tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45826066032817433622024-03-08T11:33:26.750+00:00Boo in MontrealREVIEWS AND STUFFBoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.comBlogger334125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-56493500808501289992014-12-30T03:59:00.000+00:002015-01-14T04:02:55.881+00:00London Round UpSo I was back in the UK for Christmas, and despite a bout of the sniffles meaning I had to cancel some plans, I did make it to a couple of places on my to do list, which is loooong, considering I've only been away for 9 months.<br />
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<a href="http://badegg.london/coming-soon/">Bad Egg</a><br />
Bel and I had lunch at <a href="http://badegg.london/coming-soon/">Bad Egg</a>. It was still in soft opening which is always exciting, like restaurant roulette, but everything was brilliant. In particular this burger (£11), beef, NDUJA CHEESE FONDUE, egg yolk, pickles, onion and mustard. It was magnificent. <br />
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We also had a side of kimchi, which packed a solid punch and the pulled pork hash (£8.50) but the burger was the one. Loved it. Now they're open proper they have an amazing looking breakfast menu which I'd love to try. Go, eat eggs or don't eat eggs, but go.<br />
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<a href="http://toastdulwich.co.uk/eating/">Toasted</a><br />
This is one of those places that was long on my must visit list, but I never actually made it there ahead of moving to Canada. Post move, when I made friends with Sar and learned that she used to live opposite and was something of a regualar we vowed to visit together at Xmas and that we did. I was still poorly so not tasting 100% which is a horrible, horrible thing. I still loved the place though and will definitely revisit one day for dinner. I loved the artichokes with dukkah and curds (£8) <br />
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Followed by the pollock with dashi, fennel and ginger (£15) which was incredible. We also drank some fizz in a bid to ward off the cold, didn't work, I continued to be ill for another 3 days, but testament to Toasted that I bloody loved it anyway.<br />
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So pretty and delicate. The service is charming, the room is wonderfully rustic and the company was excellent. Lucky EDers who get to have this as a local. Amazing place.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theivymarketgrill.com/">The Ivy Market Grill</a><br />
So the Ivy, that fancy pants celeb magnet in Covent Garden, have opened an all day brasserie on the ex Pizza Hut site on the south side of the piazza. I was disappointed when I realised this was the location but in actual fact I thought the food was pretty decent considering. I had the veggie breakfast (£11.50), at about 4 in the afternoon, it was the halloumi that swang it.<br />
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There were actual beans in the mini pan I assure you, not just juice. Granted the idea of a hot poached egg and hollandaise on top of a halved, cold avocado is not one I'd entertained, nor shall I in future, but it's friend was on a mini bubble and squeak, which was delicious.<br />
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The service was a tad forgetful, we ordered a snack of arancini and bread to share pre meal as we'd not eaten yet, but they didn't materialise. We asked after them, the arancini came, the bread never surfaced at all and by then we'd received everything else so it seemed silly to ask again. The arancini were very good, truffle-y. It was a strange time to dine perhaps, but the staff went through phases of constantly asking if we were ok, and others of aloofness. Early days perhaps? Glad I've been, probs won't go back, think there are nicer options available for the same type of stuff. Strong branding though, and a nice Royale cocktail with rose and hibiscus. Also, the Kid was ill all night, gah.<br />
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And that's all I managed, except for a fine meal at Chicken Shop NW5, where it's always lovely. Back for more in June, London!<br />
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<a href="http://badegg.london/coming-soon/">Bad Egg</a><br />
1 Ropemaker Street<br />
Moorgate<br />
EC2Y<br />
9/10 <br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1927875/restaurant/Moorgate/Bad-Egg-London"><img alt="Bad Egg on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1927875/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://toastdulwich.co.uk/eating/">Toasted</a><br />
38 Lordship Lane<br />
East Dulwich<br />
SE22<br />
9/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1760420/restaurant/Dulwich/Toasted-London"><img alt="Toasted on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1760420/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.theivymarketgrill.com/">The Ivy Market Grill</a><br />
1 Henrietta St<br />
Covent Garden<br />
WC2E<br />
7/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1926005/restaurant/Covent-Garden/Ivy-Market-Grill-London"><img alt="Ivy Market Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1926005/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-86584185292216234022014-12-26T21:56:00.000+00:002014-12-31T21:58:30.555+00:00Sumac<div class="MsoNormal">
When Art came to stay we nipped over to St Henri
and had lunch at <a href="http://www.sumacrestaurant.com/">Sumac</a>. Think ‘middle Eastern’ cuisine along the lines
of <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2009/11/yalla-yalla.html">Yalla Yalla</a> or <a href="http://www.lecomptoir.co.uk/">Comptoir Libanais</a> in London. Until Sumac opened there was really nothing like this available in Montreal. Cutting to the chase, everything was
awesome and I already can’t wait to go back.</div>
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The menu is on a big board, you order at the
counter before finding a table, which feels a tad too casual but it’s
really busy come lunchtimes so I see why they do it. Will be heading back for dinner soon to
check out if things are any different in the evening.</div>
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We shared the falafel ($12) and the beef kefta ($14) plates which
come with your choice of 2 salads from the pretty extensive salad menu, the best pita I've ever had, hummus and pickles. The main dishes (falafs, keftas, chicken shawarma and a veggie aubergine option) can also be ordered as a pita or 'family style' (I'm not sure what this means exactly). We also shared sumac fries, having been advised that the hummus fries are huge and would push us over the edge. Prices are very reasonable and portions are large. This is North America after all! <br />
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Just looking at these pictures and thinking about
how good the food was is making me want to get back down there today,
and look at <a href="http://www.sumacrestaurant.com/">this</a>, they even have a website, something of a rarity in
Montreal. Good work Sumac.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sumacrestaurant.com/">Sumac</a></div>
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3618 Notre Dame O.</div>
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St Henri</div>
H4C 1P5<br />
9/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1891225/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Sumac-Restaurant-Montreal"><img alt="Sumac Restaurant on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1891225/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-33327202554194692572014-11-30T03:32:00.000+00:002014-12-02T03:46:37.279+00:00November Round UpRounding up November, already. This year, especially since my move to Canada has gone soooooo quickly. It's quite scary. Does mean it's almost Christmas though, so I'll be back in the UK for a bit, woo. Here's what I've eaten this month in Montreal. <br />
<a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/">Joe Beef</a><br />
Goatsy came to stay and we went to Joe Beef. I don't need to say anything more about Joe Beef, it's amazing, it's difficult to get a table, I've said it's brilliant <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/09/joe-beef.html">enough</a>. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, they smashed dessert, just look at this thing, mille-crepe lemon meringue. No further words required.<br />
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<a href="http://orangejulep.com/">Gibeau Orange Julep</a><br />
Somewhat of a local institution is Gibeau Orange Julep, think fast food served in a big orange. Literally. It's cheap and cheerful, the julep in the name refers to a drink which is not entirely a pleasant thing, orange juice combined with milk and a hell of a lot of sugar which typically accompanies some kind of burger, hotdog or poutine. I got this little tray of delights, 2 hotdogs with all the toppings and I was tasting raw onion for the rest of the day. Can't say I'll rush back but it's a novelty destination really, situated on an industrial estate, apparently bikers hang in the car park during the summer, so if that's your thing, you know what to do.<br />
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<a href="http://www.appetitebooks.ca/AppetiteBooks/HOME.html"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.appetitebooks.ca/AppetiteBooks/HOME.html">Appetite For Books</a><br />
This is a wonderful book store in Westmount, they have an incredible selection of cookbooks and they offer evening cooking demos, Sarah and I went along to a class to celebrate the recent launch of Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty More. We saw made (and then ate) some sample dishes whilst drinking wine. The onion cake, yes, onion cake, is just incredible. I'll definitely be making this myself. Buy the book, go to the store (if you live in Montreal), the classes are just a really fun night out even if you have little interest in cooking. I now won't have any problems coming up with veggie dishes to cook thanks to Yotam. <br />
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<a href="http://restaurantlaurea.com/">Laurea</a><br />
Grace, Margaret and I hit Laurea one Saturday night for dinner. This is a new opening on one of my favourite streets in Montreal, Laurier. I wasn't sure what to expect from the food, hadn't read too much about it. It felt very New York in the cocktail bar downstairs, we sipped martinis while some dude played the piano. Then we moved upstairs for dinner, and I ate this wonderful dish of cod with prawn dumplings in a dashi broth ($22). Really delicious. I'll be back for sure, cocktails were good and the food more than lined our stomachs for the night out ahead. We went down the road to Bar Kabinet but actually ended up coming back and hanging out in the adjoining <a href="http://lorbeer.ca/">Bar Lorbeer</a> until it closed at 3am. Loved both places and the food really impressed.<br />
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<a href="http://www.lebalsaminn.com/">Balsam Inn</a><br />
Another newish opening here in Montreal that I made it to this month, <a href="http://www.lebalsaminn.com/">Balsam Inn</a> is located very centrally right next door to <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/09/dominion-square-tavern.html">Dominion Square Tavern</a>. The decor is really cool, quite clinical and minimal but they have some amazing bits, nice light fittings which are a little different to the generic trendy vibe you see so much of these days. Long story short, the food wasn't all great, the appetisers were a lot better than the mains, fried chicken was not my cup of tea at all, smothered in a sickly sweet sauce. But there is a lot of promise, the cheese and flatbread was excellent, the bacon meatloaf was just odd. Will probably head back after Christmas to try more of the menu, this was just a quick hungover stop off.<br />
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<a href="http://www.grumman78.com/en/menu/">Grumman '78</a><br />
Had a shocker of a meal here with Art. I had really high hopes due to their appearance in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8aAbAcAbyE">Munchies Chef's Night Out </a>in Montreal earlier this year. I think it's the most disappointed I've been in a meal in this city so far, especially sad because Art was visiting, and I was attempting to show her the best that's available here. They had run out of both the wine we chose and the main course I ordered, we weren't offered the dessert trolley (didn't want any of them, but would have been nice to have a look) and it was cold in there as we were sitting close to the door and it was a snowy day. The food was pretty rank to be honest, bahn-mi tacos and fried chicken with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnycake">johnny cakes. </a> Just no. <br />
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<a href="http://www.notkins.com/">Notkins</a><br />
Another disappointment sadly, the newly opened oyster bar run by Daniel Notkin, the guy behind Montreal's oysterfest which I very much enjoyed earlier in the year. Nice venue for drinks but the food was decidedly average, the highlight being the chowder pictured below. We skipped oysters but in hindsight you probably can't go wrong ordering them here. The lobster burger was the biggest letdown, we asked the waiter to recommend what to eat and nothing he suggested stood out. Shame. <br />
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<a href="http://orangejulep.com/"><br /></a>
<a href="http://orangejulep.com/">Gibeau Orange Julep</a><br />
7700 Boulevard Decarie<br />
H4P<br />
5/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721269/restaurant/Mont-Royal/Gibeau-Orange-Julep-Montreal"><img alt="Gibeau Orange Julep on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721269/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://restaurantlaurea.com/">Laurea</a><br />
381 Laurier Ouest<br />
Outremont<br />
H2V<br />
8.5/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1880404/restaurant/Outremont/Laurea-Montreal"><img alt="Laurea on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1880404/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.lebalsaminn.com/">Balsam Inn </a><br />
1237 Rue Metcalfe<br />
Golden Square Mile<br />
H3B <br />
8/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1894588/restaurant/Golden-Square-Mile/Balsam-Inn-Montreal"><img alt="Balsam Inn on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1894588/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.grumman78.com/en/menu/">Grumman 78 </a><br />
<span class="street-address">630 Rue De Courcelle </span><br />
<span class="street-address">Sud Ouest</span><br />
<span class="street-address">H4C</span><br />
<span class="street-address">4/10 </span><br />
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<span class="street-address"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1610035/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Grumman-78-Montreal"><img alt="Grumman '78 on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1610035/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </span><br />
<span class="street-address"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.notkins.com/"><span class="street-address">Notkins Oyster Bar</span></a><br />
<span class="street-address">1101 Rue De Bleury</span><br />
<span class="street-address">Chinatown</span><br />
<span class="street-address">H2Z</span><br />
<span class="street-address">5/10 </span><br />
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<span class="street-address"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1886045/restaurant/Chinatown/Notkins-Oyster-Bar-Montreal"><img alt="Notkins Oyster Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1886045/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </span>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-18117483622659909842014-11-25T05:13:00.000+00:002014-11-25T05:13:11.509+00:00Boo in New York - IppudoBest ramen in New York? Friends I was staying with reliably told me it can be found at <a href="http://www.ippudony.com/">Ippudo</a>. We went for Sunday lunch at the Midtown outpost. They've just opened in London, to mixed reviews, but I loved the meal we had in New York. <br />
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So, their thing is that each table is announced and cheered by the staff upon entry, bit weird, but to be honest, not even that noticeable. I expected it to be very in your face, but I actually think it's quite nice. Maybe because I was in holiday mode, rather than nipping round the corner from work to have a quick ramen lunch, but people need to lighten up if they find this intrusive. We scored a much sought after booth as we were a big group and only had to wait about 20 minutes, which we spent in a nearby vintage clothing shop. It flew by. <br />
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We started with an obligatory Sapporo ($6), mine didn't go down all that well tbh, it was too early and I was 2nd day hanging. Molly and I ordered exactly the same, starting with agedashi tofu ($10)<br />
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This is served in a dashi broth topped with aubergine, radish, spring onion and wasabi. Probably the best agedashi tofu I've ever had, the lightest batter encasing it, it was quite difficult to eat actually because the tofu was so soft it was impossible to grip with chopsticks. <br />
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Next up we went for the Tori tatsuta-age ($9), the fried chicken with daikon ponzu sauce. This was incredible. London has some amazing karaage chicken (<a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2012/12/bone-daddies.html">Bone Daddies</a>), Montreal too (<a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/03/march-round-up.html">Saka Ba</a>), but this is the nicest I've ever had. I could have eaten all of this in a heartbeat, but I had to stop to save some room for the ramen. It pained me to leave any. <br />
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SMILEY FACE!!! The main event being this, the karaka men ramen ($15). Tonkotsu pork broth, noodles topped with chashu pork, minced pork, spicy sauce, sesame mushrooms and onions. Optional extra seasoned egg ($2) was added, obvs. Now, this was not a Clarence Court egg, so clearly inferior but everything else about this bowl hit the spot. I'm keen to try the London branch when I'm back in December, to judge for myself if the same formula works in another city. <br />
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Apparently these guys invented steamed buns, who knew. The starter dishes were really standout and the ramen ticks all the boxes too. <br />
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<a href="http://www.ippudony.com/">Ippudo, NY</a><br />
65 4th Avenue<br />
New York<br />
10003<br />
9/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/335761/restaurant/East-Village/Ippudo-NYC"><img alt="Ippudo on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/335761/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-12646294053418121072014-11-10T02:17:00.000+00:002014-11-10T02:17:02.126+00:00Boo in New York - Momofuku Ssäm BarThe only must visit place for me during my recent New York trip was a <a href="http://momofuku.com/">Momofuku </a>restaurant. I didn't even mind which one. David Chang's restaurants have always been on my wishlist, I'm a regular reader of his Lucky Peach magazine and as luck would have it, I was staying at my friend Suz's place in the East Village, a stone's throw from the <a href="http://momofuku.com/new-york/ssam-bar/">Ssäm Bar</a>. We ended up lucking out and not even requiring a reservation for a group of 6, walking in at around 10pm on Halloween looking to fuel up before heading to Brooklyn for the night.<br />
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Starting with drinks, I tried the juniper#3, gin apricot, campari and lemon. Served unexpectedly in a tumbler, it was short and really tart, great start. Ellen's choice of a celery sour won, so great. The scotch based Penicillin also went down well. Cocktails here are excellent. <br />
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We each opted for some buns ($10 for 2), Nibs and I shared the steamed variety with pork belly, hoisin and cucumber. Really, really amazing. I just love these things. The pork was so succulent and tender, I resisted the urge to order more. The girls also enjoyed the buffalo pork buns with blue cheese and hot sauce, and some of the veggie ones filled with mushrooms. <br />
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Molly's choice of country hams ($12) was brilliant, smoked ham with bread and red eye gravy from the small dishes section of the menu. Other dishes falling into either raw, fall, fish or meat sections. Non meaty options at the table included the scallop ceviche ($15) with lotus root, the kimchi mason jar ($5) and a fresh chilled market bean salad ($10) with XO and radish that had an almighty kick to it. All excellent dishes.<br />
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For main I couldn't resist the beef offal stew with turnip and kale ($23). The broth was fragrant and rich, the meat included tendon, oxtail and tripe. Also pictured below is the fried moo kimchi with yuzu mayo ($8). Everything we ate was incredible, there wasn't a single miss. We shared some kind of pie for dessert which I have to admit wasn't particularly memorable, but it's me, not them. Desserts = meh when you're in New York for Halloween and you have parties to go to.<br />
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I think this place is amazing. As well as incredible food and cocktail menus, they also offer BYOB, group bookings with set menus, weekend brunch and drinks only at their bar, Booker and Dax. If I lived in New York (one day yeah?) I'd be here all the time. Loved it. Just don't expect the politest service ever, they have a constant stream of diners and need to turn tables quickly so have little patience for indecisiveness or lingering guests. <br />
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'Emojis, assemble'. Best Halloween ever.<br />
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<a href="http://momofuku.com/new-york/ssam-bar/">Momofuku Ssäm Bar</a><br />
207 2nd Avenue<br />
East Village <br />
New York <br />
10003<br />
9/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/34692/restaurant/East-Village/Momofuku-Ssam-Bar-NYC"><img alt="Momofuku Ssäm Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/34692/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-79524499913050001812014-10-31T15:00:00.000+00:002014-10-31T15:00:07.463+00:00October Round UpRounding up the month of October, some good brunches were the highlight. A couple of close to work revisits that are worth a mention, had a great thai chicken meatball soup at <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/04/le-local.html">Le Local</a>, always a solid lunch choice and <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/04/lorignal.html">L'Orignal </a>refurbished, rewrote the menu and relaunched. Had a nice suckling pig dish there one night for dinner. Here's the rest....<br />
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<a href="http://restaurantmanitoba.com/?lang=en">Restaurant Manitoba</a><br />
I dined here early in the summer but didn't take pics, I was impressed with both what I ate that night and with the excellent personable charm of co-owner Elizabeth Cardin (we drank some gin shots together). I've been meaning to revisit for brunch, which they recently started serving, but bizarrely they're not open on Saturdays. This past Sunday Erika and I met there, it was really busy, there was a guy playing the cello and we propped ourselves up at the bar for a few hours. Some people might find the vibe a little pretentious but I find it charming. There's been a lot of attention to detail in the set up of the place and I really hope they do well. It's only a 15 minute walk from my flat so I'll definitely be back again and again. As for the food, it's really inventive. A chalkboard on the wall lists the daily changing dishes, we both went for the squash spaghetti with poached egg and mushrooms. I've honestly never had a dish like it. Prices are reasonable (I paid around £15 for this and a few cups of herbal tea) and drinks are amazing. If you're in Montreal, go. I don't understand why more people don't rave about it already.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/DinetteTripleCrown">Dinette Triple Crown</a><br />
This place has been on my list since before my first trip to Montreal. Think fried chicken, mac & cheese, pulled pork etc. They have a tiny little place in Mile End opposite a park, so in non snowy months you can grab a picnic basket and eat across the street. They also deliver and, although I'm just outside the delivery zone, one hungover Sunday night they made an exception and came the extra distance to delivery to my place, wooo! So we knew we had to have the mac & cheese, then we each picked a meat and threes, which is your pick of fried chicken, beef brisket or pulled pork with 3 sides. We shared everything first up was brisket with mash and gravy, creamy slaw and greens. So so so good.<br />
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The second option was 3 pieces of fried chicken with cornbread, sweet potatoes and hushpuppies. Had to google the latter, they're like deep fried balls of corn batter served with a garlic dip. It's obviously all hideously bad for you so a once in a while treat rather than a weekly takeout option but I was really impressed with the food. Best mac & cheese I've had here so far, we got the small, the large must be massive. We paid around $50 for this, but there was a lot of food. We also opted for the pear and ginger pudding which was completely unnecessary but really lovely. This will definitely be happening again on a cold winter night in the not too distant future.<br />
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<a href="http://www.barbounya.com/">Bar Bounya</a><br />
I came here for lunch earlier in the year but didn't blog it because it was just a couple of hours before I flew back to London in July, so I was in a rush and didn't take pics. Went back last weekend with Erika and Sar for Saturday brunch. For $12 you get a main dish and a selection of treats including a tomato and ricotta salad (ricotta mixed with feta - so good), bread, jams, nuts, olives and honey with kaymak, a soft butter like spread. This is such a bargain, can't wait to go back. It's served sharing style on a board.<br />
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The main I opted for was shakshuka, served in the dish it's cooked in, it always suffers from the heat of the dish overcooking the eggs and this is exactly what happened. 2 hard cooked poached eggs is not a good thing. The sauce of tomato, spinach and onions was nice enough, I ate that with more of the bread, but overcooked eggs is one of my worst things, unforgivable. I do like the place though and you can't argue with a $12 breakfast, I'd pay that again for the cheese alone. <br />
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<a href="http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/">Juliette et Chocolat</a><br />
I was invited to the Laval store opening of Juliette et Chocolat. I'd not yet tried any of their cafes in the city, there are several located throughout Centre Ville and the Plateau, and now they're in Laval too. You can read about their story <a href="http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/juliette.php">here</a>. The menu is obviously chocolate based, think hot chocolate, chocolate fountain, fruit covered chocolate, bars, truffles, mousse, biscuits, even chocolate lipstick. They have a great range of Halloween based treats, chocolate skull anyone? People visit for desserts apparently in the evenings, I rather like the idea of popping in after dinner somewhere. I ate so much chocolate on the night that I felt quite queasy when I left. Speaks volumes of the quality of the sweet treats on offer here, because I don't have much of a sweet tooth at all. <br />
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<a href="http://www.restobolobolo.com/">Bolo Bolo </a><br />
I was also invited to a new restaurant opening on St Laurent in the Plateau. The deal here is meatballs and cocktails. The opening night was packed so it was pretty hard to get your hands on a decent drink, but there were plenty of meatballs on offer. They even have a meatball topped bloody mary. Best thing sampled on the night was the buffalo meatball, there are all kinds on the <a href="http://www.restobolobolo.com/menus/menu.pdf">menu</a>, it's a great location, more of a bar than a restaurant vibe but that could have been due to the launch party. <br />
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<a href="http://www.lasociete.ca/">La Societe</a><br />
Before visiting La Societe, I'd read some negative reviews. I was skeptical but wanted to check it out anyway and I wish I'd skipped it to be honest. Many online reports told stories of shoddy service, ours was absolutely fine but the food was pretty poor. It's the worst meal I've had in Montreal, actually a 4am poutine and 'burger club' at <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721176/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Fameux-Viande-Fumee-Et-Charcuterie-Montreal#blog_posts">Fameux Viande Fumee</a> probably holds that accolade. Shudder. Anyway, back to Societe, Lobster bisque ($13) was overly creamy and pretty tasteless, advertised as coming with truffle oil but there was none. The New York strip steak ($29) I ordered was undercooked and tasteless and the peppercorn sauce was just awful. Fries and aioli were good and the cheeseboard was passable. We had a gin based cocktail which looked radioactive before moving onto white wine. All the effort here seems to have been put into decorating the room, the floor and ceiling are both impressive, but the food really underwhelming. I won't be revisiting. <br />
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<a href="http://restaurantmanitoba.com/?lang=en">Restaurant Manitoba</a><br />
271 Rue St Zotique Oeust<br />
Parc Ex <br />
H2V<br />
9/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1854397/restaurant/Saint-douard/Restaurant-Manitoba-Montreal"><img alt="Restaurant Manitoba on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1854397/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/DinetteTripleCrown/timeline">Dinette Triple Crown</a><br />
6704 Rue Clark<br />
Rosemount <br />
H2S<br />
8/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1691475/restaurant/Saint-douard/Dinette-Triple-Crown-Montreal"><img alt="Dinette Triple Crown on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1691475/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.barbounya.com/">Barbounya</a><br />
243 Laurier Ouest<br />
Outemont<br />
H2T<br />
7/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1755049/restaurant/Outremont/Barbounya-Montreal"><img alt="Barbounya on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1755049/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/">Juliette et Chocolat</a><br />
Centropolis<br />
Laval<br />
H7T <br />
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<i>I dined as a guest of Juliette et Chocolat</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1891379/restaurant/Montreal/Juliette-Et-Chocolat-Laval"><img alt="Juliette Et Chocolat on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1891379/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.restobolobolo.com/">Bolo Bolo</a><br />
3540 St Laurent<br />
Plateau<br />
H2X<br />
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<i>I dined as a guest of Bolo Bolo</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1890970/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Bolo-Bolo-Montreal"><img alt="Bolo Bolo on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1890970/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.lasociete.ca/">La Societe</a><br />
1415 Rue de la Montagne<br />
Golden Square Mile<br />
H3G<br />
4/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1774883/restaurant/Golden-Square-Mile/La-Societe-Montreal-Montreal"><img alt="La Societe Montréal on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1774883/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-80548629598869484042014-10-28T03:16:00.000+00:002014-10-28T03:16:05.891+00:00Le Bremner<a href="http://crownsalts.com/">Crown Salts</a> restaurants are a big deal in Montreal. TV chef Chuck Hughes is co-owner and he was at <a href="http://crownsalts.com/lebremner/">Le Bremner</a> last week when Sar and I visited for dinner. It's been on my list for ages but it's one of those restaurants that you need to be reasonably organised to visit, as in you can't book for next week but you can probably book a month in advance. Previously I'd tried a number of times at short notice and it was full. I was hoping this was a good sign, it's generally not difficult in Montreal to get a reservation, <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/09/joe-beef.html">Joe Beef</a> being the exception. <br />
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I really liked the meal. We started with the burrata with tomatoes and white anchovies ($23). Disappointing lack of bread again, bread sticks are NOT the same. No oil, no dip, I just don't get it. Anyway, the cheese was good, the seeded crackers that came with it were great, so we especially didn't need the bread sticks. You can see them in the glass in the BG above, their one redeeming feature being that they were heavily salted. Otherwise, meh, <br />
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Excuse the washed out pics, I've had to brighten them, the place is candlelit to the extreme and my photos are virtually unviewable. This is the tuna and tahini starter ($19). Wasn't sure what to expect from it, we were curious about the combo. It's nice, the contrasting textures were great, little crispy shards of what I believe were fried shallots, and micro leaves. So far, so good, but nothing wowed. <br />
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We were urged by diners on either side of us to order certain dishes. Thank you lady to my right who recommended the lobster BLT ($32). It was one of the stand out dishes of the night. A slice of brioche topped with seriously crispy bacon, crunchy lettuce and a generous amount of lobster. Lovely. Sorry chaps to the left who suggested we get the quail, we ignored you, it did look good though, next time.<br />
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Dark <i>and</i> out of focus this one, excellent work. It was my favourite dish on the night so it's a shame the photo does it no justice at all. Lamb neck cavatelli ($26), perfectly al dente pasta with chunks of tender lamb and a rich meaty sauce. Seriously good but I was getting full and becoming increasingly unable to breathe. There was a great Canadian sparkling Riesling on the menu which we were knocking back, but evidently I'm allergic to it. Unfortunate. </div>
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Our other main was the whole sea bream with red cabbage and carrots ($31). Nice but very boney, I'd attacked it with my knife and fork ahead of the waitress coming to the rescue and filleting the thing for us. I'd dislodged a lot of the blighters so it wasn't the easiest dish to eat. The accompanying gremolata was amazing.</div>
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Our dessert was shared, the chocolate, coffee and salted caramel pot with honeycomb ($10). This reminded me of the best dessert <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2012/02/boo-in-australia-sydney.html">I've ever eaten</a> served in the same way and everything. There was no Italian meringue in sight but there was honeycomb lurking in there. Amazing. Still couldn't breathe though. </div>
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They didn't have any amaretto (urgh, seriously restaurants, sort it out) so they rustled us up a cointreau based aperitif, not the same. That and the Riesling aside, I loved everything, even loved the Riesling, it just didn't like me much. Open Monday to Saturday, dinner only. I'll definitely be back, soon I hope. It's a solid Old Montreal choice, they have daily changing seafood specials and this is what they're most known for but the mains are also worth checking out. Must do Chuck's other restaurant, <a href="http://crownsalts.com/gardemanger/">Garde Manger</a>, first.</div>
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Le Bremner</div>
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361 St Paul East</div>
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Old Montreal </div>
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H2Y</div>
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8/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1606526/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Le-Bremner-Montreal"><img alt="Le Bremner on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1606526/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-85260938547268052662014-10-20T04:51:00.001+01:002014-10-20T04:51:35.036+01:00DamasCouple of Saturday nights ago a group of us were looking for a dinner venue ahead of some birthday drinks. I walk by <a href="http://www.restaurant-damas.com/">Damas</a> a lot, it's in my neighbourhood, as were the bday drinks so I suggested we try it. It's always packed and open 7 days a week which is quite a rare thing in this city. I didn't know what to expect of Syrian cuisine, but checking out the menu online, a lot appealed to me and it obviously bares a lot of similarities to other foods of the region which we're more accustomed to eating, such a Lebanese and Turkish. <br />
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It ended up being one of the best meals I've had here. Everything was excellent. They bring over pickles when you sit down, love a place that recognizes that you want to eat as soon as you can when you're out for dinner, snacking while perusing the menu really works up your appetite. The pickles were brilliant, they saw we were loving them and gave us some hotter ones. <br />
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Starters were ordered mezze style, all sharing dishes. <br />
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Incredible fattoush. The flavours of every dish was so fresh and zingy. With pomegranate seeds and fresh mint defining most dishes. This is a herby and fruity salad with bits of bread and cucumber. Seriously good. Next came the hummus and muttabal, a smoky aubergine dip, served with flatbreads. The aubergine dip was the winner, both were incredible, the hummus was so smooth, the kind that you wish you could get in supermarkets, but there really is nothing available like it to buy, might try to make my own....<br />
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Then came the akkawi, fried cheese served with nigella seeds, tomato and mint. This is kind of like halloumi, it's fried, but it's much softer and not remotely squeaky. Nice tomatoey sauce left in the bottom for mopping up with more of the flatbread. <br />
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This messy looking thing is tatar burek. Beef and lamb dumplings with yoghurt, coriander, roasted garlic and pinenuts. There were 4 of these and we were 5, annoying, and we all politely offered to eat half. They were so good we were all desperate to have a whole one. Our waiter was so helpful, making suggestions about which dishes we might like, how much would be enough food, wine matching suggestions, really nice. The restaurant is very casual, no fuss, no frills and although they tables pretty quickly, we didn't feel remotely rushed. Not sure how they do it. <br />
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My main dish was maqlouba, a recommendation of our waiter. It's braised lamb shoulder with aubergine and saffron rice complete with side dish of yoghurt with cucumber and pomegranate seeds. There were raisins in there and I still loved it, and I usually have a severe aversion to them in savoury dishes. I barely managed to eat any of this, I was so full from the starters, there was a lot of that at our table, so much so that we were worried it might offend but portions are really generous. They asked if we wanted to take with us what we'd not managed to eat. <br />
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I couldn't manage dessert, those who could went for pistachio ice cream. We drank a bottle of red wine, trying to warm up to drink again on a hangover and we paid $65 each. This place is such great value for money. I completely understand why it's so busy everyday and I'll definitely be back again. Love that it's near my apartment too! Yay Outremont. Interestingly, there are 2 Syrian places in the <a href="http://montreal.eater.com/maps/montreal-best-restaurants-joe-beef-au-pied-de-cochon-garde-manger">Eater top 38 restaurants in Montreal</a> at the moment. <br />
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<a href="http://www.restaurant-damas.com/en/dinner_menu.html">Damas</a><br />
5210 Parc Avenue<br />
Ouremont<br />
H2V<br />
9/10 <br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1557447/restaurant/Outremont/Damas-Cuisine-Syrienne-Montreal"><img alt="Damas Cuisine Syrienne on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1557447/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
<br />Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-79792330429753781952014-10-07T03:48:00.001+01:002014-10-07T03:48:35.242+01:00Maison PubliquePeople really rip it out of Jamie Oliver, don't they? I like him. I especially like his latest cookery show Jamie's Comfort Food, I've been catching up on 4OD. Thinking about doing the shepherd's pie for my Thanksgiving bash next week (it's in October in Canada, god knows...) Or the steak and onion ciabatta, or the curried fish pie....Anyhow, an ex-<a href="http://www.fifteen.net/">Fifteen </a>chef has set up shop here in Montreal, backed by Jamie. Derek Dammann spent 4 years in London before heading home and opening <a href="http://www.maisonpublique.com/">Maison Publique</a> in the Plateau. It's been on my list since I got here and I went along last week for dinner with Sar.<br />
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There's a board on the wall with the days offerings. The place is really relaxed, it feels more like a pub that a restaurant, people seem to like that here. Our excellent waiter recommended some things we might like and we took him at his word and went for his suggestions. We drank prosecco all night, they didn't have any amaretto and they didn't have any cheese (which they really need to sort out) but that's where the disappointment ends. <br />
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The first dish we ordered was a tuna sashimi served with artichoke and yoghurt dressing. Look how cute the plate is. This was delicate and soft, perfect sashimi, there's a lot of raw fish here, and I like it. Nice refreshing start.<br />
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Then came the lamb tartare ($13). Tartare is everywhere in Montreal, I might have mentioned. But lamb tartare, LAMB!!! We had to order it. They warned us it's served very spicy, and it did have a kick, really great toasts spread with a minty paste. Loved this, I've never had anything like it before. Happy days.<br />
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Then came the wholewheat tagliatelle with tuna. The tuna was minced and the dish was topped with lots of nuts and there were raisins. I don't normally like fruit in savoury dishes, but they added something here. I liked this, the pasta in particular, really well done but the sauce was a tad forgettable. There's usually a daily special pasta dish at around the $20 mark.<br />
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Our final main was my fave dish of the night, the lapin ($29). A rabbit, offal and all was served simply with leaves but there were so many different cuts, each morsel perfectly cooked. The offally bits were lurking underneath the larger leg portions, we were pretty full by this point so didn't manage to eat them all, but each mouthful presented a new pop of flavour. I forgot to take a pic of this, but it would have looked like a plate of lettuce leaves anyway and I really couldn't wait to dig in, so good. Meant to have come with fries, but we didn't get any.<br />
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Our special side was the XO greens. Bok choi served with a spicy fishy sauce, elevating what could have been the token green dish. Utterly appalled at the lack of cheese, we declined dessert and went onto liqueurs. Can't remember what it was but we had several...Seeing we were slightly worse for wear, they gave us a dessert anyway, the pot de creme butterscotch with shortbread ($10). <br />
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This was actually very welcome several hours into the meal (we had a lot to catch up on!), as desserts go, I approve. Derek himself came out to mingle at this point. There was a mixed crowd, couples, groups of women, it's pretty small but seemed full and busy all evening. Seem to remember liking the music too. There was plenty to love about the meal and I'd definitely go back. They do a great brunch apparently. <br />
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<a href="http://www.maisonpublique.com/">Maison Publique</a><br />
4720 Rue Marquette<br />
Plateau<br />
H2J<br />
8/10 <br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1707611/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Maison-Publique-Montreal"><img alt="Maison Publique on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1707611/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> <br />
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-50331405914873200372014-09-30T03:50:00.000+01:002014-09-30T20:01:01.197+01:00September Round UpSeptember <i>really</i> was the month where I did a sweep of places Anthony Bourdain visited during his <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo2kqf_the-layover-s01e06-montreal_travel">24hr layover</a>. Also it's been a breakfasty/brunchy/lunchy kind of month...<br />
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<a href="http://beautys.ca/">Beauty's Luncheonette</a><br />
Starting with Beauty's. Went for brunch ahead of <a href="http://mtloysterfest.com/">#oysterfest </a>and Hymie Sckolnick was there to seat us. Absolute legend that he is. I copied Bourdain and opted for the Beauty's special bagel with a side of eggs. You know when you go somewhere, and they ask exactly the right questions when you order? As in, me - "I'll have a side of eggs please", them- "scrambled or fried, sunny side up or easy over", Craig - "I'll have the Superbeauty's 2 please", them - "bread, toast, brown, wholegrain, rye or white, butter or margarine". They've got this down. We even had the same waitress as Bourdain. It's touristy and unlikely to become one of my regular haunts but I loved the experience.<br />
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Also make your own bloody Mary's is a thing. Gotta love that. Cheap food but $$$ drinks.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pastaga.ca/">Pastaga </a><br />
Had a boozy night out with Grace one Sunday (reeeeally regretted that decision when my alarm went off at 7am on Monday morning) including a martini fuelled dinner at Pastaga. Jury's still out for me on this place and I feel I certainly need to revisit and give a few of the other dishes a try. We had a nice courgette and burrata starter (above) and a lovely fois gras and veal main but the third dish of crab was forgettable and I felt like everything lacked punch and could have done with a bit more seasoning. People rave about Martin Juneau’s cooking though, so I will persevere and revisit, I really liked the atmos, decor and the service was nice. No bread again though, seriously people?<br />
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<a href="http://www.christianfaure.ca/">Maison Christian Faure</a><br />
Erika and I had brunch here, they're mostly known as a patisserie, the front counter houses a fine selection of pastries, cakes and macaroons. The brunch special for $20 is massive. Pastry, fruit salad, french toast and eggs bene/royale, I opted for salmon. My choice of hot drink was earl grey, obvs. This place is close to work and a fairly well kept secret as it's down a little side street in Old Montreal. I'll definitely bring my Mum here when she visits later in the year, it's so cute. When I arrived they were pumping out some classical music, which seamlessly segwayed into Morcheeba. Blast from the past.<br />
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<a href="http://www.julietteetchocolat.com/chocolat.php?lang=en"><br />
</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSparrowBar/info?ref=page_internal">Sparrow</a><br />
I've spent a few evenings drinking cocktails at Sparrow this summer, including the night England spectacularly crashed out of the World Cup, the drinks are generally excellent. Which is why I was seriously annoyed with their piss poor Bloody Caesar. It was watery and pretty flavourless, I think the tomato juice itself is the issue, but these should be a lot better. I visited for brunch and I was also disappointed by the fact they'd sold out of the shakshuka, there aren't tonnes of options and I really wanted the shakshuka. Instead I had the 2 fried eggs with home fries, bacon and sourdough. It was good, but it wasn't baked eggs.<br />
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<a href="http://www.titanicmontreal.com/">Titanic</a><br />
Special mention is way overdue for Titanic. This has been lunchtime mecca for me and the girls from work, we go all the time and I firmly believe that they miss us when we don't go for a couple of days. Sandwiches, salads, soups, mac & cheese is their thing (this is a mac & cheese grilled cheese). I usually try to be healthy and opt for the tuna salad, they mix up what comes with the main ingredient, salad leaves are always involved, sometimes roasted veggies, one time, a small portion of their legendary mac & cheese, imagine the joy. The menu is ever changing, the mushroom soup was amazing a couple of weeks ago but hasn't reappeared since. Their dessert counter tempts as it's time to pay, the carrot cake and chocolate pot look amazing. I'll be caving come winter when I need the extra calories! Love the place. <br />
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<a href="http://hofkelsten.com/">Hof Kelsten</a><br />
Another Montreal fave of mine is Hof Kelsten, I've been popping in most weekends to pick up an iced coffee, love their coffee. Was yet to try the gravalax sandwich until this week, what was I thinking? It's brilliant. Close second to Lawrence, who still hold the sandwich top spot with their porchetta bun. Lots of love for both places though. <br />
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<a href="http://beautys.ca/">Beauty's Luncheonette</a><br />
93 Mont Royal West<br />
Plateau <br />
H2T <br />
7.5<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/720207/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Beautys-Montreal"><img alt="Beauty's on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/720207/minilogo.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.pastaga.ca/">Pastaga </a><br />
6389 St Laurent<br />
Mile End<br />
H2S<br />
6/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1645292/restaurant/Saint-douard/Pastaga-Montreal"><img alt="Pastaga on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1645292/minilogo.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.christianfaure.ca/">Maison Christian Faure</a><br />
355 Place Royale<br />
Old Montreal<br />
H2Y<br />
7/10 <br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1787894/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Maison-Christian-Faure-Montreal"><img alt="Maison Christian Faure on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1787894/minilogo.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSparrowBar/info?ref=page_internal">Sparrow</a> (no website, annoying)<br />
5322 St Laurent<br />
Plateau<br />
H2T<br />
6/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1431720/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/The-Sparrow-Le-Moineau-Montreal"><img alt="The Sparrow (Le Moineau) on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1431720/minilogo.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.titanicmontreal.com/">Titanic</a><br />
445 Rue St Pierre<br />
Old Montreal<br />
H2Y<br />
8/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/723217/restaurant/Montreal/Old-Montr-al/Titanic-Montreal"><img alt="Titanic on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/723217/minilogo.gif" style="border: currentColor; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://hofkelsten.com/">Hof Kelsten</a><br />
4524 St Laurent<br />
Plateau<br />
H2T<br />
9/10Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-55867455224729231812014-09-25T22:05:00.000+01:002015-03-27T15:24:58.449+00:00Pizzeria GemaSo I've banged on about this place in several previous posts and finally made it for dinner last Friday. Feels like this is often my opener for posts, need to change the record. Owner Michele Forgione opened this more casual restaurant right across the street from his original slick looking restaurant, <a href="http://www.impastomtl.com/">Impasto</a>, in Montreal's Little Italy earlier this summer. There was quite a buzz on account of a <a href="http://montreal.eater.com/2014/7/10/6189675/gema-to-serve-free-pizza-tomorrow">free pizza launch night</a> and I'd been keen to try since.<br />
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It's no reservations but we showed up at 8ish on a chilly Friday night and were seated after about a 5 minute wait. If they are full, they take your number and call you when a table is available, a custom that's not widely used here, where most restaurants take reservations.<br />
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We struggled a little to pick what to have opting to go straight in with mains saving room for dessert. All the pizzas sound appealing, the starters too actually. We ended up going for the special, mortadella with pistachio pesto, which turned out to be just crushed nuts with a dousing of olive oil as far as I could tell, but no complaints, it was excellent. <br />
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We shared both, our second choice being the Ruliano, topped with confit proscuito, melted leeks and fontina. This one was slightly more charred, the crust and base had more colour, which I prefer. Once again apols for the extremely amateur photos, you get the gist though. This was v.good.<br />
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Dessert options are limited to chocolate and/or vanilla frozen custard with a variety of customizable toppings. We both opted for vanilla with butterscotch sauce and salted nuts. It was bloody brilliant. I like the simplicity of the menu, they're keeping things pretty basic but doing these few staples really, really well. <br />
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Pizzas are around $15-$20, starters less than $10 and the custard, $5 for a cone or a bowl, excellent value. <br />
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The feel of the dining room is in keeping with the basic theme, lots of wood and clean lines, tables are close together and there's a neat little bar housing a solid list of wines. There's a hatch to the side where pizzas are served direct from the kitchen to take out. All very good. On a par with the pizza at <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/08/august-round-up.html">Magpie</a>. I must try <a href="http://www.impastomtl.com/">Impasto</a>.<br />
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Pizzeria Gema (why no website or facebook?)<br />
6827 Saint Dominique<br />
Little Italy<br />
H2S<br />
8.5/10<br />
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<br />Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-81291569281981416992014-09-23T03:34:00.001+01:002014-09-23T03:34:28.475+01:00Dominion Square TavernYet another Bourdain venue during his 24 layover, I'd read much about <a href="http://www.tavernedominion.com/en/">Tavern Square Dominion</a> as a drinking venue but wasn't sure what to expect of the food. There's a long bar running the length of the dining room, it feels very 1920s that's clearly the vibe they're going for, prohibition speakeasy type thang. It feels a bit like London's <a href="http://www.brasseriezedel.com/">Zedel,</a> which makes me very happy.<br />
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For some reason I have issues arranging these 3 words properly, Dominion Square Tavern seems to make much more sense in my head so this is what I call it. Anyway, I don't think people care really, it's called both. The building harks back to the great depression era, when it was first built and was a hotel, it's been a restaurant since 2009 having gone through various changes in between. I loved the feel of the place. They offer a completely British menu, including bangers and mash and a roast on Sunday, will definitely be back for that come winter.<br />
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I had to order the scotch egg ($14) to start, I miss scotch eggs a lot, I really didn't expect to, but I do. This one didn't disappoint in the slightest, perfect runny yolk. The 'Swedish' sauce is acidic, consisting of horseradish and goose fat apparently, I think lemon is responsible for the tang. 'Scuse the photo quality, it's very candlelit in there, perfect date venue. Apparently it's also a popular pre hockey game destination as there's a nearby sports bar where the cocktails aren't up to much. <br />
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This is the roasted cod with carrot puree and kale ($29). I've decided I don't like carrot mash, it's always far too sweet and overpowering, the fish was cooked nicely and the kale was good, but the mash masked any other flavours. <br />
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We shared a cheese plate ($18) consisting of a blue, a brie and a cheddar with Guinness. I'd seen this at Atwater Market and it creeped me out, something about the marbling looks a bit gross but the taste was ok. The blue was nicest. Served with pecans and fruity toasted bread. <br />
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We drank really good gin fizz cocktails to begin with and moved on to just fizz. Will definitely be back, I also miss roast dinners, luckily British food is a big thing here so I don't have to rely solely on cooking myself to get a regular taste of home. <br />
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<a href="http://www.tavernedominion.com/en/">Dominion Square Tavern</a><br />
1243 Metcalfe<br />
Golden Square Mile<br />
H3B<br />
8/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721031/restaurant/Golden-Square-Mile/Taverne-Square-Dominion-Montreal"><img alt="Taverne Square Dominion on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721031/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-63186188706746063872014-09-15T14:00:00.000+01:002014-09-15T14:00:04.384+01:00Le Serpent<a href="http://www.leserpent.ca/en/">Le Serpent</a> is sister restaurant to <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/07/july-round-up.html">Le Club Chasse et Peche</a> where I dined earlier in the year. While I found Le Club a tad stuffy and OTT, by comparison Le Serpent is relaxed and welcoming. We arrived early and started with a couple of martinis at the bar. The service was extremely friendly, it felt like being welcomed by relatives we'd not seen in some time. I was totally charmed.<br />
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I'd read that the room is not the most comfortable environment, and I sort of agree. Especially the seating, the chairs are really uncomfortable after a couple of hours and the tables for 2 are very close together. I don't tend to let that bother me at all, but people probably get to know a little more about me than I'd generally care to divulge to strangers, due to their close proximity. <br />
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We ordered bread. This must be one of only a handful of restaurants in Montreal that don't serve bread automatically. You need to order it and pay for it here. A nice foccacia is served and there's some kind of charity donation involved if you do order it, so I suppose one mustn't grumble. But come on, just serve bread, people love it. <br />
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The menu is split into raw starters, cooked starters,
pasta, risotto, surf, turf and rotisserie sections. There's a lot going on and
it took us some time to reach a decision.<br />
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I started off with the kit of three ($18). 3 types of sashimi, this is a huge starter and I didn't eat all of it. Mainly because I thought the scallops were slightly ruined by the addition of an overpowering sweet chilli sauce. The fish itself, though, was excellent. I much preferred the mackerel with yuzu, almonds and dried olives. The third of the trio (below, centre) was flounder with red onions and orange powder, again the fish was a tad overlooked because the accompaniments were so strong. <br />
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My main was seabass with mussels, fregola, tomato and fennel ($29). I'd hoped this would be on a par with my fishy fregola <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/07/july-round-up.html">main at Rotorino</a> but it sadly wasn't. I'm wondering whether we took a ridiculously long time to finish our starters because it looked to me like my main had been sitting around for a while, it was all a bit dry. Flavours were good though.<br />
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Instead of dessert we shared a cheeseplate which included <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimolette">Mimolette</a>, I'm always happy to see this cheese, and I miss Waitrose where I used to stock up on it. <br />
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Despite it sounding like I didn't enjoy much, in all, I'd like to try more of the cooking at Le Serpent and I'll definitely revisit, it's just down the road from work so I'll be back soon. Some hits, some misses on my first visit but I'm sufficiently pleased to go back again. I'll be trying the 'spit of the day' from the rotisserie next time. What I remember most is drinking Disaronno until they practically had to throw us out because everyone else had gone. We paid a little over $100 each which included pre drinks, a bottle of prosecco and several digestifs. Great night, <br />
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<a href="http://www.leserpent.ca/en/">Le Serpent</a><br />
257 Rue Prince<br />
Old Montreal<br />
H3C<br />
7/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1800679/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Le-Serpent-Montreal"><img alt="Le Serpent on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1800679/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-66366976369716153022014-09-13T23:36:00.000+01:002014-09-23T03:35:10.187+01:00Joe Beef<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo2kqf_the-layover-s01e06-montreal_travel">This video</a> introduced me to <a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/">Joe Beef</a>, thank you Anthony Bourdain. Based on the places he visited during his 24 hours in Montreal I planned my first meal at Joe Beef when I initially visited in Feb. That didn't happen in the end, for numberous reasons and I didn't actually make it until Em came to visit in August. I ended up going twice in one week (long story, won't bore you with it) and I'm planning my next visit in November. I loved it. It's my favourite restaurant here. No contest.<br />
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On both evenings I sat in the beautiful garden, it's the perfect setting for a summer evening. The menus are on large chalkboards by the entrance (so you can peruse while you wait to be seated), inside the restaurant and on boards in the garden, something they're missing at <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2014/07/liverpool-house.html">Liverpool House</a>. Em and I allowed the waitress to recommend what we should have, with a couple of must try dishes in mind, she was bang on with her suggestions.<br />
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First thing I should mention is the lobster spaghetti ($30). It's one of their signature dishes, and Em and I were talking about it for days afterwards. Available in 2 sizes, we had the small to share and ate every last bit. There's a massively generous amount of lobster, I don't know how anyone manages the bigger portion, perfectly al dente spaghetti and the most amazing creamy sauce. It's one of the finest plates of food I've ever eaten.<br />
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We also tried a small double down ($17). This thing is insane. 2 chunks of deep fried foie gras with bacon, smoked feta and gravy mayo sandwiched in between. We were so glad we had the small because it's small but intense, a large would leave you feeling like a right greasy scumbag.<br />
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On my other visit, Craig, Sar and I tried the smoked meat croquetas ($12) which were brilliant (still not a patch on <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2009/05/barrafina.html">Barrafina</a> though, holy grail croquetas, will never be bettered).</div>
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Also tried the smoked salmon plate, which was different....I wouldn't have ordered this to be honest, but again it was recommended and didn't disappoint. There was egg, I was immediately sold. Probably the most interesting and least guilt inducing plate of food I've tried here, accompaniments included mustard, dill and toast.</div>
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Ok now, both visits have included the tournados de cheval with emmentaler ($38). A massive horse steak and a cheesy sausage with horseradish. This dish is something else. I had reservations about eating horse, as it's so rarely eaten in the UK, and the whole <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21043368">2013 horse meat debacle </a>recently highlighted the nations outrage at the prospect at being duped into eating horsemeat. I liked it, I would probably rather eat a cow steak but I've had this twice and I'm not ashamed. You have to try these things, right?</div>
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We offset the horse meat with a lighter main of panfried fillet of trout with new potatoes and mussels. Probably the least memorable of everything I've tried but only because everything else is so outstanding. </div>
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The sides were also memorable, the simple green side salad with ham ($10) and the fries with aioli ($8) were both outstanding. We didn't finish either of course, nor did we have bread as we didn't want to fill up and not have room for afters.</div>
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Onto puds and this marjolaine classique ($10). A layered sponge with hazelnut cream and meringue. So so good. We knew we'd be beaten by dessert but had to have it anyway. Excuse the hideous photo, we'd retired to the outer garden by this point and were well into the wine.</div>
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Another dessert ordered was the pannacotta with prunes ($7). This one well and truly got the better of us and we had to admit defeat. Brilliantly creamy with a tartness from the fruit, everything you need in a sweet. </div>
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Final dessert I've tried was this amazing thing, a sort of eton mess, meringue, berries and cream. We'd asked to have the sorbet and eau de vie, daily changing flavours doused in a shot of your choice of booze. They were just making up a fresh batch of sorbet so they made this specially for us and we got a berry flavoured liquer to accompany. It was incredible, much better than a sorbet, so we really lucked out.</div>
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They have an incredible lengthy and pricey wine list, all the waiters are well versed in helping you select something good to pair with your food choices, the red we had wasn't great but the white was excellent. I'm no wine buff clearly but there's definitely enough choice there to please everyone. Mostly French, obvs.<br />
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The key to eating at Joe Beef is to remember everything is going to be brilliant, but massive, so order small portions where there's an option, share everything and accept that you'll leave reeeeeally full, and that's ok, don't deny yourself guys.
I love Joe Beef very very much and will be returning regularly. The ambience, the service and, above all, the food are of such a high standard that it's easy to see why people regard this as one of the best restaurants in the world. I do too now. LOVE.
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<a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/">Joe Beef</a><br />
4291 Notre-Dame West<br />
Little Burgundy<br />
H2J<br />
10/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721438/restaurant/Montreal/Sud-Ouest/Joe-Beef-Montreal"><img alt="Joe Beef on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721438/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> <br />
<br />Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-9344188281720482092014-08-31T23:30:00.000+01:002014-09-03T03:18:48.049+01:00August Round Up<a href="http://suwumontreal.com/">Suwu</a><br />
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Sarah and I brunched here on the <a href="http://www.osheaga.com/">Osheaga </a>Saturday morning. I zipped down from Outremont on a Bixi bike which
was a brilliant idea. I love the Bixi bike scheme (Boris equivalent). Note to self to get
an annual pass for next year (they're decommissioned Oct-Mar ish due to
the snow).<br />
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I had the salmon tartare brunch, which consists of
tartare, bagel, poached eggs, hollandaise, these weird pink pickled onion
slices and a hash brown. It was very very good. I've been vocal about
my annoyance at the constant appearance on menus of the 4 things
Montrealers are crazy about (tartare, lobster, foie gras and oysters)
but on this occasion I relented and ordered a tartare as the waitress
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Have to say the bloody Caesar was virtually
undrinkable, very heavy on the tabasco and I literally had a coughing
fit after each sip. I struggled, got most of it down, I'm not a
wimp where these things are concerned either.</div>
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Anyway, I loved <a href="http://suwumontreal.com/">Suwu</a>. Had a hunch that I would.
Pretty much everyone in there was proudly sporting their Osheaga 3 jour
wristband. I must return post brunch time to try their mac and cheese
grilled cheese. </div>
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<a href="http://www.vinpapillon.com/">Les Vin Papillon</a></div>
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Em and I popped in for a light lunch one afternoon. This place is owned by the Joe Beef/Liverpool House team, it's no reservations, you can just show up. They're really sweet, wine is their thing, it's more wine bar than restaurant, but the menu is no afterthought. We started with some sparkling wine and the vegetable platter with garlic dip.</div>
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Doesn't look like much but we loved this. Topped with fried courgette flowers, the dip really made it, so intensely garlicky. Really really good. Then we went for the baked oysters.</div>
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Topped with cheesy herby breadcrumbs, we enjoyed another glass of wine and lingered to enjoy to sunny terrasse. It was a really pleasant low key meal. I'll definitely be back. Post on Joe Beef to come soon, I've been twice in as many weeks and it deserves a full write up. Cheaper and more relaxed, Vin Papillon is definitely going to become a regular haunt.</div>
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<a href="http://www.hotelherman.com/">Hotel Herman</a></div>
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On a Monday night, one can often get caught out in Montreal, not many restaurants are open. Hotel Herman is one of them, I booked on the afternoon and opted to sit at the busy bar. Wines are natural, we went for the interestingly names <a href="http://domainela.com/shop/sparkling-wines/2011-olivier-lemasson-pow-blop-wizz">Pow Blop Wizz </a>sparkling rose. Loved it. <a href="http://instagram.com/p/r3VoDlSjFh/?ref=badge&modal=true">Oysters </a>were the highlight of the meal, I've went back for more just last night. 2 kinds, from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, they come with lemon wedges, buttermilk and miso accompaniments.</div>
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My main on the first visit was this lamb with cauliflower. I thought it could do with a good dousing of sauce. The foie gras with brioche was brilliant though. Never tried their desserts, should probably. I prefer the wines and the oysters though over the main dishes. Nice jovial environment and servers who really know their menu. Reasonably priced too, starters for around $12 and mains up to $22. </div>
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<a href="http://www.jesuisunenfantterrible.com/en/">Les Enfants Terribles</a></div>
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Popped here for a really late lunch, I had the steak tartare. Look at me turning into a walking Montreal food cliche, there's more to me than oysters, foie gras and tartare, y'know. Pretty plating, I had a couple of glasses of Sancerre with this then ordered some cheese. This little stretch of Bernard is good for people watching, exactly what I did before a big night out. </div>
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Could have done with more egg, always, the tartare itself was nice, a good kick from the red sauce. I'll be back to try brunch, it's literally at the end of my block. Nice little local.</div>
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<a href="http://www.labanquise.com/">La Banquise</a></div>
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Uh oh, I did it. And I wasn't even drunk. I was severely hungover though, and this was on Em's to do list. So we had to. My first poutine in Canada.........and I liked it.</div>
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Granted, it looks absolutely foul, but it was exactly what I needed, followed by a lie down in the park. Poutine is chips, gravy and cheese curds. Banquise take it to the next level by chucking all manner of hideous sounding toppings into the mix. I went for the la taquise with sour cream, guacamole and tomatoes. I liked the fries, and the curds, the gravy I could do without, it's pretty tasteless, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a huge thing here, even McDonalds do poutine, I might just be a convert. About $10 for a 'small'.</div>
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<a href="http://www.vanhornerestaurant.com/en">Van Horne</a></div>
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One of the biggest disappointments so far was this meal at Van Horne. I originally booked for a Saturday night, they called me and the place was booked out for a private event, fine, we switched to the Wednesday with the promise of free wine for the inconvenience, which never materialized. </div>
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I had high hopes, after <a href="http://montreal.eater.com/archives/2014/05/28/open-letter-from-van-horne-owner-sylvie-lachance.php">reading this</a>, the owner says all the right things, albeit in a slightly self indulgent tone. We wanted the tasting menu, it's only available on weekends, shame. The menu is very small, 4 options for starter and main and only 2 desserts to choose from. Neither of which appealed. I just felt the flavours weren't very sophisticated.</div>
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This lamb main was pretty dry and I didn't like the dry charred greens. A little amuse of mustard seed and foie gras (I think...) on a delicate crumbly biscuit was exquisite but my chilled green tomato gazpacho with prawns was nice but a little too tart for my tastes. The bread was lovely, but the whole thing was underwhelming. I probably won't return.</div>
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<a href="http://www.lawrencerestaurant.com/">Lawrence</a></div>
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Some revisits this month include Lawrence, I've been back for brunch (baked eggs, hello!) and for a dinner collaboration with London's very own <a href="http://editer.com/editors/giorgio-ravelli/">Giorgio Ravelli</a> from Upstairs at the Ten Bells. When I found out this was happening, I was BEYOND excited, one of my London favourites and one of my Montreal favourites cooking together!! Too much. The food was exceptional, the <a href="http://instagram.com/p/sDBD1iyjCi/?ref=badge&modal=true">starter </a>of hen broth, egg and liver toast is one of the best dishes I've eaten all year. There was a lot of food, I left very happy.</div>
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<a href="http://www.pizzeriamagpie.com/">Pizzeria Magpie</a></div>
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Brunch pizza! Asparagus, egg, bacon, cheese and tomato. Why didn't I know brunch pizza is a thing?! This was brilliant. Also had a normal bloody caesar, everything was as it should be. Very good Magpie. Still need to try Gema. </div>
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<a href="http://suwumontreal.com/">Suwu</a></div>
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3581 Saint Laurent</div>
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Plateau</div>
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H2X</div>
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7/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1743766/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/SuWu-Montreal"><img alt="SuWu on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1743766/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.vinpapillon.com/">Les Vin Papillon</a></div>
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2519 Notre Dame</div>
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Little Burgundy</div>
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H3J</div>
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9/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1767050/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Le-Vin-Papillon-Montreal"><img alt="Le Vin Papillon on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1767050/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.hotelherman.com/">Hotel Herman</a></div>
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5171 Saint Laurent</div>
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Plateau</div>
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H2T</div>
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6/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1697120/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Hotel-Herman-Montreal"><img alt="Hôtel Herman on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1697120/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.jesuisunenfantterrible.com/en/"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.jesuisunenfantterrible.com/en/">Les Enfants Terribles</a></div>
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1257 Bernard Avenue</div>
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Outremont</div>
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H2V</div>
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6.5/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1419697/restaurant/Outremont/Les-Enfants-Terribles-Montreal"><img alt="Les Enfants Terribles on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1419697/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.labanquise.com/">La Banquise</a></div>
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994 Rue Rachel</div>
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Plateau</div>
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H2J</div>
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8/10</div>
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<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/720737/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/La-Banquise-Montreal"><img alt="La Banquise on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/720737/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.vanhornerestaurant.com/en">Van Horne</a></div>
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1268 Van Horne</div>
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Outremont</div>
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H2V</div>
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6/10 </div>
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Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-24949077868780729392014-08-28T22:30:00.000+01:002014-08-29T03:24:41.456+01:00L'Express<a href="http://www.restaurantlexpress.ca/">L'Express</a> was on my radar long before I made it over to Montreal so I was really excited to head here for dinner one evening during Emily's visit. It's very popular, but not so popular that getting a table gives you a headache (ahem, <a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/">Joe Beef</a>), I was able to make an online reservation a few weeks in advance for a sensible hour. How it should be.<br />
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We arrived a bit late because we'd spent waaaay too long rewarding ourselves for walking up Mount Royal by buying all the make up in Sephora. I've got a problem. I called to say we were running late and they were cool about it. Excellent start. We sat down and this was presented to us.<br />
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Now, I'd spent the best part of a week banging on to Em about how I've developed an addiction to cornichons. Lots of the supermarket jars contain sweet ones which annoys me no end. These weren't, they were perfectly pickled, and look how many there are. Any restaurant that gives you unlimited cornichons is a winner in my eyes. Some baguette and butter and water also arrived, very good.<br />
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For starter I opted for the fish soup ($13). It came with little cheesy toasts and aioli. Brilliantly salty and intensely shellfishy, as it should be. The toasts were a bit chewy yet overly crispy, in the way that toasted stale bread is. Only gripe, they're obviously using yesterday's leftover baguette to make them. Perhaps not the smartest dish to order on a hot August day, I was slightly overheating.<br />
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We ordered a bottle of chablis. Their wine list is immense and very reasonably priced, starting at as low as $30 a bottle. Which is significantly lower than anywhere else we dined throughout the week. I knew I'd love this place. The feel is very French, obviously, checkerboard tiled floor, waistcoated waiters (who are all lovely) and simple rustic dishes which deliver some serious flavour. Em had the celeriac remolade ($8) to start.<br />
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I confess I wasn't too sure what to have for main. I wanted the coq au vin but it was far too hot for soup followed by stew so I opted for the mushroom stuffed ravioli ($20.90). These had a nice deep flavour and a rich gravy, the pasta was perfectly cooked, they're obviously home made (raviolis maison) and it was just the right amount to mean I had room for pud. Em went for the tartare ($25.90) which looked great, it was massive and came with loads of fries.<br />
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We wanted a cheese course, we got a hunk of Brie de Meaux with crispbreads and walnuts ($7.20). Loved the nuts coming with it, a tad hard to prize out of the shells with your bare hands but we persisted. What we were really waiting for though, was this beast.<br />
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The Ile Flottante ($8.40). The size of it was literally drawing gasps from diners each time one emerged from the kitchen. I'd seen pictures of it before, but had no idea it was such a behemoth. The thick layer of caramel contained a light meringue, all sat on a bed of creme Anglaise with a few bits of almond brittle sticking out. It's not the daintiest of desserts, but it was amazing. <br />
<br />
This rounded off the meal nicely and we head off, full and happy for drinks elsewhere in the Plateau. Everywhere is open til 3am, it's incredible. I'll definitely be back to L'Express to try more, it's a real gem and is certainly in my top 10 meals here so far. I need that chicken stew in my life the minute the cold weather hits.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.restaurantlexpress.ca/">L'Express</a><br />
3927 Rue St Denis<br />
Plateau<br />
H2W<br />
9/10<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721167/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/LExpress-Montreal"><img alt="L'Express on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721167/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-22070378750570041692014-08-16T19:25:00.000+01:002014-08-16T19:41:19.428+01:00Bouillon Bilk<style>
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</style> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm eating so much
this month it's quite scary. Em's arriving tonight and we have a full
on week of eating planned. Excited. I'm justifying this by signing
up for a 5k run at the end of the month, it'll be fine, heh.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A spontaneous
dinner last week happened at <a href="http://www.bouillonbilk.com/">Bouillon Bilk</a>, I've tried to eat
here before, but they were closed for refurb. The décor is nice, larger communal
tables at the front and the bulk of the tables arranged around a central
raised bar area. For a Monday night, the place was really
busy and the atmosphere was great, relaxed but it immediately
felt like they have their shit together. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We began with a
bottle of fizz, the Sebastien Brunet Vouvray, I'd not heard of it before, it was great! Very creamy. Bread arrived next, it was the best bread
I've had here so far, would love to know where they get it or if they make it
in house. You can basically eat as much of it as you want too, which I
obviously love. Held back and had just 2 bits each. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I ordered an
appetizer from the daily specials, the bone marrow with mushrooms, diced green
apple, whelks topped with crisps and prettily served inside a massive bone ($18). It looked so lovely and tasted great, the almost sour fruit really helping to cut
through the fatty richness of the marrow.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79R4M5zAC5_0z3XC2CcAXWAu_I7A5JeC9JjwrfOg9Qpvb-PgzIS1e79ingKjYRZh9dLWrNxSy3nsRiu0Os84hO3VZXj_YsAb6l026Ea38dM3fynHgcB-xfD3CNl9645aeoRRRtbQCLcGA/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79R4M5zAC5_0z3XC2CcAXWAu_I7A5JeC9JjwrfOg9Qpvb-PgzIS1e79ingKjYRZh9dLWrNxSy3nsRiu0Os84hO3VZXj_YsAb6l026Ea38dM3fynHgcB-xfD3CNl9645aeoRRRtbQCLcGA/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The 'thing' here is
that each dish contains a protein matched with a fruit, here marrow and apple,
other examples on the menu were Hamachi (a Japanese fish served raw) with raspberries (which I tried, it was
great), foie gras with rhubarb and lobster with nectarine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For main, we both
opted for the scallops with pear, fried courgette flower, yellow courgettes, mushrooms, pepper sauce and beurre noisette ($29). This was really
very very good, I was worried that the portions might prove to be a tad small
but this was deceptively filling. The sauces were incredible.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a bit of
a break before moving on to cheese, we chose a couple of glasses of rioja to
accompany. All local Quebecois cheese, none of which were familiar to
me, a selection of 5 for $20 came with some candied nuts, toast and some
apricot jam. The blue was the highlight.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We paid around $120
each which I think is fine value for the quality of cooking on display here by
chef Francois Nadon. Loved the flavours, the service, the vibe and the
room. Will definitely be back because we foolishly overlooked the sloe
gin fizz on the cocktail menu. Need those in my life.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bouillonbilk.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Bouillon Bilk</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1595 Saint
Laurent</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Latin Quarter</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">H2X</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">9/10</span></span></div>
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Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-70851478587737871472014-08-13T02:38:00.000+01:002014-08-13T02:38:09.177+01:00Toqué!Reading about <a href="http://www.restaurant-toque.com/en">Toqué! </a>made me think it's probably in the 'La
Gavroche' category of restaurants, somewhere that's widely regarded as
one of THE food destination in the city, with a loooong history of happy
diners and a busy reservations book. Those things all being true of Le
Gav, but my <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2013/07/july-round-up.html">meal there</a> was a bit of a disappointment food wise in 2013. Could Norman Laprise and his team at <a href="http://www.restaurant-toque.com/en">Toqué!</a> prove me wrong? (Not sure what the exclamation mark's all about).<br />
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I was actually pleasantly surprised by the meal, me of
little faith. It began with a tasting of champagne, 2 glasses, not just
one, as an aperitif.</div>
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I would say that the service
was a tad lacking, we waited a full hour before we got something to eat,
and I had to ask for bread, or it would have been longer. I was
starving! We opted for the seven course tasting menu which is a
complete surprise, there is no list to read from so you need to wait
until the dish arrives to know what's coming, this annoys me. It's $117
which is good value, you can opt to have it with or without foie gras for the same price.
I went with.</div>
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<div>
The bread was decent, nothing special, 2 options, sliced seeded bread and then ciabatta buns. Unsalted butter.</div>
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First up was an amuse, marinated scallops in sour cherry water and lavender mousse.</div>
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Next dish was Bluefin tuna. So so pretty. I
instagrammed this pic and <a href="http://lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.ca/">Lizzie</a> asked me if it's now deemed acceptable
to eat Bluefin. It did surprise me when it arrived and the components
of the dish were described by the waiter. I'm pleading
ignorance (no menu), but I believe they are still at risk from
overfishing, so not cool. Served raw with corn, almonds, mushrooms and a
wasabi vinaigrette. </div>
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Continuing the unethical eating, the foie gras dish
arrived next. I not going to launch into a defense about eating this,
there's no argument really, it tastes good, I like food. A slice of
foie gras terrine was served on toasted brioche with peach and
pistachio. Very good. </div>
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Onto main dishes, another tuna offering came next, not
named as Bluefin in this instance, seared and served pink in the
centre. Accompaniments were <wbr></wbr>beetroot sauce, several types of mushroom and lovage. Nice but I was crying out for a meat course.</div>
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Which came in the form of lamb. 2 ways, rib
and merguez. This was my favourite dish of the meal. Radishes, button
onions, mushrooms and a random strawberry which I didn't eat. </div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
The cheese course was good (no Le Gav style cheese trolley unfortunately), 2 kinds of goatscheese, 1 hard, 1 soft,
there were more bloody strawberries on the plate though. Don't get me
wrong, I like strawberries, but I don't want them with lamb, or cheese.
</div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div>
The dessert was fine, I'm always least excited about
this course, Toque's was flourless chocolate cake with sea buckthorn
ganache, hay caramel and ice cream, also hay. Pretty good actually,
a solid end to the meal. Pretty again (photo credit - Sarah, thanks!)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Now I wouldn't say this is the best food available in
Montreal, my preference would be something more fun, modern and casual
(though the dining room wasn't as formal as I'd expected it to be). We
drank red wine and the champagne to begin with and the bill came to over $200 each. I was prepared for it to be expensive but for that money, it really ought to be head and shoulders above all else available in Montreal surely, you get what you pay for? Well, they do offer valet parking....</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Toqué!</div>
<div>
900 Place <span class="street-address">Jean-Paul-Riopelle </span></div>
<div>
<span class="street-address">Old Montreal </span></div>
<div>
<span class="street-address">H2Y</span></div>
<div>
<span class="street-address">7.5/10 </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/723227/restaurant/Montreal/Old-Montr-al/Toque-Montreal"><img alt="Toqué! on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/723227/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-85797640014485412032014-08-06T03:45:00.001+01:002014-08-06T03:45:46.976+01:00Tapas,24<div dir="ltr">
<div>
Open just a few weeks, <a href="http://www.tapas24.ca/">Tapas,24 </a>is the 2nd Montreal
new opening that piqued my interest. Ok 3rd, <a href="https://twitter.com/IMPASTO_MTL">Gema</a> probably comes 2nd but
I haven't made it there yet. Soon. (1st being <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/majestique.html">Majestique</a>).</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
So Tapas24. The launch was a pretty glitzy affair, based on their <a href="http://instagram.com/tapas24mtl?modal=true">instagram pics</a>, red carpet and everything. </div>
<div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Chef Carlos Abellan chose Montreal for the 2nd site of
Barcelona restaurant <a href="http://www.tapas24.ca/">Tapas,24</a>, never made it there on my trips to
Barcelona so I'm extremely pleased to have the opportunity here. And
it's a 5 minute walk from work, score. It's been quite tricky to get a
reservation so far, but things should have calmed down a bit now, they
also have a terrasse and save some tables for walk ins.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We were a large group so each wrote down what we wanted
to try and ordered everything. Tarmy took care of the wine, ordering a
magnum of red. The wines were great but I have no idea what they were, Spanish, most likely.</div>
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</div>
<div>
Things arrived is a steady stream beginning with the
patatas brava, one topped with egg and chorizo, very good, simple, but pleasing. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The bikini Comerc 24 was a
disappointment. I didn't taste any truffle, the cheese was pretty bland
and it's really small. Not a great sharing option. Wouldn't order it
again. Fried aubergine was nice. They provided plenty of veggie
options for the veggie at the table.</div>
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</div>
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<div>
The ham croquettas were also not up to scratch, potato
based, not much ham, obviously not a patch on the <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2009/05/barrafina.html">Barrafina</a> versions.
But I'm fairly sure these cannot be topped, I should stop eating any
others really. Pan con tomate was also a huge let down, barely any
tomato, I guess it was authentic to Spain, akin to the one Bel and I
tried at <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2012/09/boo-in-barcelona-cal-pep.html">Cal Pep</a>. (Do excuse the arm, below).</div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
The iberico ham was good, as were the boneless chicken
wings with alegre sauce. What I really liked was the salmorejo cordobés, a sort of thick gazpacho, which we
hadn't actually ordered. Topped with croutons, bacon, feta and olive
oil, it's a puree made from tomatoes and bread, smoothie consistency, nobody else was
convinced, which left pretty much the whole thing for me. </div>
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<div>
We had a couple of portions of the watermelon, laced with sangria, strangely refreshing arriving mid meal.</div>
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<div>
My
highlight of the meal was the fideua with aioli. We ordered this and
the arroz Barcelones, essentially paella. They market this as surf and
turf, but ours had no turf. Still good though.</div>
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<div>
Onto desserts, I knew I'd love the chocolate based on <a href="http://mtlfoodpics.blogspot.ca/2014/07/tapas-24.html">these</a> pictures of it. Crunchy bread and olive oil with a sprinkling of
fleur de sel (Spanish sea salt) sitting on top of a rich chocolate
mousse. So so good.</div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div>
There was also doughnuts, I didn't eat these obvs, and more booze infused fruits. Very pretty.</div>
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<div>
In
all, I suppose I let my excitement run away with me, I was also
jetlagged for this meal and the whole thing is a bit of a hazy red wine
blur. I'll say it again, for me Spanish food doesn't get better than
Barrafina, but when I get a tapas craving, Tapas,24 is where I'll head in
Montreal. This is as good as it gets here.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We had all this, and a shit load of red wine for $85
each. We were all pleasantly surprised when we got our bills. So it's
great value and the atmosphere was great on a Tuesday night, they were
full and service was lovely. I'll definitely be back.</div>
<div>
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<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<a href="http://www.tapas24.ca/">Tapas,24</a></div>
<div>
420 Notre Dame W</div>
<div>
Old Montreal</div>
<div>
H2Y</div>
<div>
7/10</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1873925/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Tapas-24-Montreal"><img alt="Tapas 24 on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1873925/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
</div>
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-75883228920065709932014-07-31T10:30:00.000+01:002014-07-31T10:30:00.801+01:00July Round Up<div>
<u><b>MONTREAL</b></u></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.leclubchasseetpeche.com/">Le Club Chasse et P<span>êche</span></a></div>
<div>
My Canada Day celebrations included dinner at <a href="http://www.leclubchasseetpeche.com/">Le Club Chasse et <span>Pêche</span></a>.
This place has been mentioned a lot by locals as one of Montreal's top
restaurant experiences. I was surprised by how formal it felt, it's a
small dark basement room, all leather and wood, it was a super hot day
and the aircon was on full pelt, it's not the nicest environment to be
honest. But onto the food.</div>
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<div>
I made the stoopid mistake (again) of ordering a
risotto for starter. Portions in Montreal, North America, are out of
control, so I should have known. Piglet risotto topped with shaved foie
gras($16) no less. Ooooof.</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
My main was the chasse et <span>pêche, sweetbreads with lobster and gnocchi ($40). I was sooooo full. The main was good, but the starter edged it. </span><br />
<br />
I
actually found the menu really difficult to choose from. Though the
waiter was brilliantly knowledgeable and helped inform us about
all the dishes. Some descriptions are very vague, chasse et <span>pêche</span> for example. Hunting and fishing....hmm. Oysters with charisma?
Please. We drank German wine, because I usually insist that we do, it
was great. I'd definitely return, perhaps avoid the bread next time.<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.leclubchasseetpeche.com/">Le Club Chasse et <span>Pêche</span></a></div>
<div>
423 Rue st Claude</div>
<div>
Old Montreal</div>
<div>
H2Y</div>
<div>
8/10 </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721625/restaurant/Montreal/Old-Montr-al/Le-Club-Chasse-et-Peche-Montreal"><img alt="Le Club Chasse et Pêche on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721625/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.pizzeriamagpie.com/">Pizzeria Magpie</a></div>
<div>
Ridiculous
picture but this is the best pizza I've had here so far. Need to check
out <a href="https://twitter.com/IMPASTO_MTL">Gema </a>obviously, but <a href="http://www.pizzeriamagpie.com/">Magpie</a> is the current front runner. I had the
goatscheese, pancetta, rocket and basil offering ($16). We were a big
drunken rowdy group, showed up late and this was just what we needed.
Pub then pizza. Will 100% be back. Service was lovely, except when
they sprayed us all with cava.</div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.pizzeriamagpie.com/">Pizzeria Magpie</a> </div>
<div>
16 Maguire</div>
<div>
Plateau</div>
<div>
H2T</div>
<div>
9/10 </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1547139/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Pizzeria-Magpie-Montreal"><img alt="Pizzeria Magpie on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1547139/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://restaurantlemeac.com/">Lemeac</a></div>
<div>
I went to <a href="http://restaurantlemeac.com/">Lemeac</a> earlier this year but didn't take pics. On both visits I had the
menu 22H which is served from 10pm until close, you can have a starter
and a main for $25. Right bargain. This time I had the panko crusted
goatscheese with apple and walnut salad to start.</div>
<div>
</div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
Really generous portion (as is the theme in Montreal)
and simple rustic dishes is the order of the day here. I had a sudden
urge for steak on this evening, I haven't found anywhere with meat
the equivalent quality of the likes of Goodman and Hawksmoor in London.
Might start the search at <a href="http://moishes.ca/">Moishes</a>, an Montreal institution apparently. Anyway,
<a href="http://restaurantlemeac.com/">Lemeac's</a> hangar steak with fries hit the spot, thought I was well and
truly beaten. </div>
<div>
</div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
They have really good baguette here, so I'd filled up
on that. Following the meal, we returned to <a href="http://baldwinbarmacie.com/">Baldwin Barmacie</a>, scene of a
9 dirty martini fuelled Saturday night. I barely managed 2 on this
occasion. Definitely for the best. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Really like Lemeac though and it's near my flat, wooo.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://restaurantlemeac.com/">Lemeac</a></div>
<div>
1045 Laurier West</div>
<div>
Outremont</div>
<div>
H2V</div>
<div>
8/10 </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721691/restaurant/Montreal/Outremont/Lemeac-Montreal"><img alt="Leméac on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721691/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://biiru.ca/">Biiru</a></div>
<div>
Revisited
Biiru and tried their ramen and chicken liver yakitori. The tomato
salad was ace as well. Also their cocktails. Love this place.</div>
<div>
</div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.oliveetgourmando.com/">Olive et Gourmando</a></div>
<div>
I go here for lunch at least once a week, and they have a cheese croissant that has to make do in the absence of Pret. Had
a breakfast here before a spa day with the girls (thanks Sar!). Was
slightly hungover, couldn't resist the 'egg on your face' Panini.
Scrambly egg, sriracha, comte (YES - COMTE!) and tomato, all toasted and
gooey. Delightful. </div>
<div>
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<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<u><b>LONDON</b></u></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://21batemanstreet.co.uk/wp/">21 Bateman Street</a></div>
<div>
Bel
and I went here for lunch the day after I got back. LOVED IT! Art
claimed it to be the best souvlaki she's had in London, and it's
certainly the best I've tried, though I'm no expert. I went for pork,
Bel went for lamb. Every element was great, the bread, the meat, the
yoghurt, tomato and onion. I should have gone easy on the onion,
regretted that all afternoon, ha. </div>
<div>
</div>
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<div>
I'm sure Art would want chips in it, we got a side of
feta and jammed some of that in. Awesome. Also they give you a
complementary bread and tsatziki starter. We drank tap water and paid
about £8 each, bargain. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://21batemanstreet.co.uk/wp/">21 Bateman Street</a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Soho</div>
<div>
W1D</div>
<div>
9/10 </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1846492/restaurant/Soho/21-Bateman-Street-London"><img alt="21 Bateman Street on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1846492/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.8hoxtonsquare.com/">8 Hoxton Square</a></div>
<div>
Bel and I had
dins here last Friday after drinks in the new Clubroom at Bob Bob
Ricard. Let me begin by saying gorgonzola custard (£6) is a thing.
Just take a moment to look at it in awe. </div>
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</div>
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Served with brilliant seeded bread, it looks like a
brulee type dessert, it's genius. Get it, it's on the small plates menu
served all day.</div>
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<div>
Zeppole (£4) were another
favourite, these are like little dough balls stuffed with Nduja, again
genius, love what they're doing here. Crab and avocado was fantastic, served tien style with
loads of lemon and bitter leaves sitting on top. Really fresh and zingy
flavours. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Also enjoyed the octopus with chick
peas and the anchovies and eggs. There wasn't a disappointing dish. We
loitered (to the dismay of the waiters who very clearly wanted to
leave) and sat outside finishing our prosecco. Really enjoyable meal, I
preferred it to sister restaurant 10 Greek Street actually. Lucky East
Londoners. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.8hoxtonsquare.com/">8 Hoxton Square</a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Hoxton</div>
<div>
N1</div>
<div>
9/10 </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1818550/restaurant/London/Hoxton/8-Hoxton-Square-Greater-London"><img alt="8 Hoxton Square on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1818550/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.rotorino.com/">Rotorino</a></div>
<div>
Art and I popped into <a href="http://www.rotorino.com/">Rotorino</a> for lunch on my last day in town. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We
started off with cocktails of orange infused fizz. The menu is
separated into first, second and third categories, we went for a couple
of dishes from each. Thin crispy bread type things splashed with olive
oil were presented while we perused the menu. Odd by themselves really but we ate them all. They're good snacks
for drinks I guess, but they're not bread, I'm not fooled. </div>
<div>
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<div>
From the first section we chose the peach, tomato and
ricotta salad. This was crying out for salt, which we had to ask for.
The tomatoes were brilliant, bit of a mushy consistency on the whole.
Not the greatest start, the croque n'duja was much better. Really felt
the kick of the spicy sausage, served on bread with a fried egg.
Lovely.</div>
<div>
</div>
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<div>
My second dish of mussel fregola was incredible. A
rich tomato sauce and an ample serving for £7.50, I really loved this.
Best dish of the day. Art's gnudi were nice too but the fregola pipped
it for me.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Then we had the pork and veal meatballs (£9.50) with a
side of fried garlic and rosemary potatoes which were really nicely
done. We were beaten and couldn't face dessert, a theme of my trip to
London, and overall were perhaps not as happy as we thought we would
be. </div>
<div>
</div>
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<div>
There were some standouts and we really lingered for
the afternoon, the bar is open all day, My friend Carly came to meet us
for some cocktails, we sat out front sipping on lemon possets and
negronis into the early evening. Really liked the place and the casual
vibe, would definitely recommend the pasta dishes. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.rotorino.com/">Rotorino</a></div>
<div>
<div>
434 Kingsland Road</div>
<div>
Hackney</div>
<div>
E8</div>
7.5/10 </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1836456/restaurant/Hackney/Rotorino-London"><img alt="Rotorino on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1836456/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-25883897622160012642014-07-31T03:01:00.002+01:002014-07-31T03:34:05.245+01:00The Palomar<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was keen to see what all the fuss was about at <a href="http://thepalomar.co.uk/">The Palomar</a> during my next London trip so Nibs and I head there last Tuesday evening. We hadn't booked so
were expecting a long wait on the night as walk ins but were actually seated
after about 10 mins, we'd just got our drinks. Result! </span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The waiter
came to ask if we were ready to order after literally 2 minutes sitting at the
bar. I hadn't even glanced at the menu and Nibs was on the
phone. We told him we weren't, obvs, then he disappeared for about
half an hour. Didn't matter as we had plenty to catch up on, but
I've heard similar reports from others. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the food started
to arrive, were were chuffed to bits with what we'd ordered. First up the
bread. OMG the bloody bread. Kubanah (£5) actually,
baked and delivered in a pot served with tahini and tomato sauces.
INCREDIBLE. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This came at the same time as the
Fattoush salad (£8), tomato, cucumber, onion and croutons with sumac, za'atar
and labeneh. Lovely and fresh. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This beauty of a
plate carried the seared scallops (£11.50) served with beurre blanc, swiss
chard and an artichoke and hazelnut tuille. Brilliant textures and
tastes, I'm still obsessed with scallops.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The stand out dish
for me was the Jerusalem style polenta (£9). Served in a little tin pot
(I was expecting a kilner jar as per the website pic but that's how the mini
version comes) the polenta is topped with asparagus, mushroom ragu, parmesan
and truffle oil. For goodness sake. It's wonderous. </span></span></div>
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was the labenah tortellini (£11). Pretty prerry. Labenah is a
yoghurt cheese apparently, this was served on butternut squash puree with
confit garlic, tomatoes and mange tout. Dreamy. We were
getting full. At this point the shots came, if you sit at the bar, you'll
probably end up drinking with the guys behind the bar, excellent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We managed to fit in
a pud, a tahini ice cream (£7), that was not really an ice cream, more a solid
cream, served with filo delight. Nice end to the meal, but the dessert
was not the one, it was all about the previous courses, all lovely. I
really liked the vibe too. They open late, would love to have this as a
late night destination, like Spuntino. Would be ideal for after work
drinks. I'll be back one day!</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thepalomar.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Palomar</span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 34 Rupert St</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Soho</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">W1D</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9/10</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1844868/restaurant/Soho/The-Palomar-London"><img alt="The Palomar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1844868/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </span></span></div>
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-70569818645642232092014-07-28T09:00:00.000+01:002014-08-16T19:27:36.462+01:00Le Comptoir Charcuterie et Vins<div>
<a href="http://comptoircharcuteriesetvins.ca/">Le Comptoir </a>has been on my Montreal restaurant list since my Feb
visit. I managed to scope it out in the snow and have been meaning to
return since I made the move in March. We sat at the bar arriving just
before 8 and stayed pretty much til close.</div>
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I instantly liked the vibe of the place, there's a main
bar area with stool and a few smaller tables, the place was full on
both Monday and Tuesday nights, it's quite difficult to find restaurants
that open Sunday and Monday, which is very annoying. <a href="http://willtravelforfood.com/2012/04/09/restaurants-montreal-open-sunday-monday-nights/">Will Travel for Food</a> blog has a list of places opening, though it's a couple of years
old....</div>
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We had a look at the wines by the glasses, the list is
pretty impressive, we opted for fizz and had the Cremant d'Alsace, Andre
Durrmann which was so smooth and almost creamy in taste that we stuck
to it all night.<br />
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We began with the charcuterie board, all made in
house. I'm not going to pretend I listened and took in what each was,
there was a smoked duck 'ham' a pate type one and 3 similar ish
sausages. All very good. Came with little crisp breads, I was
expecting the baguette I could see on the bread board on the bar. This
was the small platter $10, also available in large, $15.<br />
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First actual main dish to arrive was the shrimp ceviche
with lardon and shallot confit ravioli with pine nuts, these were
served on squash ricotta puree $16. Liked the textures here, the pine
nuts were really crunchy, Really nice ceviche, they like their purees.
We were eating annoyingly slowly.<br />
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Next we had the calamari with tomato, olive and coriander $13. The calamari was nicely cooked and the sauce was full of flavor. </div>
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My
fave dish of the night came next, the pan fried cod with fennel and
potato mouselline (basically mash) with clams, pepperone, pickled
shallot and paprika oil. The cod was brilliant, a nice mellow combination of flavours and a nice looking dish. Some might be perturbed by the oil, but I like a bit of paprika oil.<br />
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Last main dish to arrive, about 3 hours after our arrival (good thing, we wanted to graze and gossip) was not actually one we ordered but we were happy enough with it. The eggplant (oh god, what have I become) and ground pork mezza luna ($14), so named because their half moon shape resembles the chopping implement of the same name.<br />
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Looking at this pic - it actually looks nothing like a half moon, it was good though and probably the prettiest plating of the night. A nice crispy onion ring, pine nuts, miso buffalo yoghurt and basil all combining, sounds a little all over the place, but it worked.<br />
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Then we had the cheese plate. Obviously very nice! This came with more of the crunchy slices of bread which I thought was odd, given that they serve the baguette with some of the mains.<br />
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Still liked this place a lot though, the main reason being the atmosphere, the music was brilliant, the service was relaxed and unstuffy and we never felt at all rushed. Will definitely be back. <br />
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<a href="http://comptoircharcuteriesetvins.ca/">Le Comptoir Charcuterie et Vins</a><br />
4807 Saint Laurent Boulevard<br />
Plateau<br />
H2T 1R6<br />
7.5/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1559072/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Le-Comptoir-Montreal"><img alt="Le Comptoir on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1559072/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-58041261073757790982014-07-20T23:00:00.000+01:002014-08-16T19:27:26.232+01:00Liverpool House<div>
Kind of a mini post really, on the best meal I've had so far in
Montreal, fittingly on my birthday, at <a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/">Liverpool House</a>, part of the Joe
Beef group.</div>
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The summer terrasse had just opened and we had a long bench in the garden surrounded by the restaurant herb garden. </div>
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Drinks to start included a fruity punch in a kilner jar
and aperol spritz. I had a spritz, the weather was perfect and it
seemed like the right thing to do. To start I ordered the foie gras
parfait with rhubarb jelly. </div>
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It was incredible. People here are crazy
about, tartare, oysters, lobster and foie gras. There isn't a
restaurant that doesn't feature at least one of the these in my
experience so far anyhow. It's not strictly true obviously, there are plenty of
vegan restaurants, and I've promised a friend that I'll go to one when
I'm back from my upcoming trip to London. Oh god.</div>
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The bread was a little boring but the parfait itself
was so good that it didn't matter. The jelly was a nice addition to cut
the rich creaminess in both texture and flavor. Loved it. </div>
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My main was shared with Lee and was the slow roast shoulder of lamb
for 2. It was served on wilted leaves with chilli, radish, yoghurt and
a side of tabbouleh. It was amazing. Too much for 2, huge portions is
their thing, the lobster spaghetti is ridiculous.<br />
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Dessert (mine was free as it was my bday!) was some
kind of pineapple pound cake with ice cream. Nice sponge, not much else
to say. Better than I'm making it sound obviously. There was a
sparkler in it, I was too happy to take a pic.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The one thing I would whinge about (there always has to
be something) is that if you sit in the garden, then there's no menu,
everything is on the chalkboards indoors. So you need to go inside and
literally stand in front of someone's table while you read it, and it's
looooong, or rely on the waiter remembering everything. I trust that he
did a good job. Can't wait to go to Joe Beef, booked in
when Em's here in August. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Wine recommendations both white and red were brilliant,
service was lovely and I see why this trio of restaurants are
continually dubbed the best in town, definitely the best I've eaten here
so far. Not a cheap night out but worth the spend. We ate and drank
LOADS and paid around $120 each (I think, my buds wouldn't let me pay).</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.joebeef.ca/">Liverpool House</a></div>
<div>
<span class="street-address">2501 Rue Notre-Dame W
</span></div>
<div>
Little Burgundy</div>
<div>
H3J</div>
<div>
9/10 </div>
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<div>
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721723/restaurant/Montreal/Sud-Ouest/Liverpool-House-Montreal"><img alt="Liverpool House on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/721723/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-59753670852386327082014-07-09T03:13:00.001+01:002014-07-09T03:13:19.358+01:00Typing RoomLast of my posts from my May/June trip back to London recounts dinner with <a href="http://crumpeats.com/">Hannah</a> and <a href="http://littleladyeats.com/">Sarah</a> at <a href="http://typingroom.com/">Typing Room</a>, the new restaurant in the Town Hall Hotel. Lee Westcott (backed by Jason Atherton, who else) has taken over the kitchen from Nuno Mendes who is now at <a href="http://www.chilternfirehouse.com/">Chiltern Firehouse</a>. <br />
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We had an early booking arriving at 6:30 for drinks at <a href="http://www.pegandpatriot.com/">The Peg & Patriot</a>, the bar next door. Got things going with a peg vodka martini, complete with olive crisp and board, tasted aniseedy, wanted gin. <br />
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We knew we were heading out for drinks after the meal so opted for the a la carte menu instead of a tasting menu, turns out it would have been better value to go for the tasting option, so I'd definitely do that if were I to return. Anyway, we ordered different dishes for each course and tried everything. Here's what we had.<br />
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Bread was lovely, a brioche bun and an olive roll. Toasted barley and chicken skin served on top of the butters, I really liked these, preferred the olive bread, but both good. <br />
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We snacked on these cumin lavoche with crab, corn and curried egg (£5). I think this truly contained what might just be my favourite ingredients, we made very light work of them. <br />
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Here are all 3 of the starters. I'll start at the bottom. Langoustine, carrot, coriander and pistachio (£15). A tad over priced perhaps, there were a couple of croquettes on the plate but I genuinely don't recall what the filling was. Don't believe there was much flavour in this at all, aside from the fish itself, which was perfectly cooked and the star of the dish.<br />
<br />
Best started for me was the veal sweetbread with asparagus, peas and buttermilk (£15). Actually, scrap what I said about the lavoche, peas are one of my faves. Anyway, this starter was delicious, you could taste each component and even the foam didn't bother me.<br />
<br />
3rd starter we tried was the mackerel, passionfruit, cucumber and radish (£12). The balls of cucumber were quite novel, looked like melon, some were burnt, and passionfruit and mackerel worked together better than they should on the plate though it's not something I'm itching to try again.<br />
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Onto mains, the lamb was my standout dish. Served with smoked aubergine, yoghurt, wild garlic and onion (£24). 2 kinds of lamb and beautifully presented onions, garlic flowers topping the whole thing off, I was sad when we rotated and I had to pass this one on.<br />
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The belly pork with peach, mustard and lettuce (£22) was good, the meat the man attraction, as it should be, but we all agreed we couldn't taste much else. Good job the suckling pig itself was so well cooked, crispy topped and soft melting fat below. Who needs peach?<br />
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I was underwhelmed by the pigeon with salt baked celeriac, lovage and hazelnut (£26), having been urged to try the dish by a previous guest. I'm not the biggest fan of pigeon, again the presentation was faultless and everything sounded great but it left us wanting slightly. Lack of sauce perhaps?<br />
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We tried some lovely wines, excellently matched by the sommelier, white, red and dessert. A pre dessert of parsley sorbet with lime and ginger granita was brillaint. Really sharp and hot with ginger, loved it.<br />
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This was the unanimous winner on the dessert front, chocolate, amaretto and almond (£7.50). Amazing textures, variety of temperatures and rich chocolate in several forms. It was excellent.<br />
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Strawberry, pistachio and white chocolate (£8) was also incredibly pretty. Coolness again from the sorbet, spongey pistachio and a white chocolate log shaped thing covered in more strawberry, in gel form. Very good. <br />
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I was less convinced by the almost savoury green tea with sesame (£7), pretty enough, but I've rarely seen a green pud, and there's a reason for that, thinking back to the last time, it was at <a href="http://booinlondon.blogspot.ca/2013/11/lenclume.html">L'Enclume </a>and it was good, one of the best I've ever had but it was appley and sweet (and they hid the green stuff under white stuff). This wasn't my cup of tea at all.<br />
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Last to show up were these petit fours, zesty little jellies, nice way to end the meal. We had a really fun evening, we always do but the food wasn't quite at the level we had hoped it would be. Perhaps due to the newness of everything, it was week 2 or 3 when we visited, so admittedly, I was there too early to judge proper. Would really like to try The Corner Room in it's new incarnation too.<br />
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<a href="http://www.typingroom.com/">Typing Room</a><br />
Town Hall Hotel<br />
Patriot Sq<br />
E2<br />
6.5/10<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1844982/restaurant/Bethnal-Green/Typing-Room-London"><img alt="Typing Room on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1844982/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582606603281743362.post-20996447622245739202014-06-30T22:00:00.001+01:002014-07-01T03:56:06.036+01:00June Round Up<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are my eating highlights from both London and
Montreal over the last 5 weeks (confess some late May eats have crept in
here as I was too busy getting the Kid wed to blog).
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<u>LONDON</u></div>
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<a href="http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/locations">Nopi</a></div>
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Em and I head to Nopi for brunch after a
ridiculously early morning screening of Maleficent at Leicester Sq
Odeon. I had the Shakshuka with spicy tomato sauce and smoked Labneh. </div>
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There was a lot of red pepper to contend with, I confess
I’m not the hugest fan of red peppers, sometimes they disagree with me,
but everything was perfectly cooked, most importantly the eggs. Runny
yolks, yes. I hate when they’re overcooked, I’m looking at you Caravan
on Exmouth. Great bread and a decent flat
white too. Not the cheapest brunch and front of house seemed outraged
we’d not booked a table. Weird WEIRD mirrored toilets, really quite
disturbing.</div>
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<a href="http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/locations">Nopi</a></div>
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21-22 Warwick St</div>
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Soho</div>
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W1B</div>
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6.5/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1575853/restaurant/Soho/NOPI-London"><img alt="NOPI on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1575853/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.antidotewinebar.com/">Antidote Wine Bar</a></div>
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Fast forward on the same day and Art and I drank a
shitload of wine and needed to soak it up with some cheese and meat. I
just didn’t have time to fit in a full meal here, which is a shame as I
would have loved to, particularly based on
the quality of these boards. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-W7VPW9duCcOcekJyWCTD11_YMWIuPHrJ5MW_GDrQ5S5n-p739KX032RrT2zVCG68tJ-z-lZEk_J6_KkUXu718h4He8hEICsjCO7asI5GvowlIa4kNUybznF6JoWk_Rt0rZYlSwFkOm-/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-W7VPW9duCcOcekJyWCTD11_YMWIuPHrJ5MW_GDrQ5S5n-p739KX032RrT2zVCG68tJ-z-lZEk_J6_KkUXu718h4He8hEICsjCO7asI5GvowlIa4kNUybznF6JoWk_Rt0rZYlSwFkOm-/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wines are all organic, you can buy
bottles to take away and the bread is the talk of the town, really very
good. Menu is overseen by Mikael Jonsson of Hedone fame, so no wonder
it’s good. We probably spent around £40 each, but
were there for most of the afternoon and had a couple of bottles of wine.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9mP5AOH9FHn4viukG7LvH3rPdbiD7XDohplZ9Wqeio1h99uxuWe3vDh4t7MR9PXg3Ap1BvSOyVlebczuG5C-iHlrVqdk-JXONLxg8VYTcIOu4J8DhRDSQLHWerrXaofViy4wjq2GYrJr/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9mP5AOH9FHn4viukG7LvH3rPdbiD7XDohplZ9Wqeio1h99uxuWe3vDh4t7MR9PXg3Ap1BvSOyVlebczuG5C-iHlrVqdk-JXONLxg8VYTcIOu4J8DhRDSQLHWerrXaofViy4wjq2GYrJr/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.antidotewinebar.com/">Antidote</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
12A Newburgh St</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soho</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
W1F</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
8/10</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1599978/restaurant/Soho/Antidote-Wine-Bar-London"><img alt="Antidote Wine Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1599978/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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One Leicester Street – Leo’s Pop Up</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fast even further forward, still the same day (oof)
and we had dinner at One Leicester St. It was the last night of a
<a href="http://www.hot-dinners.com/Gastroblog/Latest-news/viajante-head-chef-leo-to-run-three-month-pop-up-at-one-leicester-street">3 month long pop up </a>which saw Leandro Carreira (ex- Viajante chef) take over
the kitchen Thur-Sat. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBf8n_YS9h5G7RCQRU5kp6K-eFSrHA2Tn-vpdZ0LEv2cRt0Po5Gf1fACZAKpZbrkdHoALvQMH3Wp3O_8eEzGV5Yhaunex-61Rw_-i3SZRmooVUzjwVBHzMCGfJv34VHN6bFdgb7-jOOXW/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBf8n_YS9h5G7RCQRU5kp6K-eFSrHA2Tn-vpdZ0LEv2cRt0Po5Gf1fACZAKpZbrkdHoALvQMH3Wp3O_8eEzGV5Yhaunex-61Rw_-i3SZRmooVUzjwVBHzMCGfJv34VHN6bFdgb7-jOOXW/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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It was a communal affair
with guests sharing a 7 course tasting menu for £88, wine pairings
included. Highlight was the iberico presa with baked beets and the
langoustine with honey carrots. Really fun night, obviously not
something you can enjoy yourselves (unless you went) but
keep an eye out for Leo’s next venture.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkVk51yDyOHx3a7dkhencR6KxejjxT3KvYlIRvXjPk0uZ2_Qw9AL0bKz81UB_Vg-ABygVy7WGv7Auch8u0gF0oDvihcOMVYfxFTWV0pgbDJjbTkgfwhyphenhyphenPnCz7p2MLV-My1q6qYOy4yG3V/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkVk51yDyOHx3a7dkhencR6KxejjxT3KvYlIRvXjPk0uZ2_Qw9AL0bKz81UB_Vg-ABygVy7WGv7Auch8u0gF0oDvihcOMVYfxFTWV0pgbDJjbTkgfwhyphenhyphenPnCz7p2MLV-My1q6qYOy4yG3V/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One Leicester St</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erm, 1 Leicester St</div>
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WC2H</div>
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7/10</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bernerstavern.com/">Berner’s Tavern</a></div>
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Bel and I head back to our old fave the <a href="http://www.bernerstavern.com/">Berner’s Tavern</a> for my last night in London. We lashed right out and got the
chateaubriand for 2 with foie gras, roasted baby artichokes and truffled
mac and cheese. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1B9El0Ei4gQHdQ1lQ36eiPzoRbsp8NJILPLnTUXKEzfRH4pxifzLQnMf4OuYICO0aB_4xcS2GHq1uPRPzaFvmuyscvEq5CKfUOouFDQPq1qkPMThL0jB-jK3L_Nw1jBxhgc_eCMid68p/s1600/photo+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1B9El0Ei4gQHdQ1lQ36eiPzoRbsp8NJILPLnTUXKEzfRH4pxifzLQnMf4OuYICO0aB_4xcS2GHq1uPRPzaFvmuyscvEq5CKfUOouFDQPq1qkPMThL0jB-jK3L_Nw1jBxhgc_eCMid68p/s1600/photo+41.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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There is so much good stuff
going on with this dish, it’s just incredible. So much truffle. It’s
really rather good value at £80 for two. We drank Prosecco, obvs and
stopped off in the Punch Room. Love and miss this place sooooooo much.
Well done Jason.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjah0pY-haPsKeRqea5NRLxGWH9SsvSvygE7InOynyaoiuFjJmtAy3qGnkb8YuaHHR_j6joQzB9xSSqlF_QqwjK3b1u3GrF9HRbNcDP5uODRtwHn0Rs6Z7PS6jIIl2sp15hF-XshAhrl_eu/s1600/photo+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjah0pY-haPsKeRqea5NRLxGWH9SsvSvygE7InOynyaoiuFjJmtAy3qGnkb8YuaHHR_j6joQzB9xSSqlF_QqwjK3b1u3GrF9HRbNcDP5uODRtwHn0Rs6Z7PS6jIIl2sp15hF-XshAhrl_eu/s1600/photo+31.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bernerstavern.com/">Berner's Tavern </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10 Berners Street</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fitzrovia</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
W1T</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
9/10</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1783949/restaurant/Fitzrovia/Berners-Tavern-London"><img alt="Berners Tavern on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1783949/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.koya.co.uk/">Koya Bar</a></div>
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Another old fave I had to make time for was <a href="http://www.koya.co.uk/">Koya Bar,</a> Nibs and I popped in for lunch and both opted for the special udon
which was poached chicken in soy milk broth with sesame. It was
really simple and clean, as all their dishes could
feasibly be described. We shared the mackerel sashimi also from the
specials board, I always always order their specials, they’re so
interesting. Miss you Koya.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_KW2QWIEi9Ul8g2Mr1mbnliQwzROMH6ugOjIBRLehlSUh3_wgX7PLf3E9uUWLXbkB-GdOjdYf6K_OFFk0B-2DH4tyWTHNwOHKdP5DsgzLVgRnNSLoI5jre_SnmmN77Bs5Hy4INHAzJyP/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_KW2QWIEi9Ul8g2Mr1mbnliQwzROMH6ugOjIBRLehlSUh3_wgX7PLf3E9uUWLXbkB-GdOjdYf6K_OFFk0B-2DH4tyWTHNwOHKdP5DsgzLVgRnNSLoI5jre_SnmmN77Bs5Hy4INHAzJyP/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<a href="http://www.koya.co.uk/">Koya Bar</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
50 Frith St</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soho</div>
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W1D</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
9/10</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1779224/restaurant/Soho/Koya-Bar-London"><img alt="Koya Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1779224/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thebullandlast.co.uk/">Bull & Last</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also popped in for a <a href="http://www.thebullandlast.co.uk/">Bull & Last</a> bloody mary and <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_83979351" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Sunday</span></span>
roast combo with Bel which saved me after the Kid’s hen do! They
really know what they’re doing with a bit of beef. Lemony pud was
really good too. We lurked about for the pub quiz
then hit Aces & Eights, classic NW5 <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_83979352" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Sunday</span></span>. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4wtqB2IEcV2tmuJAj2CiSapq6c97SVI4svUh2J5nsO_lbzvK92KDZz2axuGuKdpARnHGFZJG7zGkaGhqougYT4aC0iR6ytkPxwsq-fa0IB4zjrMgB0P2IglFbSGIckTdYceTYCexav4u/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4wtqB2IEcV2tmuJAj2CiSapq6c97SVI4svUh2J5nsO_lbzvK92KDZz2axuGuKdpARnHGFZJG7zGkaGhqougYT4aC0iR6ytkPxwsq-fa0IB4zjrMgB0P2IglFbSGIckTdYceTYCexav4u/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.thebullandlast.co.uk/">Bull & Last</a></div>
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118 Highgate Road</div>
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Kentish Town </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NW5!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
8/10</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1420882/restaurant/Kentish-Town/Bull-Last-London"><img alt="Bull & Last on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1420882/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>MONTREAL</u></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/melbcafe">Café Melbourne</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On my first <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_83979353" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Saturday</span></span>
back I met Sarah for lunch at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/melbcafe">Café Melbourne</a>. I remember walking by
this place in February when I visited, it was approx. -15 and I was
slipping all over the place in the snow, determined to have a wander
about and
get a bagel from Fairmount. What a difference a few months makes, it
was a boiling hot day, we sat in the window and ordered coffee and
‘jaffles’. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTSK2FCDClC5I487DaX6EGT9T7043gDwiVmlZmz0G4qlSIH95oaxC5ok1IWMa_o7ImT7N4WmOPKcwKkQpQuvg5bqL8nLMHdcAIUgZdabuXXjLFT0l5vmlQFhiV6A18D9wMRbeIJLT0bsw/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTSK2FCDClC5I487DaX6EGT9T7043gDwiVmlZmz0G4qlSIH95oaxC5ok1IWMa_o7ImT7N4WmOPKcwKkQpQuvg5bqL8nLMHdcAIUgZdabuXXjLFT0l5vmlQFhiV6A18D9wMRbeIJLT0bsw/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jaffle meaning Aussie toastie, think Breville. I got the
mac daddy, of course, filled with actual mac cheese
and served with a nice bit of pickle and some ready salted crisps. The
big concern with toasties is usually that they’re so hot they burn, but I
found the opposite was true of this one, the second half was barely warm when I
got to it, perhaps I was chatting too much.
Good coffee though and they had a Donna Hay magazine in there and good
world cup banter.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/melbcafe">Café Melbourne</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saint-Laurent</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Plateau</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
H2T</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6/10</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1786540/restaurant/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Cafe-Melbourne-Montreal"><img alt="Cafe Melbourne on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1786540/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bishopandbagg.com/">Bishop & Bagg</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of the world cup, I watched an England
match at <a href="http://www.bishopandbagg.com/">Bishop & Bagg</a> an English inspired ‘pub’. In inverted
commas because it’s absolutely not a pub, but they’re trying! They have
an English menu too, curries, a ploughman’s, kebabs. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yd17iF95xGEWgM3Rnwx28iFaILKUlBrUylWdGAOK2QK0LMhy-4begZ1VO224pPJ9pGMY_NhORBgiGKe7puLuP_zvjBp23_9LKyNRcH8psPP6yXe3bpT2h0RdarpWIK35OpFdoREEJe5B/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yd17iF95xGEWgM3Rnwx28iFaILKUlBrUylWdGAOK2QK0LMhy-4begZ1VO224pPJ9pGMY_NhORBgiGKe7puLuP_zvjBp23_9LKyNRcH8psPP6yXe3bpT2h0RdarpWIK35OpFdoREEJe5B/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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I had the lamb kebabs which look an absolute mess here but were really
very good. Reports of the ploughman’s were along the lines of don’t do
it to yourself. I sound negative but I actually really like the place,
and I live near it now, woo! Apols for the shocking photo, finger included so you could see the wrap, pitta type thing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bishopandbagg.com/">Bishop & Bagg</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
52 Rue St Viateur Ouest</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mile End</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
H2T</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7/10</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1817418/restaurant/Outremont/Bishop-Bagg-Montreal"><img alt="Bishop & Bagg on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1817418/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://legrosjambon.com/">Le Gros Jambon</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another greaso lunch with Sarah, this time close to
work, <a href="http://legrosjambon.com/">Le Gros Jambon </a>appears on <a href="http://www.thrillist.com/eat/montreal/montreal-s-best-mac-and-cheese">this</a> list of the best Mac &
Cheese to be found in Montreal, so I had the chicken tacos. Need to go
back for the mac cheese, newsflash - it’s almost
too hot to eat macaroni cheese. It’s upsetting, and I need to stop
moaning about/talking about/checking the weather. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEVKORh-2-LEHwPx9ffRW3z1ULPYl48nHTcdKjhFJQfu2G0FerTrTY-Fnq2gC8P3SR_2PAosS2e8v5n7U2ZyiKvZI3Z1FmYS5Xbi_6a2kAstrORlip8O5h8-eX5DqKaRNWC_ul5f4fI9g/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEVKORh-2-LEHwPx9ffRW3z1ULPYl48nHTcdKjhFJQfu2G0FerTrTY-Fnq2gC8P3SR_2PAosS2e8v5n7U2ZyiKvZI3Z1FmYS5Xbi_6a2kAstrORlip8O5h8-eX5DqKaRNWC_ul5f4fI9g/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The chicken tacos
with a side salad were my attempt to make a healthier choice at this
diner. Really liked them actually. Nice guacamole,
sour cream and salsa accompaniments, and it was served individually on a
tray for your own construction. I rather like that. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVrTVxJ7yowAUs2IZ_HoOtGLKcMWh4FA0-E_3o6WeIWJ_uC8LQzpb2hcbfZlYCvoC-7a4qiwRnYFu6oIBjGun3B56lXd-GRbgVS_HmRIYBXvuUlmT27HbSrq4wGSS8qNocKRahehzHvDG/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVrTVxJ7yowAUs2IZ_HoOtGLKcMWh4FA0-E_3o6WeIWJ_uC8LQzpb2hcbfZlYCvoC-7a4qiwRnYFu6oIBjGun3B56lXd-GRbgVS_HmRIYBXvuUlmT27HbSrq4wGSS8qNocKRahehzHvDG/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="300" /> </a></div>
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Cute, kitschy décor and
cheap, about $12.</div>
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<a href="http://legrosjambon.com/">
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<a href="http://legrosjambon.com/">Le Gros Jambon</a></div>
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286 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest</div>
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Old Montreal</div>
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H2Y</div>
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6.5/10</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1633231/restaurant/Old-Montr-al/Le-Gros-Jambon-Montreal"><img alt="Le Gros Jambon on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1633231/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
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<a href="http://noragray.com/">Nora Gray</a></div>
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One <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_83979354" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Saturday</span></span>
evening a group of us went to <a href="http://noragray.com/">Nora Gray</a>, a restaurant opened by an
ex-Joe Beef chef and front of house duo. It comes highly recommended by
food people so I was super excited and it proved to be the best meal
I’d eaten so far
in Montreal (until my birthday meal at Liverpool House, but more on
that soon).</div>
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My starter was cavatelli with tomato, anchovy and
fennel. The pasta was perfect, all home made and great value at $12 for
a bowl. Love Italian meals where it’s the done thing to eat pasta as a
starter, they are genius.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppHKUi-WSs5xpnjRbZdYd6UMbJXBKc-fCW8wWwKCiIYhAYAQUL9lmz2f-mkpssjJzVgu87hhrtGrm9ST0InlpVGHa-SSsmxVIMOcyltHiqJuiVhYwcJS-EKS31etwHbSxSJCZs7A0mbD5/s1600/photo+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppHKUi-WSs5xpnjRbZdYd6UMbJXBKc-fCW8wWwKCiIYhAYAQUL9lmz2f-mkpssjJzVgu87hhrtGrm9ST0InlpVGHa-SSsmxVIMOcyltHiqJuiVhYwcJS-EKS31etwHbSxSJCZs7A0mbD5/s1600/photo+31.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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Again, shocking picture but it's very dark in there, all candle light and orange. I couldn’t resist the special main, pork belly with
turnips and polenta. It was sooooooo good, around the $30 mark. We
drank a load of red wine and left very very happy. It’s a slightly odd
area of the city, Griffintown, up and coming
allegedly, but it feels like it’s out in the sticks with very little else
around it. Worth the trek though for sure, I’ll be back, they're awesome. </div>
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<a href="http://noragray.com/">Nora Gray</a></div>
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1391 Rue St Jaques</div>
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Griffintown</div>
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H3C</div>
9/10<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1620460/restaurant/Sud-Ouest/Nora-Gray-Montreal"><img alt="Nora Gray on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1620460/minilogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 15px; width: 104px;" /></a>Boohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06846056960780471052noreply@blogger.com0