carswell

Leméac, Savannah, Bice, Rosalie (though it's a scene), Delfino. Julien's terrace used to be a winner but it's been years since I've been. Also, Aux Rites Berbères and Santropol when the budget is tight. Edit: La Bastide, Monkland Tavern. In the very affordable category: Terasse Lafayette, La Petite Ardoise. Edit: Oops, missed the "delicious ... wines" bit. Aux Rites Berbères and Terasse Lafayette are BYOB. AFAIK, Santropol isn't licensed, though it does whip up a mean smoothie.

Point taken. St-Laurent is certainly trendier; St-Denis between Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve is probably the better east-end analogue to Crescent. On the other hand, the arrival of Newtown (Jacques Villeneuve's upscale-ish resto/bar on Crescent and de Maisonneuve) and Rosalie (a bistro one block over on Mountain, the latest venture of Globe's Dave McMillian) and the sprucing-up of many of longstanding establishments have added lustre. And it was party central for last weekend's F1 celebrations. Still, there's no Hard Rock Cafe on St-Laurent and no movie stars on Crescent, so you're more right than wrong.

Montreal used to have a number of de facto gay restaurants spread around the city. In the late '70s, for example, there was Au Jardin, a vegetarian restaurant on the Plateau, and TipTop, That Great Canadian Cafe and, if I recall correctly, the Limelight (not the disco of the same name) in western downtown plus others in the Mile End and nothern Plateau neighbourhoods. In the years since, the booming gay scene has become concentrated in the so-called Village east of downtown, where there are restaurants galore. What's interesting is how many of them are mediocre or worse and yet do a land-office business. Is it because of the captive audience (ghetto mentality)? Dining taking a back seat to convenience (proximity to bars, saunas, shops, community organizations and home)? Your theory that good food is not necessarily the raison d'être of such places? Probably all of the above. There are also parallels to be drawn with the city's hetero see-and-be-scenery strips like St-Laurent north of Sherbrooke and Crescent between Ste-Catherine and Sherbrooke: a handful of decent dining spots in a sea of dreck.

This just in from Rehoboth Beach, where my sister spent a recent weeked with her hubby and daughter. She learned a new euphemism for gays (à la "friends of Dorothy") when she asked the owner of their B&B — a straight-laced retired military officer — for dining advice and mentioned that Lala Land looked interesting. "Oh, no," he warned, "that's for people from D.C." She surpressed a laugh and enjoyed making him squirm by replying, "Well, great. We're from D.C., too!"

They might know: Wagyu Canada Inc. 3501 - 57 St. Camrose AB T4V 4N2 Tel: 780-672-2990 Fax: 780-672-6085 Toll Free: 1-877-672-5623 E-mail: beef@kobeclassic.com Website: www.kobeclassic.com President/CEO: Pat McCarthy General Office Mgr: Kimberly McCarthy Sales: Pat McCarthy Product(s): Marbled Wagyu Beef (Bone In, Boneless) Brand(s): Kobe Classic Beef

Very good to excellent, foodwise. Certainly one of the province's top BYOs. Cooking is best described as modern French with an emphasis on local ingredients, especially in the warmer months (the resto's logo is a mushroom and the chef forages for them in the woods behind the restaurant). Both times I've been there was as part of a group, and a succession of fine French wines accompanied the meals to perfection. Several of the first courses and at least one of the mains call for a white; consider taking a half bottle along. Several of the main courses feature game, so an elegant red with some stuffing — think Northern Rhone, Médoc, Burgundy or their New World equivalents — will fill the bill (a Côte Rôtie was a stunning match for the venison with blueberries the first time I was there). All in all, it's wine-friendly food and the stemware is good enough to show fine wines to advantage. Tip: The place is in the middle of nowhere, so get detailed directions when you make your reservation. If you're coming from the north, they'll give you the exact distance (like 14.3 km) from one of the bridges in Magog. Even then, it's easy to miss, especially at night. Look for a largish house on the east side of the highway with cars parked in front.

I've never seen it around town either but you might be interested in the following quotes from Where's the Beef?, a profile of Puslinch, Ontario cattleman Ken Kurosawatsu that appeared in the November 2003 issue of En Route: and I believe I've also read that kobe beef is grown in Alberta (Cranmore, maybe?). No leads on which specialty butchers, if any, sell it or Kurosawatsu's product.

Hmm. I found the dishes more appealing than those discussed in other reiviews. But, then, descriptions of prefect sweetbreads always make me swoon. It's true that Tastet discusses only the dishes he and his companion ate, though — that's, what, six in all? Strange, too, his failure to mention the wine list ("Le Chambolle dissout les graisses à la perfection" doesn't count). Especially when the resto's website is useless in the menu and wine departments. The man certainly knows how to string a sentence together, though.

In Sweden I was told that it was introduced through trade in the 12th or 13th century and was popular with the Vikings. It was listed among the items in the spice chest of Gustav Wasa (died 1560). But in his cookbook Aquavit, Marcus Samuelsson writes, "The chicken is seasoned with cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and cloves, spices that have been an important part of Swedish cuisine since the eighteenth century, when the Swedish East India Company first brought them to Sweden from Asia." What I've always wondered is why cardamom should feature so prominently in Scandinavian cooking (breads and pastries but also as a flavouring for meats and drinks) and so little elsewhere in Europe. Especially since Swedish sweet rolls are so good.

Just spoke with Mme Bardo of La Girondine (a computer virus has knocked their e-mail out of commission for a day or two; bad timing, she says, as she's received a flurry of calls since the La Presse Affaires article was published). Turns out that La Fromagerie du Marché Atwater (514 932-4653) carries several of their products: - duck rillettes, rabbit rillettes - smoked duck breast (which the Fromagerie calls jambon de canard) - a foie gras-based boudin blanc, available in two sizes - pâté de campagne, and - foie gras au torchon (on occasion). The other products listed on their website, including the confit de canard, can be special ordered through the Fromagerie. Mme Bové said she would be interested in hearing how her confit fares in the survey, as she's always claimed it's the best in Québec. She also stated that it was impossible to make a decent confit with peking duck; that certainly jibes with my findings to date.

J.-Ph. Tastet gives Cocagne a very positive write-up in today's Voir: De plaisir, d'orgueil bien placé et de talent culinaire.

So, what? Do you spurn pork, too? Hogs have every bit as much "personality" as horses and are much more pet-like to boot. Horses are bred for human consumption, too, by the way.

Wow. I should get out more. Just spoke to M. Boulais by phone. Here's what I think I learned (the cellular connection was choppy): Le Tartarin (the resto) is no more. Assuming M. Boulais can find appropriate refrigerator cases, Le Prince Noir (the butcher shop) will reopen on or around June 24 at the Jean-Talon Market. For the time being, it will be located outdoors but will move indoors once the market expansion is complete. I live on the blue line, so your loss is my gain, MaeveH. In any case, this can only add to JTM's allure

Thanks for the heads-ups, sf&m. Unfortunately, my dep had sold all their copies of La Presse by late afternoon and you can't read the article online unless you're a subscriber. La Girondine is new to me and their website lists confit among the products on offer. Will find out if it's sold in la métropole. If it isn't, I'll try to stop by the next time I'm in picturesque Freilighsburg, one of my favourite spots in the province.

While you may wonder "where's the beef?" when viewing the menu, don't rule out Au pied de cochon. Their venison tartare is fabulous and their fries normally rank with the best. The tartare can be had as a first course or a main; I've always found the first course big enough, TYVM. Also, though I didn't try the tartare the once I ate there, friends who have say it's excellent. As it should be, when the restaurant's name is Le Tartarin (4675 St-Denis, 514 281-8579). It's the dining arm of the Prince Noir butcher shop, which specializes in game and horsemeat. Not surprisingly, the resto offers both boeuf and cheval taratre. Can't vouch for their fries. By the way, according to the Larousse Gastro, horse is "the purist's choice" for tartare. "Horsemeat lends itself to all beef dishes but is particularly suitable for raw dishes (such as the authentic steak tartare), as the animal is unaffected by tuberculosis and tapeworm." It is also reputed to be more digestible than beef and has "markedly fewer calories (94 Cal per 100 g, as compared with 156 Cal per 100 g for lean beef)" and a high glycogen content.

My bad: it is a separate menu item. Pommes de terre Au pied de cochon. Made with cheese curds and roasted garlic. Have tried it once, served as a side — well, actually, an under — to various pork products (sauasage, meaty bacon, a chunk of loin, etc.; some sauerkraut may have been in there, too). Great rib-sticking stuff.

Cromesquis are Foie gras McNuggets (for want of a better term), i.e. vegetarians' nightmares. Have had mashed potatoes with cheese curds as a memorable side dish at APDC but don't recall seeing them as a separate menu item. Maybe you're thinking of brandade, the delicious purée of salt cod, potatoes and garlic? On the whole, I wouldn't consider APDC a vegetarian-friendly place, though it is possible to hobble together a meat-free meal (e.g. tomato tart; apple, endive and Roquefort salad; frites; dessert). But if Mom is willing to eat fish... well, come on down! Edit: On second thought, scratch the frites. They're probably fried in tallow.

Pisse Dru is a run-of-the-mill Beaujolais that was extremely popular here back in the '70s. Dubouef has since steamrollered it into near oblivion. Beauty's is an institution and still very much with us. The mishmash is eggs scrambled with hot dog and salami chunks (all beef, I'm sure), green pepper and fried onions — nothing you can't recreate at home, in other words. Check out the Beauty's Luncheonette website.

La Chronique's website

2. La Bastide is not BYO. Neither is Brunoise, for that matter. What are you looking for in terms of additional info on La Chonique? (You have their URL, right?) 3. Les Caprices is open seven days a week. Other restos that come to mind are Au Petit Extra, L'Express, Les Chèvres, Chez L'Épicier, Milos... 4. Yes.

While corks are virtually impermiable to liquids and gasses (see Peynaud), there is no denying some exchange of gasses between the contents of the bottle and the outside takes place, probably around the cork, not through it. However, the amount of gas/liquid exchange varies widely from cork to cork, which gives the lie to the notion that a specific amount of oxygen transmission is essential to wine ageing. And the amount that does occur in cork-stoppered bottles is thought to be insignificant compared with the amount of oxygen introduced at the time of bottling. Also, ageing is generally considered to be a reductive process. "The best information available suggests a soundly cork-stoppered wine bottle may allow access on the order of 0.1mL of O2/L/year. Thus, it would take about 60 years to be equivalent to one saturation before the wine was bottled! This is considered essentially anaerobic. Eventually a cork will fail. Ullage develops and the wine at some point rapidly declines. For a time, however, bottle aging or anaerobic storage in any similar container contributes new flavor effects, greater complexity and interest, and increased quality, at least in certain wines in the perception of discerning consumers." –Principles and Practices of Winemaking, Roger B. Boulton et al. "The major difference between bottle aging and bulk aging is that bottle aging is carried on (except for the first weeks after bottling) practically in the absence of oxygen. ... In regard to cork, when kept compressed in the bottle neck and wet by touching the wine inside the bottle, it is practically impermiable to liquids and air. ... The process of aging will occur eventually in a perfectly sealed wine. –Concepts in Wine Chemistry, Yair Margalit This is pure hypothesis on your part, no? If not, please cite studies/references to back such a sweeping claim. As I understand it, if the jury is out on bottling slow-maturing wines under screwcaps, it is not because the wines will not age well but because it is currently not known whether the closure will fail before the wine is mature. In the wine industry, the generally accepted figure for corked (TCA-affected) wines is 4 to 5% of production, with little if no correlation to the breed of the wine or the price of the cork. That is not "a slight chance." Indeed, there is probably no other consumer product, and certainly no other luxury consumer product, where such a failure rate would be tolerated.

Thanks for the report, Lesley. Will look forward to your review. A few questions: - What's the bottom line, pricewise? (The prices are listed on the online menu but without seeing the portion sizes it's impossible to know how many dishes you'll order for a standard size meal.) - What about vegetables? Do the dishes come with them as sides, or are you forced to resign yourself to an animal protein-intense meal? - Does the wide-variety-of-small-dishes approach have the potential to make wine-matching difficult? (The St-Émilion that goes great with the beef probably won't work with the scallops.) Do they serve wines by the glass (an obvious solution to the problem)? Yeahbut the flip side is that it makes the evening that much more expensive and also means there's one less restaurant in town that it's worth taking fine bottles to. (Remind me again why corkage is illegal in this province...)

No, that's the general consensus. Most annecdotal evidence is that screwcaps slow down the maturing process, as though the wines were placed in a very cool cellar. However, if, as seems to have been the case, the Haut-Brion caps were inferior or not properly installed, one result might have been premature (for a screwcapped wine) ageing.

On a recent visit to Anjou-Québec, I was surprised to see a pile of cryovaced confit duck legs in the refrigerator case. (These are different from the above-reviewed jars with two legs packed in duck fat, which are still available.) The legs are average size (about 300 grams, I'd guess), individually packed, covered on the skin side with a thick layer of fat and garnished with a bay leaf. The price won't surprise anyone: $9.95 a shot. The legs smelled delicious as they warmed and, with their nut brown skin, they looked great on the plate. Ah, that skin! Crackling, tasty, irresistable, maybe the best to date. And the meat! Tender, dark, rich, savoury, deeply flavoured, salty but not too. Flavourwise, probably the closest so far to André Philippot's legendary confit. While lacking some of the unctuousness of Le P'tit Plateau's offering (due to different breeds of bird I'd bet), it is otherwise its equal. Another eureka moment. Our side was the potatoes sautéed in walnut oil and showered with minced garlic, parsley and chives, a fabulous dish and a fine match with the duck. Despite its provençal accent, the 1996 Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel went better with confit than any other extraregional wine uncorked to date in this survey. Anjou-Québec, 1025 Laurier West, 514 272-4065

As I mentioned above, there are experimental screwcapped bottlings of Australian whites (riesling and maybe semillon) going back more than 20 years. The screwcapped bottles have lost none of their fill and remain remarkably fresh and lively. What's more, none of them are spoiled by cork taint. The cork-stoppered bottles have varying amounts of ullage and are more oxydized; some of them are definitely over the hill and a few are corked. (I don't have the source for this at my fingertips, but if having it is important to you, say the word and I'll track it down.) Most experiments with red wines are of relatively recent vintage, so the jury is still out on the appropriateness of screwcaps for wines meant for long ageing. In a Wine Lovers' Discussion Group exchange a while back, Sue Courtney reported that part of Haut-Brion's 1969 production was bottled with screwcaps and the bottles were stored upright. At a 1978 tasting, no difference was found between the wines from screwcapped and cork-stoppered bottles. However, the caps began to fail after about ten years. Quoting Sue, "Keep in mind that the technology has advanced since those early trials and while Pechiney guarantee the seal for 10 years, Michael Brajkovich MW has no doubt the seals on his Kumeu River wines will last for 20 years. He does say you have to have the right capping head on the machinery and there is technical stuff such as redraw and other things, which is beyond me. The key thing to note though, if that is one is going to do it, it has to be done right." You might also enjoy reading the Buried Treasures? Old Reds Under Screwcaps chapter from Tyson Stelzer's Screwed for Good. Edit: Link to Sue Courtney's New Zealand Wine of the Week Screwcap Wine Seal Resource Page