sf&m

Oh, and since you have a kitchen, check out the new Edition of "Quartiers Gourmands" which is a catalog of Gourmet Foodie stores throughout the city. It's just out for 2007 and available in most better food stores.... certainly in many places at the markets. It has nifty pull out map which shows the locations of many foodie destinations. You will find many are concentrated around Mont-Royal East, Laurier Street and of course Little Italy.

This may sound like a throwback to pre-web days, but I highly recommend Sarah Musgrave's recently updated (2007) book - "Resto A Go-Go" - "200 cheap and fun places to Eat and Drink in Montreal". Musgrave is the casual Dining Critic at Montreal Gazette, so her reviews and opinions are professional, and well formulated I think. It's in a nice pocket format that's easy to bring along when you're on the foraging trail. Please note that it also lists fun bars to go to.. It should be available in most Montreal Bookstores.

Alex, agree 100%. Have you tried Juni?

Ginger! Hadn't tried that before. Mild, clean ginger taste, just enough to tickle ze ol' buds.. Also, Apricot Beer (!) was on the board last weekend, but not available... Promised for this week. Who will be the first?

I tasted the Creme Brule l'erable. I don't think they claim its "tire"... that is taffy, right. Tasted like a creamy cold Creme Brule to me, with - yes - that nice toasted taste. I liked it. Nice rendition of Creme Brule. The Maple syrup taste was not very noticable though, I think you're right there, Ribo. Could be the toasting covers up the maple taste. I also tried he new (?) "Tangerine Miel".... that and also a recent taste of the Clementine, left me somwhat dissapointed. There was not the usual hyper-real fruit notes thay usually have - they seemed a bit metallic. Maybe a bit more sweetness would have brought out the fruit flavour better. As I remember the Clementine last year was better. The blood orange I find their current best among the citrus flavours....

I think Basha will be a hit at the next Habs game.... whereever she might watch it....

Yeah, that article is what we call a WTF moment down south......Thanks, LC!

Cafe International 2 x LCD high res screens Habs were on tonight You have: -Calimari -Decent Pizza -Pasta -Good Steak (yes its true) -Stella Artois -Espresso -Di Nigri

We'll there ARE nice trolls too, even if they may have an extra wart or two.... so I am not making any judgments. BUT - don't mess with JTM!!!! Seriously though, good luck with your apartment hunt. I'd take a serious look around Parc Jeanne-Mance.... many nice houses up there, and just down the hill on Duluth, Roy or Rachel.... BWOB gulch. A few blocks north you have Laurier - Montreal Gourmet Ground Zero! Up and down Laurier you have foodie stores that can replace the more abundant markets. And from Park Jeanne Mance you have easy access the the whole Mountain for strolling. Did you look at those apartments somebody wrote about up-thread...Mileend lofts? Good location for a foodie, with the same access points I referred to above. Might be a bit smaller than you are looking for but fairly nicely laid out for new building I thought.

Yuppie, troll alert!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, WHERE on www.montrealgazette.com??? Sorry but I feel stupid.... everytime I go on the Gazette I can't find what what I am looking for. And when your search on this site, you end up on Canada.com and among completely irrelevant stuff. It's not your fault Lesley but the Gazette site has serious problems. Anyway, can you provide a URL where all your cool stufff is located? Thanks!

Apparently the Italian chef they had went back and they are now transitioning to Mothers Sicilian cooking. But...Yeah, pricing is a problem.... its the old Italian resto $16 plate of spagetti syndrom. This is a simple cute place a bit out of the way, and I think they could fill it up with young folks if the dialed down the pricing. Now we have the $8 appetizer and the $16 main (say Spagetti al Pesto). Thats $2 more than Lemeac's post 22:00 Table for bopping in late.... And there really is no comparison to what you get at Lemeac. If that was $7 for appetizer and $9 for the spagetti they still would have a good margin and get a lot more traffic.... They could still keep the more costly dishes with meat and fish the same. Who knows... maybe they don't need the traffic. Seems they run BU the same way. And I go anyway... The brunch was more reasonable I thought... $40 for two with the works.

Time for an update. Been visiting a few times since opening and always been pleased with both wine, food and service. Some changes: The owners mother is now the chef.... and she is GOOD... She is featuring a rustic Sicilian Cuisine... So far only had an excellent Spagetti al Pesto made by her, with Almonds instead of the regular (to me) pine nuts. Cooked perfectly. I also tasted one of her home made pastries. Don't remember the name, a small Cannoli like shell, but made from very tender philo with whipped cream(?) filling ever so slightly lemony. A real treat!! The traffic on regular days is still fairly quiet but they offer Saturday and Sunday brunches and today it was practically full. Brunch: a few egg dishes - Frittata, Eggs Florentine, Benedectine and the like served with a fresh fruit melange, a small juice, minature Croissants and coffe at a reasonable price. "Standard brunch stuff" if you like but well made and enjoyable. Cute place....

I had the pleasure of enjoying Jun-I's Valentines tasting menu and one of the dishes was likely the best Nigiri I have had in Montreal. A lucious piece of Maguro on a perfect temperature bit of rice. So it can be done here too....

Ok, in all seriousness, it can be hard..... but it's hard in California too - of all places - unless I go to the VERY expensive Ferry Plaza Market. AND then it's VERY seasonal. So this state of affairs and demand is to a large extent a fiction of big ag fruit farming and long transports. I really like the local varieties of apples at JTM, right now the stands right by the interior intersection. I do think the berry season is outstanding here, and yes, strawberries can be chancy. But considering what you get it's not expensive. Yes, wasn't much Ontario Peaches this year, I think you are right. That's life - that's nature. We have to change gears. This is how nature is. There are seasons. Live those and enjoy those to the fullest. Don't expect a foreign fruit in any season. and when you find one, enjoy it as as special treat. The whole idea of any food any time anywhere is a chimera. Even with cheap transportation it's still not real. It can't really be done. I grew up is Sweden "some" time ago, and still remember the cold Orange from my pocket after a Sunday Hockey game. In winter it was Oranges from Israel, "Winter Apples" from my Grandmas attic and dried fruit from California. Always bananas of course. Somehow I don't feel I missed anything. That's what you eat in winter above the 55 parallell. - Check out the dried fruits! Few things capture summer better. - Also Melons at Chez Nino. /gth

And with "fruit" we mean fruit from warmer climates? Come on... Heck, I can't get good, ripe fruit in a regular Safeway store in San Francisco either... all unripe.. But, go LOCAL PRODUCTION : - APPLES (about 10 varieties - all better than most in California) And available most of the year. - Ontario Peaches - What's this... actually tastes like a PEACH and not sugar water - Are we allowed to include berries in "fruit"? - Real Blueberries - Superb Strawberries (when we are lucky) - Phenomenal Raspberries - Cherries Eat what is in SEASON. Then, in season get your butts down to Monteregie or ETS to do some pick-your-own and put-up. And in winter agument that with a box of Maroc Clementines a week - keeps the skurvy away. You have it good!

Peter, To learn more about available QC cheeses I recommend "Répertoire des fromages du Québec" by Richard Bizier. It covers a couple of hundred (!) QC cheeses and is well illustrated and crossreferenced. It's available at Librairie Gourmand at JTM. /gth

Time to rescue this ol' thread and relieve the resto sturm und drang!! Got some "Vacherine des Bois Francs" at Marche des Saveurs today. Ok, no Valbert but at $28 /kg instead of $42/kg a tasty bargain. It's pasturized and from collective milk hence the lower price. It's by Groupe Fromages Côté in Warwick. What other QC cheeses are you partaking of these days... any new?

Thanks Wiz.... When Anise closes I'll be heading to Brossard for a treat at Cumulus.... or come to think of it, maybe I'll shoot myself.... saves the gas...

Oh, plueese!! Since when did white table cloths signify stuffy!!! I think you have a bit of trendoidinitis there! You HOPE restos like Anise and Le Chevre dissappear??? Hmm, is that you unfolding a white cloth napkin at a white table cloth table at Buchon on that other track you posted. Ok, so I agree more "casual" and approachable restos makes sense, and fawning and tired waiters don't, but I don't think that has anything to do with being well apointed, dressed well, and sitting at nice table. Look at CC&P.... chic, comfortable AND what APPEARS casual but is anything but.... True, that splendidly laid table COSTS a lot, and that's the real problem I think. And clattering Formica can be just as pretentious, with the "right" attitude... Here's to HOPING and WISHING Racha Bassoul and staff returns in an even more elegant setting. She - and we - deserve it!

Toto2... according to Sarah Musgrave it's DIC Ann's...

Hot of the press!! Sarah Musgrave's Resto A Go Go is now out in a 2007 edition. I've been making good use of her previous issue from 2003, as have many visitors to Montreal I've lent it to. I highly recommend it to folks from down south, especially now that the US $$ is in a dive and Montreal resto pricing seems to be going the other way. Sarah Musgave is the Casual Dining Critic for the Montreal Gazette so this is a well researched, organised and written guide to low end (but decent) to midrange Montreal Restaurants and drinking spots. WELL WORTH THE PRICE! She also covers take out places, ice cream parlors etc among 200 destinations from breakfast to after hours crawls. Hmmm, she did "forget" Havre aux Glace though.... Pick it up at Librairie Gourmand when you visit Jean Talon Market. Now if we could only get a new version from that certain other critic......

Hey, ribo - you lucky dog!!! Keep up the good work. /gth

Parc alive again? Would be interesting to know what people have discovered. Here's my short inventory .... which have all been talked about here before.... but just for looking at the in the parc alive context..... Coca Locale - Parc (east side) & Villeneuve Open Weekends but not Monday - Tuesday. Small cakes, cookies made right there by The Cutest Baker(ess) in the universe!!! Guys, pay a visit and enjoy. Get a Lemon/Olive oil cake or even better Chocolat/Orange. They are whimsical, but oh, so tasty. Bring one or two for your lady and you'll score mighty bling bling in the LUV cash account. Immediate payback FOR SURE. Le Margeaux - Parc (west side) & two doors south of Laurier Step into a Bistro in a small French town. It's all there... Mr. in the Kitchen, Madam on quick feet up front. French "the real thing" bistro. How do they do it? "C'est normal !". This one is a keeper, although the location for some reason is hard to spot. They are professional, limit there opening hours for french efficiency. They'll stay as long as they want. It's a delight! Masai - Parc (east side)mid block between St Viateur & Bernhard Masai is a handsome spacious room, with a great looking bar. Who wants to rain on anyone opening a resto or bar? I admire anyone that tries, intrinsically. BUT.. A lot of enthusiasm in the staff has to be hammered on to shape it into a smoothly operating machine. They really have to get a hard ass in there to whip them into a tight shape. And a smokin' hot bartender for that bar. They are making adjustments, so that's a good sign. It's bootstrap time ... damn the torpedos. Definetly go and support them. Cafe della Posta - Bernhard actually, but juust west of Parc qualifies I think. Tile floors, marble tables, small marble bar and a tiny 4x8 kitchen in a corner. A "Clean Well-Lighted Place" run by the Bu team. At night candles and lighting makes what could have been a cold room warm and inviting for meeting/cozying up. Only two wines by glass, but almost all wine list is available as 1/2 bottles. Decent coffe machine it seems. Perfect for a start or end of an evening is how I look at it. And you can get a plate of pasta if you linger. In day time might be nice to drop into Cheskies next door for a pastry and enjoy it over a coffee at 'della Posta. That's he kind of foraging synergy that makes a neighbourhood.

well, that's how Patrick St-Vincent characterizes his new venture next to Chesties on Bernard & Parc. Simplified menu, simplified vine list (most vines available in both Full and Demi), one red, one white by glass. This new addition to the Bu family opens tomorrow after some time on training wheels. Opened in a former french bistro location with white/black tile floor and marble tables it could be a clean place to meet or linger before/after.