Venusia

I'd try the appliance forum at the Gardenweb. Those people are very serious about their appliances. There is even a separate forum for washers and dryers alone! http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/

Based on their website, the Exceldor chicken looks like a factory chicken to me. When they are proud of their processing speed that is not a good thing! Maybe it's tastier because it's fat? I don't think there is an heirloom chicken producer in Quebec yet, but supply is growing in the USA, so hopefully someone will catch on that trend here soon. Try one of the mixed farms affiliated with Equiterre, such as the aforementioned Crepuscule or Charlevoix.

Went there at 9:30, after the rush. Our pizzas were excellent, and the closest to Italian-style pizza we've ever found here: no tomato paste or heavy spices in the sauce, very few toppings, and a crust that is crispy without being hard. I thought the lighting was very good: even, soft (and flattering!). I am prone to light-induced headaches so that is an important consideration for me.

Well, I won't say it with you. Most Montrealers are more welcoming folk. And even I, as a Montrealer, enjoy shopping at the JTM but don't particularly want to live around there. Tous les goûts sont dans la nature, you know. Doronin, Montreal IS shabby, it's a fact, there's way less money flying around here. However, it's very safe, there are only a few areas that are sketchy, and your budget ensures you won't end up there. I believe that most of the "abandoned" buildings around the Atwater market are anything but, rather they are owned by builders timing their redevelopment into condos etc.

If you are commuting to the West Island daily, I'd take proximity to highway (where you'll be spending lots of time) into account. Lots of these neighbourhoods deep in center will require you to shovel little holes in snowbanks for your car (which you will obviously need) on alternate sides of the street during the winter. If you are more into sunshine and landscaped neighbourhoods, as you seem to be, I'd suggest the Lachine Canal condos around the Atwater market. It's a destination scene, so you'll have lots of cyclists and strollers around, esp. in the summer, and it's gentrifying, so you can buy all the candles you want and so on, as well as being close to market. Jean-Talon may be cheaper but Atwater market is perfectly adequate.

Is it worth making a reservation or will you still have to wait? I tried calling numerous times on a Friday night b/w 5 and 6pm, always got the machine or no answer.

I don't know how true the following is: I was reading an article in my neighbourhood paper last summer about Marché de l'Ouest. The stall renters there were saying that even though they had to pay higher rent prices, they preferred it to the other markets because the customers don't haggle (frankly, I didn't even know it was possible to haggle on fruits and vegetables!), so they bring their premium products there and charge accordingly.

Yes, more casual (eg paper placemats) and lower price range. Their menu is on their website (brunoise.ca). My husband and I went for dinner last Saturday and for lunch on Thursday, had pannacotta and the beignets (which I loved) both times. Duck confit (18$) was excellent, and so was my tartine (12$). Setting is warm and welcoming, Zach was very friendly and enthusiastic. I do wish them well.

Just read on Cyberpresse that Patrice Demers and Claude Beausoleil are planning to open a dessert bar inspired by the Room 4 Dessert in Manhattan.

A Google search "dormire Cervere" should net you some suggestions of hotels near Da Renzo. I only found one in the town: La Tour. Alternatively, you can stay in Bra, which is less than 6 miles from Cervere. I vaguely remember it not being the prettiest town, but I may be mixing it up with another. It's also the hometown of Slow Food. I recommend getting their Itinerari, I used the ones for Barolo e Barbaresco and Torino extensively.

I was at Da Emma yesterday for lunch, and two of the people I was with ordered the rabbit. I had the meatballs, so didn't really pay attention to what was in their plate.

I went to a 150 people wedding at the Sofitel this weekend and it was very good. Crab and avocado appetizer, grapefruit and basil granita, rack of lamb with polenta, Quebec cheeses etc. The bread was ordinary, however. I was impressed with the lamb, it was perfectly rosy inside, and very tender.

Last month I had an extraordinary pizza at Cafe Colonnade in Ottawa and since then I've been having the most incredible cravings for an airy and bubbly cheesy pizza. I've only been going to places closer to home and they've all been disappointments. My worst was at Scarolies where my veggie pizza was a thin cracker crust with hardly any sauce and a mound of unseasoned broccoli and cauliflower piled on top of the cheese. My favourites in Montreal have been Amelio's in the McGill guetto, so cheesy and saucy that you can't eat it with your hands. For focaccia-style, I really like Pizz'Ancora. Do people even go out to pizzeria for the pleasure of eating pizza anymore, or is it just a convenience filler food now? I read the thread from 2003 where everyone said pizza was going downhill here. I think frozen pizzas have gotten so cheap that they've denatured our ideas of what a great pizza should taste like.

The SAQ does seem wasteful. They recently built a SAQ building in the middle of the parking lot of the Beaconsfield mall, something they are so fond of doing in suburbia these days, and vacated their (very practical for consumers) location inside the mall. I expected that the new building would at least be larger than their previous location, but it's tiny and cramped, and hella inconvenient to treck though the parking lot to get there. And the point of this move was???

I couldn't resist buying this for myself as I was putting Xmas gifts in my basket. Wise move, too, as I made the warm lentil salad for Xmas, and it was a big hit. I love the presentation (I am a big fan of DK books, I've always been impressed with their encyclopedias for children), but I find the chapter layout counterintuitive. They interspersed the ethnic chapters with the basic technique ones, so that an ethnic chapter is sandwiched between pastry and desserts, and the vegetable technique chapter is halfway through the book. I would have like more recipes in the vegetable chapter, rather than simply raw vegetable preparation techniques, which make up the bulk of the chapter. I would also have preferred more variety in the recipes. For example, there are 3 different chocolate mousse recipes (from 3 different chefs, but still...). There are no whole shrimp recipes. There are quite a few recipes which do not specify how many portions the recipe serves. However, all in all, there are very many inspirational recipes and as soon as I am done with my leftovers I going to go seriously through this book.