mmm_chocolate

These all sound great, I'm going to start googling and map-questing...thank you so much for your input! The south indian sounds enticing...we're big fans of indian cuisine, so it would be great to try something different. I'm guessing that Danny Meyer's is the Steven Starr of NYC? I'll have to do some research...

Hello, I'm a Philly e-gulleter coming up to Manhattan with my husband (who has a job interview) to spend the night this Thursday and the day Friday (6/8 and 6/9). I am having unsettling visions of choosing dining destinations based solely on the fact that we happened to stumble across them in a state of hunger. Our hotel is here- Ramada Plaza & Inn - New Yorker Hotel 481 8th Avenue New York City , New York 10001 Apparently it's right next to Madison Square Garden and Penn station and close to the Empire State building. If there is anyone who knows the city well and can point out a few foodie-favored restaurants/cafes/late night snack options within walking area of this location, I'd be much obliged! Thanks!!! -Michelle

World's largest dollarama? Well, now I'm DEFINITELY going.

Thanks so much for the map and address, this should help! I'm glad I asked, I didn't realize it was so big!!

I would like to chime in, because I feel like the Jaipur in KoP needs some more accolades. My husband and I are lucky enough to live about 5 minutes from Jaipur, and visit frequently (well, I did before I started this diet ). For my birthday a year or two ago, we went out to Khajuraho in Ardmore, because we had heard amazing reviews on citysearch. .. Now I don't want to give the wrong impression, because Khajuraho served us good Indian food. It just wasn't AS good as Jaiper for us. And the decor that reviewers had marveled about was at best underwhelming. Jaipur has a cozy candle lit dining room which is quite nice for a quiet dinner. They put a little thought into the ambience. And you will notice the many Indian families happily eating there when you visit... I've been to Devi in Exton for their lunch buffet (dosas included with meal!) and loved it. The only complaint I have there is that on my second visit, the food was lukewarm; hopefully just an off-day. Haven't been to Desi Village yet, but hope to get there soon based on these reviews! Anyway, give Jaipur a try if you are loking for excellent Indian and are in KoP, you will LOVE it. And don't worry, they make their food HOTHOTHOT if you like it that way... By the way, Jaipur is BYOB.

Totally unrelated question which I haven't managed to find on this forum (probably because its silly)... When I take the Metro to Jean-Talon station, am I pretty much AT the JT market, or am I going to have to walk to find it. And how big is it...? Will it take me hours to find my Havre aux Glaces? -Michelle

Well, I'm plotting out all of these recommendations on a map...so when ever in a particular neighborhood and feeling hungry, I'll have options at my fingertips. Currently, Thai has taken a back seat to other restaurants, but I suppose anything is possible when in a strange city, hungry, looking to spot the Kids in the Hall and relying only on my little map for food ideas...it will be interesting to see where we actually end up eating.

I'll try the Google translator with menus. I am also going to try and teach myself some basic French over the next few weeks. It sounds like any attempts at the language are appreciated by the locals when ordering food/drinks, although the verdict may change on that one once my sputterings are heard...

I only have 4 nights, which is making it difficult to chose, with all of the amazing options and recommendations...! Thanks for letting me know La Chronique is mainly seafood, this helps. Thai Grill sounds good, too. I am going to try and squeeze in as much as possible. What I can't wait for is to get to the gelato at Havre aux Glaces! That is going to be the highlight of the trip for me.

La Chronique is fantastic-please try to have dinner there while in town-you will also most probably enjoy Anise. Both of these are featured in this Board. If you can get your hands on the recent Gourmet issue on montreal you will get lots of ideas..Club Chasse et peche should also be on your list.. Alida ← The reviews of Chronique sound great, and I like the look of their website....but I can't read French, which is what the menu is written in. Is it mostly meat, or do they offer a selection of veggie options? I'm not sure if I will pass up Le Chveres (mostly vegetarian) for Chronique. I am feeling a bit intimidated by the fact that I am a vegetarian and don't speak a word of French. Is it worth it to learn a few food vocab words to get me through?

Those dishes look amazing. How was the fish, anyway? It looks lovely. I'm always nervous of ordering fish at an unknown restaurant; I've had too many disappointing meals featuring over cooked chewy fish...

The only Canadian celebrities that I wouldn't mind "sighting" are The Kids in the Hall, which is unlikely! I'm not into restaurants as a status symbol....just bring me excellent food! Thanks for the recommendation, I'll avoid Buonanotte. And I'm surprised at your comments regarding Chu Chai, because it seems to be favored by most reviewers, but I'll definitely check out the alternatives now. Maybe I'll do Red Thai instaed of Chu Chai. I haven't heard a thing about La Chronique, and will have to do some investigation...

For anyone else looking at this topic trying to find vegetarian restaurants in Montreal, this is a good link: http://www.montreal.com/tourism/veggie.html

Agreed....I'd be really mad if I were Dave. They keep praising his food, and his desserts they just went on and on about. I would feel like, "Well, that's great that you think I'm the best, too bad it didn't play any sort of role in your decision to send me home." It's like they felt bad for not picking him and were trying to let him know how great he is. But it's kind of like salt in a wound. Honestly though, I think that Dave will do great based on his exposure on this show. And even though he didn't get to the top two, the judges had so many good things to say about him...he'ss probably do better than Tiffini.

Yeah...I was relishing in the "boo-hoo" moment too, Deveaux! Oh, poor you, who was incorrectly and inexplicably let through not once but TWICE to get to the end round. In my opinion, she didn't deserve to be in the final two, a fact that I hope she realizes when she watches the last few episodes. And I just kept thinking, "Too bad Tiffini, but...what goes around comes around." How funny was it that Stephen and Dave were all hungover and drinking in the kitchen?? She deserved that too!

I was wondering about the point when the producers asked Tiffini about her dessertas and she took credit for everything. Based on what we, the audience, saw, and what Dave said, she had nothing at all to do with those desserts. And I wondered, "why is she blatantly lying to them when they have footage of what happened?" But then I thought that perhaps I am a victim of the producers, who edited the whole dessert thing, cutting out any "in depth conversation" between Tiffini and Dave to make it LOOK LIKE it was all Dave's idea and execution. In other words, they wanted to make Tiffini look like a liar to create drama. Except when asked at the Judges Table, Dave did seem to take all the credit.... Thoughts?

Thanks for the info!!

I think I just found a thirds restaurant --- Milos http://www.milos.ca/en/montreal/menu/special/index.html which was also based on a (very brief) recommendation on this forum. Any additional thoughts about Milos are welcome!

Hi! I've been pouring over the Montreal restaurant reviews in this forum and have yet to find any info on the following restaurants: The Jardin Nelson http://www.jardinnelson.com/en/index.html Buonanotte http://www.buonanotte.com/index2.html and Chao Phraya http://www.chao-phraya.com/ My husband and I will be travelling to Montreal for 4 nights in late June and are looking for awesome places to eat. We will be staying at the Auberge du Vieux Port http://www.aubergeduvieuxport.com/ and so breakfast is covered. So far, it seems that Les Chevres is a must. Also on the list is La Gaudriole (based on recommedations from this forum). Other than that, I am still looking for the other two evenings. My husband and I are vegetarians....but we do eat fish. And we love Thai. If anyone has any thoughts on the above mentioned restaurants, or alternate suggestions, I would greatly appreciate the feedback! Thanks!!! Michelle

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner!! For a vegan cake, I use EnerG Egg Replacer powder, which can be found at most Whole Foods locations. You just use the equivalent of two eggs according to the package directions. Soymilk is used in place of the milk, same quantity. I have been meaning to try and use banana as an egg replacer; I think that could be quite tasty! I have made this as a vegan cake and as a regular cake, and everyone (including me, and we're all non-vegans) prefers the vegan version. It doesn't make any sense, but there ya go...awesome cake every time.

Hello Again, Friday night, I had dinner with my husband at the Black Lab Bistro in Phoenixville. It was surprisingly large for a BYOB; the high ceilings, exposed brick wall and ample room between tables made for a pleasant dining atmosphere. As we weren't exceedingly hungry, we decided to share some starters and top them off with a shared dessert. We ordered the Caesar Salad, the Portobello and Polenta, Black Corn Fried Ravioli, and Artichoke Fritters. The Caesar was terrific, with fresh lettuce and just the right amount of zesty dressing. One of the cardinal sins of caesars is loading on the creamy dressing, so much so that the romaine leaves end up pasted together. I am always pleased to find a chef who understands that while dressing is a very important component of a salad, balancing all of the ingredients is more important. The portobello and polenta cake was quite good, but not stellar. The mushrooms were sauteed in a balsamic and olive oil sauce, which could have used an additional......well, something. Rosemary would be my suggestion. The polenta cake was good, no complaints there. I enjoyed the artichoke fritters, which were marinated artichoke hearts fried in a simple fritter batter. They could have been a tad crispier, but that would be my only criticism of this plate. They were accompanied with a marinara sauce for dipping, which lent mild flavor without overpowering the chokes. The Fried Ravioli were a big disappointment. First of all, the menu calls them "blue" corn ravioli. They were not blue. There may have been tiny blue flecks in the pasta dough, but I wanted BLUE food on my plate and was disappointed not to see it. They were quite small, measuring about 1" x 1" and only about 6 or 7 of them comprised the dish. They were reportedly stuffed with montery jack cheese, which I did not see or taste. What I saw and tasted was a traditional ricotta filling, which doesn't lend tons of flavor on its own. While I assume that they were fried, I had expected some sort of crispiness, which they failed to deliver. They were a bit chewy and stiff, but not crispy. The accompanyment of "avocado relish" was nice, but not enough to improve upon the ravioli. We ended the meal with a flourless chocolate cake with chocolate mousse. This was VERY rich and chocolatey, almost too much for me. The chocolate mousse served with it was of the traditional egg-based sort and very heavy and rich. I would have preferred a whipped cream based mousse to provide some sort of contrast to the "heavyness" of the cake. All in all, the Black Lab Bistro was a mixed bag when it comes to starters and desserts. The entrees I saw coming out of the kitchen looked great, and I will probably return to sample them. I would say this is a nice restaurant for casual dining with a great atmosphere....just don't expect to be blown away by the food. I promise I'll remember my camera next time!! -Michelle

Does anyone know if LeeAnn's blog back up? I heard it was taken down after she was booted, but I would love to read it if it's out there somewhere! I only see Gail and Tom's on the bravo site today, but maybe I don't know where to look...

I agree with this.....I actually turned it off because it bored/annoyed me. It's not that I don't find them interesting people, it's just that without the food/challenge element, this reunion show was merely a bitch fest. I too think Colicchio seemed out of his element. It was too much of the "reality show" vibe with all the fighting and name calling for my tates. I much prefer watching these individuals interact and bitch and fight while under pressure in the kitchen! I'm still mad about Lee Ann being kicked off too, which I'm sure added to my boycotting of this episode....

Hi I'm new to egullet! I LOVE Top Chef and was so excited to see a thread about the show. I have to agree with the many who feel that Lee Ann deserved a spot in the top three. I've worked extensively in the food industry and feel like there are more than enough Top Chefs With Attitude to go around. Both Lee Ann and Dave are great examples of the fact that you don't have to be arrogant and patronizing to be a well-respected and excellent chef. I agree with JohnRov's comments that "it's still a reality show." Part of me thinks that the producers kept Tiffani in the final three because the animosity/tension between her, Harold and Dave would make for better television during sweeps. That's really unfortunate, because I felt like Lee Ann could go all the way to win. -Michelle

I agree with you, Sencha. Soda is great with pretzels and salty snacks; provides a yin-yang sort of thing. Maybe with any sort of salt laden junk food or fast food. Root beer and pretzels would have to rank up there as one of my all time favorite junk food snacks!