New Montreal Restaurant Thread

[EagerBeaver]

EagerBeaver, 3 ponds of pork ? ...You must have one hell of an appetite
SA

Smack Appeal,

I was cooking for guests, not just myself. Obviously the recipe can be adjusted depending on the number of persons to be served. I happened to have a few friends over to watch the Daytona 500 yesterday and pulled pork was the meal I wanted to make in the crockpot.

I did end up with some leftovers, and believe me it will not go to waste!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Maybe you should start a "New Recipe Thread" since you started the "New Restaurant Thread"

Or maybe we should ask the Mods to change the title of the existing one ?

I have started a new thread as suggested and the Mods can merge it with the old one if they wish.

 

[dirtierasigetolder]

I was at XO the other day in old montreal and was kind of disappointed. The meal was bland at best and the prices were nuts as usual. I think it cost me 150 for 2 people with out wine.

I find Montreal's restaurants are on definite degradation. Toque sucks since they moved and became all big on themselves. Au a la bouche is probably one of the only good ones left. Wife tells me that Area is great, haven't had the chance to go.

Anybody know a good steak house? Forget Q de Cheval. I'm done paying $400 for a steak.

Oh tip for you guys, if you're in to Sushi go to Maiko on bernard or west island. Simply fantastic, although I think the bernard one just went up in flames. Order the delice du chef for desert, to die for. Also try there Enfer as an appetizer, it's just too good.

 

[chef]

..............
Au a la bouche is probably one of the only good ones left. ..........

L'eau a la Bouche is supposedly superb (very nice pictures in the recipe book, but I have not yet made any of the recipes). The chef is a woman (Anne Desjardins). But it's quite a trek to Ste. Adele. I have to get there one of these days. A few years ago Gourmet magazine rated it the best restaurant in "Montreal".

I have never been disappointed by Europea. Give it a try.

 

[Leopold Stotch]

Anybody know a good steak house? Forget Q de Cheval. I'm done paying $400 for a steak.
.

The Onyx in Laval great steak and sushi, with a Las Vegas atmosphere.
Prices aren't to expensive. Here's a link,
http://www.qdg.ca/onyx-steakhouse.aspx

 

[incognito_NYC]

... the best barbecued pulled pork you will ever have comes from my own personal recipe. In order to make this, you will need a Crockpot (known as a "slow cooker" in Canada).

EagerBeaver's Crockpot Barbecued Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

2.5 - 3 pound fresh boneless pork tenderloin

ROFL ... I just had to laugh when I read what the first ingredient was.

Not that I mean to nit-pick or anything, but the name "pulled-pork" means that you're supposed to use rib meat and then "pull" the meat from the bone.

(alright - no wisecracks about "pulling your bone" now, eh)

Think what using ribs does for the flavor ... the BBQ flavor doesn't just come from sauce in a jar but from the meat itself. Pork tenderloin is sweet, but barbecued ribs give you much better flavor because of the way the grille carmelizes the natural sweetness of the pork.

This works almost as well (if you don't have access to a grille - like apartment dwellers, or people who shut down their grille during winter, etc.) if you bake the ribs till they're cooked thouroughly and then finish them with a quick browning in the broiler.

If you cook the ribs wrapped in foil, the meat steams itself so it's not only moist but should fall off the bone by itself so you don't have to "yank" so hard ... yeah, yeah - more sophmoric 'bone-pulling' humor ensues

The other good thing about the rib meat is that it comes off in strands so that the meat & sauce mixture doesn't fall off the bun. I try to thicken the sauce, too, with a little flour or cornstarch.

Also, everyone has there own preferential favorite when it comes to the right sauce to use.

I made up my own recipe while I was experimenting to try & duplicate the taste of my first ever pulled-pork sandwich which I had in Chicago at the annual Blues Fest.

What I went with was a combo of two different sauces : Texas' Best and Kansas City Masterpiece.

After tasting it I still thought something was missing - it needed to be a little more sweet, a little more tart. So I tossed in a half glass of orange juice. That did the trick!

For a single batch (one rack of ribs) I use about 4 to 6 ounces of O.J. and it gives it a really nice flavor - kind of like those tropical hot sauces that use mangos or limes or tangerine or peaches to sweeten the sauce.

P.S. - cole slaw is my favorite, but you can make a burger out of it if you top the sandwich off with a slice of American or cheddar cheese.

Good thing it's lunch time 'cause now I'm hungry!

 

[EagerBeaver]

incognito nyc,

It's true that pulled pork is usually made from rib meat, but you don't cook boned meat in a crockpot. If you look at crockpot recipes on the Internet for pulled pork, they all call for boneless pork tenderloin or pork shoulder. Have you ever cooked in a crockpot?

Most people I know make pulled pork from leftover pork roast. I decided to do it the right way as far as crockpot cooking goes. Again, I pit my crockpot recipe against anyone's!

The advantage to crockpot cooking over baking is the slow cooking process and the retention of moisture. You cannot fuck up the moisture content of the meat cooking in a crockpot if you retain the broth. You can fuck up the moisture content of the meat by baking it. Just ask Chef about Baton Rouge's baked ribs.

 

[Leopold Stotch]

incognito nyc, you should check out my recipe for ribs
in the new recipe thread, won't be dissapointted.

 

[Techman]

Casey's

Another unrelated question: Is there a Casey's Restaurant in Mtl?

Doc, there are Casey's restos all over the place. They are usually located near shopping centers. The food there is actually quite good for a restaurant chain kind of place. Better ribs than Baton Rouge or Cage aux Sports. Madisons is pretty decent also and they can usually be found close to Casey's.

 

[incognito_NYC]

incognito nyc, you should check out my recipe for ribs
in the new recipe thread, won't be dissapointted.

OMG !!!

We now have a recipe thread - this is too funny.

I hope you ladies out there are getting a good laugh at our expense ... I mean here we are a bunch of allegedly virile men exchanging cooking tips

What's even funnier is how just a couple of weekends ago at a friends' SuperBowl party we were joking how it's all the guys in our group of friends who do the cooking at home, not the women.

Could this be a breakthrough?!?!? Does this mean that women won't have to work in the kitchen anymore?!?

Of course not ... we still expect them to do the dishes, right?

OK - all further kitchen talk will be deferred to the new "Recipe Thread" where manly men will discuss what color apron to choose to match your particular kitchen decor.

 

[chef]

OMG !!!

We now have a recipe thread - this is too funny.

This is not the recipe thread.

I hope you ladies out there are getting a good laugh at our expense ... I mean here we are a bunch of allegedly virile men exchanging cooking tips
...............

Need I point out that the best chefs are male ? And yes, chefs do "have sex"

 

[incognito_NYC]

incognito nyc,

It's true that pulled pork is usually made from rib meat, but you don't cook boned meat in a crockpot. If you look at crockpot recipes on the Internet for pulled pork, they all call for boneless pork tenderloin or pork shoulder. Have you ever cooked in a crockpot?

Yes - I have a crockpot & I've actually used it to do pulled pork. I guess it wasn't clear, but the grilling or baking of the ribs is just the first step - the substitute for browning the meat in a pan. Then you toss the meat into the crockpot to slow cook.

The other slow-cooking alternative is the old-fashioned way - on the stove. The trick is you need to have a heat diffuser ... an indispensible tool for simmering & slow-cooking. If you're making stew, or chili, any kind of gravy or sauce, and especially for cooking rice - you have to have it. Anybody I've turned onto the concept of cooking with the heat diffuser now can't live (or cook) without one.

But my personal favorite for a crock pot (aside from soup or stew) is an Italian classic : Chicken Cacciatore. Chop up the fresh ingredients the night before, and put all the spices you need in a bowl.

The next morning before you go to work, toss the chicken parts (or chicken breast) into the crockpot, throw in the chopped onion/garlic/mushroom & the spices, add white wine, and a can of chopped or crushed tomatoes, and some tomato paste or sauce. You get home & dinners ready! Great idea if you're cooking for a date. Less time in the kitchen and more time in the ...well, you get the idea

Well - like I said in an earlier post, it's time to put future cooking tips into the other recipe thread since we now have one.

Until then you'll have to excuse me. I need to go find my mauve cooking apron that matches the handles of my BBQ utensils.

 

[forever newbi]

I went to this small wine bar+ restaurant in old metreal last weekend. So small that you might not see it even pass right by the front door, cause it doesn't have a sign, but it is really a nice place and the food was great!!!

What really imprise me is the service:
I ordered oysters, great tast, really fresh and top with your choise of topping. For some reason, the last one tasted..... well different, not bad or rotten tast, more like totally different kind of oyster than the rest.

Anyway, i called the servier and told her that. the next thing I know, I was told the oysters are on the house !!!!

Now that's what I called a good restaurant !!!!

Other than that one oyster, the meal was great. lobster bisquet 3 ways, steak with ox tail, everything was perfect. And they have so many differnt wines, mostly you can't find at local SAQ !!!!!

 

[Techman]

newbi, what's the name or address of the place? It sounds like it's worth a visit!

 

[forever newbi]

Location

newbi, what's the name or address of the place? It sounds like it's worth a visit!

It was really dark when I got there, so I didn't see the address

I believe it's on Notre Dame O, one block down from the big church, same side of street.

It's a half basement with big window, so just pay attention and you should find it pretty easily

 

[chef]

.......... lobster bisquet 3 ways, steak with ox tail, everything was perfect.......

What do you mean by "lobster bisque 3 ways" ?

 

[Miss Maria]

Segafredo

This place is famous in Europe and is an italian coffee chain. One opened about 2 years ago in front of the Paramount on St-Catherines. I love this place. It isn't only a coffee place.. it is also a bistro and bar.. but very nice and trendy. The best hot chocolate I have ever tasted in my life (like melted chocolate). The coffee is amazing and there is a desert coffee called a Fantastico (fresh vanilla gelato, hazelnut syrup, espresso, and whipped cream). You can also get great anti pasti, panini, thin crust inventive pizzas, and delicious deserts. One panini involves gorgonzola and pear, a true delight! On Friday nights they even have a live Jazz band. Anyone knows of another place like this where you can have a great supper, a drink, a wonderful atmosphere and some live Jazz??

 

[Techman]

Maria, Kaizen has a Jazz band, often with Normand Brathwaite playing, as well as great Japanese food and fantastic sushi. It's a strange combination but it works!

 

[forever newbi]

3 ways

What do you mean by "lobster bisque 3 ways" ?

3 small portions of bisque(in big shoot glasses), each seasoned with different seasoning.

 

[Miss Maria]

I know!!!

Dear Mr Techie,

I now know!!!

I visited Keizan this Monday and I couldn't believe how great it was. For a Monday night, the place was packed, but it was not a problem to be seated even without a reservation. The place looks very loungy and comfortable with warm colors upon the walls. The food was amazing, the ambiance was perfect for a blues and jazz loving lady like me, and the company was wonderful. We had the kobe coriender salad and lobster dumplings which I am still craving. Then we had chicken Teriyaki and various sushis (the Unagi sashimi was remarkable and I had another kind that involved different fish, seafood veggies all mixed into one roll and tempura fried. This last one was searved with a spicy mayo and was breath taking). We ended the evening with a little grean tea ice cream which would have been just perfect if it had some sweet red beans on it. Anyhow the experience was great and I will have to insist that my Japanese friends come next time and inform me if it is to their standards of Japanese food.