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
But seriously, this place is AMAZING. It has a simple decor and a simple menu (the only reason why the menu doesn't fit onto one page is because there are a lot of photos of their food). But all that simplicity is completely counter to just how wonderfully layered and textured and rich the food tastes.
So, where to begin... Oh, I know, my favorite food here! I give you the Tahchin Gosht ($8):
This savory pie-like thing was ENORMOUS. Seriously, if you look at the photo you can see that it was bigger and thicker than two hands put together (even big, meaty paws like my hands). My eyes positively popped when this dish arrived. Of course, the size was only the first surprise. The crust next caught my attention. It was a savory saffron rice. This was the very first time where I'd eaten a savory pie (or any pie, for that matter) where the shell wasn't made from some batter but from a full, thick, crispy layer of seasoned rice. And LORDY, it works! I don't know why more people haven't thought to do this, but we need to start! The crust wasn't the only great part of this pie though. The filling was a rich and flavorful concoction of shredded meat. Did I mention it tasted really rich? Because it tasted rich... Right on top of the rice crust was a liberal sprinkling of cranberries and pistachios. Overall, every bite was a deeply satisfying mix of the ingredients' flavors, and did I ever have a hard time eating this thing like a civilized human being! I wanted to just pick it up with my hands gnaw into it, caveman-style! (I didn't - I do have some shame, after all. Not much, but some). Also, some good news if you want to buy the entire pie for a party - it's only $64 for a pie the size of a small tire!
We also ordered Halim Bademjan ($8):
It was a mash, but a fine one. The mashed eggplant mixed with meat and yogurt and walnuts (I think) and other ingredients resulted in an interesting flavorful mix that was at once slightly tart, fairly rich, and very, very, very mildly bitter. And that's about the best I can do to describe it; I need to train my tongue's sensitivity even more in order to do the description a bit more justice! This dish was great with bread or pita (both of which were complementary)!
One other great dish that we ordered was the Non-o-Kebab ($10). It's kebabs made of minced meat, served with a healthy volume of mildly spiced rice:
WOW. Somehow, despite being grilled for some time, the thing was JUICY. There were hints of well-cooked onion in the sticks of soft, tender meat, and the meat itself was well-seasoned. There was just a touch of tartness as well, although that could've been the lime. You could also taste the hints of grilling as well. Overall, it was fantastic. Also, my Iranian classmate suggested something that made the side rice sing: Put melted butter on it. Yet again, this was something that I've never done. Put butter on toast? Sure. Turkey, popcorn, and so on? Great. Butter on RICE? Huh. I was...skeptical. It turns out I needn't have been, because it was a damn good idea. Gotta make sure I don't start doing this with all rice though... As for the other thing on the plate - man alive, the grilled tomato, sadly, was disappointing. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
Speaking of not perfect, I was compelled to try dough (pronounced "duug"). Apparently, this drink supposedly complemented all the dishes we'd ordered perfectly. So, here's what the drink looks like. Look at it, and read on to find out how I feel about this beverage.
*ahem* Oh. My. GOD. This drink was hooooooorible. Just. Not. RIGHT. Gah! I mean, I like a lot of yogurt-based drinks but NOT one that tastes like chilled boiled milk (as if that description made any sense, but I think y'all understand what I mean). And it wasn't just the fact that it tasted like boiled milk that'd been chilled - it was also salty and sour and bitter and fizzy all at once. I like all those flavors individually or even in some combinations. But this particular mix of them all? Ack! Ack-ack-ack! Now, don't get me wrong - I am NOT saying that it was rotten or anything like that. It's supposed to taste the way it does, but LORDY it was not for me.
All in all, this meal was GREAT. Certainly fantastic enough that I'm going back. As if the Tahchin Gosht weren't enough incentive, I've since been told by other Iranians to go back on the weekends to have Jamal's weekend-only menu:
Additionally, some of the other menu items are so special that you have to call a day in advance to place your order. Apparently, the Dizi is something that needs to be marinated and cooked overnight before serving. With a description like that, you BETTER believe that I'll be getting that the next time I go!
Map of restaurants I have reviewed:
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
But seriously, this place is AMAZING. It has a simple decor and a simple menu (the only reason why the menu doesn't fit onto one page is because there are a lot of photos of their food). But all that simplicity is completely counter to just how wonderfully layered and textured and rich the food tastes.
So, where to begin... Oh, I know, my favorite food here! I give you the Tahchin Gosht ($8):
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| Giant tasty pie! |
We also ordered Halim Bademjan ($8):
It was a mash, but a fine one. The mashed eggplant mixed with meat and yogurt and walnuts (I think) and other ingredients resulted in an interesting flavorful mix that was at once slightly tart, fairly rich, and very, very, very mildly bitter. And that's about the best I can do to describe it; I need to train my tongue's sensitivity even more in order to do the description a bit more justice! This dish was great with bread or pita (both of which were complementary)!
One other great dish that we ordered was the Non-o-Kebab ($10). It's kebabs made of minced meat, served with a healthy volume of mildly spiced rice:
WOW. Somehow, despite being grilled for some time, the thing was JUICY. There were hints of well-cooked onion in the sticks of soft, tender meat, and the meat itself was well-seasoned. There was just a touch of tartness as well, although that could've been the lime. You could also taste the hints of grilling as well. Overall, it was fantastic. Also, my Iranian classmate suggested something that made the side rice sing: Put melted butter on it. Yet again, this was something that I've never done. Put butter on toast? Sure. Turkey, popcorn, and so on? Great. Butter on RICE? Huh. I was...skeptical. It turns out I needn't have been, because it was a damn good idea. Gotta make sure I don't start doing this with all rice though... As for the other thing on the plate - man alive, the grilled tomato, sadly, was disappointing. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
Speaking of not perfect, I was compelled to try dough (pronounced "duug"). Apparently, this drink supposedly complemented all the dishes we'd ordered perfectly. So, here's what the drink looks like. Look at it, and read on to find out how I feel about this beverage.
*ahem* Oh. My. GOD. This drink was hooooooorible. Just. Not. RIGHT. Gah! I mean, I like a lot of yogurt-based drinks but NOT one that tastes like chilled boiled milk (as if that description made any sense, but I think y'all understand what I mean). And it wasn't just the fact that it tasted like boiled milk that'd been chilled - it was also salty and sour and bitter and fizzy all at once. I like all those flavors individually or even in some combinations. But this particular mix of them all? Ack! Ack-ack-ack! Now, don't get me wrong - I am NOT saying that it was rotten or anything like that. It's supposed to taste the way it does, but LORDY it was not for me.
All in all, this meal was GREAT. Certainly fantastic enough that I'm going back. As if the Tahchin Gosht weren't enough incentive, I've since been told by other Iranians to go back on the weekends to have Jamal's weekend-only menu:
Additionally, some of the other menu items are so special that you have to call a day in advance to place your order. Apparently, the Dizi is something that needs to be marinated and cooked overnight before serving. With a description like that, you BETTER believe that I'll be getting that the next time I go!
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Map of restaurants I have reviewed:
Mouthwatering Montreal - Chateau Oncle Jamal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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