Seattle-ites visit Montreal and Quebec City

[gus_tatory]

...On to our lunch at Schwartz’s Deli! Even though it was around 3pm by now there was still a line...

little ms foodie--

i really enjoy it when visitors to Montreal post back afterwards about it, esp. with pictures, so thanks~!

your Schwartz's shot is quintessential Montreal.

and i'm glad you enjoyed poutine , but you have to admit it doesn't photograph too well...

[Della]

I will jump in and admit the Poutine doesn't photograph all that well - it looks a bit odd but boy was it good! If I lived there I would have to save that little snack for those special occasions (you know, taking a break when shopping, lunch out with the girls, afterwork snack with the gang ~ oops! that sounds like I would eat it every day! haha) all I can say is - YUM!

[percyn]

Wendy,

Was this your first smoked meat sandwich experience? I have been hooked after a visit to Montreal about 10 yrs ago. Now I mail order it.

BTW, what are those great looking marrow bones topped with?

Percy

[Vinfidel]

i have to admit that the serivce at CC&P is not always perfect. It is perfect when Hubert is doing it but this cannot be expected

and yes if you have a big appetite the place can leavey ou hungry. even the 'hot and solid' meal which is described as big for me is never enough. i could eeasily eat 2 apps and 2 mains

[little ms foodie]

Wendy,

      Was this your first smoked meat sandwich experience? I have been hooked after a visit to Montreal about 10 yrs ago. Now I mail order it.

        BTW, what are those great looking marrow bones topped with?

Percy

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percy they cut out pieces of cabbage to cover the marrow bones!!! Like a little lid

Regarding the smoked meat, I'm not entirely clear on all the differences between this and the pastrami I've had in NYC but it was excellent!! Who do you mail order it from?

[Diann]

Great photos Wendy! I adore L'Express -- especially those marrow bones, my goodness. I liked Schwartz's, too. The black cherry soda is a must-have with that sandwich (I miss it!).

[PaulaJK]

Fabulous review & photos. We went to Montreal on 10/7 and

I think if we had seen your review, we might have changed our reservations!

These items look scrumptious as well as very interesting. As it was,

we dined at l"Autre Saison and Les Caprices de Nicholas and were

very pleased.

[docsconz]

Nice report, Wendy, although had had photos you didn't comment at all on Toque. I haven't been to the new Toque yet, but at the old Toque, the foie gras was still the best I have ever had.

Unfortunately, my own visits to Montreal have become too infrequent.

[little ms foodie]

John,

Sorry about that, I actually posted some comments HERE.

We thought the whole vibe of the restaurant was great and the food, service and presentation were excellent. I would compare it to my meals at a Taillevant or a French Laundry or Rovers here in Seattle.....excellent in season food, prepared with a more conservative/old world european style. Not as high end as the first 2 I mentioned but similar in style and feel. The only thing we really didn't care for were the desserts, none of us even had more than a bite, the flavors didn't seem to really go together and they were more show than go!

I'd be very interested in your take on the old vs. the new, so get back up there!!

[-sheila mooney]

The only bad point about the Club Chasse et peche, in my experience, has been the size of the plates (maybe it has more to do with the size of my appetite?).  The service has always been very good.  The food is excellent.  If the portions were larger, the prices would not be too bad.  Your experience is probably not representative of the restaurant.

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we had beautiful food two nights ago -- really lovely. but we left disappointed for reasons that had nothing to do with cuisine. i have to tell you -- i'm a girl who's happy to be happy: i don't go looking for "la petite bete". and we were so happy to be having dinner there (my daughter and i -- we don't see each other so much now that she's at mcgill...).

we come in early, around 7pm, sit at a nice table near the bar where there are a few folks talking and drinking and having a good time. champanski for two, the waiter talks about oysters with us, we're looking forward to a good time. a guy leaving the bar stops by and seconds the waiter's opinion about the oysters -- we're grooving, it's good.

as i'm looking thru the wine list i notice a lot of people coming into the room, standing around, one guy is celling; i think to myself, "huh" and keep looking at the wine list.

long story short: we were the two "other" diners in a room where a private party was being held. a fact which became shatteringly clear when the group shrieked "surprise!" and i spilled Paillard bubbles down my top.

we asked for a different table (the bar scene had become very crowded indeed -- elbows were practically sticking in our ears).

we were moved: to the table by the door. i spent 25 years in france refusing to believe in "courants d'air" but...here they were, right down my back. we could not have a table in the other room (the "real" restaurant), for they were all full.

geez, louise. i had reserved a week in advance. half the fun of going out to a lovely restaurant is the conviviality, no?

bottom line: wonderful food, exceptional wine, perfectly treated cheese -- and once the gang (of 20) settled down at their tables it was okay. but we lost 45 minutes of a 2.5 hour experience to annoyance -- not cool to feel like intruders on someone else's party.

The staff realised the situation was uncomfortable; we were treated to a glass of muscat (Corsican, Leccia) and the owner (?) ran out personally to find us a taxi. Merci, vraiment gentil!!

Lesson: when you book, ask for a table in the "restaurant."

[jfl91]

Seriously!!!

Club Chasse et Pêche is not Toqué and I really don't think they want to be a kinda of Toqué! This restaurant is funky and people there want the restaurant to be like this. You need to know that when you go to CC&P, if you look to have the same ambiance as Toqué or La Chronique you are completely wrong. Sometimes it can be really busy and really crowded (it's crowded all the time anyway, because it's good and fun) and it will be way more noisy and crazy than all other restaurants (in MTL) that serve this quality of food. Seriously, CC&P is the only restaurant like this in town and it was about time for us because Montreal was really too serious and boring not long time ago. Montreal need more restaurant like this and I hope people enjoy CC&P because for me it's seriously rocks! Hubert is the best restaurant owner in Montreal and Claude is one of the best 5 chef. The team there is fantastic and you need to understand that you are in Montreal and not in NYC. When there is a group coming on a week night, you accept them right away! The market here is not NYC and the restaurants need all the business they can get to survive.

I just hope people will stop complaining about CC&P because I am really crazy about ''gastronomie'' and I am going every where in the world to try all the best restaurants and trust me, many bigger cities need restaurants like this one, we are just very lucky.

You know all these best restaurants like Per Se, Troisgros, Bras, Fat Duck, El Bulli etc... is something different and most of these are 4-5 times more expensive and are not friendly and easy to go for a fun dinner on a week night last minute call.

Long live CC&P!

Edited November 16, 2005 by jfl91 (log)

[sf&m]

I had the delighful experience of eating there last night for the first time. Could not agree more with jfl91!!

Unique environment, and behind the "casual" look of the room is obviously a very skilled team. Service was at a very high professional level and the food - absolutely stunning. Nothing is by chance here.

And BTW it was a busy Tuesday night, including a band of 40 women from a gourmet club, wooping it up in the main upper room.

[-sheila mooney]

Seriously!!!

Club Chasse et Pêche is not Toqué and I really don't think they want to be a kinda of Toqué!  This restaurant is funky and people there want the restaurant to be like this.  You need to know that when you go to CC&P, if you look to have the same ambiance as Toqué or La Chronique you are completely wrong.  Sometimes it can be really busy and really crowded (it's crowded all the time anyway, because it's good and fun) and it will be way more noisy and crazy than all other restaurants (in MTL) that serve this quality of food.  Seriously, CC&P is the only restaurant like this in town and it was about time for us because Montreal was really too serious and boring not long time ago.  Montreal need more restaurant like this and I hope people enjoy CC&P because for me it's seriously rocks!  Hubert is the best restaurant owner in Montreal and Claude is one of the best 5 chef.  The team there is fantastic and you need to understand that you are in Montreal and not in NYC.  When there is a group coming on a week night, you accept them right away!  The market here is not NYC and the restaurants need all the business they can get to survive.

I just hope people will stop complaining about CC&P because I am really crazy about ''gastronomie'' and I am going every where in the world to try all the best restaurants and trust me, many bigger cities need restaurants like this one, we are just very lucky.

You know all these best restaurants like Per Se, Troisgros, Bras, Fat Duck, El Bulli etc... is something different and most of these are 4-5 times more expensive and are not friendly and easy to go for a fun dinner on a week night last minute call.

Long live CC&P!

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[-sheila mooney]

Seriously!!!

Club Chasse et Pêche is not Toqué and I really don't think they want to be a kinda of Toqué!  This restaurant is funky and people there want the restaurant to be like this.  You need to know that when you go to CC&P, if you look to have the same ambiance as Toqué or La Chronique you are completely wrong.  Sometimes it can be really busy and really crowded (it's crowded all the time anyway, because it's good and fun) and it will be way more noisy and crazy than all other restaurants (in MTL) that serve this quality of food.  Seriously, CC&P is the only restaurant like this in town and it was about time for us because Montreal was really too serious and boring not long time ago.  Montreal need more restaurant like this and I hope people enjoy CC&P because for me it's seriously rocks!  Hubert is the best restaurant owner in Montreal and Claude is one of the best 5 chef.  The team there is fantastic and you need to understand that you are in Montreal and not in NYC.  When there is a group coming on a week night, you accept them right away!  The market here is not NYC and the restaurants need all the business they can get to survive.

I just hope people will stop complaining about CC&P because I am really crazy about ''gastronomie'' and I am going every where in the world to try all the best restaurants and trust me, many bigger cities need restaurants like this one, we are just very lucky.

You know all these best restaurants like Per Se, Troisgros, Bras, Fat Duck, El Bulli etc... is something different and most of these are 4-5 times more expensive and are not friendly and easy to go for a fun dinner on a week night last minute call.

Long live CC&P!

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how do you say "proces d'intention" in english?

seriously, indeed.

perhaps you missed the part about the lovely food, etc.

however: i maintain that guest flow and "conviviality management" are essential in a fine restaurant. the management's very kind gestures (cf my post) and apologies as we left showed that they, too, noticed something had been amiss. my post was intended rather as a heads-up for small parties of 2 or 3 to request a table in the room where the bar is not. which is what i plan to do when i dine at cc&p next month...

[carswell]

how do you say "proces d'intention" in english?

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Imputing motives.