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Lesley - did you get a chance to look at the wine list? We need more places with Club Chasse-esque interesting wine lists!

As far as I am concerned, the Coldstream Hills Pinot is no longer worth drinking. My $0.02 is that we have a bum batch in Montreal, the last few bottles I have tried in Quebec have varied between bland (on the high end of the scale) and horrible. Not sure what the cause is of this, but I suspect that somehow the wines were damaged during importing or that Coldstream has developed an acute case of bottle variaton. Hard to be believe the latter since I continue to drink the wine when abroad and it does not disappoint. I see you that you have two other wines in your list that I love: The Scotchman's Hill and LA Cetto Petite Sirah. I hope you have better luck with those!

Thanks for the responses. Any ideas as to great wine stores in Tel Aviv that would carry these and other wines/vintages? I am looking forward to Daniel's response, I'm using his list for my resto picks!

Don't forget Rabbit Ridge - some of the most approachable and fruity young Petite Sirah out there. I also beg to disagree with Florida Jim, some Petite Sirah does cellar and age well, particularly Ridge and Turley, both of which develop fabulous complexity and an immutable dark character over the years.

I am going to be in Tel Aviv for a few days on business and I'd like to bring back some local wines. What the are great Israeli red wines? I typically enjoy full-bodied wines but anything that speaks to the local terrior would be great. If anyone has any suggestions as to wines and wine stores, I would love to hear them.

My bet for this one is Mumm's Napa rosé sparkler - $30 and change at the SAQ. Bubbles are perfect for the bday celebration, and the wine has been a perfect match for salmon and crab cakes on a bed of frisée with mint-parsley-coriader tabouleh. Almost like what you plan to serve with it. If you can find it, Geoff Merril's grenache rosé would also be excellent and a steal at under $20. I would also try Terre Rouge's viognier-marsanne blend, a little pricey at $34 but sure to please. I also find that it helps to chill the wine to a slightly lower temperature than is recommended, it helps cut through the fattiness of the fish.

A "chicken shawarma" is called a Shish Taouk (pronounced TA-OOK) everywhere in the Middle East. Also, the highest grade shawarmas I have eaten are typically lamb or mostly lamb with a little beef mixed in.

Truth: neither Miakdo nor Maiko are the best of the admittedly less-than-stellar top-shelf sushi available in Montreal. My personal favorite is Zenya which is close to Future Shop on Ste. Catherine downtown. To me, everything else pales in comparison. But then again, Montreal sushi is pretty blah to begin with... and certainly not worthy of note, let alone a visit or your hard-earned cash...

Hmm... I subscribe to the Courrier Vinicole (English version). Still smarting that I didn't get an invite, $300 admission fee or not. Mlle Tatin do you know if any of the Napa wineries were actively accepting orders for private import or were they shopping for distributor/promoters?

So did anyone go last night? I was disappointed to see that there were no new producers (to the Quebec market), no cult or even interesting wines, and hardly anything that was not available at the SAQ or worthy or private import. Turnout seemed to be the same as last year, but given the paucity of selection the private importing sales seemed to be nil. For Carswell and the other Pinot lovers on here, there was a fair bit of California Pinot to taste, but nothing remarkable or worthy of any special attention. I was really saddened to see that many of the promoters declined to pour any of their more interesting or pricey wines. I was also disappointed to learn that there was a Napa Wine tasting event at Marche Bonsecours last week. Did anyone else know about this? Was there any advertising anywhere?! You would think that events like these would be posted and promoted on this board.

Since you seem to enjoy "hedonistic" wines, try a Carlisle, Turley or Martinelli zinfandel and you'll change your mind. The same goes for Robert Biale, whose Zins are very Rhone-like. Also check out Carol Shelton and Chalone Vineyards. Off the top of my head I don't recall the alcohol % of A. Rafanelli zins but they are also very balanced. The downside is that the best, highly extracted high-alcohol zins also tend to cost a fair bit more ($40-$75+ USD) but they are more of an "experience" than other wines in the same price range. Another (big) problem is that if you're not located in the US, most of these wines are hard if not impossible to find. If you've never tried a Martinelli Pinot noir (15%+ alcohol) you are certainly missing a lot.

Actually, no. That's why I wanted the picked crab in the first place. Am pretty sure that Rob is making a deep-fried calamari and sliced tomato with fresh tartar sauce sandwich in the TV commercial, but I'm sure your varitation is also very tasty.

Does anyone know where I can get some jumbo lump crab meat? Or just fresh crab meat? The fishmonger at Atwater Market carries the frozen kind, but any clue as to where I can get it fresh?

That's a bit of a broad generalization - we all have different palates as well as varying tolearances for alcohol levels. I enjoy Mike Officer's wines from Carlisle, many of which regularly tip the scales at 15% and over (one was 16.9% if I remember correctly!), without noticing any heat. He is a master of balance, and the acidity and fruitiness play off the alcohol to such an extent as to make it unnoticeable. I feel that it is important to distinguish between "cocktail' wines and food wines. Jason mentions that he only drinks wines as an accompaniment with food. That is certainly one experience that people do enjoy, but there is also the "purer" experience of enjoying wine on its own. Selecting wines purely based on what you are eating will certainly limit your viable selection of wines. I also find that there is little bearing on varietal type and "appropriate" ABV as it relates to food pairing. I remember enjoying a Martinelli Pinot Noir with a monstrous ABV % with a very delicate sushi dinner. I also recall my first and only taste of a Marcassin chardonnay at 15% ABV paired with a scallop appetizer that was the most Chardonnay-y of any I have tried AND a perfect match for the scallops! I have no physiological evidence for this, but perhaps the extra alcohol has an astringent effect and cleanses the palate. My last thought on this matter is that some of these monster wines pair very well with the same foods as the fortified/dessert wines that they compete with on an ABV level. I'm not sure if this is coincidental or not. Try pairing a Turley Zin with a nice aged cheese or with a dark chocolate dessert.

What's wrong with the Rubino brothers? Too successful? I'd love to hear more about our "signature" dishes that are different from "the same high-end food you'll find in any major city." I assume you're not talking about gourmet poutine; TO already has us beat in that dept. where they routinely out-poutine us to such an extent that zuzzed-up poutine is already passé in Toronto! What are our other signature dishes? Smoked meat? To even raise the spectre that Montreal sommeliers are somehow superior is hilarious to me. I've yet to see a truly inspired wine list that highlights value-oriented as well as cult wines, or a place other than Bu that grasps the concept of flights. We lack the access and ability to pay for the best ingredients so I don't think we can really compete with either Toronto or Vancouver. We do our own funky thing here and it makes people happy which gives us our own particular sassy vibe which, as Lesley puts it, makes us unique. Dining at Club Chasse et Peche is exemplary of that, and how purely based on talent and a small amount of money, something special can be had. Unfortunately we are also unique in the fact that we have an overblown reputation as a gastro-destination of choice that somehow can compete with the likes of many other cities.

Best bang for the buck IMHO is the Petite Syrah from L.A. Cetto, from all places - Mexico. At $11.40 a bottle - 10 bottles for a little over a c-note with the current 10% sale - it's a steal and goes especially well with grilled meats, or even as a "cocktail" wine. It's my fave QPR wine from the SAQ. It's plenty bold with the fruit and flavors, and moderate heat for a Petite Syrah at only 13% alcohol.

Also, Zip.ca, the Canadian Netflix clone has almost of all these in stock. And if they don't have a movie, they'll order it for you and rent it to you. In case you're not familiar with the service, it's a DVD rental service by mail for a flat monthly fee.

What if it relates to finding video stores in the greater Montreal area that carry these food-related movies?

I'm sure its generally available at newsagents. IIRC, Oddbins carries it as well. I'm pretty sure I saw it at the branch Earl's Court on Earl's Ct Rd.

I know that in the U.K. there is some kind of mandate or moral code that obligates restuarnts to pour a small pour (125ml) or a large one (175ml). Many restaurants offer pours of both sizes, as well as a 75ml pour for dessert wines. My experience has been that the pour guides clearly marked on many glasses are more of a "not less than" guarantee; the 175ml pours tended to be quite generous. Maybe some locals have a better idea of exactly what the guidelines are...

Does anyone know when the new releases will be out? I noticed that they snuck in a few Signature wines into the outlet at 440 De Maisoneuve, and I spotted a new California release as well as a couple of Australian (one of which was a durif!). Also, are there any plans to "re-price" American wines given the strength of the Canadian dollar vs the US dollar vis a vis 12-18 months ago? It's criminal that the SAQ should get to enjoy a 25-35% extra profit at the consumer's expense.

I ate there twice this week, once for lunch, once for dinner. The food is fabulous, the wine list is probably the best 'concise' list in the city and easily the best value. Excellent selection of both new world and old world wines, many priced below $60 and a fine selection by the glass as well. Funny thing was that about 30% of the people I saw at lunch were the same people I saw at dinner later in the week, so the place already has its fans. I hope that this place not only survives but thrives... Was it reviewed in the Gazette this week?

Wow Carswell, what is this city coming to?! What's next? A local In-N-Out Burger? Our own Target? The SAQ decides to import a large variety of American wines and prices them at par value? Someone decides to open a real BBQ chicken and rib joint (and real brisket!) in time for Superbowl Sunday? Free discourse and constructive criticism on e-gullet?! An outrage!

It's more of a character quirk. Miles was so much of a wine geek, that he placed his interest and preferences in wine far ahead of the intended goal of the evening (to entertain the ladies). His disaste for merlot is just a character trait to show the audience just how opinionated one man can be about wine. More cynically, I also it was designed to appeal to all the wine snobs out here that blanket all merlots as bland and a general waste of calories. Taste is taste. Petrus is 95% merlot, and I'm sure that despite the fact that some people believe it to be the uber-wine, it will still be "just a merlot" to others.

That's not the point I was making. But anyway, chances are if you did score those key limes, they wouldn't be good key limes but key limes in terrible shape that would cost a fortune (and key limes are small and full of seeds so you would need a ton of them to get a cup's worth). Just look at the pink garlic from Provence you can buy at Chez Louis. It costs an arm and a leg and it's usually sprouting and old. So, yes you're getting an authentic product, but you're getting an authentic product at its worst. So that well-crafted dish made with an authentic but poor quality ingredient would be second best anyway. No? ← The question is not how to best replicate a key lime pie or mock creme fraiche using other ingredients that are locally available, but why can't we get fresh key limes locally at an affordable price? I'm sure if we tried we would be able to make a key lime pie out of the 'juice' found in those plastic containers molded to look like lemons, but thats not the point. Key limes are readily available in Boston, NYC and Toronto. All of these places are an hour flight or less than 6 hours by road, so we should be able to get them within a day's freshness of the other (more fortunate) cities. The more we continue to accept second rate produce, the more we become a second rate city, from a gastronomical standpoint.