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Wine&Dine

# d'utilisateur

35183

Membre depuis

mardi, 27 novembre, 2012

Imadake Izakaya
Westmount
Service
Nourriture
5.0

Located right next to the AMC, (dinner and a movie anyone?), Imadake (meaning: "only for you," geez, blush, for me? thanks dudes) does what it's meant to do, that is serve you a large selection of drink and snack, very well. We settled on a few of the usual suspects to see if their versions of the more standard dishes are up to scratch. They are. As a takoyaki (essentially octopus balls, well not octopus balls, but ball-shaped snacks with octopus inside) fan, I was thrilled with their authentic flavour. Thrilled, I tells ya - from the batter to the aonori (green laver) and bonito shavings, perfection! For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/10/imadake-4006-sainte-catherine-ouest.html

23 oct., 2013
Dépanneur Le Pick Up
Petite-Italie
Service
Nourriture
3.0

I won't even try to dress it up - there was nothing particularly stellar, overwhelmingly tasty or special about our BLT and fish burger. Super basic in concept, execution, and flavour. In other words, completely in keeping with what these folks seem to be all about: nothing gimmicky, just exactly what you'd expect to eat on a picnic table behind an actual fully-stocked Dep. that happens to have a grill behind the till. For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/10/depanneur-le-pick-up-7032-rue-waverly.html

23 oct., 2013
Dinette Triple Crown
Mile-Ex
Service
Nourriture
4.5

Since Dinette Triple Crown is, true to its name, a small part of a room, it was a downright genius move on their part to offer the option of packing your meal into a picnic basket and directing you over to the park across the street. Firstly, who doesn’t love a picnic? As evidenced by my friendship group, if a guy invites you on a picnic as a first date (and makes you butter tarts), you’ll end up marrying him. True story. Moral: picnics are romantic (whatever your definition of romance might be as long as it includes sentimentality or idealism). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/07/dinette-triple-crown-6704-rue-clark.html

05 juil., 2013
Bocadillo
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
3.0

My friend was right, this sammy was worth every bite. The pork, marinated in passion fruit juice, garlic, spices and wine is slow cooked for 12 hours. I dunno about you lot, but I can appreciate that sort of dedication. The yogurt bun is quite possibly, I’m convinced, laced with crack, cuz I’m not even down with chewy white bread and I fully failed at proving that. In the end, maybe it was the parsley/garlic mayo that pushed my date with this sandwich from, “yah, he seems interesting” to “we should most definitely hang out again.” For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/06/bocadillo-3677-st-laurent.html

18 juin, 2013
Kazu
Centre-ville
Service
Nourriture
4.5

What to eat, what to eat, what to eat? Not only did everything on the menu sound like it belonged in my belly, but seeing the dishes whiz by only added to the I-must-eat-everything-eyes-bigger-than-stomach thing. In the end, our helpful, friendly, and efficient server aided my wide-eyed over-excitement and guided me towards my friend, the grilled octopus leg. My Kazu-veteran chum chose the grilled beef with rice and salad. B-I-N-G-O homies. In an ideal world we would have ordered entrées and lounged with drinks, but 1) I just don't know how to be that hungry at 5:30, 2) we had a movie to catch, and 3) the ever-growing line-up of people eyeing your gluttony with restless disdain does not make for a lounge-worthy situation. For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/04/kazu-1862-sainte-catherine-ouest.html

09 avril, 2013
Les Enfants Terribles
Outremont
Service
Nourriture
2.5

I started with the Alaskan king crab ravioli. Now, doesn’t that sound good? A little daikon, apple, lemon, honey and nutmeg emulsion… great! Too bad it’s unexpectedly a cold dish with no oomph. Where’s the daikon pep? Where’s the lemon zing? Dunno mate, but it didn’t make it onto my plate. All this crab managed to do was make an Anna a lil’ crabby (ouch, my knee! What with the slapping…). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/03/les-enfants-terribles-1257-avenue.html

20 mars, 2013
Nora Gray
Griffintown
Service
Nourriture
3.0

It’s a beautiful thing when things make sense. In terms of restaurant experience, for me, this means a synchronicity between the food, the wine, the plating, the lighting, the vibe, and the service. I know Meat Loaf would say that “two out of three ain’t bad,” and while you can’t argue with the logic of someone who’d “do anything for love” (except, you know, ‘that’), I’m not trying to high five mediocracy here. Unfortunately, if a couple of the elements listed above are outta wack, the overall dining experience is dulled. Enter Nora Gray. For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/03/nora-gray-1391-rue-st-jacques.html

19 mars, 2013
Nouveau Palais
Mile-End
Service
Nourriture
4.0

Located on Bernard/Parc, a.k.a. the epicentre of hipsterdom, Nouveau Palais, stands proudly amongst more, shall we say, facelifted businesses, as a pillar of sentimentality to ‘what once was’ and, more importantly, as a pleasantly unpretentious, low-key, little den of homestyle cookin’ (with cocktails). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/02/nouveau-palais-281-rue-bernard-ouest.html

14 févr., 2013
ChuChai (Chu Chai)
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
3.0

Whether vegan or not, If ChuChai was your go-to Thai place and you haven’t visited in a while, you’re in for a surprise. NO, the soy-product pseudo pork, beef, duck, shrimp, haven’t been replaced by the real thing (shhh, calm down) – it’s still a veg resto specializing in Chi-Thai meals that look, and to some extant, taste like meat/seafood. NO, aside from the addition of the En Masse mural outdoors, the décor hasn’t been dramatically transformed. But those are good guesses, thanks for playing. The surprise is that the separation between “ChuChai fine cuisine” (to the left, to the left) and “Chuch bistro,” has meant some menu/price/clientele changes. To read the full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/01/chuchai-4088-st-denis.html

14 févr., 2013
Bar à Vin Pullman Wine Bar
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
4.0

Pullman is a wine bar. The food is absolutely secondary to what you'll consume in a glass, and yet, the tapas-esque menu does well to keep up with the splendid wine and cocktail list. The dry martinis and negronis we started with were as bang on as the vibe. Online daters aside, this deceivingly large 'lil spot,' located neither here nor there on Parc, caters to a hyper eclectic crowd. While high-rollers were popping Cristal upstairs, Mile-enders, 5a7-ers, McGill ghetto-ers, sugar daddies, and "da ladies" rubbed elbows throughout the rest of the uniquely laid-out space. To read full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/12/pullman-3424-avenue-du-parc.html

28 déc., 2012
Aux Vivres
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
4.5

Everyone who eats AV regularly does so because they’ve found dishes on the menu that simply can’t be replicated at home, make your taste buds sing and leave you feeling pretty damn guiltlessly good about yourself (the way only vegetables can). For bacon lovers, it’s the BLT (trying to figure out how they make smoked coconut taste like bacon can drive you coco loco, but you’ll keep coming back). For Indian food enthusiasts, it’s the Mumbai plate or Chana chapati. And for certain Annas who appreciate the fact that sometimes, it’s all in the sauce, the winners are: the Mekong and Veggie Lox sandwiches (on chapati) and the Dragon and Thai bowls (with grilled tofu). For years I kept a weekly AV date with a friend just as passionate for the refreshing coolness of tofu cream, veg lox, and capers (Veggie Lox) paired with the crack-like addictive combo of thai peanut sauce, pickled daikon & carrot, grilled tofu with mint and coriander (Mekong). Getting both and splitting: perfection! The chapati has better and worst days and the amount of lettuce, packed in like a stocking stuffer, varies, but by and large you can depend on consistency & deliciousness in terms of the sandwiches. The infamous Dragon bowl (you can now buy the secrete recipe Dragon sauce and replicate this bad boy at home, sorta) is as good as it looks. While shredded carrots, red cabbage, daikon, beets, sprouts, lettuce, dulse, toasted sesame and grilled tofu atop brown rice sounds way too wholesome to actually taste good, it manages to do both. Score! For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/01/aux-vivres-4631-boulevard-saint-laurent.html

29 nov., 2012
Arepera du Plateau
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
4.5

With meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan options, the fun never ends (and eating here won’t send you to the poorhouse either, my meal cost a grand total of $8. Score!) With 30 arepas to choose from, each sounding better than the last, mouth salivating and stomach growling, I did the sensible thing and ordered Venezuela’s national dish, #1: Pabellón: black beans, shredded stewed beef, plantains and cheese. My companions chose the Chorizo de jabalí (boar chorizo, onions and peppers) and the Chicharrón (translated as “crackling,” meaning fried pork rinds). All arepas come served with a little alfalfa salad toped with avocado sauce. Now: here’s where the good people at Arepera won my heart - along with our arepas, they plonk down two sauce bottles on our table: homemade hot sauce, which more than lives up to its name, yowzah, and avocado sauce. Shut. Up. For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/01/arepera-4050-rue-de-bullion.html

29 nov., 2012
Bouillon Bilk
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
4.0

For our mains, one friend had the pintade foie gras, courge, café, shiitakes, dattes (guinea fowl foie gras, squash, coffee, shitake mushrooms and dates, photo 1), the other had the cerf grillé polenta, betteraves, choux de bruxelles, chocolat (grilled deer with polenta, beets, brussels sprouts and chocolate, photo 2) and I had the vivaneau artichaut, chanterelles, tortellini au boudin (red Snapper, artichokes, with chanterelles and blood pudding tortellini, photo 3). Jealous? well, you should be. If you’re a friend of mine you know that any and all mushrooms are always welcomed, if not highly encouraged, on my plate. In this case, the apricoty flavour of the chanterelles complimented the mildness of the snapper beautifully. In itself this would have been a good dish, but it was promoted to excellence by the blood pudding tortellini. The pasta was al dente and the pork just rich enough to bring out the snap in my snapper. Yum! My one major concern, echoed by my companions, is that all dishes were lukewarm. What up? For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/02/bouillon-bilk-1595-boul-st-laurent.html

29 nov., 2012
Icehouse
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
4.0

If you haven’t already tried their Southern-style oysters with soda crackers and homemade Tabasco, do yourself a favour (and if you don’t like oysters, stop reading my blog. Just kidding! [or am I?]). If you like your lobster burrito with beans and chips, yes Dr. Huxtable, chips, your dinner is served. And, if you are sick and tired of disappointing crab cakes packed full of potato, salt, and chewy crabmeat, you are in for a VERY happy meal. On this occasion, we ordered 2 kinds of tacos to split (2 come per order), a side of potato salad, the aforementioned legendary crab cakes, and my companion had a glass of the specialty bourbon lemonade (a bit too sweet for my savoury tooth, but people swear by this stuff). While it’s hard to choose your taco, with options like pulled pork with spicy pecans and pickled watermelon or short rib teriyaki with jalapeno-daikon slaw, we settled on the tempura sweet potato and the fried shrimp. Having one of each was a perfect compliment but I wouldn’t have wanted a full order of either. I found the smoky potato salad a little bitter, but all was forgiven thanks to those damn crab cakes – best I’ve ever had. No chewing necessary, no crabby complaints (oh, knee slapper!). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/01/icehouse-51-rue-roy-est.html

29 nov., 2012
La Fabrique Bistrot
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
1.5

We started off with a couple of iced lattes and some pâté de campagne served with bread and the biggest jar of pickle ribbons I have ever been served. Two things: When I order my iced coffee and I ask you “could I please have it unsweetened, just espresso, milk, ice” and you say “of course” and neglect to tell me that instead you’re going to put Frangelico or Tia Maria or Bailey’s in it, that’s just bad manners. Don’t spike my drink man, it’s 11:00 am. I’m trying to wake up not relive last night, you know? Second thing: when customers order a little nibble to share, don’t bring them your entire pantry…portion control my friends! Nobody wants to consume a full jar of pickles and loaf of bread for brekky (at least nobody I know). I ordered the scrambled eggs with marinated salmon, plain chips, avocado, and melted mozzarella. Total. Disaster. I was intrigued by what they would do with these ingredients and as I soon found out: not much, including not even accounting for all of them. WHA? I got a big ol’ bowl of eggs (perhaps 4?) with cheese, chips, the tiniest bit of arugula, and maybe 6 little chunks of avocado. Not enough green, complete lack of pink. When I asked our waiter “wasn’t there meant to be marinated salmon in this?” he says “oh yeah, just a moment,” and instead of taking my dish back into the kitchen for the inconspicuous salmon addition or the remaking of the dish anew, he brings me a little bowl of frozen chunks of smoked salmon. Not marinated, not even room temperature, frozen, people! And, in a sad little bowl, suggesting: “yeah, we forgot your salmon, but maybe this offering from the freezer that we’ve neither marinated nor done our job and incorporated into your meal, will impress you.” Huh? First you spike my coffee, then you ply me with an obscene amount of pickles, and now you’re asking me to create my own meal by combining frozen goods with my mixing bowl full of eggs? I know that place is called La Fabrique but I didn’t think I’d actually have to fabricate my own dish from your misleading ingredients. Sigh. I gave the egg/chip/mozza combo a try on its own and sadly, there was just nothing there, no va-va, no voom. In short, explore at your own risk, just don’t invite me along. For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/06/la-fabrique-bistrot-3609-rue-saint.html

29 nov., 2012
Le Filet
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Service
Nourriture
2.5

Our dishes arrived surprisingly fast given the full-house and looked lovely. The rich colour of the tuna had me excited and the medley of veg on the Hamachi made the dish scream vibrancy. Sadly, both were letdowns for similar reasons. Reason #1: the salt factor. It wasn’t overwhelming to the point of inedible, but present enough that it overpowered all other flavours. Reason #2: the garnish factor. If you’re going to hide the Hamachi amongst a colourful forest of grated vegetables, you may want to shred large enough to distinguish the character of each, otherwise it’s just a jungle of tastelessness. Reason # 3: the ingredient factor. I tend to make the assumption, perhaps falsely, that if something like egg confit makes it onto the list of three in the description of a dish, it should have a greater presence than two small dollops. Just sayin’. Re-hydrating our palettes in between dishes proved quite useful (Salty McSalterson) but also quite lengthy. The quality of the service making a steady decline towards the land of crappy tips, given the wait and the empty glasses, was finally salvaged with the arrival of our third dish: lamb medallions with tomato marmalade and chanterelles. Looked good but the damn salt strikes again! Sigh. The lamb was about a minute overcooked, but still quite juicy and tender, however the chanterelles and that block of potato? Why, world, why? There is so much attention to detail in terms of plating and shape-creating (refer to the block of potatoes covered by the deep-fried basil leaf, and also to the fact that I’m a poet, HA!) that it seems the actual flavour of the food has been overlooked. Wah wah. For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/09/le-filet-219-avenue-du-mont-royal-ouest.html

29 nov., 2012
Joe Beef
Petite-Bourgogne
Service
Nourriture
5.0

Tucked into a bay window seat, we started with, you guessed it, oysters (from New Brunswick). Perfection! Side plates for the half shells, fresh horseradish, hot sauce, and tasteful presentation. The accompanying martini was, without a doubt, prepared by someone who knows what they’re doing. Thanks be to Dolly. For the mains, two of us had the much-celebrated lobster pasta, and one of us had deer belly (flanc de cerf), rolled and wrapped in bacon, with griottes (berries) and shallots, on mashed potatoes (instead of the advertised spaetzle). The verdict: the griottes added a nice sourness to the dish, which was otherwise rich and baconey. The deer was super tender and deelish. As for the lobster pasta: composed of melt-in-your mouth lobster, a few bacon matchsticks, a generous portion of whipping cream, brandy, tarragon, and of course spaghetti, this dish can do no wrong. It’s rich and plentiful, like most things on the menu, and even though you probably shouldn’t, you’re going to eat it all (and then not eat again. ever. ok, fine, until lunch time tomorrow). A truly satisfying dish! For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/03/joe-beef-2491-rue-notre-dame-ouest.html

28 nov., 2012
Lawrence
Mile-End
Service
Nourriture
5.0

The always warm, always fresh, bread to start is perfect to keep on hand for your main because if you’re a sauce mopper, and by golly I hope you are, you’ll thank me. While thoroughly enjoying my oysters my companion was thoroughly enjoying the salt cod, mussels, olives and aioli starter. The comment between mouthfuls was “soooo gooood” … enough said. For the mains, I settled on the fiddlehead/cod extravaganza and my friend had the veal tail agnolotti with asparagus. Both dishes came in soup bowls, not uncommon at Lawrence, but I reckon the fact that we both asked for spoons is. You can dress ‘em up, but you can’t take ‘em out. No, but c’mon! You can’t just waste all of that amazingly flavourful sauce (and there’s only so much one morsel of bread can mop up). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/05/lawrence-5201-boulevard-saint-laurent.html

28 nov., 2012
Jolee
Côte-des-Neiges
Service
Nourriture
4.0

Numerous specialties distinguish South Indian cuisine, amongst them dosa, sambar and idli. The photo below of the massive fermented pancake made from lentils and rice is the dosa. A breakfast or street food in India, an appetizer here. We got the masala dosa, meaning it’s stuffed with the goodness of potatoes, onions, peas, carrots, spices. In the bowl next to our little friend is the sambar; essentially a vegetable stew situation, so good that once you start, you pretty much want to dip everything into it. The idli, also made of fermented black lentils and rice, are those shapely steamed buns (hahaha, I said shapely buns), served here with possibly the best coconut chutney ever (made with green chilies, ginger, and roasted chana dal). Now be careful, these suckers pack a punch...a little like filling up on bread and butter but much MUCH more dangerous. I swear they expand three-fold once ingested, so pace yourself, (yeah Anna, I’m talking to you). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/06/restaurant-jolee-5495-avenue-victoria.html

28 nov., 2012
Buvette Chez Simone
Mile-End
Service
Nourriture
4.5

Instead of getting a bunch of dishes from the short yet fully satisfying menu and sharing all, we decided to get two each and really get into the flavours. The reasonably priced charcuterie options (1/2 or full portions) include chorizo, smoked meat, chicken liver mousse, and organic sausages from Charlevoix amongst others. My friend went for the prosciutto, which was served with oranges, almonds, and walnuts. The meat was tender and refined, the accompanying bread, divine. Skipping the charcuterie and the fromages, I went straight for a small Greek salad ($6.75) from the antipasto menu. Absolutely freakin’ beautiful. The feta was perfect – not salty, not too firm. The tomatoes were bathed in a simple, yet effective seasoning, and the rest of the gang (onion, peppers, cucumber, olives) were neither swimming in oil, nor dry. In short, the best Greek salad I’ve had in ages (insert high five here). For full review, please visit: http://winedinemontreal.blogspot.ca/2012/07/la-buvette-chez-simone-4869-avenue-du.html

28 nov., 2012
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