Thesorus

I don't plan anything; being single and living close to a lot of good food stores, I can just stop by after work and get whatever looks good. If for some reasons, I just go home, I have enough things in here to make a very simple and very good pasta dish. If I have leftovers, I will take them to work the next day, or keep them for the next night.

You can try at Myamoto on Victoria (382 Victoria Avenue), one of the few really japanese store in montreal. http://www.sushilinks.com/miyamoto/contact.html

there was a paper ( editorial or chronique ) this week in La Presse about that, and the point was that it was as much if not more the fault of the owner for letting this institution go down the drain for such a long time, that it's only with a sign of relief that it finally close.

Nuke it ( heresy ) for a few seconds, see if it releases some of the juice, I heard/read somewhere that it works for lime.

I bought a small bottle of an Italian White Truffle Infused Oil from "Gourmet Laurier" at $22 for 100ml, It's an "Elle Esse" brand with some truffle pieces on the bottom of the bottle. ingredients : EEVO, white truffle flavoring ( Tuber Magnatum Pico ), dried White Truffles, White Spring Truffles ( Tuber Albidum), White Truffles. I don't know how it compare to the real thing if this is not the "real thing" but it has a nice fragrance.

I'm open to any suggestions. I think that I will also do blinis with some sort of caviar. the only small restriction is that if I have to use some alcool for some recipes I have to be able to substitute that with something that is not, my niece is 15 year from being legally allowed to drink alcool. the only variable in my setup is that I'm not certain what kind of white fish I have access to next week-end, I have to go there thursday to have a chat with my fish monger about that. about the quality of the fish and shellfish, we have good stores here, and they will tell me if the fish is good enough or not for what I want to do. thousand Thanks gang. ( edited to add a few elements )

I have to do a couple of amuses-bouche for christmas eve, I will do a platter of fish thingies. for now, on the drawing board are : tuna sashimi with blood orange sauce. salmon tartate with truffle oil ceviche of Scallops ( lime, EVOO, coriander ) I know that it always depend on the fish available at the fish store, but can I have a couple of suggestions or sauces or marinades for this ? maybe some simple blinies with caviar ( well, as close to real caviar as my wallet can affort ) I can also make gravlax ( that I have to start making ahead of time) and I have access to some nice smokes fish ( salmon, ... ) but they can be over-powering the other fishes. Thanks a lot.

If I'm that other critic don't hold your breath. I'm working on a web site instead. ← better IMO.

it's at the SAQ (code 10663844 ) for $33, do the math

"Les Petits Cochons Ronds" are back at the Jean Talon Market. I passed by their kioske at the Salon Des Métiers D'Arts today, and they told me they still have their place there. I assume they are still only openned on week-ends.

I went there last week. The restaurant is at the old Vaudeville restaurant location, old-ish french bistrot decor, black and white floor tiles, leather banquette, classic tables, and all the standard restaurant hardware. The menu is small, 1/2 dozen appetizers, 1/2 mains, the menu looks like it will change every week ( it was dated on the menu ) THe wine list is also small and exclusivelly italian. We see the relation to the big sister that is BU. Food wise, it was ok, I had some polenta with pancetta as an app. and some penne like pasta serve with pork Ragu ( that was good ) and a side dish of green salad ( a bit on the vinagtry side ). The wine was also nice, a Luciano Sandrone barbera-d'alba 2004, it was "warm" and conforting. Staff was ok, Patrick st-Vincent was there, serving and handling the front room. I have no base of comparision for Italian restaurant, so I cannot say if this is good or not compared to other italian restaurants in MTL.

Back to Topic : anyone went to the french café "le Marseillais", on Parc, just a bit north of Mont-Royal ? do they serve food or is it only a bar ?

This will surelly be tagged as off-topic and deleted by the moderators.: this is IMHO : Park avenue du Parc is one of the main street that accesses downdown, right on the side of the mountain, and is bound by two major parks, Parc Jean-Mance on the east side and Parc de la Montagne on the west side, just at the entrance of the "downtown" code. The controversy is that for most people, Avenue Du Parc is one of the few street name that is non-political, non-religious and can said in both english and french without butchering the prononciation too much. The central city wants to rename it to a dead political figure, and that street will cross another major street that is also named after another major dad political figure. those two politicians were of different parties, and their views on the future of the province were on opposite ( and sometimes parallel ) stances, and the symbolism of have two streets crossing each other would symbolize "something" in the quebec Folklore. Lots of people were to believe that Boul. St-Joseph was to be renamed. There are a LOT more commerces on Parc and on St-Joseph.

I've been told by the BU staff that they (will) offer an italien week-end brunch. the web site is not yet operational : www.caffedellaposta.ca

wow, an oldie but goodie topic. I was in the neighbourhood earlier tonight after an halloween 5-à-8 ( at a nice new-ish resto/lounge/bar l'appartement corner mcgill and william, but only for drinks ). I first walked and wanted to go to Boris, but I was in front on Holder and since I never been there, why not try it out. I like the space, both on the sitting side and on the bar side. I sat at the bar, not many people there, but enough people in the restaurant to make it livelly. for the food, I went for a real traditional meal, bavette de veau and frittes, they were both nice, well cooked ( as in quality, not quantity ) and a chocolat profiteroles for desser; they were good. I'm not often in the neighbourhood, but if I was, I would go there in the winter, and at Boris in the summer.

fruits, fruits and more fruits. There are not enough fruits in those desserts, they can be prepare in so many different ways, more savory, more sweet, or even tart. paired with herbs, chocolat, peppers ( hot or mild ) or simple caramels. I know it must be hard for restaurants to have access to good fresh fruits all year long, but they need to work hard for it. I don't really like cakes or tarts or other floury-ish things that fill me up after a nice meal at a restaurant. ( BTW, I'm not talking about dessert only restaurants, those are a whole different topic )

perfect for blind dates.

Today was my last official "JTM" shopping day, not that I do not go there late in the fall and in winter, but I go a lot less. Some of the stalls and producers were starting to pack up their things, and doing "vente de fermeture"; so it felt like is was the last big week-end for most of them. I did not buy a lot of vegetables, only some nice lettuces ( from the place with the nice lettuces, but I always forget the name ), and some Chanterelles from Nino. I stopped by "Les Petits Cochons Ronds" and stock up on some Chorizo and another kind of saucisson ( black-ish one made with inners ), also some preserved souris de porc and some lard and some Crettons !!! they were closing today ! ( :-( ) but they told me that they might have a space somewhere in the market, but it was not finalized; BUT they will be at the Salon Ses Metiers D'Arts in december, just in time for christmas !!! I also stopped at Hamel, they have a nice selection of Spanish cheeses, took a couple of them, plus one creamy chevre. That's it then.

I went there a week or so ago; sat at the bar, and had a nice meal, nothing extraordinary, or mind-blowing. with the martini, they served some accras ( it was not the standard fish ), nice light "friture". after that, a tartare of Cerf, with a small crème fraiche, that was good; for main, I decided for something that I will not usually do at home, liver, so, there it was, a couple of nice liver pieces with some creamed potatoes and some root veggies; it was good, well done, but not extraordinary. For desert, a renversé aux poires, that was good, and I let them choose for me a glass of Maury, but not the usual red Maury, but a white one that paired exceptionally with the pears. Price was acceptable ( including 1 martini, 2 glasses of wine and the Maury ), as was the service. What makes it interresting, is that they write their daily's menu on large pieces of paper, so you can decide if you want to stop by for dinner, and it look like they change quite often. Another good point is that they have "take out", now, it's limited to one item ( meat/fish and a veggies ), but they want to expand the selection.

I only have one "real" cookbook, the Larousse "Cuisines Du Monde" with recipes from around the world ( duh! ), which I use mostly for inspiration. I have a japanese/sushi cookbook that I keep because it has nice pictures, and a book for piknics. I also have one of Ferran Adria's book, that is really nice as a coffee table book, but the recipes are too much "far away" to be usefull in a normal kitchen! I used to have an old Time Life cookbook collection featuring different countries, a series of large books, and an accompagnying ( sp?) smaller cookbook with the recipes themselves.

I have to agree, the badly managed McGill destruction/reconstruction/whatever you call it nearly killed every business on that street. such a shame!!!

I just tried L'atelier on St-Laurent. I really enjoyed (*) eating there tonight. I passed in front of the restaurant a couple of times in the last few weeks since it openned, and always had other plans. The restaurant UI look is simple, a series of standard tables, ranging from straightforward 2 seaters to round tables and a banquette along one wall, with a mural of cross sections logs!!; but what makes the restaurant fun, for the celibate me at least, is the large and very confortable "bar" area. There are about 12 seatings on high confy stools and the bar itselt is made of slate ( the rock thing ) which adds a touch of elegance. The colours range from dark gray ( slate ) to dark brown and white, with exterior street lighting, it made the restaurant very stylish ( IMVHO ) I also like the china, the glasses and the cutlery. now, to the food part : The restaurant offers mainly "appetizers", or entrées in French, so that you can select more than one, and they suggest 3, entrées for a full meal. Tonight I had the following - A cold potato and fish salad, a nice piece of artic char ( omble chevalier ) with some white and purple potatoes in a salad, the fish was very good, as were the potatoes ( they could have been a very little more cooked ) - Risotto de petit gris and red rice with fois gras shaving. This was very good also, it reminds me a little of the risotto of The Club Chasse et Peche minus the pig and with some morilles ( I LOVE morilles ) - Noix de Cerf with a big shrimp, this was good, the Cerf was a bit under cooked ( for my taste ), but the pepper piperade was nice seasonned with piments d'espelette . And I finished with a duo of Chocolate with piments d'espelette, which was nice, the ice cream was better than the tartelette, and both were lacking the hotness and flavor of the piments. I really liked the way they set up their menu, it makes choosing a lot harder, but in a group of 3, 4 people, you can have a lot of fun trying all those dishes. The staff was friendly and professional. (*) it was cold in the restaurant. http://www.restaurantlatelier.com/

Well, I think it opened yesterday; will have a look at the menu tonight. The decor is nice.

I think it will open in the next couple of days ( 1, 2 weeks max ), they were removing the brown paper in the window this afternoon, from what I could see, the chairs were of the same colours as the outside paint colour, white-ish and green-ish.

( or is it Dépendance Cuisine ) Any idea what kind of restaurant this will be ?