onionbreath

Re-visited Au Pied du Cochon a couple of weeks back and was really disappointed with the food quality. We were looking forward to their September veal menu and ordered a terrific sounding braised shoulder. The waitress came back explaining how they were sold out ( it was 8 PM). she suggested a grilled veal chop @ $45.00, which sounded a bit dull. She then very confidentially suggested a pig heart braised with reggiano. I asked if it would be tender and was assured that all the staff had tried it and loved the flavour and texture. We also ordered roasted mackeral which we had found sensational in the past. An appetizer of wild musrooms was good, but the blue cheese salad was over dressed , the lettuce limp and featured 1 small nugget of blue. After a very long wait with staff apologetically dropping by to report "it wont be long", our meal came. The fish and veggies were barely warm ,swimming in oil with way too many vegetables stuffed in and around the plate. It had obviously been sitting around waiting for the pig's heart. The pig's heart was covered in too much sauce( a tasteless dark tomato-based sauce) and the meat was horribly dry, the liver inedible. When the waitress collected our plates and inquired on how we liked the meal, she seemed indifferent to our complaints. What's happened to this place? I heard the sisters from Dante Hardware bought into it, which might explain its decline(their background is in selling kitchen and hunting supplies.) This resto was always a breath of fresh air and up to now has been a great mix of fun, innovation and hearty simple food. I hope they can get it back together. Has anyone else experienced this or was it just a so so night?

hi Walnuts: Your point about quality and consistency is well taken. Where 40 fails is not in design or concept but in FOOD. They take almost premium ingredients and add no soul or flavour to the foods. An authentic steakhouse requires history and pedigree. A place like Peter Luger's in Brooklyn features a simple menu but every dish satisifies, their porterhouse steak is profound. To the owners of 40 Westt, restaurants are financial transactions and playgrounds for the nouveau riche. They take oodles of money and hire management consultants and consider themselves pervayors of fine cuisine. We ran up a $ 600.00 tab ( for 4) for a nice drink, an average wine, forgettable steak served by what seemed to be high school students on summer vacation.

My vote goes to caffe d'Italia because of their long history of serving consistent coffee. For great coffee info check out coffeegeek.com or whotelattelove.com.

Leslie, you make these restauranteurs out to be local heroes. The future of Montreal dining depends on supporting restaurants that can serve up unexpected dishes that rely on good quality meats, that dont use farm raised or endangered fishes, and that use local vegetables when in season. People will pay for guaranteed quality and consistency in a meal. Take Delfino for example.

Big plate syndrome , bloodless tasteless steaks, service that is annoyingly over-bearing and rehearsed, no seasonal/local ingredients in site(mid-summer).....and a huge parking lot full of competing SUV'S.

The Panna cOTTA at Brunoise is a delight.