ademello

Make sure that you check out Norman Vineyards. They're a little off the beaten track, but the wines are simply fabulous and value priced ($20 range). Their Syrah, Cabernet 'Conquest', and more famous Zins are all awesome wines. If you do swing by, say hi to Art for me! Also, altough it they bear the simple 'California' appelation, a lot of the fruit from Treana Wineries' Liberty School range are sourced from Paso Robles. Their Syrah and Cabs are readily available in Canada, and are value-priced and quite nice, albeit simple, quaffers.

Ahh... you are a true genius - you read my mind on my next question! So theoretically, if I rent out an entire restaurant for an event, provided that I can convince the restaurant owners, I could serve wine from my private collection? I'll be sure to check that web site when its back up. Too bad about corkage but it's what I assumed.

Just wondering if anyone knows EXACTLY what the rules are regarding corkage in Montreal. While I've never asked, I get the impression that this is either illegal or simply not tolerated here. I am differentiating between corkage and BYOB since BYOB restaurants are not licensed. Is corkage legal in Quebec and if so, which restaurants allow it?

I couldn't agree more. My personal opinion is that we should have more promotions, like $20 3-course prix fixe lunch specials across the city. I lived in NYC during the hard economic times of the early 90's and almost the entire city participated in a special where it was all $20 prix fixe lunches and $30 prix fixe dinners. It was during this time that I had the opportunity to try restaurants I could never afford. Many restaurants in crowded markets in the US have specials like 50% off the wine list on Sundays, or No Corkage Mondays. We need more of these in Montreal.

I was also just looking at the population stats. Amazingly, our population has actually fallen since 1971. Most likely the very successful result of a targeted campaign to chase all the choosy people out of the city. But seriously, I think there is some merit to your argument. Even though we are a 'poor city' by the numbers, anyone who has been to Outremont, Nun's Island, or Westmount knows that there is plenty of wealth in Montreal. I don't even think that it's important for a city to be 'wealthy' to deserve above-average quality produce. Also by that argument, wealthy enclaves should have boutique grocery stores, as is the case of Pusateri's in Rosedale and Dean & Deluca in Soho and in Napa. I imagine this was once the case here too, with 5 Saisons in Westmount and Outremont but that chain has seriously gone downhill of late. We are a big enough market to support several BMW & Mercedes dealerships, both Holts and Ogilvy luxury department stores, etc. so there MUST be a sufficient population base to support the type of store we're talking about. I guess the real question is whether or not people here care enough to seek out and support the city's great gems (Olive & Gourmando, the Vietnamese-owned grocery in La Cite, etc.) or continue to shop at our subpar grocery chains. I think that this is the real malaise - not enough people care.

I don't think that the people you are referring to are members of this board. It follows that if they can't be choosy about what they eat, then they most likely do not spend time and energy debating it on egullet, unless they suffer from severe masochism. Thanks for that advice. Since someone dared to suggest that the Emperor is buck nekkid Lesley and her band of zealots is going to chase the Toronto-loving heretic out of town. You are forgetting the point of this thread: to point out holes in our lovely city's culinary landscape. Don't forget, the more people here care about the quality of our fine city, and the more we voice our suggestions for improvement, the better our city gets! Keep repeating this cycle, and soon enough we will have more than two "four star" restaurants in our little village and we can all celebrate as we read the rave review in the local paper. I'm not trying to change Montreal into another Toronto, Boston, LA, or any other city. I'm just pointing out things that need to be fixed, like most of the other people writing on this thread. I have great faith in David Macmillan, Martin Picard and our other local stars, and I demonstrate it by supporting their great restaurants. Is it so wrong to want more? Oh right, I forgot about that. I take everything back now that you reminded me that Tony Bourdain spoke and proclaimed us "kick ass." He must be right, after all he is a celebrity. I'll stop wanting more right away.

With all due respect Lesley, Montreal is not a Carribean island in the middle of the ocean, nor is St. Kitts a renown gastronomic capital. It's more accurate to compare us to Toronto, Boston, NYC, San Francisco, or LA. People tend not to, since we are nowhere near their level of quality. Some people on this board love to gripe about "American" chains and how much they suck. Have these people ever been to a Bread & Circus, or Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's? You can buy incredible aged beef at Costco and don't even get me started on their awesome selection of quality wine at all price levels. It is precisely the attitude of "if you don't like it here, then leave" that is causing our city to decline. Many people have left, some of them to places like Toronto and Vancouver where - guess what - they have Whole Foods! This is making me think of another issue: why is our produce so expensive here? Even our fish is frightfully expensive, and much of it comes from Canada! Chicken is also absurdly expensive, as is our locally-grown (and largely tasteless) lamb. This seems to be the case across the board, from big chains (Metro, Provigo) to independent grocers/butchers.

Ok, let me lay down some nuclear stuff: why do we not have FLIGHTS or flights-based tasting menus? I have never encountered a Montreal resto that even comprehends the concepts of flights, let alone single-producer vertical flights paired with a meal...

Wow, and here I was thinking that I must be the only person in Montreal that needs creme fraiche given the fact that it is IMPOSSIBE to find... Even the guy that scores my farm-fresh unpasteurized cream for $8 a pint couldn't supply me with any! To pick up on Carswell's original comments, I have to admit that since I first moved to Montreal 12 years ago, what I once thought was truly a world-class foodie city no longer seems to be the case. This is not so much due to the deterioration of Montreal, but moreso how Montreal has not kept up with the rapid acceleration in culture that other cities have seen. One of the very first things I missed about Montreal was our lack of street food, and hence a street food culture. Having moved here from Boston, the next thing that I noticed was the non-existence of truly great buffalo chicken wings. Then came the lack of awe-inspiring artinsanal home-made ice cream. Then I discovered wine and it's arch-nemesis the SAQ... Even wose, some of my fave places started disappearing: Bukhara (high-end Indian on Crescent with a real tandoor oven), Lux (24-hour food, great burgers and cheesecake in a magazine store!), and more. Where is our Dean & Deluca? Or even our Pusateris? Zabars? Is there even a market here for places like this? How about a Slanted Door, or Zaytinya from D.C. (assorted mezze from Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Greece with an awesome selection of wine, arak, and raki in a fabulous setting in D.C.)? You'd think that there would be a market in hoity-toity areas like Nun's Island, Westmount, or Outremont, but apparently not. Over the holidays I was at dinner at Josie's in LA, discussing with my fiancee how we simply didn't have a restaurant in Montreal that cared as much as they did about all the elements that make a great restarurant (food, service, presentation, wine list, an educational experience). We live near water, how about great sushi? The list could go on and on... Cajun, Indian, Thai, Malaysian (Nantha's RIP), Southwestern, a great steakhouse (like Peter Luger), great pizza from a wood-burning brick oven, decent chinese takeout, a real burger, affordable caviar, great bread... Wouldn't it be great if someone developed gorgeous Marche Bonsecours into something akin to the Ferry Building in San Francisco? A one-stop shop for the best-of-the-best? I'll keep my fingers crossed... Given the cosmopolitan nature of Montreal and Quebecers love of travel, I'm shocked that the city has given rise to more greatness than it has to date. Don't get me wrong, I love Montreal but I'm not so sure that we continue to hold the mantle as a 'world class' food destination. I find myself reffering clients and friends that are visting Montreal to the same 5 restaurants over and over again. Their typical response was 'Wow! We had a great time' rather than 'The food was incredible.' I'd be curious to poll the Montreal e-gulleters to see their opinion of Montreal bars, restaurants, and markets vis a vis those in places they have travelled. It seems from the general discussion here that many people seem to do a fair bit of travelling. My personal opinion is that if you strip out the people factor (i.e. the Montreal 'scene') from the equation, we would rank below Toronto in Canada, and definitely no longer in the top 5 in North America. I should've realized that something was wrong when I tasted a better classic poutine in Toronto (JK Wine Bar) than any I've had here in Montreal...

Apparently some of the provinces used to have a flat per bottle tax of $3. Does this still exist? I was told that this was the case in Ontario, but I guess this is no longer/not the case.

What was I thinking!?! I was originally going to bring back 5 cases and spent a whole day of my precious vacation deciding how to whittle it down to only 32 bottles. I brought back some zins (Turley, Carlisle, Ridge, Duckhorn), a few cabs (Regusci, Ridge, Justin), some dessert wine (Turley, Ridge, RL Buller, Bonny Doon, Roshambo), some Pinot (Martinelli, David Bruce), and some Syrah (Justin, Norman Vineyards, Rabbit Ridge) and some really sick Petite Sirahs (Turley, Rabbit Ridge). I also brought back a bottle of Zinfandel Grappa from Dry Creek Vineyards and an astoundingly velvety Zinfandel/Syrah port from Deloach. A nice mix of stuff that I can't get in Canada. The selection and prices of Zins and Petites Sirahs in Canada is abysmal, so I try to stock up when I'm in the States. It's my bad luck that the SAQ tends not to buy the wine I enjoy, and the same goes for most of the private importers. I guess its a function of the market here in Quebec, where Zinfandel seems to be fairly unknown (even on many restaurant lists). I do find now that a few places (Rosalie comes to mind) have some more than decent Northern California/Washington State Syrahs that were reasonably priced. Anyway, more and more these days I prefer to BYOB it so I can be sure that I'll have a wine that I enjoy. It's more of a problem finding something that's not too expensive to quaff. The best QPR zins at the SAQ are the Deloach Platinum and Ravenswood Vintner's Blend, both around $20. It kills me to pay that price when you factor in how strong our dollar is, and what that buys you in the US. Both of those wines are nice, but regularly sell in supermarkets in the US on sale for $6.99 or so, even less at Costco. Criminal! I originally planned to bring back a containerload of Frass Canyon Reserve, but unfortunately they were fresh out of stock...

Thanks CavaGirl! I also got an email today from a lady at CalWine confirming that it was on for the 21st of April at the Windsor.

Just thought that I'd share my experience bringing home some wine from my visit to California over the holidays. I meticulously prepared my list of items to declare, including 32 bottles of wine, in anticipation of the Customs Nazis at Dorval. Within this list I had broken down the wine by source (store, winery), and price. I had also separated what was to be included in my allowance (1.5 litres of wine each for me and my spouse, and what was excess. As I passed through immigration, I was sent to customs. First shock: the agent tells me that I am only allowed to bring in 12 bottles. Anything more than that, and I need a "permit." The wine would have to impounded pending a review by the SAQ. He also warned me that the SAQ would charge me taxes based not on the price I paid, but on the price it would be if it was sold in Quebec! If I wanted to avoid the impounding of the wine, I had to pay the "flat tax". Since the SAQ was closed (it was past midnight) they would charge me the "flat tax" on the retail price I had paid. Fast forward through a lot of hair-pulling and negotiations: The first 3L (4 bottles): no tax. For the next nine bottles, 60% tax. For the rest of the bottles, 120% in tax and excise!!! Yes - that's right. 120%. On what amount you ask? The amount I paid PLUS the taxes in California (8.25%). That's right - tax on top of tax. Due to the grade-school level of math possessed by Revenue Canada's finest, it took them another 30 minutes to compute the damage. As an example of how ridiculous this is, here's an example. Let's assume I paid US$50 for a bottle of wine. That's $54 with CA taxes. At the current exchange rate, that's $65 Canadian. At a tax rate of 120%, I'd have to pay $78.50 in taxes and excise which brings the price of that bottle of wine to a stunning $143.50 Canadian. At that price the wine would have serious trouble going down my throat. I was told that if I had one of these mysterious "permits" the amount of tax I would have to pay would be reduced by about 75%. Does anyone know what these permits are? Just a warning if anyone is thinking of bringing back any serious quantities (or price!) of wine into La Belle Province. Honestly, my heart goes out to all the SAQ workers who have been and continue to be hit hard by this ill-conceived strike, but I can't imagine that anyone benefits from this anarchronism that continues to limit our ability to enjoy the wine that we choose to at a price that the market deems reasonable.

Thanks for the posting, Moose. The place sounds fabulous. Do you remember which wine it was from Sine Qua Non and how much it was?

Does anyone know if/when the California Wine Fair is making its stop in Montreal this year? I checked the CalWine web site but there's nothing new on there since they posted the pics from last year's event. I'm less than a week back from a two-week stint in California and I'm already missing their sun-drenched juice...

Carswell, If you're willing to be flexible on the brand (but not the quality!) check out: Paul's Finest He's based here in Montreal, and is sometimes seen posting on this board. I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from him, and his service and knowledge is excellent. He steered me towards the excellent Messermeister line which although they are stamped and not forged, are significantly less expensive than the comparable Wusthofs I was considering. I believe he's an authorized reseller of Messermeister, Wusthof, Microplane, and some other brands as well.

I took Carswell's advice and I read Zin: The History and Mystery of Zinfandel. Now I feel much better about owning, holding, and ageing the quantity of Zin that I have! As always, balance is important. I recently tried some "old" Ridges including a 1976 Lytton Springs, a 1993 Pagani Rach, and 1994 Geyserville. All were singing. I suspect that the Geyserville still had some more time to go and the Lytton tasted very little like a Zin, much more like a refined Bordeaux but was full of rich, dark fruit. My personal feeling is that the Zins with some Petite Sirah thrown in will age well. I also think that Ridge and Turleys both age better than the 'standard' Zins by design. There are probably more like this, but I haven't experience them. This depends on the style of the Zin, and I find that the Ridge zins especially of more recent vintage, are more refined in style than the typical over-extracted fruit bombs. If you love the latter style, it's probably best to drink yoru wines a bit younger.

Also, another quick note - the SAQ seems to have re-priced some of their higher-end American wines. I only checked their Turleys and they seem to be down about 10-15% from their price a few weeks ago. Probably due to the recent strength of the Canadian dollar against the USD, which is pretty generous of them IMHO. Does anyone know how this happened?

Hi folks - I will in Canberra later this month on business for a few days. I'm looking for a mix of interesting places to visit, and I'm a foodie/wine nut. I'd also like some suggestions for trendy restaurants as well so I can check out the scene. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions!

This is another one of those tough ones... a legend like Keller is hard to argue with, but it's not the wine itself that 'tenderizes' the meat - it's the alcohol. As Katie points out, the alcohol denatures the protien in the beef, which at an optimal point of tenderizing will lead to less 'stringy' meat. If you leave the meat in the marinade too long, it will end up being mushy. I braise weekly, and to be honest, I no longer marinate the short ribs in wine since it has a minimal effect on the final dish. If you do marinate it, you'll find that the meat is less 'stringly' but more slushy/mushy. I prefer to go the non-marinade route and allow the meat to chill in its braising liquid for a few days to mellow a little, which I find leads to a much tastier dish.

Either coast is fine, as is the midwest. I have wine in SF, Chicago, and D.C. right now, it would be great to consolidate them somewhere. 55 Degrees seems great, but they are a little pricey.

I find it simply smells like the forest after it rains, which is probably a good description for city folk like myself who rarely venture into nature. Personally, I call it "tree stank" which is inaccurate, but to my mind (nose), that's exactly what it smells like. You'll know it when you smell it!

Parker offers what I call "assumed prestige," the same way that shopping at a Chanel or Louis Vuitton boutique allows the consumer to rest assured that their purchase will be viewed with taste and deference by their peers, and they will be purchasing a quality product at the same time. Not to say that shopping at Banana Republic would not yield the same result, it's just a different type of purchase by a consumer with different needs and interests than the consumer shopping at Chanel. Parker conferns upon wines and wine makers this sense of assumed prestige, much the same way a LV monogram transforms a well-made piece of leather into a luxury good. The only thing that has changed is the assumed prestige that the consumer is paying a premium for. Parker rating a wine 90+ is culturally the same as a well-respected celebrity favoring a certain clothing brand. There are many issues that are being discussed in this thread that are confusing the point being made, but something to keep in mind is that the average consumer and even the sophisticated consumer simply doesn't spend as much time and effort learning about and enjoying wine as people on this board do. I'm sure I'm not alone in admitting that I don't only spend time and money drinking wine; I spend quite a bit of time, effort, and energy reading about it, bidding on wine, collecting it, cellaring, re-arranging the cellar, and generally being a wine geek. Such is not the case for 90+ of the wine-drinking population. For these people, Parker (or the Wine Spectator) is an easy way for them to procure this assumed prestige. Being able to proudly state that the wine they are serving their guests received a high scrore from Parker allows them to confer their taste and deference for quality to their guests, who themselves are probably also wouldn't be able to know of care about the difference. This has nothing to do with Coca-Cola palates - that's a totally separate argument. The #1 selling wine in the US (correct me if I'm wrong) is Yellow Tail shriaz. If I'm wrong, it's probably some other generic wine that may not seem great to people here, but it certainly is good enough for the tastes of the Average Consumer. Just so everyone knows, sometimes I agree with Parker and sometimes I don't. It is completely ridiculous for anyone to think that enjoying wine is based on anything else other than personal taste, just as it is for every other type of consumed good. Parker gives people a certain sense of confidence that what they are buying is "good" - from his well-respected point of view. That's not to say that you as an individual consumer will agree with him. Parker is good for wine and the wine industry because he gets people talking about wine. In good time I'm sure we'll see an anti-Parker that hates any kind of over-extracted full-bodied wines. Toronto alread has theirs in the form of Billy Munnelly. He is the #1 independent wine critic in Canada, and focuses primarily on under-$30 wines that are good value and, in my opinion, counter-Parker in terms of style. He also publishes an entertaining, well-presented newsletter. It would be nice if the average person would look beyond Parker's scores to his tasting notes, which I find to be incredibly accurate. You can't blame Parker for the fact that people refer to his scores more often than his notes - that's just the way the culture is tuned.

The beer and Indian pairing is common, and seems to be enjoyed by many, but it does nothing for me. Perhaps it's because people that enjoy beer enjoy spicy food! Anyway, I would go the extra mile for your guests and simultaneously promote the cause of enjoying Indian with wine by sticking with a wine pairing... I second the Loire valley and California options. Another great match is Bonny Doon Cigare vin de gris, served lightly chilled, which is awesome. Maybe also the Traminer from Roshambo Winery, which is a stylish new world rendition of a Alsatian Gewurtztraminer. Crisp and refreshing!! As mentioned, I would go with a Gewurtz or Riesling with a (very) small amount of residual sugar rather than the straight-out sweet ones that appear all-too-often on store shelves.

If you're looking to complement and enhance the falvors of the dishes, I find that a off-dry or even dry Gewurztraminer or Riesling does nicely, as dose any fairly good sparkling wine. A local celebrity Indian chef here swears by Australian shiraz but I've found that all you're left with is enormous heat on the palate.