Inspired by the Montreal in Gourmet Topic

[NYC Mike]

What a timely issue and a great read.

My wife is graduating from ICE in NYC next week and she has made one special request as a graduation gift, that we go away somewhere without the children for the weekend where she can eat to learn and shop, drink, dance etc. (lucky me ) Our first thought was Paris since flight timing and clock changes make it possible to pull off a weekend run with a few sleeping pills and lots of cafe creme but she has to show up for her first day of externship Monday and jetlag coming west is usually nasty and she will be at least 12 hours on her feet.

After reading the new Montreal edition we have decided to make a road trip out of it could use a little help from you all. As of right now we will leave by car to arrive for a late dinner Thursday. This will be our first time!

We have booked rooms at L'Hôtel XIXe siècle, rate was great, got a recomendation.

Also here is a general list of desires:

1. For the late night thursday, something casual, jeans etc, late night active so we are not alone etc, eat with our fingers even or a good pub type place for good beer and snacks.

2. One special place where we can eat from a great Montreal chef. Saturday night, and able to get reservations this close. Nothing too crazy, like 100 USD or so pp before wine and drinks.

3. A few lunch deals ala JGs in NY. We really eat all types of food so no matter there. Perhaps the more montreal typical the better. Places where we can maybe sneak in a few more great meals at lunch time prices.

4. Raw cheese! The magazine has sugesstions, anyone have a clear favorite?

5. chocolates and pastries and coffee?

Thanks!

-Mike

Edited to add hotel booking info.

Edited February 23, 2006 by NYC Mike (log)

[brab]

I'll defer to the local knowledge of the Montrealers on this board, but as a frequent visitor to Montreal I found the Gourmet article to be surprisingly comprehensive and up to date and concur with the recommendations in particular for Joe Beef, Chasse et Peche, and Olive and Gourmando (O and G is closed Sunday). If you decide on either of the first two make your reservations fast. I don't think the articles mentioned le Jolifou and I recommend it as a typical neighbourhood restaurant. Other than that the two markets shouldn't be missed and you can have lunches there. What the locals may not be aware of is that many hotels are running what they call a weekend Sweet Deals promotion where you pay regular rate for the first night, and half for the second. We just stayed at our usual hotel, the Saint Sulpice. I don't know what your price range is but we paid 179CAD for the first night and half that for the second, and that's for a suite with separate bedroom. I imagine the other boutique hotels mentioned in Gourmet have a similar deal but probably more expensive except for the St. Paul which has quite small rooms. Overall, you'll have a wonderful time.

[wattacetti]

Will this be this weekend (23-Feb-2006 through 26-Feb-2006) or the next?

We're sort of in the middle of the Montreal en Lumière festival so most (if not all) of the places mentioned will be booked solid this week.

Edited February 22, 2006 by wattacetti (log)

[NYC Mike]

Will this be this weekend (23-Feb-2006 through 26-Feb-2006) or the next?

We're sort of in the middle of the Montreal en Lumière festival so most (if not all) of the places mentioned will be booked solid this week.

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next, arriving the 2nd.

and thanks!! Brab

[Vinfidel]

get gourmet

they got it all right i just read it

esp lesley did a good job thumbs up lesley

i live in nyc as well as montreal and san francisco so i can tell you some tips

believe me they got it all right except there is a lot of over-hyping but the places are perfectly chosen

with a budget of $100 per person uSD = $250 per couple CAD you will be OK and splurging anywhere in the city

go to joe beef

go to club chasse

go to schwartz

pastries forget it - nyc is better

cheese - we rule north america it is almost as good as france here

reserve one day to walk and eat if you can deal with the cold

walk up the main and eat your way thru the day it is a fun activitiy

[NYC Mike]

Thanks for the replies.

Using Leslie's article as a guide..thanks Leslie!!

We are going to shoot for Club Chasse on Fri and Joe Beef on Sat. I get the impression these places are more casual so jacket and tie not required?

Ideas on after dinner bars or nightclubs? Latin music maybe?

Walk up Main? Is there a Main street the hotel can point us to? We would love the walk, the cold is just an excuse to stop and have a snack.

Would still like a recomendation for a 10PM or later spot for a casual bite and cocktail for our arrival day. Is Montreal a late city? Would Cavalli fit the bill?

Thanks!!

[Vinfidel]

Thanks for the replies.

Using Leslie's article as a guide..thanks Leslie!!

We are going to shoot for Club Chasse on Fri and Joe Beef on Sat.  I get the impression these places are more casual so jacket and tie not required?

Ideas on after dinner bars or nightclubs? Latin music maybe?

Walk up Main?  Is there a Main street the hotel can point us to?  We would love the walk, the cold is just an excuse to stop and have a snack.

Would still like a recomendation for a 10PM or later spot for a casual bite and cocktail for our arrival day.  Is Montreal a late city?  Would Cavalli fit the bill?

Thanks!!

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no jacket REQUIRED but keep in mind this city is fashionoble so dress to impress like they say

cavalii rocks on a thursday night if you like a 'scene'

here on this board there are many people that dont like cavalli and places like it, but this is a big part of montreal -see and be seen

for late dining go to lemeac but there is less action than at cavalli

THE MAIN = Rue St. Laurent

[wizpers]

No tie is requiered in Montreal.

Late night up to 12 am: Lemeac (22$ special after 22pm, nice wine list)

-up to 1am: BU Italian wine bar.... awsome wine list and wine knowledge

-up to 2am : L'express ( huge and cheap wine List)

Latin nights club...Salon Daome, Cactus on St denis

Olive and Gourmando... go there.

[NYC Mike]

We tend to avoid "scene" type places in NY just because. We prefer casual, low key or unassuming places like Blue Hill or WD-50.

Lemeac looks good for Thurs. dinner.

In the article "Farm Boy" in the magazine it mentions that at 10PM dinner service is at its height at Au Pied Du Cochon. They don't have a website that I could find. Would this be a late night or lunch choice? We love the whole farm to table movement and would love to try this place.

Mike

[rcianci]

We tend to avoid "scene" type places in NY just because.  We prefer casual, low key or unassuming places like Blue Hill or WD-50.

Lemeac looks good for Thurs. dinner.

In the article "Farm Boy" in the magazine it mentions that at 10PM dinner service is at its height at Au Pied Du Cochon.  They don't have a website that I could find.  Would this be a late night or lunch choice?  We love the whole farm to table movement and would love to try this place.

Mike

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Au Pied de Cochon is open 5pm to midnight every day except Monday.

Au Pied de Cochon's Website

Edited February 23, 2006 by rcianci (log)

[NYC Mike]

We tend to avoid "scene" type places in NY just because.  We prefer casual, low key or unassuming places like Blue Hill or WD-50.

Lemeac looks good for Thurs. dinner.

In the article "Farm Boy" in the magazine it mentions that at 10PM dinner service is at its height at Au Pied Du Cochon.  They don't have a website that I could find.  Would this be a late night or lunch choice?  We love the whole farm to table movement and would love to try this place.

Mike

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Au Pied de Cochon is open 5pm to midnight every day except Monday.

Au Pied de Cochon's Website

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Thanks for this!

Edited February 23, 2006 by NYC Mike (log)

[fchrisgrimm]

Have fun Mike - we were just there last weekend, and I "filed my report" on the Montreal page (check it out). APDC is great. Anise is spectacular. Like you, I like Blue Hill - Anise is more that direction than in the super-formal (and super expensive) direction. Though I think the food is unbeatable. Enjoy the trip - good luck.

[toto2]

One thing that the Gourmet article fail to mention is that the cheese selection at marché des saveurs is quite good ! The people there are vey passionate and Simon , the head cheesemonger is really in love with it's job ! You will find most Québec cheese there , raw milk included. It is at marché Jean-Talon. Service is very , very good. Qui lait cru , another cheese shop might be good , but ( not from experience) the service tends to be ...below par. They even manage to insult ( without knowing it was her) a famous and venerable food writter... ( No I wont give names )

For the sake of transparency , I will had that I am friend with the owners of Marché des saveurs... But that does not make them anyless good !

[NYC Mike]

Based on fchrisgrimm's and others raves about Anise we switched around the resos for next week. Now we have:

Late dinner thursday at Au Pied de Cochon.

Lunch at Le Club Chesse Friday

Dinner Friday at Joe Beef

Dinner Sat. at Anise.

If you had to choose 1 market to walk and eat through March Jean-Talon or March Atwater which would it be?

Any of the magazine noted cheese shops have a cafe tied to them to sit and eat cheese and bread in?

Best place for poutine and a pint?

Thanks!

-Mike

[Campofiorin]

Jean-Talon all hands down although it is better in the summer. Don't eat too much and get an ice cream from Hâvre-aux-glaces whicch is the best in town. There are some cafes with food as well as some Arab places with great kabobs. If you towards Jean-Talon st., you'll find Alep and Petit Alep, iranian inspired cooking, very tasty and not too expansive. You're also in the Little Italy so you might want to look for some italian.

[wattacetti]

Since you're already there, you might just want to eat your poutine at APDC, thereby saving a snack/meal slot for somewhere else.

Don't know about pints since I'm not big on beer, but you can always have a late night glass of wine at Bu. Wines by the glass can be found here (list is updated Monday afternoons).

I have a personal preference for shopping at Marché Atwater but JTM is a more interesting walk-through.

[rcianci]

Since you're already there, you might just want to eat your poutine at APDC, thereby saving a snack/meal slot for somewhere else.

Don't know about pints since I'm not big on beer, but you can always have a late night glass of wine at Bu. Wines by the glass can be found here (list is updated Monday afternoons).

I have a personal preference for shopping at Marché Atwater but JTM is a more interesting walk-through.

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Plus APDC has excellent beers, such as St-Ambroise, on tap.

Edited February 24, 2006 by rcianci (log)

[gus_tatory]

...Late dinner thursday at Au Pied de Cochon.

Lunch at Le Club Chasse et Peche Friday

Dinner Friday at Joe Beef

Dinner Sat. at Anise.

...

If you had to choose 1 market to walk and eat through March Jean-Talon or March Atwater which would it be?

...

Best place for poutine and a pint?

...

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hey NYC Mike:

sorry i heavily edited your post. you and your girlfriend are going to have an awesome time anyway, from your agenda. but here's a few other minor things:

--if you want to be right *in* the theatre of the kitchen at Au Pied, then ask for two seats at the bar, hopefully to the left, where one of you can have the crazy chair with the deer-antler arm rests. seriously.

--there's really no comparing or contrasting Jean Talon and Atwater markets: different shops, overlapping specialties, terroir products, produce, cheese, and seafood merchants. can you do both?

--poutine and a pint=> go to reservoir and have some of their evolved bar food. i don't think they have a poutine, but, you know, dude: you don't have to eat poutine at every meal while you're here.

looking forward to your report back when you've had a few chances to try places out!

gus

edit to add: sorry, it's your wife, not your girlfriend. also MaeveH, a member of this board, also the resto critic from www.hour.ca did a review of Reservoir this week, from whence i may have swiped the phrase "evolved bar food": this link to the Reservoir review works until March 2nd.... clicky...

Edited February 24, 2006 by gus_tatory (log)

[baophac]

I have not found a good patisserie in Montreal since i came back. I used to buy at Patisserie Belge but their quality went down the drain and I have had too many 'old' cake. I used to buy croissants exclusively there too but no longer.

I like the Premiere Moisson shop on Sherbrooke near Mackay and their 'Pointe au beurre' (apple pie) is to die for. It's like eating butter.

Duc de Lorraine on Chemin de la Cote-des-Neiges north of Queen Mary Road is an old favorite but I have not been back yet.

[rcianci]

--if you want to be right *in* the theatre of the kitchen at Au Pied, then ask for two seats at the bar, hopefully to the left, where one of you can have the crazy chair with the deer-antler arm rests. seriously.

The last time I sat in that chair, I kept getting elbowed by the server slicing the country bread.

[Simon Patrice]

For sake of transparency, I too will mention that I am friend with the owners of Qui Lait Cru. Now on with my post.

I must admit that your comment on the service over there surprised me a bit. I used to go to buy cheese from them when they were located in NDG (under a different name) and didn't know them personnaly then. They were always very helpful and took all the time needed to answer my questions and offer different cheeses to taste until I had made my choice. The service at Qui Lait Cru has always been excellent for me also. Some of the staff might have a special sense of humour sometimes but I'm very surprised that anyone there would insult a custumer. Is there a chance there was a misunderstanding or that we are missing some part of the context?

It's just hard for me to understand why they would insult anyone.

One thing that the Gourmet article fail to mention is that the cheese selection at marché des saveurs is quite good ! The people there are vey passionate and Simon , the head cheesemonger is really in love with it's job ! You will find most Québec cheese there , raw milk included. It is at marché Jean-Talon. Service is very , very good. Qui lait cru , another cheese shop might be good , but ( not from experience) the service tends to be ...below par. They even manage to insult ( without knowing it was her) a famous and venerable food writter... ( No I wont give names )

For the sake of transparency , I will had that I am friend with the owners of Marché des saveurs... But that does not make them anyless good !

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[gus_tatory]

hey NYC Mike--

I don't know if you or your wife speak French, but regardless, there are some social nicenesses that'll take you a long way here:

--if a cabdriver drops you off and says 'merci', you can say 'c'est moi qui vous remerci' (it's me who thanks you) and they'll be charmed...

--also, if someone wishes you 'bonne soiree' or 'bonne fin de semaine', you can say 'a vous de meme' (the same to you), and ditto on the charm factor.

now i can't wait to see what you guys do here and hear the report back!

[sf&m]

Great advice you've got there NYC Mike. May I add some "contrarian" input? From a California expat.

What can you say about your lunch/dinner dates? Terrific, au courant and chef's driven.

Outstanding Montreal! Go!

But there might be another side of Montreal you might check out between the driven chefs.

A more food oriented, worked in reality that probaly more Montrealers enjoy and can afford as part of their regular life. A side of the Unique Culture of MOntreal. A bit of Paris.

Missing from above are the great Bistros of Montreal. AND.... a great specialty of Montreal...BYOW - BRING YOUR OWN WINE. Imagine whipping out a bottle of your sweetie's favourite Champagne (for starters) followed by that oh so irrestible french red wine that has special significance to HER. We're talking LOVE here, right? And you can bring in two bottels to Canda for free, so that's no problem and you don't have to deal with ornery QC wine monopoly.

Quality BYOW restos will OPEN even DECANT your wine and serve it in decent stem ware - for FREE. That's right - no corkage!!! Go figure! It's true!

There are others here that can recommend BYOW bistros and restos to you. LAst fall I went to La Colombe corner of Duluth and St Hubert. It's been there for probably 15 years, well worked in, very simple but oh so sophisticated in an understated professional way that's hard to find this side of the Atlantic. Classy! To reserve drop in the day before and request the table at the windowed apex of the room! There are many other bistros even more "romantic". Just ask here.

Try some funkiness:

-Drop into Bily Kun on Mont Royal and St Denis for a Cheval Blanc "La Blanche" sur lie QC beer. Most refreshing on a hot summer night but works in winter too. Also try the weired orange flavoured Czech drink which name escapes me at the moment. The decor is "interesting". "If it's 5 pm, we are at Bily Kun" - words from my latest California visitors.

-Also Cobalt bar on St Paul in Old Montreal a bit west of the touristy section. Live Jazz a few times a week. Even at lunch I think. Open to 3 am. They are cobalt-montreal.com

- For Poutine & a Burger and Beer drop into La Paryse on Ontario close to St Denis. "Best in town".

- Or even funkier, visit The Mad Hatter on Drummond (?) between Maisonneuve and St Catherine for strickly late night Poutine (only) Beer & Pool working mans crawl. Shudder. But not dangereous. Hmm.

But above all - don't leave Montreal without going to L'Express on St Denis. Paris by the St Lawrence. Open to 2 pm. Perfect for any time between lunch and that late or early night restrorative after much drink and love making. Sit at the bar and have the bar man treat you. Your wine glass restored to that just so level after every sip you take. The couple next to you eating and smoking and talking and loving as only French people can.

And oh, since I am on a roll here. Please buy your cheese at Marche Des Saveurs at Jean Talon Market. The young staff will package your morsels of fine QC raw cheese like they were Jewels.

Also less expensive than Que Lait Cru.

Enjoy your stay in Montreal!!!

[riboflavinjoe]

La Paryse makes their poutine with grated cheese. While it is good, it's not poutine if it doesn't have the curds on it. Certainly, though, La Paryse has the best burger in town, hands down. no doubt about that. Everyone goes to La Banquise for poutine. It's on Rachel near St. Hubert or Christophe Colomb or something like that.

[toto2]

It's just hard for me to understand why they would insult anyone.

From what i understood , the "Qui lait cru " person ( and I dont know if it the owner or a employe ), implied that this venerable food writter did not know what she was talking about in a way that was very un-custumer oriented. This writter swore to never go back . Since she does not write anymore , they were lucky.

Now , I was not there and all this , while it is from almost a first person account , it is in the gossip realm and obviously , QLC must do something right , because they are very popular ( and one of the owner was a very good customer for our peanuts last year) I guess I was trying to pull the blanket for my friends.) I think that , in fact , the two store are a complement to each other.