carswell

It ended up being a thoroughly enjoyable meal. I got to taste three starters (avocado and mango salad; squid salad; and grilled scallops with a mini-tamale, honduran cream and pineapple salsa), three mains (BBQ salmon with mojo; roast cornish game hen with mole; and the duck breast with posole) and three desserts (lemon tart; crème brûlée; and panna cotta). There wasn't a weak dish among them. The salmon was unusual and vibrant. The mole, though less complex than some traditional Mexican preparations, was packed with flavour (cocoa and almond in particular) and blessedly free of graininess. The duck was perfectly cooked and subtly sauced, the real flavour punch coming from the sides of roasted parsnips, a sautéed bitter green (like baby rapini) and green and red pepper-spiked posole. Indeed, the interplay of flavours, textures and colours on each plate was one of the highlights of the experience; Chef Ferguson has got the synergy game down pat. Also striking was the clarity: each ingredient sings through in a beautifully delineated chorus of flavours (and given the number of flavours involved, that's quite a feat). The desserts were all winners. Pineapple sauce and cap of mint-flecked mango shreds saved the panna cotta from conventionality. Three sweet spices (cardamon, cinnamon and one I'm forgetting) kicked the crème brûlée to a higher plane. The lemon tart's filling had a texture as surprising as it was exquisite. The décor is minimalist cool but not frigid. Colourful accents are provided by wind-up toys on each table, which also proved a source of amusement to more than one diner between courses. While the wine list could be longer, it gets the job done (extra points for not having a single chardonnay among the whites). A couple of the most affordable reds and whites are offered by the glass; my aperitif of Marques de Marialva, a zingy white Bairrada, cost all of $6. Oh, and a decent espresso or tea is included in the $27 table d'hôte. On a bitterly cold Friday night, the restaurant was no more than a third full. I hope that was due to the weather. This operation deserves a full house. Anyway, we're going to do our part: like onionbreath, all four persons in our party vowed to return. That should tell you something.

And here I always thought it stood for Petros Alexandropoulos or some such. Park Ave., eh? How banal... Anyway, I know and frequent the PA location but had no idea they'd expanded. Can see how they'd offer some real competition to the Faubourg and Plantation. Wonder if Mourelatos feels like a sitting duck... Like you, I dread the thought of losing Cuisine Bangkok. BTW, I've been noticing that one of the more popular stalls is the Taiwanese place at the west end of the north row. Ever try it?

- An organic produce store to go with the organic butcher's. - A caterer with first-rate prepared dishes for reheating, like the shop that the late lamented Marcello opened next to his eponymous restaurant on Laurier East (now La Guadriole).

You mean like where Motta or the bulk foods store is? Is it taking over another store's space? If not, hard to imagine how they'd squeeze it in. But the people running those stores don't have the knowledge of either the French or English publishing industry — let alone both — necessary either to identify worthwhile titles or to order and stock them. Plus, I bet the usual order of things is that Montrealers buy a Chinese cookbook in a non-ethnic bookstore and only then make the trek to Chinatown to buy fermented bean paste or an authentic wok. I'm all for local though I'm not about to give up figs or chestnuts because they're not hardy to zone 4b. And "local produce, food and customs" are in constant flux. Ten years ago, you couldn't get a non-purple eggplant at JTM for love or money. Ditto arugula, white asparagus, Philibon melons, meyer lemons. Another thing to bear in mind is that the JTM has always been as much an Italian market as a Québécois one. The Faitas, the now owners of Dante Hardware, got their start as vegetable vendors there. Twenty years ago, JTM was just about the only place in town where you could reliably find fresh cranberry beans, fennel, etc., none of which has a place in traditional Quebec cuisine. For sure. That's why I buy as much as possible from local producers. But as far as produce goes, that's really only an option for six or seven months a year. And we shouldn't be expected to lower our standards just to support the industry; the industry should rise to meet ours. And that means, among other things, providing us with more than just traditional foodstuffs. Why are fingerling potatoes so hard to come by in Quebec? Nantes-style carrots? Yellow corn? Grits? Why do I have to head for Au Pied du Cochon when I want impeccably fresh Gulf of St. Lawrence seafood? Why are fresh cloudberries never to be seen? I also think it means being honest about what Quebec can and can't do. Hope springs eternal, but should I feel obligated to buy Quebec red wine when I have yet to encounter a worthwhile bottle and am even willing to concede that red hybrids can produce pleasurable wines (Quail Gate's Maréchal Foch, for example)? In the end, though, I think the case you still haven't made is how futher integrating other cultures into the JTM scene would adversely affect the blossoming of local culture.

I don't think it's the case in Ontario, ademello, and I don't know about elsewhere. I wonder what the taxes/fees/duties are in Alberta. It might be worth your while to post a query on the Western Canada board and plan on returning through Calgary next time.

Good to hear. Some friends and I are dining there tonight.

Don't quote me on this, but IIRC the figure is slightly over 90% in Quebec and around 45% in Ontario. That applies only to the first case's worth of wine, though. Exceed the limit and you relive ademello's nightmare: You're right that it depends on the mood of the officer. Assuming you don't decide to join the small stampede of Quebecers gunning through smalltown Customs stations without stopping, your best strategy is to put together a problematic (from Custom's standpoint) case of bottles — obscure appellations and producers, a mix of bottle sizes (200 ml, 375 ml, 620 ml, 1000 ml) — and to arrive by car late at night. My experience is that their eyes will cross and they'll waive you through about a third of the time. Also, obscure wines are not likely to be on their price lists, so they'll have a harder time proving that the wines are worth more than you're declaring. Not that any of us would ever do that, of course.

What's more, the CSN isn't giving them the two weeks of strike pay they lost because of the SEMB's cash crunch. I also heard that the CSN has contacted Sun Youth about providing food baskets for the strikers. Extrapolation: either they settle soon or the employees start looking for work elsewhere. That, in fact, might be an inducement for the SAQ; training lots of new staff at a time when their focus ought to be on getting the operation back on its feet would be a major hassle. Also, their managerial staff has got to be complaining at this point. Anyway, the parties are finally back at the bargaining table. We'll have a better idea of the outlook in a few days.

One way or the other, the government will get its money. The state's cut, mainly in the form of taxes, is the same whether the bottle is sold at a dépanneur or an SAQ outlet or through a restaurant or a private importer. In the end, the government wouldn't be giving up much control, only hassle; even after the "privatization" of liquor sales in Alberta, the government continues to set a minimum price for the products sold. And if ever our government, post privatization, found that its alcoholic beverage income was down, it could simply raise the taxes on booze. Also, I've heard from more than one source that the government (not the same thing as the SAQ) would like to privatize. In fact, the HEC prof I referred to above said that in 1985 the PQ government had a privatization plan in place and was ready to roll until the process hit the union roadblock. Apparently the stores were going to be cooperatives run by employees and outside investors.

I don't think I have the stomach for it either... Will you be doing a write-up on it for your column, Maeve? If not, let us know how it turned out.

Haven't seen any recently, but you'll sometimes find them at Chez Louis (514 277-4670) and Chez Nino (514 277-8902) at the Jean-Talon Market and Fruiterie Atwater (514 939-3035) at the Atwater Market. If I recall correctly, last spring Lesley mentioned seeing them at La Mer. Yep (clickety).

This just in. SAQ outlet and office employees have voted to ditch their former union, the SEMB, in favour of the CSN. The workers have gone without strike pay for two weeks now. Joining the CSN means strike pay will resume. However, full-time employees will receive only $150 a week, compared with the $200 a week they received from the SEMB; part-time employees will receive proportionally less. For background, see SAQ workers beef up forces, strike goes on (CBC Montreal) and SAQ staff ready to raise a glass to new union (the Gazette). I wonder what this means for the future. The CSN has deep pockets. On the other hand, the employees sound increasingly desperate.

Great sinus-clearing stuff, eh? It seems to be a staple in the Chinatown stores on St-Laurent. And in early December I saw it at one of the stores on the west side of Victoria north of Van Horne (there's the Marché Victoria Orientale and an East/West Indian store two blocks north and a Viet/Thai/Chinese store three blocks north). Or maybe it was at the newly expanded Kim Phat on Côte-des-Neiges and Goyer. Why not let your fingers do the walking? Marché Victoria Orientale 6324 Victoria 514 737-4715 Kim Phat 3588 Goyer 514 737-2383 Sorry but I don't recall the names of the other stores...

Agreed. And I don't mean to knock it. It's just that I've increasingly come to desire regional cookbooks and it's surprising how few of them there are, even for cuisines as popular as Italian and Chinese. Due surely to the fact that many excellent ominbus cookbooks are already available and probably to the inceasing sophistication of cookbook buyers, that's beginning to change — there's been a small explosion of Tuscan cookbooks in the last couple of years along with a few Sicilian books and even an excellent tome on the cooking of the Northeast (La Terra Fortunata) — but there's still a long way to go. Yes, but not carefully. I had originally dismissed it as just another "Indian restaurant food" style book. I'll give it a more careful look. Well, it's definitely a restaurateur's book. But, as several of the contributors to the referred thread pointed out, Kochhar brings a surprising freshness to the dishes and blazes at least one path toward a modern Indian cuisine. And so far none of the recipes is a dud. Yes, many areas seem to have some amazing combinations from the entire spectrum of what we consider "regional". I guess the natives aren't as concerned with regional boundaries as we are. Tradiitional regional cooking has often embraced outside influences. Think tomato and chile, for example. There's a traditional Sicilian rabbit dish I cook that combines Arab, Spanish and North African ingredients; all three cultures at one time held sway over that amazing island. Ditto Friuli in the Northeast, where sauerkraut, dill and exotic spices are common due to the region's once having been part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, to its proximity to Solvenia and to its long history as a port of entry for the spice trade. Apparently, that's what happened in Assam, too. Here's the publisher's blurb from The Essential North-East Cookbook in that Penguin India series: All I know is that with its sweet and sour sauce, star anise, kaffir lime leaves and bamboo shoots in combination with more "traditional" Indian flavours (tumeric, Kashmiri chile, ground fennel, etc.), the tenga was like Southeast Asia on a plate and, man, did I love it.

You know, onionbreath, I distinctly remembered reading a positive report on Jolifou somewhere. I even checked the Voir, Hour and Chowhound sites before starting this thread, but not the next page of the forum, as it hadn't registered in my brain that Jolifou was even open in mid-November. So, sorry I didn't add the link to the Gazette article to your earlier thread and thanks for keeping us on top of the latest developments!

Today's Gazoo has a background article, titled Constructive Chef and written by Julian Armstrong, on the new 40-seat Rosemont resto run by chef David Ferguson (Toqué!, Senzala, Au Pied de Cochon, Coyote Cafe) and Hélène Brault. And for once the article is available on line, though probably not for long. Jolifou 1840 Beaubien East 514 722-2175 Website: www.jolifou.com Lunch M-F: mains run $11-13 Dinner Tu-Su: three-course table d'hôte $27 Licensed Cooking is said to be French with Latin accents. Anybody been?

What those guys said. They're a frequent ingredient in sauces (think Bercy and Bernaise). Here's an example (aka wine reduction sauce): Sauté a chopped shallot or two in butter until transparent, add a cup or three of wine and reduce by three-quarters. Correct seasoning. For a richer sauce, after removing the saucepan from the heat, swirl in some butter cut into small pieces. The white wine version of this (sometimes with a shot of sherry vinegar added at the start) is great with fish, the red wine with lamb and other red meats. One of my standard variations on that theme: Sauté a rib eye in butter and remove from pan. Salt and pepper generously. Dump most of the fat from the pan and sauté a chopped shallot in the remainder. Add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce until syrupy. Pour over the steak. Minced shallots are also used to flavour butter, often with chopped herbs. Let minced shallot marinate for 15 minutes in vinegar or citrus juice, then add olive oil and, if so moved, some fresh herbs for a delicious vinaigrette. The red wine vinegar version is great on green bean and/or tomato salads, the white on leeks vinaigrette (preferably with anchovy filets and seived hard-cooked egg). Both, and sherry vinegar besides, are good on grilled meats; the lemon/orange juice versions are perfect foils for oily fish like salmon. The next time you roast chopped root veggies, peel a few shallots and add them to the mix. If your shallots begin to sprout before you get through them, don't despair. Plant them in a shallow pot of earth and place them in a bright window. The shoots are delicious in salads and used as a seasoning like chives.

The good news is the owners say they plan to rebuild and reopen soon. Wonder if they'll keep/recreate the "Open da night" sign.

Wasn't Alice B Toklas the lover of Gertrude Stein? I'm sure I saw a recipe of hers that included hashish in it somwhere... ← Indeed she was; Stein wrote her autobiography. And, yep, the recipe, for "haschich fudge (which anyone could whip up on a rainy day)," comes from the eponymous cookbook. The headnote to the recipe is a classic. In it she suggests the fudge "might prove an entertaining refreshment for a Ladies' Bridge Club or a chapter meeting of the DAR" [Daughters of the American Republic] and advises "Euphoria and brilliant storms of laughter; ecstaic reveries and extensions of one's personality on several simultaneous planes are to be complacently expected. Almost anything Saint Theresa did, you can do better if you can bear to be ravished by 'un évanouissment reveillé.'" They don't write 'em like that anymore.

Our spring equinox dinner often features a gigot de la clinique. Instead of repeating myself, I'll just repost the recipe as I once wrote it up for another website: Here in Montreal you can buy them at pharmacies and without a prescription. (I always feel like I have to explain that I'm not a drug addict, though.) If that's not possible where you live, try contacting a health care provider (clinic, doctor, nurse), a veterinarian or a diabetic.

Got it, Paul. And, you're right that it's great. But, technically speaking, it's not a regional cookbook. (Some might even claim that curries as such aren't Indian, but that's a whole nother discussion.) Still, it demonstrates that some enterprising Montreal store could stock the entire series. By the way, have you checked out Atul Kochhar's Indian Essence? The Canadian edition, published by Whitecap in Vancouver, runs around $30. All of the half dozen or so dishes I've made from it to date have been excellent, though the prize goes to one I tried during the holidays: tenga, a sweet and sour fish curry from Assam (East India), replete with bamboo shoots, star anise and kaffir lime leaves, a kind of missing link between Indian cooking and that of Southeast Asia. It has made me more desperate than ever to learn about the region's cooking.

I feel for them too, max, and wonder how some of the employees I know and like are holding up. Christmas must have been very subdued for them and their kids this year. On the other hand, the union showed zero sympathy for us and other consumers when they deprived us of access to decent wine and all spirits at the time of year when those libations are central to our celebrations and most in demand. I also resent their telling Quebecers they shouldn't buy booze in Ontario (Why shouldn't we? We should suffer more out of solidarity?), and I really resent their harassment of people standing in line to get into a store. (For the record, I have yet to cross a picket line or bop over to Ontariariario.) To some extent, it depends on the store. The staff at the Vintages outlets is quite knowledgeable. Hawkesbury is another story, though in their defence they've hired a lot of people off the street just to handle the increased volume. And the culture in Ontario is different: sales of spirts are higher and of wines proportionally lower than in Quebec, so LCBO employees are not as wine-focused as their SAQ counterparts. Why would it do that? As a concession to the union? Actually, I'd been wondering whether the strike wouldn't push the monoply to expand its line of supermarket/dep wines. However, when I advanced that theory at a holiday dinner, another guest, an HEC prof, said he thought it was unlikely. He claimed that trade agreements are the reason why dep wines are so crappy. As I understand his argument, it is only by selling generic (even the wines labelled "vin de cépage" come with no information about the grape varieties used), non-vintage wines bottled in Quebec that the SAQ can get away with controlling the show. As soon as they sell a single wine that doesn't fit that paradigm in a dep or supermarket, they'll be forced to open the flood gates and make a wide selection of imported wines available through the dep/supermarket network, failing which they'll face sanctions. And then they'd really incur the wrath of the union (indeed, of the entire union movement in Quebec), which is already paranoid about supermarket sales since it considers them a form of backdoor privatization. Can anyone here vouch for the accuracy of this prof's propos?

The fish monger's is the northernmost store of the extension. Just south of that is, IIRC, the about-to-be-opened organic butcher's. And just south of that is the pasta store. Like Les vollailes et gibiers du marché and the other stores on the south side of the extension, the doors of all three stores open to the outside, i.e. you can't get at them without leaving the foyer and stepping outdoors. I see your point. But, applying the same reasoning, would you have the cooking supplies store not carry woks or cast-iron cornbread pans? I also think it's important to bear in mind that many, maybe even most, shoppers at the JTM don't cook only Québécois or Quebec-influenced food. Despite the recent gentrification, there are lots of immigrants who shop there. Shouldn't their cooking preferences be reflected in the cookbook store? And wouldn't it be great if someone who's just picked up some quénèpes or fresh dates at Sami could wander over to the cookbook store and buy a book on tropical fruits or Moroccan cooking while he was still at the market and had ready access the other ingredients for, say, a tagine? Remember, this is the city's only cookbook store and the big stores just aren't doing the job. There was a time when Renaud-Bray on Côte-des-Neiges, then in the space now occupied by Oliveri, had a truly bilingual cookbook section, and it was wonderful, the best of both worlds. These days, they have about a shelf full of English books. And even the French sections at the big French-language stores are understocked; try finding a decent cookbook on Alsatian or Franche-Comté cuisine, for example. They exist. I have some bought in France in my collection. You just can't buy them here. What's more, the selection of ethnic cookbooks in Montreal, in English or French, is pitiful. (Case in point: Penguin India is publishing a reportedly fantastic series of paperback books on Indian regional cooking. Not one of these is available in Montreal. Heck, I've only ever seen a single volume of Julie Sahni's works in Montreal, and she's mainstream.) And forget about cookbooks in languages other than English and French. Not surprisingly, the best Spanish cookbooks are in Spanish. Even someone like me who doesn't speak much Spanish has little trouble reading recipes from them. Why should I have to jump through hoops, or wait until my next trip to NYC or Madrid, to buy them? I really don't care if the shop is located at the JTM or somewhere else. I just want to be able to go to a store with a selection of excellent cookbooks representative of the world's cuisines and with a staff that knows something about cooking and cookbook publishing. And I expect that if the current store at JTM doesn't do something along the lines of what I suggest, it won't be long for this world. Wonder what the Marché des Saveurs people would say about that. I'd bet that alcoholic beverages account for a sizeable chunk of their sales, even when there isn't a strike at the SAQ, and can't see them being thrilled at the prospect of losing it. That said, I'm all for making it easier to support the local industry (as long as their products are palatable, that is).

Thanks for the heads-up, poutine. You've got me thinking that someone should open an artisanal smoker at the market or elsewhere. They could sell their own line of products (fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, cheese, beer malt...) smoked over various types of wood and also custom smoke items brought in by customers (fishers, hunters, etc.). Agreed. Which makes the mediocrity of their duck confit all the more surprising.

A union spokesperson recently encouraged Quebec consumers not to buy wine and spirits in Ontario. It's exactly the same as crossing a picket line, he said. A Quebec government spokesperson recently mentioned that buying wine and spirits in another province and bringing it into Quebec is illegal. However, it would be impractical and not cost-effective for the government to enforce the law, she said. Instead, she encouraged Quebecers who purchased wine and spirits from the LCBO to ask for the provincial sales tax to be refunded and then to remit the tax to Revenu Québec. Who says union and government officials don't have a sense of humour?