PHAYATHAI - THAI

STUB REVIEW: 

TERRIFIC THAI FOOD AT PHAYATHAI!

Their website:  http://www.phayathailaurier.com/
107 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Montréal, QC H2T 2N6 ‎
(514) 272-3456 
For their menu, click on their "Notre Menu" tab on the main page 


Price range:  $25+ for one person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip

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Chicken green curry!

Mouthwatering summary:  Very tasty, pricey Thai food in the Plateau
Meal to try:  Green curry chicken, with Thai beer!

TOMATO : LA BOITE A PIZZA - THIN CRUST PIZZAS

DELECTABLE THIN CRUST PIZZA ON ST-DENIS  

TOMATO : LA BOITE A PIZZA!

Their website (with menu right on the front page):  http://www.tomatopizza.ca/

4319 St Denis, Montreal, QC H2J 2K9
Telephone:(514) 303-7730

Open:  Everyday from 10:30am till 10pm
Price Range:  $20+ per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip

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Restaurant exterior. Per usual, customers have been digitally blurred. Y'know, privacy issues and all that.

Favorite pizza here:  La TOTALE!

Mouthwatering summary:  Cozy, inviting pizzeria that serves thin crust pizzas in the Plateau Mont-Royal
Food to try:  La Totale!

Hello my lovely-wuvleys, how have y'all been? Time now for another installment of pizza review!

So, on an unseasonably warm October night, me and three of my friends decided to eat out on St-Denis Street. With pizza on our minds, we hopped on over to Tomato : La Boite à Pizza and sat on down in their outdoor terrasse to take advantage of what had to be one of the last hot days of the year. Well, it should be, right? There's a limit to how much climate change can change the climate, isn't there?  ... Please?

Ahem. Sorry, had to get that out of my system. So:  Pizza! Or more accurately, thin-crust pizza!

I've been coming to Tomato : La Boite à Pizza for a little while now. Hell, I LOVE it in winter time. It's a cozy restaurant with a warm, inviting decor and atmosphere that's perfectly suited for dining during cold, cold nights. Alternately, in the summer (or hot October nights, as was the case), their terrasse right on the street makes for a nice bustling eating experience. Also: I love the waitresses here - they're always so friendly! As for the food, they primarily serve thin-crust pizzas, apparently made from ingredients purchased fresh daily at the Jean-Talon Market (http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/English/Jean-Talon/) (I LOVE that place!) provided by LUFA farms (http://lufa.com/en/). I don't know if that means that Pizzeria Geppetto (see my review of that place here: http://mouthwateringmontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/09/pizzeria-geppetto-pizza.html ) also does the same thing since, for me, the pizzas at the two places are pretty comparable. It could just mean that my palate isn't as refined as I think it is, but either way, I like both pizzerias!

And so, here are some pizzas we ordered at Tomato. First, the Calabrese ($14 for a small):

LE RESERVOIR - MICROBREWERY

 

LE RESERVOIR - 

MICROBREWS, TONS OF PEOPLE, GOOD TIMES

Their website (in French only):  http://brasseriereservoir.ca/
9 Avenue Duluth Est, Montreal, QC H2W 1G6 
Telephone:(514) 849-7779
Price Range:  
Meal - $30+ per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip
Drinks only - Before 8pm:  $3.50 for a glass of beer, $5.50 for a pint
                     After 8pm:  $4 for a glass of beer, $6 for a pint

 

Exterior, nighttime. Have I EVER been here during daytime?

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Here's a place that hearkens right back to my university days - i.e., a HEAVY drinking period. Just what is it about university life that incites such high volumes of alcohol consumption? Is it the movies, the beer commercials starring schlubby guys and hot women, the WB dramas? Who knows - it just happens, and I got swept along with the massive drinking. I am currently well past those days, and if a pub managed to stay with me till now, it's only because I love the taste of their food or the taste of their beers.With the microbrewery Le Reservoir, it's because I loooooove their beer, especially the cream ale.

Now, one of my buddies is convinced that I still love this place just because it's dark and gloomy. LORDY, the boy don't know me none (I am well aware that the previous sentence was grammatically incorrect. Grammar sticklers:  Down! Down I say!)! Yes, the place is thoroughly dark at night, with candles seemingly purposefully chosen to be poorly illuminating. And, come to think of it, most bars and restaurants that I like and frequent are, coincidentally, dimly-lit. But man alive, I come for here for the beer! The lovely, wonderful microbrewed beer! Drinking microbrews nearly exclusively IS part of my low-rent food snobbery, after all! The darkness is just something I live with to get access to the delicious beer nectar! So, with that in mind, here are my thoughts and impressions of the beers on tap at this place. One of the first things you'll notice coming here is the fact that the place is PACKED and that you might not get a table right away. On a recent trip, me and my drinking companion were crammed into a corner underneath the stairs. That's fine though - still a good view of the action in the place, and besides, I came for the beer. And so, I present their beer menu:

We begin with my absolute favorite here, a glass of cream ale ($4):

Right after serving.

One minute, twenty seconds after serving (yes, I timed it).

RESTAURANT RAPIDO DU PLATEAU - DINER

RAPIDO: 

UNEXCITING BUT FILLING

Their Urbanspoon page:

 http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/722744/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Restaurant-Rapido-Du-Plateau-Montreal

4494 St Denis St, Montreal, QC H2J 2K8  Telephone:(514) 284-2188 
Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

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I had a hell of a time trying to figure out how to describe this place. I mean, I like the (rotating) staff, and the place has good opening hours. But... well, I guess the only real thing to do in this situation is to just jump right in and express how I'm feeling. 

Basically, this restaurant is not bad by any measure. It is, however, average. Formulaic. Boilerplate. A thoroughly competent diner, with no real defining feature outside of the fact that it's open late and is therefore accessible. And there is definitely a place for such places in the hearts and bellies of customers. Well, mainly bellies. Yes, the name of this blog is Mouthwatering Montreal, but I would be doing a disservice to seekers of reliable late night places if I didn't also talk about reliable stuff from time to time too. And so, away we go...

When I pay a visit to Rapido, I usually grab something off the table d'hote - it's typically a pretty good deal. Before 9pm, you get a soup, main meal, dessert, and coffee/tea for $14 or much, much less. Some of the table d'hote items are actually $9, if I recall correctly. There are also even cheaper combo options that aren't a part of the table d'hote. For example, you can get a sizable poutine and a bottle of beer for $8. Rapido certainly gets the pricing part right!

Let's get the bookend items of the table d'hote out of the way - soup and dessert.

Chicken noodle rice soup. It's okay...

And a bit of cake. Again:  It's okay...

There's really not too much to say about the soup and dessert. The soup is some variation on standards - chicken noodle or vegetable - and the dessert has been either brownies or chunks of cake. Nothing's ever stood out. The food is just competent and filling.

Things you find as main dishes in the table d'hote include souvlaki in pita and big burgers:

FAVORITE HAMBURGER JOINTS!

FAVORITES:  HAMBURGERS (YOU WILL NOT FIND FAST FOOD CHAINS ON THIS LIST, LEMME TELL YA)

I have this friend who, by all appearances, cares a little too much about his appearance at times. His hair's pretty obviously very coiffed (with nary a single hair out of place or yielding to the blowing wind), he takes care to always dress in clothes that highlight his trim physique, and he maintains a pretty careful diet. I mean, seriously, at one point the boy knew the calorie count of orange juice, ferchrissake. Yeesh.

That said, he does have at least one weekly indulgence - hamburgers and french fries. The problem? He used to get this fix at McDonald's. UGH. I had to re-educate the boy, post-haste. The following list was basically what I threw at him, just before I started dragging him by the ear to get some real fast food (seriously, if you're going to indulge, why would you indulge in McDonald's of all things? The stuff's terrible. Are their french fries even organic anymore? Morgan Spurlock left his fries out for two and a half months and the stuff didn't even show a single speck of mold. There's something seriously wrong with food that refuses to decompose - if even mold, nature's eaters of the dead, won't touch your food, why in the HELL are YOU touching it, idiot? I mean, just look at this! http://youtu.be/4wmac-INoXg

*ahem* Sorry, that paragraph kinda ran away from me there.

So, with that out of my system, here are my favorite hamburger spots in the city.

L'Anecdote - Plateau Mont-Royal
Their Urbanspoon website: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/722607/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Restaurant-LAnecdote-Montreal
801 Rue Rachel East, Montreal, QC H2J 2H6  Telephone: (514) 526-7967


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I've already done a review on this place (see http://mouthwateringmontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/07/stub-review-lanecdote-excellent.html ), but this definitely bears mentioning:  EAT THEIR HAMBURGERS AND DO IT NOW. Especially, their venison burger. This is a tiny diner with fantastic burgers and fries cooked in peanut oil. Their burgers are nice and thick and served in nice, chewy buns. They do have other food, but I can't comment on those items because I can never resist their burgers. So, uh, go. Now. Don't walk. Run!

FAMEUX VIANDE FUMEE ET CHARCUTERIE - DINER

FAMEUX - SMOKED MEAT PLACE WHERE THE BEST DISHES ...AREN'T THE SMOKED MEAT? (ALTHOUGH, I DO LIKE THE SMOKED MEAT TOO...)

Their Urbanspoon page:  http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721176/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Fameux-Viande-Fumee-Et-Charcuterie-Montreal

4500 St Denis St, Montreal, QC H2J 2L3   Telephone:(514) 845-8732
Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering Favorite!
 

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Readers of this blog (if any) probably know that I exercise a lot. It's simply one of the foundations of who I am. Can't help it:  I'm a hyper guy - I barely sleep (because my body automatically wakes up after about four or five hours of sleep), I can't stop moving, and I talk a mile a minute. That excess energy HAS to go somewhere. And so, I exercise - oftentimes to the point where I need multiple changes of exercise clothes per training session. Oh, I feel that burn... There is one mild, ever-so-slight downside to all that exercise though: I'm dumber than a box of hammers at the end of my workouts. No, seriously, I am. Like, really, really, really dumb. Simple directions become impossible to follow, I can't speak any of the three languages that I normally do, I forget where I parked (or if I even took the car that day) - hell, at the end of my craziest workouts, I can't even SIT UP STRAIGHT.

When those moments arise, I make a beeline straight for the big portion food places. Dainty places are fine for dates or snacks (well, snacks for me, at least - apparently my snack = full meal for a lot of people. Hmph. Pansies.) ( :P ). When I'm so hungry my IQ drops 30-plus points, I NEEDS TONS O'FOOD. Happily, one of the places that dishes out good serving sizes is also pretty damn tasty. 

Ah, how I do love that confluence of concepts... 

So, to wit: Fameux! This place is supposed to be a smoked meat place, but man alive, I keep on finding I enjoy their other food way more. Don't get me wrong, their smoked meat isn't bad at all - just doesn't feel like it measures up to other places (a favorites list of smoked meat is forthcoming, dear readers!). Instead, what I keep coming back for the pizzas, big-ass table d'hotes, and breakfasts.

Seriously, I love the pizza here, ESPECIALLY the bacon-onion pizza:

Only one picture, despite it being my favorite here. Because honestly, no picture will ever do justice to this pizza. Just go eat it, people!

BOCADILLO - LATIN AMERICAN SANDWICHES

STUB REVIEW BOCADILLO:

SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE (NOT HOLDING HANDS) (JUST SMILING) SERVING SHINY HAPPY FOOD

Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bocadillo/56070501978
3677 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, QC H2X   Telephone:(514) 227-4041
Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 
 

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To the surprise of absolutely NO ONE who talks to me for more than a second, I'm a world-weary cynic (I refer to myself as a realist, but who listens me anyway? :P ). I snark, I point out the flaws in plans, I give telemarketers a hard time - I'm the sarcastic guy on every sitcom (and the big guy in action movies, and the forensic scientist in cop shows, and I'm going to stop this train of thought now). That said, I am still a very happy and cheery man (hell, I actually once played Santa Claus to deliver food to lonely seniors on Christmas. I fit the role on cheer alone, and, actually, on cheer only too - being young and all that, I would never be mistaken for an old fat guy. Lemme tell ya - that fake beard ITCHED). Being jolly and being a realist aren't contradictory, in the end. 

So, it always pleases me to no end whenever I'm in the presence of happy cheery people. There's more than enough grump and sulk to go around; why add to it? And happy and cheery definitely describes the folks at Bocadillo. I've only been here twice so far, and the people don't seem to stop smiling, even when they're not engaging with you. After taking your order with a grin (y'know, service with a smile), they then seem to happily go about cooking the food, bringing the food, cleaning the tables - basically, they seem cheery even when no one is looking at them, and that is just AWESOME. It's definitely a good start to a dining experience, y'know? And now that it's summer and there's a terrasse in the back, the place is just that much brighter too!

But enough about atmosphere. Because, in the end, atmosphere doesn't fill the belly. What about food?

Well, I'm happy to say, the food is good too. This restaurant is known for its sandwiches and sandwich-like things. To wit: Pulled pork sandwiches (the pulled pork was marinated in passion fruit juice).

By the way - those fries? They're that colour because they're YUCA fries - so, slightly different in colour from french fries. Also, my phone camera doesn't do too well under low lighting. Or maybe I suck as a photographer. You decide!

L'ANECDOTE - HAMBURGERS

 L'ANECDOTE:

CRAMPED BOOTHS, EXPANSIVE FLAVOUR

Their Urbanspoon website: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/722607/restaurant/Montreal/Plateau-Mont-Royal/Restaurant-LAnecdote-Montreal

801 Rue Rachel East, Montreal, QC H2J 2H6  

Telephone: (514) 526-7967
Price Range:  ~$15-$30 per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering Favorite!

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There are few things in life that are as good as a damn fine burger.

Except, y'know, maybe two damn fine burgers. (I have to say, with how much I eat, there are days where I"m amazed I'm not obese! Lovely thing, exercising like a fiend! You get to eat like a fiend as well!)

As with many other types of food, Montreal is home to a number of different places with exemplary burgers. And the lovely thing about the exemplary places is that they each largely have their own character. Something about the patty, or the seasoning, or the texture of the meat. Or the type of meat.

Which brings us to L'Anecdote. It's a smallish diner, with diner-style booths that are clearly made to accommodate very tiny people. Each time I go (with one other person, typically), I largely sit at tables usually reserved for six, just to stretch my legs out. And to get breathing room. And to be able to put my arms on the table. And even then:  Small space. I'm a fairly big guy - years of weight-lifting and martial arts have made me broad. And as a broad man, one of the visual things that stick out in a restaurant (at any place, really) is the size of the accommodations.

Still and all, none of that matters at L'Anecdote, not even remotely. Because I really only come here for one reason:  The burgers are AWESOME. They have four signature burgers, Anecdotes 1 through 4. Each is worth repeatedly having. Repeatedly. Oh YES. 

Anecdote 1:  beef patty, mushrooms, emmental cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise

Anecdote 2: lamb patty, mushrooms, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise

Anecdote 3:  veal patty, curry, mushrooms, emmental cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise

Anecdote 4*:  venison patty (OOOOOOOH YEAH), mushrooms, dijon mustard, Zante currants, goat cheese, smoked bison, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise

*My favorite burger here!

On the outside, they all look like this:

One of four externally-identical awesome burgers. Hm. Is "quadruplet" the appropriate term?

FAVORITE ICE CREAM AND OTHER FROZEN DESSERT PLACES

FAVORITES! ICE CREAM AND FROZEN TREATS (OTHERWISE KNOWN AS BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND SUPPER ON STUPIDLY HOT DAYS)

Oh. My. GODS. Montreal is INSANELY HOT today. I'm taking a quick break to eat mango frozen yogurt right now because, despite being in an air-conditioned room, I am STILL sweating like a stuck pig. At home, I'm putting up the second air conditioner tonight, because I think that's the only way I'm-a-sleepin'. I mean, look how ridiculous it is. Do you see the highlighted part of the Weathernetwork screencap? HIGH HEAT AND HUMIDITY WARNING!

The highlighting ellipse is so shaky because the sweat on my hands is making it hard to use a mouse... Grrr...

And look what they're trying to bury in the fine print:  "Feels like 44". It'd just be easier to say "100% pain".

Yeah, nice try there - we're not fooled. We KNOW  it's so hot it hurts!

Basically, this is the type of day where I not just voluntarily, but actually actively seek out only salad for lunch. Any other time you catch me doing that, it means that you've come face-to-face with an imposter (in which case, restrain the dude and extract my whereabouts from him). My wits are duller, my movements are sluggish, and no amount of water or seems to slake my thirst. It is the only time of year where I eat ice cream or something similar for supper. Does that make me a bad example for kids? Maybe. But, I. Don't. CARE.

So, with that in mind, let me share with you my favorite frozen dessert places, so that you might suffer a little less in heated silence...

1)Gastronomia Roberto - Gelato/Italian Food/Italian Grocer - Villeray-Saint-Michel

Their website: http://www.gastronomiaroberto.com/

2227 Rue Belanger, Montreal, QC H2G 1C5   Telephone: (514) 374-5653

 

So, on any given hot day, you will find lineups at this place. You will find yourself frustrated as the lucky customers ahead of you walk on out with their gelato in hand, delightedly smiling the whole while. Oh, cruel fate, why were they there before me? But oh Lordy, that wait and frustration will be worth it when you're served (to be fair, it really doesn't take long to be served. It only FEELS like an eternity due to your anticipation). They have about a dozen flavors, and you can easily have them fit three flavors in your serving cup (or you could, you know, just buy pints at a time, like I do. Frequently...). Love 'em all, but I do have an absolute favorite there:  Cantaloup (melone, as it's called in-store)! My GOD the stuff is to kill for on hot days like today!

PIRI PIRI PLATEAU - PORTUGUESE BBQ

PIRI PIRI PLATEAU PORTUGUESE ROTISSERIE

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT BUT STILL GOOD (PHEW!)

Piri Piri Plateau Rotisserie Portugaise - BBQ - Portuguese BBQ - Plateau Mont-Royal

Their website:  http://www.piri-piri.ca/

415 Avenue du Mont-Royal Est, Montreal, Quebec   
Telephone: 514-504-6464 
Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 
   
*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering Favorite!

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(Scroll down for July 24, 2013 update) (hint: Still very good meat!)


As a person who thoroughly (perhaps too thoroughly) enjoys meat, it's always a joy to find good restaurants that specialize serving good meat. Even more joyous when the place is easily accessible and inexpensive. One of those places that I discovered quite by accident about a year or two back was Piri Piri Plateau Portuguese Rotisserie. It's a very casual restaurant with some very excellent meat. The chicken, roast pork, and steak was fantastic. Tender, juicy, flavorful and slathered with rich hot sauce, the stuff made my knees weak. And that effect remained every subsequent time I walked past the storefront (yes, they have other food too, but, y'know, I don't really care too much. Their desserts are good, but they so aren't the reason why I keep going back). Also, the older woman who works behind the counter most days just makes you happy to be a customer - she greets everyone with cheer, a smile, and a "Bonjour cherie!" (she also seems to delight in piling up food on your plate - always a plus!). It's just a delight to eat here.

Soooo... when I saw this the other day, you can see why I might have been a bit concerned, right?

Look in the upper lefthand corner to see why I was disturbed (innocent passerby blurred in image, intentionally) (but wouldn't it be a hoot if such a weird sight were real?)

Still don't see it? Let me blow up the pertinent detail:

Gah!

Oh Lordy, the dreaded "Under New Administration". You NEVER want to hear or see that one of your favorite places is under new administration. Let me repeat: YOU NEVER WANT TO HEAR THAT. AT ALL. What if the new owners have taken all that was magical about the place and replaced it with... well, non-magic? I had to know...

And so, I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and walked inside (yeah, okay, I know I'm silly. Sue me; I take meat seriously).

The first good sign that things may not be all that bad is that the happy cheery woman was still behind the counter. Okay, that was good. There was continuity here... I felt myself breathing easier...

Next, I took a good look at the menu on the wall. Everything was still there, and the prices were the same. And, right underneath the menu, the meats, cooking on grills and racks looked much the same as they always have.

Excellent, excellent... 

And so I took the plunge. I ordered roast pork sandwich with salad and rice, and my eating companion ordered the chicken sandwich with fries and salad (at the same time, the happy woman complimented my shirt. Nice to know $15 shirts can actually draw praise :) ).

We were both served within minutes (per usual) and we brought the food over to the eating area. Lookin' good:

Still a big serving...

FAVORITE JAPANESE RESTAURANTS

FAVORITES! Japanese Food

Update August 7, 2013:  This list has now been split into two separate posts. And more stuff's been added to both lists. Like maps. And more places.

1)Sushi Yasu - Japanese Food - Brossard

Their website:

http://www.sushiyasu.ca/bros.english.htm  

1200 Boul. Rome Local W Brossard, Qc  J4W 3H3 Tel: (450)465-8383

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Bar none, this is my absolute favorite Japanese restaurant in Montreal. It's also one of the rare Japanese places that's owned and operated by Japanese folks. I imagine that this place gets by on word of mouth. Their sign is phenomenally nondescript (I seriously spent 30 minutes looking for this place the first time I went), their website harkens back to the dawn of html coding, and service, while very courteous, can be slow. But you know what? NONE of that matters! Their sushi and Japanese curry is to kill for! Personal recommendation:  Get the battered, deep fried pork chop with Japanese curry, the takoyaki (octopus), and the sliced beef tongue. Go. NOW.

FAVORITE CHINESE AND PIZZA RESTAURANTS

FAVORITES! Part 1: Chinese Food and Pizza

 

So, let's get started, shall we?

Montreal is a pretty big city with literally thousands of restaurants and hundreds of pubs and bars. In some locations, restaurants stay open for decades, whereas in others, some disappear quickly. I'll sort through old and new eventually, but for now I'm going to begin by compiling a list of favorites across the board!

In no particular order of favoriteness (yes, I know that's not a real word, and I don't care), here are the places I go to pretty damn often. Don't ask for an absolute favorite of mine, because seriously, that ain't happenin' (it's like asking me to choose between my index finger and thumb - it. Can't. Be. Done.). I will be doing more in-depth posts on each of these later. For now, you'll just have to live with quick blurbs. For convenience, I list restaurants by Name - Food Type - Location:

CHINESE FOOD

1)Maison du Nord - Northern Chinese food - Downtown

This is a small restaurant tucked away on St. Mathieu, right outside the Guy-Concordia Metro Station. They make their own noodles, craft thick Chinese crepes (both sweet and savory), and offer a wide variety of dumplings (steamed, boiled or fried). Plus: The serving sizes are HUGE. Double-plus: The food is VERY INEXPENSIVE. 

Their UrbanSpoon page:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1549250/restaurant/Downtown/Maison-du-Nord-Montreal

Their own page (sadly, not yet in English, or French):

http://www.restolamaisondunord.com/index.php 

2130, Rue Saint Mathieu  
Montréal, QC H3H 1H5
Tél: (514) 670-3188