Is Les Chevres straying from veggie roots?

[mmm_chocolate]

I am back from my week long stay in beautiful Montreal. I'll write a few words about the overall trip, but felt that my experience at Les Chevres deserved its own topic.

Being a vegetarian, I was ecstatic to discover that one of Montreal's best restaurants featured vegetables. I understood that there were usually a few meat dishes offered for the carnivores, but that veggies took center stage. However, out of the six entree choices for the evening of my visit (6/28/06), only ONE was without meat or fish. I actually thought that I might be in the wrong restaurant (could there be another Les Chevres?!) and asked the waitress if perhaps there was a separate menu featuring more vegetarian options. Of course we were in the right place, and there was not another menu.

I was really disappointed. I am used to having only one choice at a restaurant, but had a pre-conception that Les Chevres would be different.

To start, I ordered a salad that consisted of thinly sliced apples and jicima stacked and dressed with rice wine vinegar and sliced green onions. It was a pleasant enough combination, but was a bit lacking in dimension and flavor. The apples and jicima were a similar color, texture and flavor and after eating five or six bites, I felt that I had enough vinegar for one evening. This dish could have greatly benefitted from a contrasting component. For my entree, I had the mushroom risotto, which was very nice, but a bit on the salty side. The dessert was a honey almond glace served with rhubarb puree and rhubarb sorbet. This was good, but not as mouth-wateringly delicious as the gelato I would order from Havre aux Glaces the next day. (My husband, who ordered the crab salad and a fish entree, faired better than me. The crab salad in particular was pretty amazing.) But all things considered, I found the menu not to be any more vegetarian friendly than the norm, and felt that we paid quite alot for food that didn't consistently live up to the price.

Did I misunderstand what this restaurant was all about? Or was I perhaps there on a night when the meat was more plentiful than the veggies?

I am not sure and would love some local feedback. But sadly, based on my dinner there, I could not recommend this restaurant to vegetarians.

-Michelle

[rcianci]

Just checked Les Chevres online menu. Only one all veggie starter and one all veggie main. What gives? I thought the idea was that vegetables are of equal worth as meat or fish and are as worthy of having the main focus on the plate. Have they changed their minds? Could they not sell this idea to the Montreal dining public?

Edited July 10, 2006 by rcianci (log)

[Bon Appetit Cookbooks]

Just checked Les Chevres online menu. Only one all veggie starter and one all veggie main. What gives? I thought the idea was that vegetables are of equal worth as meat or fish and as worthy as having the main focus on the plate. Have they changed their minds? Did the original idea not sell?

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Hey there,

Lesley Chesterman reviewed Les Chevres a few weeks back. She mentioned in the article that they moved away from Vegetables because apparently, the customers were asking for "more". So Stelio tweaked the menu and added more meat & fish. She also mentioned that they could be going through growing/changing pains. But Stelio and Patrice are great chefs, I have no doubt it's still great quality.

I guess you have to change your idea of Les Chevres now. I have yet to go since they went the meat and fish route. I will have to try it soon.

J

[eat2much]

You just can't please all the people all the time. Carnivores found the menu lacking in the "meat and potatoes" department. When I went there shortly after the opening four of us dropped almost $100 each and three out of four could have stopped at Harveys for a burger on the way home.

[rcianci]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I like the idea of vegetarian fine dining as an option. It's too bad it doesn't work in Montreal.

[mmm_chocolate]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I like the idea of vegetarian fine dining as an option. It's too bad it doesn't work in Montreal.

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I'm just surprised because it seemed to be getting so much great press for what it was. And the fact that it was a little bit different than the average restaurant made it stand apart from the crowd; it had a unique hook. Now they will have to be competing head on with the other meat and potato restaurants in the city, many of which I hear are unbelievable when it comes to preparing meat. And honestly, the food at Les Chevres wasn't the greatest I've ever had, so they will have their competition cut out for them. Too bad.

[gus_tatory]

i think rcianci said something inetersting, that a 100% veggie fine cuisine resto might have problems working _in montreal_. perhaps we're so used to the terroir pork, foie gras, etc. that we're not willing to support places with 10-15$ veggie apps and mains?

mmm_chocolate: i'm glad you liked aux vivres, and sorry les chevres didn't live up to it for you.

slightly off-topic: the "raw food" resto on mount royal, called "Cru"--> does anyone know how this place is doing or what its food is like? raw food is another cuisine i can't see doing very well here... don't know why, gut feeling...

[Thesorus]

slightly off-topic: the "raw food" resto on mount royal, called "Cru"--> does anyone know how this place is doing or what its food is like? raw food is another cuisine i can't see doing very well here... don't know why, gut feeling...

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I went there a couple of weeks ago, it's a fun little restaurant.

It's not a vegetarian restaurant, they have tartare, cevice, and other raw meats ( one item cold smoked ) and fishes and sea-foods.

It was good, and fresh, it's a restaurant for summer nights, I can't see myself going there in the middle of february and eat raw food.

[grill-it]

How about Chuchai as a vegeterian dining option. By all accounts, they're doing quite well,yet they don't serve any meat. I went to their BYO restaurant next door (simply entitled Chuch) and quite enjoyed the experience.

I'm not usually a fan of mock meats, but in this case, everything was well prepared, well presented and overall quite satisfactory. If I remember correctly, we had a basil "chicken" curried dish that was really quite interesting. Definitely an option for vegetarians, and proof that restaurants serving no meat can indeed survive in Montreal.

[wizpers]

location location location

[mmm_chocolate]

location location location

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I would have to agree with this....Les Chevres did not seem to be in a great spot. Perhaps if they were on St. Denis or St. Laurent, they would do better and be able to remain mostly vegetarian. Oh well.