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?

PRET A MANGER (PM) - CHINESE FOOD

PRET A MANGER (PM):

CHINESE RESTAURANT, FRENCH NAME; ALL TASTY

 

Their website: http://www.just-eat.ca/restaurants-restaurant-pm/menu
1809 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Montreal, QC   
Telephone: (514) 931-8889
Price Range:  $15 or less per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 
 
*This restaurant is a Mouthwatering Favorite!
 

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I first sauntered into this Chinese restaurant years ago and was immediately intrigued by its menu. They served snake soup. That's right:  soup, with serpent in it. Holy HELL, I had to try this! And I was duly rewarded. Don't know how or why, but it turns out that putting snake meat in your soup was an AWESOME idea. Who knew (well, apparently, and obviously, Chinese people)? For a while there, I couldn't stop going to this restaurant, because I loved that snake soup just that much. And because I have a tendency to overdo or overeat something when I first discover it.

Yeah, I'm a wee mild touch obsessive at times.

Anyhow, it's summer and crazy hot now, and snake soup is a winter dish, so I'll post a picture of that when I order it in winter. And besides, they do have other things on their menu, and little by little, I worked my way through their menu. The stuff was always good - never ever disappointed. However, being the full-blooded hardcore carnivore that I was (and am), I never touched the vegetarian side of their menu.  Why would I? I'm a full-blooded hardcore carnivore. 

One day, at the wheedling of a close friend, I was convinced to give at least one item on the veggie side a try. Lordy, I doubted and then some. But, it was a very good friend who knew me well and was always full of good ideas, so I ordered it (I also ordered an all-meat dish to offset the veggie dish, but that's neither here nor there). And I have to say, I was very happily surprised. It was tofu and somehow it was good.

Oof. I feel as dirty typing that as I did the first time I admitted to it. Gah!

So, here's a picture of the magical tofu dish that I'm sure must be laced with some kind of magic:
 

Yellow stuff=tofu; white stuff=giant mushroom; green stuff=vegetable.

 ... Why am I eating this stuff again?

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...

YE OLDE ORCHARD IN NDG - PUB AND BRUNCH

YE OLDE ORCHARD BAR & GRILL in NDG

GREEN EGGS AND HAM, AND OTHER FUN THINGS!

Ye Olde Orchard Bar & Grill - Pub Food and Brunches - NDG 

Their website: http://yeoldeorchard.com/

5563 Monkland Avenue, Montreal Qc H4A 1E1  Telephone: (514) 315-7932
Price Range:  ~$15-$30 per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

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"Would you like green eggs and ham?... Would you like them here or there?"

The immortal Dr. Seuss

(Note:  Dr. Seuss not actually immortal. Nor a doctor.)

I like green eggs and ham a lot, at Ye Olde Orchard in NDG!

I've been coming to this pub for breakfast for years now. I gotta say though, I was skeptical the very first time I had brunch here. Pesto in scrambled eggs? Really? It's not the most intuitive of combinations, but hey, I'll try anything (non-illegal, non-lethal, non-self-maiming, non-[INSERT HARMFUL CONCEPT HERE]) once. As it turns out, my doubts were unfounded. Green eggs and ham are pretty damn great. There's enough pesto not just to dye the eggs, but to legitimately leave its flavor stamp as well. The green eggs are one reason why I keep coming back. That said, it sure doesn't look that appetizing though. Look past the presentation though, and you will be well-rewarded: 

Tastes waaaaaaaaaay better than it looks. Also, evokes fond memories of Dr. Seuss literature.

MAISON DU NORD - NORTHERN CHINESE FOOD

MAISON DU NORD 

AKA: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ORDER THE CHINESE CREPES HERE!

Maison du Nord - Northern Chinese food - Downtown

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  Telephone: (514) 670-3188
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) will have noticed this restaurant noted on (one of) my (increasing number of) favorites list. Just can't help it! It's a small restaurant but the flavors are intensely big. Of all the stuff on the menu that I love, the Chinese crepes are what I love most. To the uninitiated, Chinese crepes are typically bigger and thicker than their Western counterparts. This is what the savory green onion crepes served here typically look like:

Looks more like a stuffed pita than a pancake, don't it?

They're big, thick, and chewy, and most of them are absolutely teeming with flavor. I very often go to this restaurant just to buy one of these ($2.99) for a quick salty snack on the go. That said, smaller eaters, be warned - a single crepe is a meal for most of you! That's the power of their crepes! The other crepes are a dollar or two more, but they're all worthwhile (especially the sweet ones!).

MRS. AMIGOS – FRENCH FOOD (YES, I KNOW THE NAME IS SPANISH)

MRS. AMIGOS – A FRENCH RESTAURANT WITH A SPANISH NAME OPERATED BY CHINESE FOLKS – QUIRKY BUT DELIGHTFUL!

Mrs. Amigos – French(-ish) food with Chinese touches - Brossard

Bring your own wine

Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restaurant-Mrs-Amigos/160118584020156

1200 Rome Boulevard, Brossard, QC J4W 3H3 Telephone: (450) 671-3777
Price Range:  ~$15-$30 per person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 


 

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So... This place was... different. But in a decidedly very good way.

Approaching the restaurant, the first thing that struck me was the sign. The utterly deceptive sign. It was bright. Colourful. And the sign promised breakfast and meals. 

Mrs. Amigos - restaurant exterior

Given the name, the associations immediately conjured up were Spanish- or Mexican-themed breakfasts and brunches. Which was great! Except – didn't my buddy invite me to a French restaurant...?

Maybe he got his European races mixed up...? Unlikely, right? But hey, anything's possible!

When I get on in there, a bright and shiny and clean restaurant interior awaited me. Sitting down, I was handed a menu by eager waitstaff. And then something else stuck out – the waitstaff was all Chinese, and on display in the back were Chinese pastries. ... Wasn't this place called Mrs. Amigos...?

Curiouser and curiouser. My friend, seeing the skepticism on my face, assured me that the place was great, incongruencies and all.

So, I cracked open the menu and saw largely French fare – mussels in white wine sauce, leg of lamb, and the like. And every now and again, something Chinese-sounding caught my eye. Like dumplings.

Shrugging, I ordered the things that caught my eye: Mussels in white wine sauce to begin, and pork chops as a main dish. My friend got the fried chicken on pasta.

And then, as the food started arriving, I got the first of the excellently pleasant surprises that the place delivered. The mussels smelled fantastic, and was doled out in a huge portion. I checked the menu again: Was all this really only $7.99?!

Heaping helping of hot... mussels (Damn it!The alliteration has been broken!)

Oh HELL YEAH.

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

A Quick Hello!

Hello Everyone!

Well, I'm finally doing it - I've been convinced to start a food blog to talk about restaurants, pubs, and other food-related things in Montreal. Apparently it's more convenient to check a blog than to give me a call, but whatever...

Anyhow, I've lived here most of my life, and I keep on discovering more and more (and oftentimes better) places to eat and drink and buy food and drink. Here are my finds, impressions, and suggestions! Please note, I am not a food professional in any way - I just love to eat and cook and discover great places to eat, drink, and buy comestibles (oooh, fancy word!) in a great city. Also, this is all my personal opinion, and, most importantly, I am NOT paid to do this. No one who works at any of the places I blog about know that I blog, and I pay for my own food.  My experience at these places should reflect what any of you should experience. So, with that said, do enjoy!