Rosalie Restaurant

[innocente]

Well, K. and I had an early dinner at Rosalie this past Saturday. We ate at the unfashionable hour of 5:30 since we had to be out to get to the opera by 8:00.

I say "unfashionable" because aside from the two of us, there were maybe 4 or 6 other people in that big space. True, it was snowing and blowing like mad outside. But, when the staff outnumber the diners and all those mirrors reflect one's middle age imperfections and amplify the ultrathin charms of the waitress-gals preening before the glass (they had nothing else to do) questions arise. I mean, have the beautiful people moved on to the next "happening" place so soon? Luckily, the lights were dimmed twice as our meal progressed. Again luckily, this happened after we had read the menu.

This is not an intimate space. High tech high school cafeteria decor came to mind. It's loud. Annoying sounds bounce off all those hard surfaces. Young guys holding up the bar are noisesome with their exclaimations and propositions. Cool wood and cold glass and vast open spaces abound. But then we had been eating at cosier places like Anise, Passe Partout and Les Remparts the previous few evenings. We felt like anthropologists exploring a new corner of the Montreal culinary universe.

K.'s onion soup was bland. It was deconstructed in the sense that the cheese and bread were served on the side as a toasted cheese sandwich. The onion broth lack flavour. It needed to be salted (no pepper at the tables) to even begin to hold our attention.

My app was pleasing. Chanterelles and wild mushrooms in a light saucing with peas and other fragments of vegetables. I liked the play of textures and earthy flavour. Surprisingly subtle in a nice way.

My main was the lamb special. Generous amounts of perfectly cooked lamb slices on a bed of green lentils and spinach. A wonderful selection of winter veggies decorated the plate. All were very flavourful and toothsome. The saucing was appropriate. A new benchmark for lamb.

K.'s main was the "Touraine"?? sausages. Four substantial country sausages with mashed potatoes and assorted veggies. The meat was tastey with interesting textures. The veggies again were exemplary.

Our shared creme brule was OK--we've had better elsewhere. Didn't seem technically up to snuff or especially interesting.

The service was rough and ready. These girls are tall and thin and look great but don't know very much about food. Like cheerleaders everywhere, my guess was that they were waiting for the guys to come in from football practise so that they could do some serious flirting.

Edited February 24, 2003 by innocente (log)

[davemcm]

thanx for the honest report,it means alot to me,the sausages you are refering too are toulouse.i love your choice of other restaurants you ate at previously....rosalie is noisy,and the girls are pretty ,so are the boys. they are also all smart hard working students in different fields,thank god for the football team though,we served 140 persons saturday nite ,but it was the hockey.....not football......im replying to you with a smile ,thank you for your report.david mcm

[riboflavinjoe]

quality vegetables makes me smile, taht's for sure.

HEY DAVE!!! greetings from the FAR NORTH. can you believe it?! I'm on the hudson straight!!! when i got off the plane, it was just like being on another planet (i imagineit would be like this anyway). you gotta see it, man. as for the food: three words: JUST ADD WATER. can you say cafeteria?

ill drop by next week perhaps... till then, take care and have a good weekend service, man.

see ya later, gator.

say hi to the whole crew for me, please.

[davemcm]

try to send pics of the great north,bring me a peice of nature,what are you cooking ,what can you do to make it better?ciao

[riboflavinjoe]

actually, dave, im not cooking. im doing night shift, and the day guy makes me a bunch of stuff, and i throw it in the oven at around 10pm, so it's hot for midnight. i also make bacon and eggs. what i did to make it better (than the way i was shown) is to make everything a la minute instead of letting it all sit in the steam table for an hour and get gross... i get to make pastries, so last night i did a creme au beurre (good practice). yeah, i'm trying a few pastry things, since i have the time and the chance. i also have a chance to make my kick ass pancakes.

i just got in from a skidoo ride, i went right out to the edge of the hudson straight, any further and i would be on my way to baffin island. pretty cold out there, let me tell you.

ill see what i can do for that nature you want... perhaps a core sample will do? and i have one or two pictures taken, so ill show you when i get back...

take care

[Lesley C]

You guys could add pancakes to Rosalie's dessert menu.

I love pancakes

[cheekycook]

Hey Dave!

My bosses told me I have to come check out your new digs!! Looking forward to it

Now, I just gotta find some time off...

We all know how easy it is to get in this business

[davemcm]

pancakes mmmmmm,mmmmm,i just made crepes for my super pregnant wife,9 large ones she ate them all,how do you say pancake in french,le pancake.....

[davemcm]

who are your bosses cheeky.,tell me when your comin by,we will chat.....

[cheekycook]

Hey Dave,

If all goes well, I will try and pass by sometime on Monday, I shall call to see if you're there... I've already spoken to I believe your Maitre D: Denis? a couple of weeks ago, Very nice. I wish everyone who answered the phone in this biz was so helpful and nice.

Plus, it will depend on my budget too, I'm still strying to get into Soto's for the Morimoto Event tomorrow...

We'll see how that goes... God knows, Soto could definitely use someone like Denis, Christ, the person I got was more frigid than an eskimo's icebox. Rude people put me in such a foul mood

[riboflavinjoe]

They like to be called Inuit. to be honest, though, the freezer here is only -18 or so. outdoors, it's around -40... without the wind...

[cheekycook]

Hey RiboflavinJoe,

Just out of curiosity, what's with the picture??? It makes me think of Joe Schwarcz bungee jumping...

[riboflavinjoe]

me and my sister discovered that a digital camera takes great pix of shaky face. instant fun!!! just shake your face hard, snap a pic, and laugh your head off. i have hundreds of them, this one is one of my faves.

[cheekycook]

Hey Joe,

Cool effect, I'll have to mention it to my brother, he's into digital imaging but I don't recall him ever trying that one! I think he'll get a kick out of it.

[riboflavinjoe]

hee hee hee, i can't stop laughing at this one... i just changed it. hee hee... hee hee... hee hee...

[fullabeans2002]

Ate at Rosalie last Saturday night; our party [of three] walked away fully satisfied with the food - a nice touch was that the vegetables [for all plats principal] were not overlooked - a rare treat; they had just the right bite, interesting and flavourful. Menu overall was intriguing. A request for something vegetarian was accomodated no problem [risotto].

The service was shaky - somewhat typical at this kind of place: good-looking boys and girls who are friendly, but not very knowledgeable or even confident about what they are serving or what can be offered, floor manager was insanely present, hostesses slightly confused. This is especially awkward if the restaurant is noisy [as it is] and busy...creates a chaotic rather than energetic vibe.

Liked the layout - bar is nice and separated from the dining, lighting and music were good Interesting-flower/plant arrangements.

[allroll]

hello ,this is david mcmillan,thanx for your comments,were new and were workin hard ,all criticisim is appreciated,hope you say hi next time,welcome to e gullet.....

[eat2much]

I'll second fullabeans praise for the vegetables. I had the Toulouse sausage main course which came with a nice assortment of brussel sprouts, green beans, carrots, which were both crunchy and tasty. Quite a nice change from vegetables that have been sitting in steam for hours which happens too often even at some better restaurants.

The Rosalie version of tarte tatin is fantatstic.

Thanks again Dave..... a bientot.

[glimmer]

I had my first experience at Rosalie last Thursday evening and it was pretty good. We were in the area and it was a last minute decision to accommodate the two hungry people I was with. I honestly wasn’t that hungry and I was quite content sipping away on my martini; however, I did want to at least try something on the menu. Seeing how I wasn’t hungry, my plan was to try the rabbit with no intentions of finishing it…as it turns out, I devoured the poor thing--it was delicious!

The service was good, nothing spectacular (although, better than I expected for a place like that).

The only thing that really bothered me was the noise; it was busy and extremely loud.

[cyberdrip]

Glimmer is right about the noise level at Rosalie; I was there for lunch a couple of weeks ago with a friend whose hearing is sadly waning (but he is far from deaf!). Admittedly, a busy Friday noon, and the place was full. However, I do think something can be done about the fact that you practically have to shout to chat in such a high-ceilinged and narrow place. I somehow doubt that sound baffles are the answer - they would interfere with the uninterrupted view from front to back, which is one of the nice things about the architecture; but what about lowering the ceiling just a few inches with acoustic tile? It would soak up much of the racket.

That being said, I liked the place a lot, and in fact am planning to go back tomorrow (being taken out for lunch). And, David, keep up the habit of doing the rounds of the customers. It's a great sign that the chef CARES.

[Lesley C]

Welcome glimmer and cyberdrip

I thought the ceiling at Rosalie was quite low.

[mcmillan]

thank you glimmer and cyberdrip,the noise level is something we are adressing very soon ,weve had acouple of pros come by and see what the problem is and it seems to be a combination of things ,tile floor ,bare table,low ceiling,in the low ceiling part of the restaurant i will probably end up putting a turkish linen table cover ,and there is also a muting device that can be put in the sound system, please next time you come by ,make a point of saying hi,its always a pleasure to meet new customers ,and thank you for posting your constructive ideas on e gullet,....i would watch out about hangin out to much in "that kind of place" though...what does that mean?what kind of place are you acustomed too?.....tongue in cheek ,thanx david mcmillan

[riboflavinjoe]

geez, dave, how many monikers are you going to go through on gullet

i sent a PM to one of your other monikers (i think it was davemcm), and am wondering if you got it... if not, i will send the general gist to your hotmail account.

[SteveW]

geez, dave, how many monikers are you going to go through on gullet

i sent a PM to one of your other monikers (i think it was davemcm), and am wondering if you got it... if not, i will send the general gist to your hotmail account.

Joey, you beat me in posting this. David I sent you a message within the past 12 hours, through davemcm. If you didn't get it, then contact me.

-------------

Steve

[glimmer]

Thanks for the welcomes!

“That kind of place” was probably the wrong choice of words. I was referring to the “St. Laurent vibe” of the restaurant--trendy spot with beautiful staff (who are good, but rarely spectacular…at least in my experience). I enjoy going to “those kinds of places ” and I didn’t mean sound so negative.

Anyways, I will definitely be back to Rosealie and I’ll be sure to say hi.