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dimanche, 19 avril, 2009
Eating in fine restaurants.
Haute Cuisine prices without the haute cuisine. We were expecting more from Maison Boulud in Montreal’s Ritz Carlton Hotel, and while some aspects were great, others were disappointing. Positive points: beautiful restaurant with sumptuous seating, attractive garden-side seating, snob-appeal atmosphere. Negative points: Very high prices, even at lunch – two courses $35, three courses $42, with very limited choice. The online table d’hote menu is not updated when the menu changes, so we had no idea what was on offer, until we showed up. Regular menu items at lunch vary from about $29-$43 for main courses, and $17-$24 for entrees, i.e. $46-$67 for two courses. Very high wine and bar prices: cheapest glass of wine is $13, then it jumps to $17-$25 for a 5 oz. glass. Martinis and cocktails are $15-$24, more for better brands. We were astounded that they did not have Grey Goose available, even though it’s specified in one of their cocktails. Bottled beer is $9, regardless of whether it is domestic or imported ($9 for a Molson Export or a Stella Artois? This makes no sense at all!) We don’t mind the prices as long as the food quality matches. Unfortunately, Maison Boulud was not haute cuisine. We’ve had equal or better food at several of the city’s trendy restaurants and bistros, at lower prices, so we were disappointed that Maison Boulud did not deliver the “wow” factor. Ingredients seemed to be of above average quality, but more expertise is needed in the kitchen. The food was good, but not great, especially at these prices. Generally speaking, the food was bland. The bread basket was not delicious either: very salty focaccia, and rather ordinary baguette. Some say that you can determine the quality of a restaurant by the quality of its bread basket. Cutlery is placed directly on re-usable woven placemats, which may seem attractive, until you see the staff wiping the placemats with a wet rag and then placing new cutlery for the next client. Not very sanitary. Our waiter even placed some cutlery directly on the table. Several of the cooks in the open kitchen seemed to not be wearing hats or hairnets, which is not legal in this city. Service was perfunctory, not as polished as one would expect at the Ritz Carlton, and not exceedingly friendly. Not even a thank you for a generous tip! Our waiter spoke very little English, which was also surprising in a hotel catering to many businessmen and wealthy visitors from other parts of Canada and abroad.
The overall experience at lunch was poor. Waitress with obviously little or no training was assigned to our table. Fish soup was extremely poor: the broth had virtually no discernible taste and two very tiny morsels of fish completed this unacceptable dish. The sea bass stew was quite good, but it was served in a thick polynesian-style black bowl, that was totally out of character with this high-end resto. Bread and butter are served on elegant white dishes, cutlery is sleek and chic, so how do these bowls fit into the overall concept? An elegant white dish would have been more appropriate. On a previous visit, we adored the bread basket, but on this visit, the bread was not very fresh and the three varieties of butter had less distinguishing tastes among them. If you sit on the first floor, the traffic going up and down the staircase is continuous (by the servers primarily) and very distracting. But worst of all, the entire floor shakes as the waiter comes down the stairs. At first we thought it was the Metro or an earthquake. Be cautious of the step down as you open the first door when exiting. There is a 4" drop with no warning sign on the door. Consistency is one of the most important elements of a good resto, and we found our overall experience on our second visit was way below our previous experience a few months earlier. It's unlikely we would return.
We had excellent service from a young lady who was polite, efficient, friendly and most of all sincere -- all of this for a check that was less than $9.00! (One glass of beer and a cafe au lait). We believe her name is Marianne, and we would return mainly because she made our short visit to this resto very enjoyable. One of the best servers we have had in any restaurant.
Good food, pricey, chaotic atmosphere, more a bar than a restaurant. Tuck Shop has a couple of good features, however the downside of this restaurant overshadows the quality of the cuisine. We found the food to be reasonably good, if you are ready to spend about $60 per person for a full course meal, before liquor, tax and tip. It’s easy for a couple to spend $140 here without having a glass of wine or beer. There is no table d’hote menu, everything is a la carte. Average price for main course is $26, plus appetizers $11-$22, plus dessert $8, plus coffee/tea $3 comes to a total of $48-$59. But be cautious about the verbal offerings. No price is offered, and some items so described by the waiter can run up to $40-$45 for the main course alone. There is no website to describe their menu or prices. And $8.50 for a pint of domestic draft beer? Better restaurants charge only $6 - $7. Unfortunately, the overall experience was marred by several factors: 1) Poor location, in a working class/welfare neighbourhood where the typical client would never want to walk alone; 2) Not the excellent service you would expect at these prices, and occasionally downright unrefined service. And it seemed like there was only one waitress and two busboys for the whole place, not even a bartender!; 3) Chaotic atmosphere, especially after 8pm when the place gets packed with customers. In fact, Tuck Shop is more like a bar than a restaurant. The 2 bars occupy the largest space in this small narrow restaurant, with about 15 of the 46 seats at the bar. Pity those seated next to the bar, which becomes a social gathering with people standing in the aisle blocking passage and constantly causing the waiters to bump the chairs as they pass by. The worst situation is when the mass of clients for the second seating show up and have no place to stand at the door, so they stand en masse in front of the toilet doors, at the bar and everywhere else on top of the customers who are trying to eat; 4) With all of this chaos, the noise levels are really unbearable, with acoustics that make it almost impossible to have a conversation without yelling. 5) The chaos continues if you try to find your coat when leaving,under a huge pile that have be thrown around haphazardly by other clients, without any concern by the staff. 6) Uncomfortable wooden tavern-style chairs. The owners have clearly lost sight of the fact that eating in a restaurant is a total experience, it’s not only about the food.
We were about to sit down on a Sat. night without a reservation, but I decided to look at the menu first, The couscous dishes are not very cheap, ranging from $18 to $32 a la carte, but I assumed that the servings were large, from reviews that I had read. The thing that shocked me was that the menu mentioned a "sharing charge" of $8.50. They are probably one of the only restaurants in Montrea who would have the audacity to make such a large charge for sharing food with your wife or partner, so we left and at another restaurant nearby. We later found that this unusual charge is deliberately omitted from their online menu at RestoMontreal. Not very honest, wouldn't you say? And they charge almost twice the price for the same dish when you eat it in the restaurant, compared to the take-out prices listed in their menu. Strange policies, and we will stay away.
Not as good as it used to be. We have been eating at Jardin de Panos for several years, and noticed a drop in the quality of the food over the last few months. They were always very consistent, the chicken brochettes and lamb chops always done just right. Not anymore. Often the lamb chops are not that delicious, possibly not that fresh or possibly done partly in advance of the order. They are so busy, this certainly is a possibility. The food seems fresher when the place is not packed, like it always is after 6pm. Sometimes, too, the meat will not be hot, as if it was sitting around before being picked up by the waiter. Something's not right, since the potatoes are hot on the same plate! We also found the chicken brochette not as good as usual. Although a bit more expensive than other Greek restaurants in the mass-production category, the food quality warranted the extra cost. We are wondering if the extra cost is now worth it. The salad with the meals is still very good, and we can't understand why they don't offer the salad as an appetizer or even as a main course. Many people, including us, would sometimes prefer a lighter meal of soup, salad and dessert. The only salad on the menu is the usual Greek salad, which is kind of boring, as it's the same as anywhere else. Service is still very good and friendly, except perhaps for the owner and his wife, who are too interested in placing people at the tables than being nice to them. They are very disorganized in getting tables for people waiting in line, not even bothering to take names when you ask for a table, leading to total chaos when announcing "table for 4" since nobody knows who's next in line! And they're a bit arrongant in their attitude of not taking reservations for after 6pm, since they care not for your convenience of knowing a table will be ready. Rather, they think only of their own conveniece, even though parking after 6pm around Duluth is extremely difficult, even if parking meters are in effect. With a better attitude by the owners, taking reservations and watching what's coming out the kitchen, they will return to their previous quality. For now, they're basically running a mass-production kitchen and you take your chances when it's that busy. One final comment: if you want a quiet dinner, this is not the place for you; especially during summer, when large tables assemble and the bring-your-own wine makes everyone very noisy. If you want to eat quietly, arrive before 5:00pm!!
