Ever feel like you're on an endless journey in search of the perfect meal? Okay, so the whole Odyssey comparison is a bit exaggerated; I haven't battled a cyclops or been tempted by Sirens or fought a sea monster lately. But I could tell you a good yarn about hopping a plane … [Read more...] about Hoogan et Beaufort: The Odyssey
French
Herbalicious and Spicy Fish Heads from the Toqué! Restaurant Cookbook
I should subtitle this article "How to successfully use a kitchen torch and fail at decorating fish heads." In the Toqué! restaurant cookbook, the fish heads look all pretty. It's one of the restaurant's most popular (and simplest) dishes, but it turns out that when you take a … [Read more...] about Herbalicious and Spicy Fish Heads from the Toqué! Restaurant Cookbook
Foxy Restaurant: A Buvette Chez Simone for Griffintown?
It took me a long time to get to Foxy, but after one visit, it's a place I know I'll want to go again and again. Voted one of Canada's top ten best new restaurants by enRoute Magazine last year, I knew it was good. The owners also own Olive & Gourmando's, so they get the … [Read more...] about Foxy Restaurant: A Buvette Chez Simone for Griffintown?
Montréal Plaza: Small Plates and Duck Breast
What happens when the former chef de cuisine of Toqué! strews his beautiful mixes of ingredients, colours and flavours over tabletops in Little Italy? This: A lot of black truffles, crispy puffed rice and duck fat. And the best part? About a third of small plates, daily … [Read more...] about Montréal Plaza: Small Plates and Duck Breast
Top 10 End-of-2016 Restaurants in Montreal
This is a 100% subjective list of the restaurants in Montreal that earned top marks for me this year, or held strong from previous years. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But for something new...well, go to: 1. Le Fantôme This fine dining place in Griffintown is tasting menu … [Read more...] about Top 10 End-of-2016 Restaurants in Montreal
Living for Charcuterie, Chicken and Chenin at La Buvette Chez Simone
How do you define Montreal as a food city? We have a little of everything, but we specialize in a very open interpretation of French-inspired cuisine. We're grazers – a little of this and a little of that, all accompanied by a glass of wine or a beer. And we enjoy a place for … [Read more...] about Living for Charcuterie, Chicken and Chenin at La Buvette Chez Simone
Le Rouge Gorge: Montreal’s Most Affordable Wine Bar?
Montreal doesn't lack for wine bars, but when you're looking for a (couple) glass(es) of biodynamic, private import, natural, low-yield or organic wine from small-scale wineries, you could be looking at $10-$15 a glass. Pre-tax and pre-tip. At Loïc in St-Henri – a rare exception … [Read more...] about Le Rouge Gorge: Montreal’s Most Affordable Wine Bar?
La Coupole: Revamped Fine Dining in Downtown Montreal
At La Coupole, lunch is happening. Sun fills the vaulted room and efficient servers place plates of salmon tartare and skinny frites in frot of heels and suits with somewhat longer-than-rushed and somewhat shorter-than-leisurely lunch breaks. Fortunately, the menu promises that … [Read more...] about La Coupole: Revamped Fine Dining in Downtown Montreal
MTL a Table and the Best Restaurants for Dinner, Lunch and Brunch
It's Montreal restaurant week time again – that magical part of the year when a week is defined as 11 days (Oct. 29 to Nov. 8, 2015).* All the better for us, since that means four more days of prix fixe menus at some of Montreal's top restaurants. Most restaurants give two … [Read more...] about MTL a Table and the Best Restaurants for Dinner, Lunch and Brunch
Le Bon Vivant: Little Burgundy’s Newest Neighbourhood Darling
The upside of gentrification is good restaurants. Case in point: Le Bon Vivant, which I believe started as a lunch spot with a small wine list and some local beers and has now grown into one of the nicest street-side dining destinations in the area. It's a notch down in price … [Read more...] about Le Bon Vivant: Little Burgundy’s Newest Neighbourhood Darling