Lesley C

They could certainly use a steak consultant.

Trust me, I have NO reason to defend places like 40 Westt. But I can only admire restaurateurs who are willing to bet a pile of money on a flashy restaurant off the highway. I'm all for a bit of drama with my dinner. I'm not in favour of supporting one kind of restaurant over another. If the place is packed, they must be doing something right. But yes, my heart too belongs to the chef-owned restaurants, especially places like Delfino, Brunoise and Les Chevres. But the customers who go to Delfino are probably not the customers that flock to 40 Westt. I'd say the 40 Westt customers probably used to go to Gibbys or the Bifteque.

Don't forget cost comes in there also. More and more I find myself evaluating the all-round experience over the food, which was my focus when I started out. But I'm beginning, after four years at this, to find all this fussy food served in dreary surroundings a real bore compared to a night at a restaurant like Cavalli or Rosalie. And as soon as you throw cold service in the mix, you just lost me (as was the case with this week's review). Can excellent food make up for indifferent service? Not in my books. And concerning the limitations of the star system, why do you think I requesting going with half stars as well. As for the food at Cavalli, if you go back, try the macaroni with Fontina and the beef carpaccio with the truffled baby peaches. Two big wows.

Yeah well, as much as I hate it, you have to commend restaurateurs who are putting on such a big show. A city can't live on 60-seat chef-driven Plateau restos alone.

Mikado, Laurier.

As I said before, the star ratings aren't really about me comparing one restaurant to another. It's more about whether or not a restaurant is fulfilling its potential. I had two meals at Cavalli that couldn't have been much better, and yes, they do get "points" for all-around experience. I had two meals at Les Chevres in the spring that could have been better, proof being the near perfect meal I had there a month ago. I also had -- somewhat -- slow service at Cavalli, but I was having such a good time people watching that I hardly cared. Walnuts, what did you order? Also, at what 3-star resto did you taste better food?

loufood, can you let us know if any of the others, such as a sous or pastry chef, follows him to the Crillon? thanks.

Go to Ste-Rose. There are a few wicked restaurants on the Rue St-Rose, such as Le St-Christophe (fancy French), Derriere les Fagots (contemporary), and La Vielle Histoire (BYOW, classic French)

Do you think he would have done the same for someone like Johnny Depp or Bono? Doubt it.

Um, why don't you PM me a press release.

One thing I hate is when a reviewer neglects is to name the chef in the restaurant in a positive write up. It's like a bunch of fairies are doing all the cooking and all this food just turns up on the plate. I say commend the people doing good work, get them out from behind that kitchen door. And name the good pastry chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers and waiters as well. Give credit where credit is due.

Yes, absolutely. It would be like saying one child is cuter than another. Every restaurant has its own personality.

Hmm, more points not to agree with. I would never come out and say restaurant A is better than restaurant B. Never. I might say certain restaurants serve the same style of cuisine, but that's as far as I'll go. As to chefs being students, I'm not writing the review for the chef. I'm writing for the general public. If I was just rating the chef's work, I'd be much more harsh. And actually, I'm all for doctor and hairdresser reviews. Great idea!

When I started out I hated the star system. Now I couldn't live without it. It shows you exactly where the writer stands. I hate reading local critics who don't alot stars. At the end of the article, I'm often left wondering if they liked the place or not.

Luc Mailloux told me he never even puts his cheese in the fridge because it kills off some of the best bacteria. He leaves it on his kitchen counter -- all summer long. You can eat it with a spoon.

Review the crowd? You have got to be kidding.

Supper club is not a category of restaurant in my books. And when it comes to the rest, I have no idea what you're talking about. Also "montmartre" whoever you are, I am much happier explaining how I do my job to people who do not post anonymously. I don't post anonymously and I have less and less time for people -- especially people in the business -- who do.

Steve isn't working at Cavalli anymore.

Oh, wait a minute...if it's Quebec cheese you're after, you might also want to check out Les Saveurs du Marche du Quebec at the Jean-Talon market. Also I just remembered that it's tough to find any English-speakers at Hamel. Hmm...it might be a problem at a few of these stores.

If you really want to play it safe, the Migneron is not raw milk. And really, how could they ever tell the difference between a Migneron and Mi-Careme or Victor et Bertholde.

Carswell, the selection isn't as small as it used to be. You can now buy all kinds of Quebec cheeses there, not just Chaput's. I have a feeling, though, that they are a bit pricier than at Hamel

I'm going to get Fat Guy to comment on this. He's an expert on the subject of cheese smuggling. In Montreal, try Fromagerie Hamel and Le Fromagerie du Marche Atwater. Where are you going to be in the city? If you're close to Outrement, you might want to try the cheese shop I think is now called Yannick, which used to be the Chaput shop on Bernard St. All these stores offer samples. Whatever you do, make sure you sample some Quebec cheese, especially the Mi-Careme, Laracam, Riopelle, Kénogami, Chevre Noir, Victor et Bertholde, Le Migneron de Charlevoix, Pied-de-Vent and if ever you can find it, Lechevallier Mailloux, Sarah Brizou, or the Ange Cornu.

Thank you Matteo, the only person writing on this thread who has been to the restaurant in question and someone who has experienced me at my harshest. Thank you. Oh and yes, Auberge Hatley did receive 4 stars and the other was Les Caprices de Nicolas last year. Guru have you been to Cavalli or are you hearing second-hand reports? I heard plenty of second-hand reports before I dined there and expected it to be mediocre. It just didn't happen. I have to ask, are you against an Italian-style restaurant getting such a high rating? Are you against young chefs who haven't paid their dues or staged in France? That's certainly the impression I get. I think you should eat out a bit more often and see whey these restaurants are getting high ratings. Wake up boys, there are a lot of good young chefs on the scene right now and a lot of the formerly strong restaurants are faltering. I hear about so many young chefs dining out all over the world. I think that's important but I also think it's important to know what's going on in your own backyard. And yes, Cavalli was better than Globe. Cavalli was better than APdC. And Cavalli was also much different than both those restaurants. It's all right there, on record, in the reviews. All I write about is the restaurant and what happened the night -- or nights -- I dined there. It's up to the restaurant to maintain or improve the level after a review. And tell me, why do you think the BYOW restaurants should be rated by someone else on another day?

Yes, go to the Pain Dore, but a cinnamon bun, and go home. BTW, care to name the place where you had the bad b-fast?

Hey, I haven't even sampled Bertrand's wares.