wattacetti

I'm not so sure about that. I've just sent another consignment of Coffee Crisp and Kit Kats to the US and the recipients have told me that the latter tastes different than the American ones. US chocolate always seems to be (much) sweeter and (much) lower in cocoa.

Though now being secretly imported to the SFO area (and I have received a photo to prove it), Coffee Crisps are the great corporate equalizer. Anyway, in a related note to Bloody Caesars, there's also Clamato juice.

Perhaps you should try the place before proclaiming judgement?

Ares also has a second location in St. Hubert, but that's about equidistant from downtown as the one on Sources. Trésors de ma cuisine is another interesting place, especially for the number of peppermills and mandolins they had on display earlier. It's small, but they sure know their stock. 3301 Fleury est, T: 514-321-4373, website here.

Ditto on Le Fromentier, though the selection's usually a bit thin by the time I get there at the end of the day. Go to Olives and Olives a couple of doors east to pick up some Spanish olive oil (and olives) to go with the bread. It's really too bad that Le Passe-Partout is no more; McGuire's baking really was/is top-notch.

How about a description of "new style tuna"? My curiousity is piqued.

I guess I do. I prefer the classic handles over the ergonomic ones of a Wustof Grand Prix or a Henckels FiveStar, and I could never make up my mind when playing with Globals. I definitely don't care for Sanelli handles; a bit too chunky. For the Kershaw Shuns I'm using now, the offset D handle was one of the things that I was most interested in. I find the D handle very comfortable in my hand but I did notice that I wound up selecting different knives than what I first had in mind (10" chef instead of an 8", 8" deba instead of the 6") because the balance was different than anticipated.

The 1998 Fay price came from a 2005 winery tasting room list; later vintages cost less. Australian world domination… maybe if they stopped going big all the time.

I have been to several outlets outside of the greater Montreal area, and it never fails to amaze me that places like Alma and Beauport have really interesting selections as part of their regular stock. They also have duds, but then again, which liquor store doesn't? I personally adapted to what the SAQ has to offer, which allows me to focus on interesting/fun items. If there's something of interest that the monopoly doesn't carry (e.g. first-growth Bordeaux because I missed the en primeur, sparkling Shiraz, NZ Pinot, Au Bon Climat's Pinot), well that's what Aeroplan and Calgary are for. The SAQ's really strong on Burgogne and they're starting to bring in a lot of interesting stuff from other regions (the south of France, Spain, Lebanon, SA) so it's been a good mix (for me) across the board. Carswell's point on the SAQ's purchasing clout can be easily illustrated with the 1998 Stag's Leap "Fay" Cabernet Sauvignon (Product Code: 00557686). Evil Empire price: $159 Cdn. Price for the same bottle at the winery (and in California in general): $175 USD + applicable taxes. The call for privatization is also not necessarily a good thing: Alberta's private system provides a lot of choice (especially at the top end), but there is a significant number of "popular" labels that cost more than they do here. Anyway, for those interested, the best place to mock wine coolers is at the LCBO's flagship store in Toronto (they have a little sea of bottles). You can stand beside the Baby Duck display while you're doing it.

None here, though many of the français I know also spell it out. The only ones I am aware of who say it as a word come from France.

Well, nice to see that the thread is deemed entertaining. I'm not so sure about the weather: new places do depend a lot on walk-up (that, a good product and word-of-mouth). By the way the second dessert is a pineapple surprise served with caramel, avocado ice cream and a "ceviche of blood orange zest". It looks like a cube of agedashi-tofu with toppings on it, but the phyllo box is filled with roasted pineapple suspended in pastry cream. Pretty good and an interesting departure from the chocolate/banana combo found in the previous offerings. I personally don't do well with sugar (my pancreas was begging for mercy) but dessert fanciers should be all over the cube. Right across the street from La Chronique, and couple of doors west of Anise. Closest cross-street is St-Urbain.

Aubergine is the French word for eggplant; also used as the word for eggplant in the restaurants the last time I visited London. You'll also see courgettes used to describe zucchini.

Quoting the guy in Calgary who sells me a lot of wine: "either go big or go home." What are you going to do without leftovers to snack on?

I read the thread that Gifted Gourmet refers to and have gone with Kershaw Shun and Shun Pros. So far, a Shun Classic boning knife and 10" chef's knife, and 4" and 8" Shun Pro debas. Need a bread knife, a yanagiba and a nakiri but have to wait until Kershaw deigns to send stock to Canada. Your preference will of course vary and you should try them out and see how they feel. I had a thing for Wustofs earlier (they're very good) but never liked the feel for Globals.

Whatever iTunes selects as the next random track. "Iced Earth" however, is not ideal.

Step'N Out perhaps? 157 Provencher Boulevard, St. Boniface MB, 204-956-7837.

Though it's not something I'd go out of my way to order, I'm going to see about going back this week to check out the second dessert (scheduling conflicts and the Grand Prix may make that somewhat difficult). I am very curious because it's actually described as a "surprise" and it apparently doesn't involve chocolate so I want to see what Mario pulls out of his hat. There is a cocktail now available for those who want it (they did have martinis earlier in the year) and there will be something with pisco coming along shortly afterwards. I didn't order the cocktail so I don't really know what it is. Their wine list however is under development for expansion so it will really be a matter of when rather than if. David's already accommodated a request I made at an earlier planned dinner to have some top-end Argentine and Chilean bottles so I think it'll all be good. By the way, Pesce's terrace looks about the same size (about 3 tables) but they're using black leather(ette) tablecloths. So, three small terraces in the city. The rest of you can have my spot on the deck - I don't enjoy eating in the blazing sun.

Yes I have, but don't go cheap on the sparkling Shiraz: the higher-end stuff like the Elderton Sparkling Shiraz is quite the experience and very different cold and warm. This was discussed earlier but I haven't had time to dig up the thread.

Navarette and Nielsen have not been standing still and have made a couple of updates. For those who enjoy al fresco dining, their terrace is now open, with seating for 6 (3 tables) available. There are also some changes to the menu, as part of a seasonal update; MIA are the following three dishes: Sopa puree de zapallo, marshmallows de canela, aceite de trufas, emulsión de leche The pumpkin soup has been replaced by a more season-appropriate cold cream of corn soup served with fresh cheese and a fava bean salad. Great taste of corn, chicken stock and cream with the fava beans and tomato brunoise adding a nice counterpoint. Guiso de cordero con cilantro y cerveza, cassoulet de frijoles canario, naranja rallado, aciete de limon The lamb went bye-bye because it was (as Mario explained) something more wintery in his mind. One will now find a beef filet mignon served with trieo (yellow wheat), enoki mushrooms, mini-ratatouille and a panca pepper sauce. This was a just an overall nice steak dish with good balance in flavors. Ravioles de chocolate rellenos de chutney de platano, helado de manjar blanco y almendras en caramelo The ravioli have left the building. In their stead is a chocolate banana custard cake served with caramelized banana, almond praline, mirasol ice cream (just slightly spicy!) and a milk emulsion. Larkhess - you'll like this a lot. The big surprise There is a SECOND dessert available as of yesterday (I went on Wednesday and missed out on the launch). I don't have any solid details but I do know that it's innovative. Tasting menu still seems to be the best way to go: we were fortunate enough to have an amuse-bouche of a small salad of roasted pineapple marinated in star anise and cinnamon served with arugula, carrot and jicama. This was just a really interesting interplay of flavor: if you luck out and have an opportunity to try this, I think you should keep the following word in mind: duck.

It's nice to hear that you had a good time at Picard's. I have never been to APDC for their special events nor have I ever sat at the bar but service was never good on any of the occassions and I maintain my earlier comments on the food. However, two reports (yours included) suggest things may be picking up.

Not that I recall. Barbie's was more a "man's man" kind of place.

I'm not a particular fan of cheesecake myself but I'll down a sliver if the social occassion mandates it. However, you won't see me anywhere near yogurt, raisins or Indian food.

Toronto is about 2.5 hours away by car though it could be a bit shorter depending on how leaden your foot is. The Rainforest Café that docsconz mentioned is obviously a chain establishment, and you can find a chain restaurant version of "casado", Costa Rica's offering to the world: salad, gallo pinto, some vegetable offering and a lump of protein of your choice. Pass… Actually Costa Rican casado isn't as bad as my description here (I avoided any salad when I was there) but it literally is salad, rice with beans, vegetable and some type of meat. And the Rainforest Café in San Francisco has a nice aquarium.

I have been dragged to one (Lasalle) - group thing and I wasn't the one driving. Chicken and ribs as I recall and not a wholly memorable experience though I'd peg some of that on the group and not necessarily on Barbie's.

I've just re-read your original post and realized that you're going to be around the St-Laurent/Pine area. If you want to stay there, il Sole or you could go to Pintxo and tell me what things have changed since the 7th day of operations. Otherwise, not much that I would want to go to that doesn't involve earplugs and a lot of black.