Shan e LaSalle

[snacky_cat]

I lived in Montreal in the 99-01 period, and my absolute favourite restaurant in the entirety of the city had to be Shan e Lasalle. It was located in an easy-to-miss strip mall of the 60s variety on the east side of Ave. Dollard.

While out for Indian the other night, I wondered if the place was still open... Any of you know?

If it is open, I highly recommend stopping by. They offer a buffet lunch, which is particularly varied and delicious on Sundays, and their dinner menu is great. It's a small, unassuming place with low prices, but the food has a wonderful, genuine home-cooked quality to it.

[carswell]

It's still in the phonebook.

Home-cooked sounds good. But the best in Montreal?! Better than Dev, Ghandi, Punjabi Palace, Nirvana, Mysore, Bombay Mahal, Masala and Pushap, all of which have received positve word of mouth here on eGullet?

Too bad it's so far from the metro. But if your answer is an honest yes, I'll consider making the schlepp.

[snacky_cat]

This cat stands by the "Best in..." honour In every Indian restaurant I've eaten at since Shan e Lasalle, be it in Montreal, New York, or Vancouver, I haven't found anything that comes close to the wonderfully home-cooked taste of Shan e. The dishes are standard Indian fare, but they're flavoured so nicely and don't have that mass-produced, greasy feel that you get at a lot of Indian places. It's just good, cheap, and incredibly delicious honest food. They do an amazing okra, a butter chicken that is to die for, and it's fun to start off the meal with Tamarind Bombs (they have a different name on the menu, but if you ask for tamarind bombs they'll know what you're after) - puffed up crackers that you crack with a spoon and stuff with filling and tamrind chutney, before popping the whole thing in your mouth and crunching down.

It is a bit of an effort to get there, but it really is worth it. And don't forget to pick up a box of sweets when you're done - they have some amazing stuff, including a great milk cake and a carrot-based dessert called Gajar Halwa that I could never get enough of.

It's enough to make me want to hop on a plane and head there for dinner tonight!

[anachemia]

Is this place still around? I have to say yes, and no.

I had never heard of Shan-E before stumbling on this topic earlier today but decided to go check it out. I live not too far away from Lasalle so it wasn't a huge schlep for me. I was impressed with the homecooked quality of the food -- the original poster was right on. Really good stuff.

Unfortunately, if you can believe it, tonight was their last night in business! The woman running the show is tired of the restaurant business and wants to pursue other things.

Notably, a party of about 10 longtime regulars brought in a big plant and a card thanking them for years of great food...it was quite touching to observe this. It sounds to me like this place really was a gem.

Sorry to break the bad news! Thanks for the recommendation, I'm glad I at least got to try this place once.

[snacky_cat]

Wow - how bizarre that you should happen in on their last night in business! I'm glad you got to try it out - it really is (was) a great little spot, and I'm sure that if I were still living in Montreal, I'd have been there with the rest of regulars tonight.

I guess this means I'll have to find a new favourite Indian spot...

[carswell]

Is this place still around?  I have to say yes, and no.

I had never heard of Shan-E before stumbling on this topic earlier today but decided to go check it out.  I live not too far away from Lasalle so it wasn't a huge schlep for me.  I was impressed with the homecooked quality of the food -- the original poster was right on.  Really good stuff.

Unfortunately, if you can believe it, tonight was their last night in business!  The woman running the show is tired of the restaurant business and wants to pursue other things. 

Notably, a party of about 10 longtime regulars brought in a big plant and a card thanking them for years of great food...it was quite touching to observe this.  It sounds to me like this place really was a gem. 

Sorry to break the bad news!  Thanks for the recommendation, I'm glad I at least got to try this place once.

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Drat! Sorry to have missed it.

But thanks for checking it out, anachemia, and for delurking to keep us from making a useless schlepp.