Bon Appetit Cookbooks

Two and a half words Bucket 'o' Chicken Fried guinea hen served in a big bucket with the checkered paper and everything. Crab Cocktail with hard boiled egg. Freshly shelled Dungeness with homemade cocktail sauce. And believe it or not, Prairie Oysters with a tartar sauce served in a small mason jar. Balls in a Jar...who would have thought? Could it be the next "Duck in a Can"? Only time will tell.

Went to Pintxos on saturday like coalex...wonder if I saw you there. It was great. Awsome selectiuon of about 21 Tapas. We ordered pretty much one of everything. The favorites were the mushrooms stuffed with confit canard, the calamari with caramalized onion, and the garlic prawns. Service was outstanding, wine list was very affordable, and atmosphere ultra relaxed. All in all, we had a great time and can't wait to get back.

Hey there, Lesley Chesterman reviewed Les Chevres a few weeks back. She mentioned in the article that they moved away from Vegetables because apparently, the customers were asking for "more". So Stelio tweaked the menu and added more meat & fish. She also mentioned that they could be going through growing/changing pains. But Stelio and Patrice are great chefs, I have no doubt it's still great quality. I guess you have to change your idea of Les Chevres now. I have yet to go since they went the meat and fish route. I will have to try it soon. J

Hey Stockhead, I'll be going to a place called Pintxos on Rue Roy on Saturday. I'll let you know how it is. It is specifically Basque style food. I'm pretty excited to try it out. There is also Tapeo on Villeray. Lesley C wrote about it in the Montreal edition of Gourmet. Haven't tried it yet, but I hear good things. There is also Casa Tapa's in the Plateau. haven't heard too many things about it. I think I would recommend the other two first. Hope you find what you're looking for. J

Probably too late, but I think you can get it at Mayrand in St. Leonard. But you would probably have to buy a 3 liter bucket.

Two Words JOE BEEF

Tonight was off the hook at Joe Bizzle: A dozen oysters, roasted beet salad with caramelized bacon, deep fried smelts with tartar sauce, cold asparagus crab salad, foie gras with jam and toast, roasted veal marrow ... those were the starters. Which would have sufficed nicely for our party of four. The bacon and beets were insane, the smelts were "as good as in Greece" according to my Greek foodie friend, the crab fresh fresh fresh and the marrow meltingly ridiculous. Mains were a double rack of spareribs with sticky bbq sauce, side of coleslaw, their famous lobster spaghetti twice over and razor clams with pasta. Sides of fries with mayo and haricot verts with that. Pot de chocolat and pancakes with maple syrup "tire" ice cream and caramelized apples for dessert. With beers, wine, a Poire William cognac digestif and espressos, I'm about ready to explode. I'm seriously full. Best meal in ages. ← Man! I gotta go and eat with you! When are you going next?

please to be correct: it is HOOCHIES, not hooches. ← All Apologies Either way, I was glad not to see them.

Went there for the first time the other week. Let me tell you, it was more than I expected. We started with some fried clams that were crispy, salty, delicious. Served with a homemade "tartar" sauce. Went great with the locally brewed beer which name I can not recall. Next, Oysters! 3-4 different kinds. Oysters spanning from the West to East coast. All different in flavour, all tasted wonderful. Served with the traditional homemade condiments of mignonette and cocktail sauce. I have just in the last 6 months got in to oysters and learning to really appriciate them. You can't really have a great oyster experience unless you can taste different ones at once. And Joe Beef delivers on the variety and freshness! Next, Roasted Marrow Bones with sauteed mixed mushrooms and ?roasted red peppers?. Melt in your mouth, fatty, and great with a little bread. The main coarse was a whole side of trout with a thin slice of some smoked ham. The skin was perfectly crisp, the ham beautifully salty and complimented the trout like peas and carrots. It was served with good old fashioned southern grits with a little bacon. Everything tastes better with a little pork product in it huh? The sauce was a honey chipotle. A great sweet/spicy combination that worked well with the fish. The whole dish was balanced wonderfully. We were sitting at the bar which is where all the action is. Fred and Dave is there to "entertain" you and makes sure your glass is never empty. The free pours make it a lot more fun. The one major flaw I find in most restaurants is the lack of seasoning (salt and pepper). This can really, in my opinion, ruin a potentially great meal. But I can confidently say that every dish I ate at Joe Beef was seasoned perfectly and each dish tasted like it should. It's very rare I find that....even in really good restaurants. All in all, Joe Beef was a flawless experience. It was one of the better meals I have had in the city. The atmosphere is exactly how it should be. Casual, relaxed, unpretentious, and most importantly, fun. It's very refreshing to not see the Hooches trying to get the greasy lawyers to buy them drinks and dinner. People are just there to enjoy a great meal, a good time, and that's it. I honestly can't wait to go back.

Les Caprices de Nicolas??? or ??? ← Les Caprices de Nicolas did close down for good, but I heard the owner and the chefs will be back up and running hopefully in the beginning of May under a new name, new concept and a new menu (more affordable). Should be interesting to see what's going to happen.