cheryl

L'atelier features local ingredients - and the food's good...

I believe the stand at Atwater market is seasonal, but the one at Jean Talon is open year-round. They even have hot chocolate now The latest seasonal ice cream flavour is pumpkin with something else (can't remember what the other ingredient was, but they had it on Saturday when I was last there, although it was too early in the morning for ice cream, so I skipped it). Does anyone else know what it was?

Apparently, Liverpool House was a pub in Montreal competing with the original Joe Beef many years back. In the same way as Joe Beef is not a steakhouse, the name Liverpool House is not indicative of the menu offerings.

It is indeed a wonderful little bistro, and dinner there was the highlight of my visit a few months back as well. The correct name is Cafe du Clocher Penche, for those who wish to look it up (finding a restaurant name in a Quebec phone book is a confusing enough task as it is...)

What are the portion sizes like? Are they Joe Beef-y as well, or smaller?

5263 ave. du Parc. It's on the east side, just north of Fairmount. And they make a mighty fine espresso... Their website is www.caffeingamba.com

I haven't tried the ribs, but on several visits have sampled the pulled pork, beef brisket, and chicken. Favourite is pulled pork by far, although the others were certainly good. All have a pronounced smoky taste, although I have found that this varies from visit to visit - yesterday's pulled pork sandwich was definitely smokier-tasting than the one I had last week. I agree that the best side is definitely fries. Now I'm hungry...

a few more... Havre au Glaces for the best ice cream going (Jean Talon and Atwater markets, although JTM has the full selection, Atwater only has a small choice) Chocolats Genevieve Grandbois (162 St. Viateur west, and also at Atwater Market) Suite 88 Chocolatier (3957 St. Denis) for chocolates, coffee, milkshakes (and decadent hot chocolate, although not in this weather...) Now I'm getting hungry...

The two main markets are Jean Talon and Atwater. Atwater is much closer to where you will be staying - if you have a car, it's about a 5-minute drive. Jean Talon is much larger but about 15 or 20 minutes away by car. There is much more at Jean Talon, but depending on what you're looking for, there's certainly a decent selection at Atwater. I believe there are some threads here on the two markets, wish you may wish to check out - and also a few on the "other" board. For cheese, there's Fromagerie Atwater (at Atwater Market) and at Jean Talon there's Hamel and Qui Lait Cru (among others). As for the restaurants you mentioned, L'Express is okay, although I prefer Holder (in Old Montreal) for bistro. Au Petit Extra is good (and reasonable). None of these are byob, however. I agree that you should skip Mister Steer, and head to La Paryse for burgers. I dined at Entrecote St Jean in Quebec City last month, and if the Montreal location is similar, I'd skip it...it was okay, but really nothing special. There are a few decent sandwich spots downtown (although they're not inexpensive by any means, but they are good) - MB & Co (on Stanley), and Vasco da Gama (on Peel).

I've been halving them, and they seem to work just fine (as long as the ingredients look like they can be halved - ie- it might be difficult with one that calls for 5 eggs, vs 4). So far, the malted milk is my favourite - by far (and that's really saying something, because they've all been delicious). Although the chocolate raspberry was a very close second. Next up - ginger, and chocolate mint.

I was there the same night, and was really wowed by the food - every time I look at those photos, I'm ready to head back for another dinner. And now that there's a new guest chef announced for next week, I think I will! I wonder if it's gotten busier since opening - hopefully it has...

The Alphonsos I got came from the West Island (Apna Bazaar) and were $20 for a box - they are air-freighted in every Thursday during mango season (which doesn't last for that long, unfortunately...) and they are definitely not picked prematurely. While Ataulfos are pretty good, they just can't compare to the creamy flavour of a ripe Alphonso! Worth every cent, IMHO.

That's a variation based on it, but it's not the same - although it does look good! I may have to try that one next... The one in the book is mangoes, sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt (I left out the rum in mine), but different amounts than in the lime mango sorbet.

David Lebovitz's new book, The Perfect Scoop, has a mango sorbet recipe that's certainly worth trying. It's hard to believe there are no dairly products in it, it's so rich and creamy... I've previously made ice creams with mangoes, but the flavour of the mango was more subtle in them - in this one, it's front and centre, so use the best-quality mangoes you can find (I used my precious Alphonsos...).

I have an old family recipe for bran muffins that I recently rediscovered - not having made them for many years, I was surprised at the large amount of oil called for in the batter (the other liquid in them is milk, but oil is the primary liquid). They are moist and flavourful, but I would like to cut back on some of the fat, without wanting them to be dry (ugh- dry bran muffins ). What could I use as a substitute? Will something like orange juice work? Suggestions?