thomasein

The best chicken I had in Montreal, in fact the best I had anywhere, was a roast chicken with vin jaune sauce at Joe Beef. As it was truffle season mine was roasted with black truffles whose flavour infused the flesh. Even sans truffles, I am sure it is delicious.

Well, in the past I have purchased white truffles from both Chez Louis and Chez Nino at Marche Jean Talon.

I had forgotten about these two. Have never been to the former (have seen the commercials), and had a waiter at the Angus that switched steaks on me about 6-odd years ago. No time to grill. Besides, I've already done my annual obligation to grill protein for 15. At the moment, leaning back towards Moishe's. ← You might wish to consider Garde Manger on St-Francois-Xavier. I had the bavette there and it was amazing. One of best pieces of meat that I have had in Montreal.

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? ← Well, you are allowed to do both. La Chronique's menu is very seafood orientated and that is why I recommended it for you. I should also make a correction to my earlier post. When I said that Red Thai is the best in Montreal, what I should have said is Thai Grill. 10 years ago my original statement might have been true but no longer. If you intend to do Thai I would really recommend that you go to Thai Grill, located at the corner of St. laurent and Laurier.

You are correct that Les Chevres is a must, but I strongly suspect that you will enjoy La Chronique as well. You can search for reviews of La Chronique on this site. As for Thai, I believe that the Red Thai is the best in the city. Better than Chao Phraya, not to say that Chao Phraya is bad. For purely vegetarian Thai, there is Chu Chai but to be honest I don't care much for their food. Not imaginative and a bit bland. Oh, and I would defintately avoid Buona Notte. Even if you are into celebrity sitings there are better places in the city and the food in and of itself will just leave you feeling ripped off.

hmmm, sounds more like Flammekueche or Tarte Flambe. i will definately check it out. as for pizza, i have to second the vote for Amelio's, when I was at McGill it was practically a stable in our research group. Thomas

The 2004 vintage is said to be classic and 2005 stellar. Let's hope the prices stay more or less put. You weren't alone; several who attended have since told me they found it wow-worthy. I didn't dislike it so much as find it disconcerting (it was nothing like the zin ringer I'd been hoping for). I also wonder how it would fare at table. But character it had in spades. ← Actually, when I said that I will be watching out for the Julienas Michel Tête it is perhaps better to say that I am obsessed with trying to find the 2002. After many fruitless searches I have given up and probably content myself with waiting for the 2004 and 2005 to arrive. I can't wait.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find my notes from that evening, so I will have to limit my comments to a few major points. From the first flight, I was not particularly impressed with the Kim Crawford. Perhaps, this is just my bias as sauvignon blanc is not a favourite of mine - as I tend to lean more towards german varietals. Nonetheless, I did appreciate that the Menetou-Salon could be paired very well with seafood and especially shellfish. From the second flight, the Juliénas 2002 was a revelation for me and the highlight of the night. It was truly fabulous and very well structured. For me, it showed that one can achieve a wonderful complexity of flavours without the result being muddied or overpowering. I will definately be watching what Michel Tête comes out with in the next few years. I was one of the people who liked the Primitivo di Manduria from the third flight. Though, perhaps it is more accurate to say that I was intrigued. Intrigued by the interplay of the earthiness of the nose and peppery spicyness present in the mouth. Yes, it is a bit ragged around the edges, but that made it kind of exciting. I did enjoy the Lytton Springs, but not at that price.

you are correct and i would definitely pass on this one. i went there once a few years ago and was very unimpressed. it is essentially a second rate vietnamese restaurant that tries to differentiate itself by offering third rate thai food. i don't remember there being any sushi but god knows what that is like. furthermore, it is overpriced. You would be much better off at Beijing or even Kam Fung.

yes, i have and would certainly recommend Cafe Italia to anyone in need of a ristretto. never tried at Olympico - that place doesn't do it for me. ← in montreal olympico is a class of above the rest in terms of the flavour of their espresso. The cream is the right colour (dark brown), there is a perfect balance of cream to coffe to aroma. Olympico s espresso is beter than 70% of the espressi you would have in italy. Latini is also a higher standard for espresso, but who can afford to eat there? ← I do not disagree with what you are saying. I was referring to the ambience of cafe olympico, i do not doubt that the expresso is excellent. As for the coffee in Italy, I have found the quality so variable as to render meaningless it's use as any sort of datum.

yes, i have and would certainly recommend Cafe Italia to anyone in need of a ristretto. never tried at Olympico - that place doesn't do it for me.

I never heard such a thing, in any case .... Bo does serve it as an appetizer but I didn't partake. If I would be in a need of a gyoza fix I would go to Isakaya.

I must admit that I found Bô somewhat disappointing. Not that the food was bad. In fact, i found it all quite good. The lemongrass and cilantro martinis are very refreshing. The food is prepared reasonably well and with subtlety. My problem is that the restaurant's conceit is that it covers all of the major cuisines of southeast asia (japanese, chinese, thai, indonesia and vietnamese). Thus it was my hope that I would be able to experience all of the aformentioned cuisines. However, to me the spicing and food were all prepared in a chinese manner, thus was served was all chinese food, though some dishes were inspired by, say, vietnamese or ... spices. Like I said the food is quite good, but was not congruent with my a priori expectations.

hello, having been able to procure some truffles i am intending to prepare some fairly simple dishes to fully experience the flavour. it was an epiphany for me when I was first served a simple dish of fresh tagliatelle with white truffles. Anyways, can anyone recommend wines to pair with truffles? Any recommendation or direction would be useful. Thanks.

don't know about frank prial, but have read similar articles on the New York Times and the BBC about how increasing temperatures are leading to wines with much higher alcohol content. In California it is not uncommon to see wines with an alcohol content of 17%. Of course, the complete story is more complicated, but a major reason is the increasing temperature associated with global warming. Incidentally, many french and italian wines are said to age less well for the same reason.

I would greatly appreciate any recommendation for sunday brunch. I realize that this issue has been discussed before, but most of the information provided is somewhat dated. The Ritz has become increasingly tired in its food, and the quality of service has fallen even further (for example, during brunch they decided to water the plants during the course of which her purse got soaked and was a write-off). As well, note that Savanah (which a number of people recommended) no longer serves brunch. I know some newer restaurants serve brunch, like O'Thyme, but I have no clue if it is any good. I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks. Thomas

Perhaps the confusion is because the restaurant while being around for five years or so did have a major renovation last year. The decor is still somewhat plain, but the size of the restaurant has doubled. While the sushi is good, it is certainly not the best in Montreal - that the prices are modest probably helped boost its ratings. Nonetheless, some of the appetizers are definitely very good. Many are a fusion of Japanese and French styles which ironically is very authentic as that style is very much in vogue. In fact, the whole dining experience is very close to what one would find in Japan where it is very rare to have a whole dinner composed solely of sushi. Speaking of sushi restaurants - it seems that the curse of the locale has struck again as Yoshi on St. Laurent has ignominiously closed. And what has announced that it is opening across the street at another cursed locale? Why a sushi restaurant - that will be called Sino, I think.

yes and no. it is a regular night in that it si open late every thursday. But special events with a guest chef are irregular and held once a month or so. I will try to find out when the next "special" event will be held.

It is mentioned in Air Canada's Enroute magazine that Ducasse will be opening a restaurant in Montreal in 2004. I suppose it is not that suprising since he has about a dozen restuarants around the world. I doubt that it would be viable to open a true Ducasse restaurant in Montreal where dinner for two would cost $1k. However, I suppose one of his "Spoon" restaurants could succeed.

um, no. that is why i started this thread. what I have heard about the food has been decidedly mixed, but that is perhaps to be expected in the first week or so. as well, while the decor sounds interesting it also seems none too romantic - that is, appropriate for valentine's day. thomas

Yes, it opened about 2 weeks ago or so. and no it is not booked solid.

Hello, I will be in town around Feb. 14 visiting my girlfriend. Trying to think of a restaurant I have thought of going to Riingo. I guess I am curious about the following: - The food concept sounds intriguing but does anyone know if the food matches up? Despite the reputation of the people involved I am concerned that they may not have all of the bugs ironed out. - What is the decor like? While descriptions of it sound like it is unique, can a romantic evening be had there? Thanks so much for any advice. thomas

This thread has been somewhat excruciating but I cannot help but add to it. Clearly, price has to be factored into the rating of any restaurant. For example, if I go to Essex House it better be close to the best meal I ever had in my life if not it is a disappointment. Consider an analogy with wine. It is easy to chose a good wine if money is no object. If a bottle of wine that costs $100 a bottle is equally as good as a bottle that costs $20 should they be rated equally? I bet most people would have no difficulty in chosing between these two "equal" wines.

You didn't mention budget. If you are willing to spend a bit more try Zen Ya, it is located on Ste. Catherine O. next to the Parisian theatre. The sushi is very good (though not as good as Shodan, say) but they have an excellent selection of cooked dishes. Some of the cooked appetizers are excellent and I have had friends (who inexplicably also do do love sushi) who very much enjoyed the teriyaki dishes. incidentally, the decor is very dramatic. p.s. if budget is an issue try Isakaya on Parc ave.