poutine

For authenic chopped (chicken) liver & other traditional Jewish delights, I recommend stopping by Chez Papa Ernies (Ernie the Caterer) located at 5839-5845A Decarie (South side of Decarie, corner Bourret) 514-385-0000. http://www.erniethecaterer.com/

If you are here on March 13th, then click here: APDC Cabane a Sucre

Had a great dinner at Aqua Terra in October. It was actually dinner for a large group (they closed the restaurant) with 3 choices for aps & mains. Had a nice crunchy/salty sweet'n'sour salad course followed by a perfectly prepared & sauced filet mignon. Veg on the side were al dente & simply prepped. Dessert was over the top --- chocolate creme brule, layer cake with ice cream & something else on the long rectangular plate that I'm forgetting. Everyone in our group (+60) were very impressed & we did have some well-versed foodies.

My favorite cheap eats would be in the Fauberg Ste-Catherine, 2nd floor - Restaurant Bangkok. Don't let the food court atmosphere scare you off; their Thai food is renown & has been enjoyed for many years. You may want to avoid all the restos you listed & follow the advice of those who have commented here. I would especially recommend that you head to Jean Talon Market for ... well ... just about everything/anything! There's very cheap indoor & outside parking & you can browse & graze to your heart's content. I hope you enjoy & please come back to this post & let us know what you thought (& ate!).

Went there just for lunch just after opening day with with 5 other work colleagues. Visually very pleasing, huge ceiling to floor glass wine rack wall (not sure how good that is for the wine though?), crystal chandeliers, comfy seating. We too were greeted by many hostesses & waiters waiting for customers to arrive. Food was decent; for mains all the women had chicken that was nicely grilled & glazed, atop some garlic mashed & rapini that was tough to chew whereas all the men had the veal liver in a reduction sauce with same veggies & they all enjoyed. Apps included a somewhat dry but flavorful baked goat cheese with sun dried tomatos (came in a small cast iron pan that the cheese stuck to, maybe could've used some oil), antipasto plates were enjoyed by 4 others & came as described by Lioness. For dessert, lemon tarts were deemed very good. Overall, it was a good lunch experience. I'd go back but also agree with Lioness that it does not come anywhere close to Le Gourmand in the PC Village.

Da Emma's a quick stroll west from your hotel & don't forget to have breakfast or lunch at Olive & Gourmando, on rue St. Paul, corner rue St. Pierre (1, maybe 2 blocks east from corner of rue McGill & St. Paul). Neither will disappoint, but note that O&G is closed Sundays & the lines start early on Saturdays. Not sure anymore about CUBE in the hotel, but when I was last there a few years ago it was awesome.

Maple ice cream studded with little shards of tire a l'erable. IMHO heads & tails better than another popular cremerie that sells something similar at this time of year. I was blown away ... you will be too!

Hey Max - You'll pay about $100 at Miyamoto. When I took sushi classes last year I thought about applying their 20% discount offer towards one but the cost was still a bit high for me. Although far from authentic, I get by using a large tupperware container.

Here's a link to a grower of organic tomatoes. The text is in French but the pictures speak for themselves. Monsieur Plante's heirloom tomatoes I visited his kiosk in the Jean Talon Market (Friday to Sunday only) & he sells assorted varieties in "pints" 2 for $5 - you get about 12-15 tomatoes & after consuming my fair share I fully understand why tomatoes are classified as fruit. I think I'm in love with M. Plante!

People who love tomatoes should heed your recommendation & I 100% concur with the green zebra! I've never tasted a tomatoe like that, simply orgasmic. After pigging out on so many heirlooms over the past few weeks, I fully understand why they are classified as fruit. Identifiler - do you grow for sale & if so, where can I get some of your sweet corn or heirlooms? SF&M - thanks for the links. If you're at JTM early enough, Monsieur Plante is well stocked but I imagine by early afternoon his selection would start to be depleted.

Thought it appropriate to bump this thread since JTM is now in full summer bloom. If you love tomatoes, then you must check out the gentleman situated in the new part of the market, SAQ side. Unfortunately, his name escapes me but when I next return I'll edit this to include his name, etc. & add a photo or 2. He's there Friday to Sunday only & has awesome heirloom tomates. He does not use pesticides & most (if not all?) are greenhouse grown. He sells 2 pints (chopins) for $5 & you pick the 2 you want. Each pint contains about 6-7 different tomatoes. Some of the varieties I was familiar with but I've never seen a yellow tomatoe with "peach fuzz" on it, or a variety he called a "purple Russian". The yellow & green tomatoes were juicy & sweet, not acidic in the least. Dinner last night was assorted tomates, bocconcini from Capitol, basil from one of the market vendors & fresh baguette, excellent extra virgin olive oil & 10 yr. balsamic.

For a nice change of pace, try a box of their party sandwiches or their veggie egg rolls (although not cheap). Their mun (poppy seed) cookies are quite good, very thin & crisp. Or order a corned beef sandwich to compare/contrast with the smoked meat. And the frites are not too bad either!

I don't think that statement is even close to accurate. It's a QUEBEC holiday & all QUEBECERS, regardless of what language they speak can choose to celebrate. Born & bred here & living in my little "Anglo" enclave of Cote St. Luc, I recall many a fete nationale celebration, especially as a teenager in the 70s we used to party non-stop at the mountain & everyone partied, you spoke French or English or Spanish or whatever. The gov't promotes fete nationale as a multi-cultural inclusive holiday that everyone is welcome to celebrate.

In case folks are not aware, although he currently lives in L.A., Bob Blumer was born & raised in Montreal. He's a local boy who has made a good name for himself in a tough business. He deserves credit & not the dissing that he's receiving on this thread. His uniqueness sets him apart & his hair is part of that deal. It is TV after all.

Can someone else please confirm that they closed in the Fauberg ; I had lunch on Saturday & it sure didn't look like they were closing shop . The place across the street I can believe, but Bangkok's like the only reason to step foot in the Fauberg.

Michelle, don't dismiss Chao Phraya - the food is excellent & it's great value for the $.

See here for location of Litle Italy/JT Market: Marche Jean-Talon See here for area known as Chinatown & more precisely Restaurant Kam Fung: Chinatown

If you find yourself on Bernard Street in Mile End, 2 other fine weekend breakfast recommendations would be Le Vaudeville (361 rue Bernard West 514-495-8258) & Senzala (177 rue Bernard West 514-74-1464). If you decide to only visit 1 market, a trip to Jean Talon market is a must & a stop at Havres aux glaces is well worth it. I also second VivreManger's advice about going to Schwartz's before the crowds preferably before 11:00 - that's exactly what we did for our day of smoked meat a few years back. See here for link: Pictures from Smoked Meat Marathon & scroll down for the pictures. If you enjoy coffee & if you are on St. Viateur getting bagels, a good suggestion was to stop by Cafe Olympico about 2 or 3 blocks east of the bagel shop for some excellent espresso or latte.

Ummm...What's a Spring dish light?

I have traveled from Montreal to NYC on Amtrak as well as by car. Considering the drive from Montreal to Albany takes about 4 hours, the train you will be taking is very slow & I believe will make many, many stops. Yes, the scenary is nice once you hit the Adirondacks & the train does follow along the Lake Champlain shorline. Nice vistas on a bright day & the Lake is fine but ... is that enough for me to want to ever take the train again? NFW. IMHO driving from Albany to Montreal can be much more scenic (especially in the Autumn when the leaves are changing colors) if you leave I-87 at Lake George & follow along the shore via Route 9N, through the mountains & then along the NY side of Lake Champlain. After passing Ausable Chasm return to I-87 for the 1.5 hrs to Montreal.

Every year around mid-March to end of April the maple sap starts running & of course that means lots of maple syrup around these parts of the woods. There's a small ice cream store (2 actually) called Bilboquet & for a short period of time they offer up an ice cream called "Tire a l'erable" which translates to maple pull or really maple taffy. It's maple ice cream with thick maple syrup swirled throughout. A litre of the stuff goes for $15.50 Canadian & there was a 2 hour wait last Sunday to get a cone. But if you only want a litre you can go straight to the cash & bypass the people in line. For those not familar, the real "tire a l'erable" is a spring ritual in Quebec - take one large wooden trough, fill it up with shaved ice & for a looney a guy who looks like he just stepped out of the 19th century, pours hot maple syrup spread out onto the ice; with a popsicle stick you then collect the still warm but hardening maple syrup & eat. And you don't have to head out into the countryside where they produce the syrup, just head over to Jean Talon or Atwater markets & check it out yourself. True test of whether or not you have any dental cavities! This ice cream really rocks.

Ah the joys of growing up in the booming town of Asbestos in the 70s. Remember when grandmere used to heat up that 15 pound iron on the coal burning stove ... the bacon never tasted better. But of course you had no temperature control on those big heavy fothermucker irons in those days so when you added the bacon to the bread & cheese, your bacon/fromage grille inevitably burned. And how could I almost forget about that Quebecois tradition of dishing up some good ol poisson d'avril! My understanding is that today is the most popular day for this dish. Although I never tried cooking some up using an iron, if anyone has any tasty recipes to share let's hear 'em.

My greasy spoon recommendation would be Cosmos and Dustys. I second Vaudeville for their quality food, white linens & great service/ambiance. Beauty's had it's day in the 70s/80s, time to move on. And for cheap eats, we had brunch at the Nickels in St. Laurent & considering how inexpensive it was, we did not walk away disappointed (or hungry).

Fresser thanks so much for bring back a flood of memories! That's so reminiscent of my early formative years; my bubby, my dad & mom in the kitchen with bowls containing sour cream & sliced bananas, sometimes throw in some strawberries, always with a large slice of black bread (I guess it was pumpernickel) & butter. Sometimes preceded by a bowl of cold borscht (not cold enough for dad so he added ice cubes!?!) with boiled potatoes & of course lots of Sealtest sour cream.

Cote des Neiges is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Montreal & a burrough I am proud to call home. Neither Jean-Talon nor Atwater Markets are within walking distance, but the metro can get you to Jean-Talon relatively quickly. Atwater market is a metro & bus ride away. As of yesterday, the corner market (CDN & Jean-Brillant) is not yet open. Partial map of CDN: Burrough of Cote des Neiges . Within a very small area, you can find Chinese, East Indian, Thai, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Mexican, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Lebanese, Israeli (Kosher), Philipino & Greek restaurants. Most of these are small family-run establishments & for the most part, very affordable. Head up CDN (to just below) Queen Mary to Exofruits, 1-stop shopping for fruits & veggies, wide variety of cheese & sliced meats. Maybe stop at Pain Dore for bread & desserts. Or cross the busy intersection & stop at Atlantique for excellent quality meats & fish & all good things German. They also make awesome sandwiches to go. If you like challah & if they still have any in the window behind the cash grab one - a bit pricey but yumm! Just a few steps past Atlantique, for croissants, cakes & pastries, some people prefer Au Duc de Lorraine over Pain Dore but the last croissant I had at Au Duc was soggy & greasy so decide for yourself. Personal favorites of mine include Atami on CDN for Japanese & Chez Benny on Queen Mary for Israeli. I'm hoping that Carswell will also respond with resto recommendations or link you to similar discussions on these boards.