McKIBBIN'S IRISH PUB - IRISH PUB (WITH THIS NAME, WHAT ELSE WOULD IT BE?)

FULL REVIEW: McKIBBIN'S IRISH PUB (Bishop Street Location)

GOOD FOOD, LIVE MUSIC, AND FUN TIMES

Their website:  http://www.mckibbinsirishpub.com/home.php

1426 Bishop St, Montreal, QC H3G 2E6 (there are three other locations)

Telephone:(514) 288-1580

Their menu:  http://www.mckibbinsirishpub.com/menu.php

Price range:  $20+ for one person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

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Mouthwatering summary: A downtown Irish pub with live music, good atmosphere, and really great food (well, okay, the free food isn't great, but hey, it's free, what do you want?) 

Meal to try:  McKibbin's Original Poutine; Bookmaker Sandwich; and if you're insane enough (I'm not), the Rim Reaper wings!

Readers of this blog (if any) will probably notice that McKibbin's Irish Pub isn't featured on my list of favorite bars (you can read it at http://mouthwateringmontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/08/favorites-pubs-and-bars-part-1-update.html ). I assure you - this omission is due to the fact that that list was only PART 1. McKibbin's Irish Pub will be topping Part 2 (currently in the works!).

NUDO NOODLE HOUSE - HAND PULLED CHINESE NOODLES

FULL REVIEW-NUDO NOODLE HOUSE:

GREAT HAND-PULLED NOODLES IN CHINATOWN!

No website yet! 
1055 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2Z 1J6
Phone number not found!

Price range:  $15 or less for one person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 




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Mouthwatering summary: Fresh and delicious hand-pulled noodles made right in front your eyes!
Meal to try: Scallion pancake followed by BBQ pork with sesame sauce on noodles

PUB RANDOLPH - PUB AND BOARD GAMES!

FULL REVIEW:  PUB RANDOLPH - 

INVENTIVE DRINKS AND 

1000 BOARD GAMES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!

Their website:  http://www.randolphpub.ca/

2041 St Denis St Montreal, QC H2X 3K8
Telephone:   514-419-5001

Their alcohol menu: http://www.randolphpub.ca/#!boire/c11rf
Their food menu:  http://www.randolphpub.ca/#!bouffe/c1jo3

Price range:  $15 or less for one person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip (depending on drink and food). Note that if you want to play games, you have to pay a $5 flat fee which grants you access to games for the entirety of the day.

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Mouthwatering summary: Just $5 to play over 1000 board games for an entire night! Plus playful drinks!
Meal to try: You're really coming here to play the board games. But, I DO recommend the "Carrot Muffin" shooter and the brownie!

Ah, Pub Randolph. This is one of those crazy awesome places where, despite there being tasty food, the attraction is actually NOT the food. Oh, no, not at all. Pub Randolph is, instead, a two-story pub that is home to ONE THOUSAND BOARD GAMES. 

...

Oh, how the inner (and outer) nerd in me just glistens with glee every time I visit or even THINK about this place! I mean, just LOOK at the games they have:

Wall ONE of games.

Wall TWO of games.

Where Wall 1 and Wall 2 join.

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!

LA FRITA PIZZERIA - PIZZA AND SUBS

STUB REVIEW:  

LA FRITA PIZZERIA - GREAT DELIVERY PIZZA

No website!

4909 Notre Dame St W, Montreal, QC H4C 1S9

Telephone:(514) 932-3952

Their online menu:  http://www.just-eat.ca/restaurants-la-frita-pizzeria/menu

Open:  Sunday to Thursday, 11am till 12am; Friday, Saturday from 11am till 2am
Price range:  $15 or less for one person (on most things) including one drink, meal, tax, and tip




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My favorite takeout combo: All-dressed pizza and steak-pepperoni stub!

Mouthwatering summary:  Inexpensive St-Henri pizzeria and diner that delivers great pizza and subs!
Food to try:  MEAT LOVERS' PIZZA!

Ah, the joys of delivery. For those moments when you're just too smegging lazy or busy to get out of the house, having restaurants that are ready, willing, and eager to cook you food and come right to your doorstep to drop it off is a wonderful little luxury. When I get into those busy periods, one of my favorite standbys for delivery is this tiny little pizzeria/diner in my neck of the woods:  La Frita Pizzeria. And truth be told, I have literally never eaten at this restaurant in person. The most I've ever done is walk on down to pick up an order and bring the food home. And every time, it's worth the trip!

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):

CHATEAU ONCLE JAMAL - PERSIAN

 STUB REVIEW:  CHATEAU ONCLE JAMAL

ULTRA-GOOD PERSIAN FOOD

No website yet!
1620A Sherbrooke St. W.

Phone: 514-933-8866

Open: Mon. 5-10 p.m., Tues.-Sun. 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

Price range:  $15 or much less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

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Favorite dish (to date!): Tahchin Gosht

Mouthwatering summary:  Inexpensive, exquisite Persian food in Downtown Montreal
Meal to try:  Tahchin Gosht!

Man alive, I LOVE it when someone of a particular ethnic origin tells me that there's a restaurant that reminds him/her of food from home. Because I will run, NOT walk, to that place in a heartbeat. Such was the case with this awesome, recessed little place called Chateau Oncle Jamal, introduced to me by an Iranian classmate. Basically, I went with him to this restaurant and just asked him to order his favorite dishes here. Now I'm no expert in Iranian cuisine (hell, I'm not even passably competent. I'm downright ignorant when it comes to Persian cooking), but I'm going to come right out and loudly declare that this place is a Persian restaurant if ever there was one.

Because, y'know, my pronouncements on things of which I'm ignorant carry great weight somehow. :p

C THAI - THAI FOOD (KINDA SELF-EXPLANATORY, RIGHT?)

 

STUB REVIEW: C THAI -

GREAT THAI FOOD IN LITTLE ITALY?! 

Their website: http://cthai.ca/ 

7112 St Laurent Blvd, Montréal, QC H2S 3E2
Telephone: (514) 508-3792

Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip  

 
 

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I don't understand the "C".

My favorite dish here: Chicken phad thai!

Mouthwatering summary:  Inexpensive, very tasty Thai food in Little Italy
Meal to try:  The chicken phad thai, with Golden bags as appetizers!

Oh, Montreal. City of culinary wonders. And incongruity. Did I mention the incongruity? Readers of this blog, if any, will remember that my very first individual review was on a French restaurant named Mrs. Amigos that is operated by Chinese staff (see post here:   http://mouthwateringmontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/07/mrs-amigos-delightful-french-restaurant.html ). Well, I believe I've found another. In Montreal's Little Italy, home of Italian cafes, Italian trattorias, and a huge honking soccer store, we have... a LOVELY Thai restaurant named C Thai. 

EN CACHETTE SPEAKEASY - COCKTAIL LOUNGE

  EN CACHETTE SPEAKEASY - 

GREAT DRINKS AND A BURGER TO KILL FOR

Their webpage (not as yet finished):  http://www.encachette.ca/final/

Their Facebook page:  
https://www.facebook.com/pages/En-Cachette/236973259707378

1765 St Denis St, Montreal, QC H2X 3K4    Telephone:  (514) 419-1986

Price Range:  ~$20-30 per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip

On the approach...

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Past the sign, and on the way down into the speakeasy...

And the burger to KILL for!

Speakeasies have come a pretty long way. Historically, this was a type of bar that illegally sold alcohol during Prohibition. No matter  how many speakeasies were raided by cops, these bars were simply too profitable for their owners to shut down. So, what does this say about human nature? Basically, nothing is going to stop us from having our fun :). Okay. Pseudo-sociologically-valid commentary is now out of my system.

Speakeasies are now (obviously) perfectly legal, and are now fairly synonymous with retro-style, swanky places. And that's pretty much what we have with the En Cachette Speakeasy on St-Denis Street:  Swanky bar, swanky food, and swanky drinks. Now, I have to say, En Cachette is pretty accurately named - it is VERY well hidden. The first time I went was to meet up with ten people, and we ALL walked past the place by accident. But, as we discovered, En Cachette is well worth finding! They have interesting, flavorful drinks and even more flavorful food.

CAFE LOCAL - BURGERS, SANDWICHES, BRUNCH, AND HEARTY FARE

STUB REVIEW: CAFE LOCAL - 

THEIR PULLED PORK MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER

 

Their website:  http://cafelocal.wordpress.com/

200 Rue Saint Viateur Ouest, Montreal, QC H2T 2L4  Telephone:(514) 274-3651

Their menu:  http://cafelocal.wordpress.com/menu-3/

 

Price Range:  ~$15-30 per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip

 


*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering favorite! 

Two of my fave sandwiches! Black N'Blue and pulled pork!

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Café Local is just lovely. Its staff, decor, and overall ambiance is warm and inviting, and the inclusion of a fireplace makes Café Local a great place for date night in winters. Some years back, I was introduced to this place by a friend who was (and is) a very enthusiastic fan of Café Local. And I have become a big fan ever since myself.

Why? Well, the two words that best describe my first visit are "flavor explosion".  Hell, I came back twice the following week just to have more! Friends, the foods that caused this initial flavor explosion were the pulled pork yam-frie poutine and the pulled pork sandwich served by Café Local.

To illustrate, on a recent trip I got a yam-frie poutine ($8.50) (no pulled pork in this case - I was just recovering from a heavy weekend of celebratory eating - having pulled pork twice in the same meal was just a bit too much) (and for the uninitiated, poutine is a dish of fries topped with gravy and cheese curds or shredded cheese):

Yam frie poutine. Heavenly...

DIABLOS - BBQ SMOKEHOUSE AND COCKTAIL BAR

  SINFULLY DELICIOUS BBQ AND DRINKS:

DIABLOS SMOKEHOUSE AND COCKTAIL BAR

Their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/DiablosBbq

1693A St-Denis, Montréal QC   Telephone:  514-283-4666

Price Range:  ~$15-30+ per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip (drinks and meals have a fairly wide range in price).  CASH ONLY!!!

*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering Favorite!
 

Diablos: Meaty, drinky goodness!

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Oh man, where do I even begin...

Let's just start simply and build from there, shall we?

Point the first:  I love this place.

Point the second:  I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE.

Readers of this blog (if any) will have noticed that I loves me some serious meat. There's something just so awesomely satisfying about ripping into a rare t-bone steak or whole bbq chicken. ESPECIALLY if I do it caveman style - no utensils, just my hands and teeth, wrenching and gnawing away! I like finding my inner neanderthal from time to time, y'know? And one of the best places to explore this more primal version of my being is Diablos BBQ Smokehouse and Cocktail Bar.

Rather than jumping into the meat dishes here, I am going to begin by describing the drinks. Specifically, I am starting with a little something called Grace's Apple:

Tastes like liquid apple pie.

PIZZERIA GEPPETTO - PIZZA

STUB REVIEW - PIZZERIA GEPPETTO:

GREAT PIZZA, AND SOMEHOW THEY MADE SALAD TASTE GOOD(!)

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

2504 Notre Dame St W, Montreal, QC H3J 1N5    
Telephone:(514) 903-3737

Their menu:  http://www.geppettopizza.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/menu-geppetto-pizza.pdf 

Price Range:  ~$15-$30 per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip

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Ah... The joys of new discoveries. So, recently I was scheduled to catch up with a former classmate at one of her favorite places. Given the fact that she's had her own foodblog and an award-winning webshow on food, I was inclined to at the very least be intrigued by her recommendation. And so, off I went to Pizzeria Geppetto in Little Burgundy.

One of the first things I noticed (and for which I kicked myself) upon parking in front of the restaurant was that I'd passed this place by like, a MILLION times without ever having gone in. The thing is, there are tons of other places in this neck of the woods that I frequent - two pubs (which I'll blog about later), a brunch place (ditto), a coffee shop, the mother-lovin' Atwater Market, and so on. In fact, after taking a quick little jaunt up and down the street, I realized that Pizzeria Geppetto was the ONLY food/drink place I hadn't visited in the six years that I've been regularly coming to the area. Hm. Always something hiding in plain sight, huh? Well, I certainly had to rectify that mistake!

And so, I walked into the warm and inviting Italian restaurant and sat down. Supper began with appetizers. For me (the carnivore), I ordered the meatballs. I mean, of course I ordered the meatballs ($10). 

The meatballs. Also called "polpettes". Look Ma, I can speak Italian! (... no, no, I really can't)