Lesley C

We were just discussin Rosalie's French-only wine list on another thread and I thought we should break on to another thread to name a few other favourites. Some of mine include: Le St-Christophe and Derriere les Fagots in St-Rose, Laval Le Club des Pins Les Caprices de Nicolas Rosalie L'Express Au Pied de Cochon Lemeac La Chronique The Latini, but it's expensive Le Piemontais Chez Queux Chez L'Epicier Cafe Ferreira Laloux Auberge Hatley Moishes, also expensive Guy and Dodo Les Halles and of course, Bistro a Champlain Any I missed?

Maybe so, but thank heavens for people like David who take risks. I admire his selection and his stance towards formuliac lists. Cook-em-all I think the chefs who stick to salmon, filet mignon and creme brulee show little imagination. If everyone here were serving Toque! food, I'd have nothing to write about. Cooking at the highest level calls for innovation. I see David's list as innovative and gutsy. I noticed it, and read through it with interest. I can't say that about 99% of the dreary wine lists in this city. I'm going to start a new thread on wine lists.

Oh that is precious! Doesn't your friend know that Canada is in the dog house with the U.S. over the war as well? If Canadian wine were sold in the U.S they would boycott that also. If it weren't for the fact they have their own maple syrup, they'd be pouring that down the toilets as well. I spoke to an American journalist the other day who told me she wouldn't be writing about Montreal as a destination for American tourists because we speak French here and we booed the American anthem at a hockey game. Tell you friend to wake up and smell the Beaujolais!

Almost everyone who I've talked to about Rosalie has mentioned the unbuttoned blouse bit. Even my accountant mentioned it the other day while discussing taxes! They all think it's ridiculous. To be perfectly honest, I never noticed. But I did notice a male waiter I had at lunch was a lot more solid than those pretty girls.

OK, I just found out the Quebec equivalent of the Vermont "Fancy" syrup is called Canada #1 AA, tres clair (very clear). As for organic syrup, yes the rules are very stringent. Unlike organic wine, where only the grapes must be organic, production of the syrup (equipment, addition of preservatives etc) must follow strict regulations. Of Quebec's 8000 maple farms, 300 are certified organic. Last year's production of organic syrup produced 6 million pounds of the 73 million produced in Quebec, with more than 80% exported, primarily to the US. For anyone who is REALLY interested, there's an excellent article about organic maple syrup -- in French -- at www.cyberpresse.ca/tendances/article/1,157,1090,032003,244359.shtml.

Price range: Lunch, $9-$14; main courses $14-$23; desserts $4-$8. Dinner, starters $8-$18; main courses, $24-$42; desserts $8. For more information about the menu, you can check out my review for the Montreal Gazette at: www.canada.com/montreal/features/at/dining/story.html?id={8AB4C2A7-06F7-4B40-8AA0-561C691506CC}

Wow, that's strange, I don't remember ever hearing music at Toque! I always ask restaurants to turn down the music if it's unpleasantly loud, and they usually do. La Chronique does offer the requisite atmospheric background tunes. Quite pleasant, not at all loud. Rozrapp, I can think of many, many Montreal restaurants you should avoid if noise is a problem.

When I ate at both restaurants last summer it was pretty obvious West was the better of the two. Technically, Hawksworth is the superior chef. Anyway, it's good for the top spot to change from time to time. Someone should tell Mr. Feenie that a little competition is healthy.

Best coffee is tough because the coffee in Montreal is -- generally -- excellent. You really notice this when you go the the States. For espresso, the Latini is pretty hard to beat. For cafe au lait, I like the Brulerie because I spent ten years drinking cafe au lait there when I lived around the corner.

Patrice, good for you. I think all small or gastronomic restaurants should follow suit. I cannot stand smoking in restaurants. It makes me sick. This year I intend to nail every restaurant that doesn't separate the sections adequately. I really admire places that are completely non-smoking. I can think of La Chronique, Le Club des Pins, Au Pied de Cochon, La Colombe... any others?

I think Vancouver could use more chef-owned restaurants and from what I'm hearing from Vancouver food people, better local ingredients -- fish and seafood aside. I was surprised to see Lumiere's chef de cuisine is a Montrealer and how many chefs in Vancouver are from Quebec. Vancouver needs more David Hawksworths, and David Hawksworths who own their restaurants. I'm also hearing you need a more sophisticated clientele. So that means you need more Johnathons. But Vancouver is a young city and it's evolving beautifully.

This may sound unfair, but I think the number of visits has a lot to do with the style of restaurant. There are some restaurants that you "get" on the first go. This is often the case with old-fashioned French restaurants. I think the more innovative restaurants call for a few visits for the reviewer to get a firm grasp on the chef's style. And then there are the restaurants that are constantly changing their menus. That's a tough case because you eventually want to write about plates that are featured with some frequency. IMO, you can judge a restaurant, fairly, once you've sampled the majority of dishes being served. Specifics aren’t that important. You're evaluating the talent and technique of the chef, and how close the restaurant is to fulfilling its potential in areas such as concept and service. When it comes to service, I've often needed a second visit if there was a large group present, and the waits between courses were long. Groups mess up the whole dining room dynamic. Lunch in many restaurants seems like watered-down dinner, but the atmosphere can be very different. Food-wise, dinner is it. And breakfast and brunch don't count for me unless it's the restaurant's raison d'etre. I was just comparing notes with a reviewer who dines out 12 times a week. At that rate, restaurant dining becomes a way of life, which might water-down some of that excitement you get when dining out, taking away that sense of special occasion.

Totally cool, barrel-aged rosés. You heard it here first!

La Maitresse will be run by Claude Pelletier. Call it Cube 2.

Barb I'm with you on the overly sweet ravioli and the service at West. I had an arrogant sommelier who definitely added a negative edge to my meal there. And that ravioli is too sweet. About that parfait, when it arrived in front of me at West I was overwhelmed with an incredible sense of deja vu. When I found out chef Hawksworth worked for Marco Pierre White, it hit me. What looks like the very same parfait, down to the sprinkling of sea salt, is in the 1995 MPW Canteen Cuisine book. The recipe is on p.57. Johnathon no offense, but I think you overreacted to barb's post. Vancouver has a few exciting restaurants but it still has a ways to go.

Ah yes, well that's the million dollar question isn't it?

I heard through the grapevine that the Maitresse group wanted to open a "Cube-like" restaurant.

Please, no more sushi! Can't Montrealers move on? I'd love to see some cool tapas place or even some better Italian restaurants a la Otto.

cook-em-all, that's an interesting statement. I'd put the blame on the crappy restaurants that opened up around the good ones, which I think brought down the whole level of the street. I always think there's place for another good restaurant. Savannah, up the street, seems to be doing pretty well, no?

If we're looking a these luxury mini-chains found in hotels, there's always Asia de Cuba. But foreign chains have never worked in Montreal. Just look at Hippopotamus and Fouquets -- disasters. Though the Cuba edge might pull in some diners (not that anyone I know goes to Cuba for the food ).

How 'bout a BABBO... or another ROSALIE?

Moving an old one ok, but opening another one might water the concept down further.

Another Soto! When will it end?

Welcome glimmer and cyberdrip I thought the ceiling at Rosalie was quite low.

I think right now, with so many great new unique restaurants and many interesting projects on the horizon, we're seeing the Golden Age of Montreal restaurants. At least of this generation.