture below). This was a foodie heaven. So much beautiful produce and wonderful little cheese and meat shops. It seriously made me consider braving the Montréal winters to move there. We shared an awesome sausage sandwich infused with swiss cheese and some amazing ice cream at Les Havres des Glaces. This will be a place I will definitely return to when I get another chance to visit Montréal.




- The afternoon we left Montréal to drive to Québec was pouring rain but we stopped into another great market and shared a pie and salad which you can see below.




Québec City:

We only stayed 2 days in Québec City and it was pretty rainy but we made the best of it taking in the light show for the city's 400th anniversary and going to the museum to see the art on exhibit from the Louvre.

Some foodie highlights included: An awesome lunch at Chez Temporel. It's a little café tucked away on a side street but we lingered there for a couple of hours over a huge croque monsieur, quiche, cappuccino, and a chocolate croissant. The atmosphere is very casual and artsy.

We also hit up another brewery called L'Inox which served a great cheese plate and sausage sandwich again (we couldn't get enough).

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I want to thank Bryan and Peter for their great tips before we left. Though we didn't end up trying some of their faves we have them on the list for next time. There just wasn't enough time to take in all of the great things about these cities!

A couple other pics are below including a rainbow that made it's way through the sky at Osheaga!