Lesley C

The closest I have gotten to Lobels is perusing their web site and watching them barbecue with Martha Stewart. But Jesus, that is some expensive meat! As for the Main restaurants, I know several critics who will not set foot in those restaurants. They don't take them seriously, and that's a mistake. I have had as many good meals on the Main as bad. And the bad places are all long gone (save for one that will remain nameless). As for numbers, I would think places like Spice Market aren't doing 700 covers a night, which is about what Globe was doing on GP Weekend (at Buena Notte they expected up to 1,000!). And Spice Market is set up to do high numbers on a daily basis, not one weekend a year. I reviewed L'Express on GP week, because I knew it was the only restaurant in town really ready to handle hundreds any day of the week. Turned out no to be all that busy after all.

Avoided? What do you mean?

Yes, I think a lot of them get out and about and travel. But do they have to go to NY to see how it's done right? Does Picard have to vacation in the Perigord to relearn his magret skills? Please. No trip is going to help Picard make a better poutine. He can do it. He certainly used to. It's more about refocusing his restaurant than going on stage. Don't forget, APdC is not a fancy restaurant. It's casual, despite the fact that the prices have gone up (when I first dined there, no dish was above $20). And really chefs like Picard and McMillan can do haute cuisine in their sleep. It was their choice -- and a wise one it seems -- to go bistro instead of competing with upscale restos like Toque! As for places like Globe and Rosalie disappointing, don't forget these guys just went through Grand Prix weekend. Cut them a bit of slack. Some of these chefs look like they're in desperate need of a vacation!

So true! That latest issue of MSL is really something! That fruit and herbs section is incredible, especially the shot of the fig, feta and mint salad Down deep inside my heart belongs to Gourmet (I have enough back issues in my basement to build a garden shed) but those Martha Stewart pictures are glorious. And despite past problems, her recipes really work.

No Docsconz, sorry, I edited my post while you were posting. I went back and read Bain's article and she doesn't claim Mtl has better ethnic restaurants, just different ones. Sorry about that. The edited post is correct.

Bad news, Vinfidel, Toque!, as of June 1, is closed for lunch. I have a lot of complaints about the new Toque!. I dropped them half a star when I reviewed them last year. HOWEVER, I trust Laprise can grow into that horrible room. The fact that the service is cold and doesn't appear to have improved is distressing. As for wine, that has never been their forte or interest. Too bad, but there it is. No matter what, I'm an optimist when it comes to Toque!. Laprise has his highs and lows. He's been on a low food-wise IMO since moving. But maybe the tide is about to turn. Anyone who dined there on the night of the restaurant's 10th anniversary (the one with all the old Dom Perignon paired with the tasting menu) knows that this chef -- at his best -- is a force of nature. As for NY vs. Montreal, I haven't been to NY in ages, but I do remember the service being lousy. Even at Gramercy Tavern where my waiter was so shy and akward that it made me nervous. In Montreal, all the top restaurants offer superb, smart service. But one thing Montreal does have going for it is that most of our top chefs are local boys. Most of the top chefs in NY -- Vongerichten, Boulud, Ripert, Ducasse etc -- are from France. Otherwise the NY restaurant coffee is pretty shitty, as in weak. I had a cafe au lait at Balthazar that was laughable. One thing I really loved about NY was that I saw a ton of young people in restaurants, something you just don't see in Montreal. And I also loved the young NY chefs who were so cool and enthusiastic. And then there's just the sheer size of the place and the choice. I mean you can go to what the East Village and have Thanksgiving dinner at the Chat and Chew and then head to Babbo for a mind-blowing Italian meal. Wow. That's another Montreal weakness, Italian cuisine. But as for ethnic, Jennifer Bain of the Toronto Star wrote a column a few years ago saying that we actually had terrific ethnic restaurants in Montreal. Keep in mind, though, these places are beyond casual. But the high-end ethnic restaurants will come. Anise and Raza are two interesting examples.

How about a food mill? Or, if they're a bit mushy, press them through the back of a tamis using a plastic dough scraper.

Your choux pastry is too thick. Another egg or two should help. It should have a nice gloss but hold its shape when piped. It also looks undercooked to me. Bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes. It should be a deep golden brown -- not just golden.

Sorry, no pictures. I haven't worked as a professional pastry chef for about 8 years now. But the cakes I made were French style, usually put together in a shaped mould, with several layers of ice cream and sorbet, and the center often filled with a frozen mousse. Such bombe glacees are very difficult to get right, with even layers, and no air pockets. And as for ice cream, I try to avoid too much of the stuff. Is there anything more fattening out there?

OK, I know you already made the cake, but for future reference (I took a year-long ice cream course. I made a ton of these babies)... First of all, make a genoise that is soaked in flavoured sugar syrup. The syrup keeps the cake from freezing hard (for adults add a shot of booze to your syrup to really prevent it from freezing hard). As for frosting, use sweetened whipped cream (Chantilly), which freezes and defrosts very well without getting droopy like ice cream. Meringue would be another obvious choice for an ice cream cake, which could be given the baked-Alaska treatment just before serving. As for the dog, I would have made him out of marzipan, or rolled out some brown marzipan and cut out a flat dog. Marzipan works brilliantly as an ice-cream-cake decoration. And animals are quite easy -- and fun -- to make.

You mean Cooking for Mr. Latte? (OK, little joke there. Let's not all get hot under the collar)

Patrice, I think they are aware of the criticisms. Whether or not they are willing to change things (dare I say fix things) is anyone's guess.

Save for Sooke Harbour House, no one does cuisine du terroir like the Quebec City chefs. Very impressive. And the time to go is mid-to-late summer. And when you're there, don't miss the desserts made with strawberries from the Isle D'Orleans! In fact, go to the Isle D'Orleans. It's very pretty and they also make wonderful Cassis there.

Also a word of advice. Book NOW! Quebec is packed with tourists in the summer and I couldn't find a hotel the last time I was there. I mean nothing. I ended up in a shady B&B. Well-located, but shady nonetheless. Funny, I keep hearing recommendations of the St-Amour but I had a second-rate dinner there and I thought the green house dining room decor was tacky. Laurie Raph had tacky decor as well, but I hear they have redecorated.

Well, I for one would skip the old world charm and head straight to the Dominion Boutique Hotel (www.hoteldominion.com ). You'll have enough old world charm around you so why not enjoy a bit of new world charm at night? It's also located next to the excellent Restaurant L'Initiale, 54 St. Pierre St. 418-694-1818.

Yeah but wait, Delfino used to only have something like ten wines available. Has that changed?

I have read a couple of reviews of this restaurant, but so far no one has mentioned that this is a boutique restaurant, that is, everything in the place is for sale. The salt shakers, the chairs, the cutlery... Did any of you pick up on that? Or am I dreaming?

Les Infideles on Rachel makes a nice gazpacho, so does Steve Lemieux at Le Bouchon de Liege.

L'Express if he's into ambiance. La Chronique or Toque! if he's a foodie.

Wow, a second dessert! Great! As for the terrace, it must be -- along with Lucca's -- the smallest terrace in the city. Any sign of cocktails or an expanded wine list?

Then again, to be fair to Ms. Wells, she might be saying, let's no forget the greats like Joel Robuchon too quickly.

You hit the nail right on the head. Revered in his prime -- and in his time. Today how many young chefs are looking at old Robuchon plates for inspiration? I would think few, if none. Anyway, can you really compare something great you ate twenty years ago with something you ate yesterday? Are you as sophisticated a diner? Haven't tastes changed? Or evolved? Hard to know. Which makes it look like an unecessary name drop all the more.

Hustler's Honeys is a cookbook. The sub head is: "One hundred and one uses for honey by Hustler's hottest babes" I swear those girls have the best recipe for Nid D'Abeille cakes and nougat glace au miel. Miles better than those nerds at Cook's Illustrated. As for a book, the maple syrup I have access to up here in frosty Quebec could get me a book blurb from Joel Robuchon and Patricia Wells! "I laughed .. I cried .. I made pancakes"

Just because we don't carry guns doesn't mean we're nicer. AS for Canada, no, no one here is really important enough to merit a blurb. We would reach out to some bigwig American. Or bribe him -- or her -- with some really topnotch maple syrup. AS for the politics of the blurb, I'm not talking about the understanding of the transaction, but the interpretation of the general public. If Bourdain blurbs a book, someone like my mother doesn't know he may share the same agent or editor as the author. Someone like my mother is thinking, "Well, now if that nice Bourdain boy likes this book, I just might as well."

I don't know. A blurb is an endorsement, he's saying, "Hey, that Amanda is my kind of girl, she's on my team, and if you like me, you'll probably like her?" I have bought cookbooks after reading blurbs. The paperback version of Cooking for Mr. Latte has a blurb by Nigella Lawson right on the front cover. That's there for a reason. But back on topic, Russ is bang on. That Robuchon line was name dropping. But it dates her as well. I mean, really, Robuchon? Atelier aside, he's sooo eighties.