New Montreal Restaurant Thread

[EagerBeaver]

Beauty's and Dusty's

I am going to review Beauty's and Dusty's in one post together, because both are similar landmark Montreal breakfast diners that have been operating since the 1940s, and they are serving similar food in similar settings, with Dusty's having a larger physical space while Beauty's is apparently smaller and far more popular.

Beauty's, 93 Mont Royal Ouest, Le Plateau, Montreal, QC

Chercherfemmes insisted that when we came to Montreal in July for the Jazz Festival, the best meal he had on our 6 day trip was a breakfast he ate at local favorite Beauty's in Le Plateau, a Montreal landmark that was established in 1942. CCF also insisted I go back with him to experience the food there, as I had not been able to join him when he dined there in July.

Unlike the pretentious and haughty but trendy L'Avenue, Beauty's is a rather ordinary looking establishment that has the ambience of a typical diner, and in fact it probably has more cramped seating than most diners. The food, however, is indeed very good. CCF ordered his favorite dish there, the Challah French Toast, which he let me try. It is dipped in egg and not overcooked, which was a pleasant surprise. One reason I do not usually order French Toast when I eat out is that I find it is usually not prepared moist enough to suit my taste. That was definitely not the case with Beauty's Challah French Toast. However, I did find it to be lacking a bit in spicing, as I like cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in/on my French Toast. I understand that Challah is a naturally sweet bread and the culinary theory behind using it for French Toast may be one of minimalist preparation (meaning only soaking it in a beaten egg and leaving out the milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg), but I prefer a bit more sweetness and spice even if Challah bread is used.

I ordered the plain buttermilk pancakes and they were quite good. For pancakes I have eaten in Montreal restaurants, they were certainly above average. And of significant importance, they were served with a generous, if not manly, bottle of maple syrup - which was certainly substantially more than the sissy-sized thimble containing a dollop of syrup that was served with pancakes at L'Avenue, which was barely sufficient to coat the top of half of one pancake. Undoubtedly, the owner of Beauty's is a man who is after Sapman's heart, because the waitress even asked me if we had enough maple syrup even AFTER bringing out this generous bottle. That is called good service!

The bacon served with my pancakes was crispy and tasty, and CCF reported that the sausages he had with his Challah French toast were also quite good. Our coffee was also very good, and the waitress was very attentive to refilling CCF and I as soon as we got low. The service at Beauty's was excellent.

One negative: the orange juice is vastly overpriced at $4 per glass. It is fresh squeezed, apparently, but nothing special and the glass is not particularly large.

On our way out, CCF and I noted a large group of young, English speaking girls, apparently McGill students, who were seated at several tables near the entrance.

Dusty's, 4510 Avenue du Parc, Montreal

Dusty's is a breakfast diner that is very similar to Beauty's and serving a very similar menu, but we found that the food was not quite as good as at Beauty's. Established in 1949, some 7 years after Beauty's opened, we could not help but wonder whether this resto was modeled after Beauty's. They have a larger physical space than Beauty's but the place somehow does not seem as busy on weekends as Beauty's is on a weekday.

I had the pancakes that were distinctly inferior to the pancakes I ordered at Beauty's. I believe they are using the same batter that they use for the crepes (not buttermilk based as at Beauty's) and the resulting pancakes were somewhat stiff and tasteless. Chercherfemmes ordered his favorite, Challah French Toast, which he let me try and while I thought it was actually better than the Challah French Toast at Beauty's, taste wise, CCF felt it was undercooked for his taste. Like Beauty's, we had an ample bottle of maple syrup at our table, therefore no need for Sapman to boycott either of these restos. L'Avenue might be another story.

Overall I feel Dusty's is serving a very average breakfast and I would not go there again. It does not stack up against Beauty's, though the menus of both restaurants are similar.

 

[Special K]

You should try something besides pancakes sometime Beav, you might find you like change.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You should try something besides pancakes sometime Beav, you might find you like change.

Crepes? Fenway Franks?

 

[jellydo]

You should try something besides pancakes sometime Beav, you might find you like change.

lol...reminds me of the song by bubbles - "liquor and whores".
except in eagerbeaver's case its "pancakes and whores"........and maple syrup.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

And of significant importance, they were served with a generous, if not manly, bottle of maple syrup - which was certainly substantially more than the sissy-sized thimble containing a dollop of syrup that was served with pancakes at L'Avenue, which was barely sufficient to coat the top of half of one pancake.

Sorry, Beav. That was not maple syrup, but Aunt Jemima or some other such. Maple syrup is an add-on at Beauty's and is right on the menu. If you ask for maple syrup, they bring you a little plate with four plastic, sealed "thimbles" each of which will cost you, if opened, half a buck.

 

[EagerBeaver]

You should try something besides pancakes sometime Beav, you might find you like change.

I don't usually order eggs at restaurants because they never get made to suit my taste. At home I normally eat eggs or cereal for breakfast and I NEVER eat pancakes. So when I eat out I generally order pancakes or French Toast, or a combo of both if that is offered.

By the ways CCF read my reviews and wanted me to mention that for the French Toast at Beauty's, the slices of bread were thicker than at the other places. In addition, the surfaces of the bread were crispier at Beauty's rather than a little soggy as at the other places, which were Dusty's and the yet to be reviewed Le Grand-Mere Poule.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Niu Kee, 1163 Clark (northeast corner of Clark and Rene Levesque), Montreal, QC

This small, homestyle Chinese restaurant serving authentic Szechuan cuisine is located in a cozy second floor walkup in Chinatown. We read a very good review on Jeremy and Vinita's Montreal restaurant review website, in which Niu Kee earned the prized red star award, so Chercherfemmes, another friend and I decided to try it out. Jeremy and Vinita's red star review can be found here:

http://www.cim.mcgill.ca/~jer/visit/rest.html

Although it was a Friday night, only two other tables in this small restaurant were occupied, which surprised me. It's a very unpretentious and generic looking place as noted in the J&V review.

We ordered as starters pork and chive dumplings, which were served with a black vinegar based sauce, and Szechuan Dan Dan noodles, which were a wide rice noodle almost like a Japanese ramen noodle served with ground pork, peanuts and chives in a spicy sauce. We shared three different entrees: boiled fish with spicy sauce (a fileted white fish served with vegetables in a large bowl), hot and spicy pepper chicken (chicken and vegetables served in a spicy and sweet brown sauced loaded with chili peppers), and spicy beef and onions. I enjoyed everything except the beef dish mainly because this dish used ample amounts of cumin, which is a spice I do not care for (this was mentioned in Jeremy and Vinita's review but I had forgotten this important detail). The consensus seemed to be that the boiled fish and chicken were the two best dishes - so we agreed with Jeremy and Vinita on the fish. For me the standout dishes were the chicken and the Szechuan Dan Dan noodles, both of which were made with very tasty, spicy sauces that nicely complimented those dishes.

The portions of all the dishes were plentiful and the service from our waitress was excellent. This is a really good place to experience authentic Szechuan cuisine made the real way and not adapted to North American taste buds as is the case with so many generic Chinese restaurants that have spread across our continent. I am not sure if I liked Niu Kee more than Beijing, my favorite Chinatown restaurant, but that is probably only because Beijing's authentic style shrimp with black bean lobster sauce is the bomb and the best version of that dish I have ever had. Niu Kee is certainly on the same level, although a much smaller “Mom and Pops” type operation than is the wildly popular and busy Beijing.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Although it was a Friday night, only two other tables in this small restaurant were occupied, which surprised me. It's a very unpretentious and generic looking place as noted in the J&V review.

Thanks for the review of this fine restaurant, Beav.

I'm not surprised that the place was lightly traveled. For one, it's north of Rene Levesque and out of the main section of Chinatown and second, it's on the second floor and pretty difficult to find. Next time you go, you should try the Garlic Pork. You probably won't want to have a date within 24 hours after eating this dish.

Niu Kee and Le Roi du Wonton (on St. Marc in Chinatown II) are my two favorite Chinese restaurants in Montreal. I've never been to Beijing and will have to give it a try.

 

[EagerBeaver]

La Grand-Mere Poule, 1361 Avenue de Mont Royal East

La Grand-Mere Poule (which I think translates as “The Great Rooster”) is yet another breakfast destination in the Plateau that CCF and I tried. I thought it was not as good as Beauty's, but better than Dusty's. CCF felt it was the weakest of all 3 breakfasts we ate in Montreal.

I actually ate here a few years ago and recalled it as being decent. This time I ordered the smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, red onions and lettuce. The sandwich was good, except that they forgot to serve it with cream cheese, and there was enough lettuce on it to make a lunch salad. Apart from this startling omission which was corrected, I can say that they are using high quality fresh Montreal bagels from either St. Viateur or Fairmount bagels, and good quality salmon as well. It was a good sandwich, except for omitting the cream cheese, overloading it with lettuce and serving it with a very tiny side portion of fresh fruit, which consisted of a small pineapple wedge and a small watermelon wedge - the kind you would serve wedged on the lip of the glass of a mixed drink.

Chercherfemmes ordered a breakfast combo consisting of eggs over easy, French Toast, hash browns and sausage. CCF let me try the French Toast and it was totally generic in taste and also dry and overcooked, though CCF claimed it was soggy. CCF felt his breakfast was substandard, I thought mine was good except for the forgetting to give me any cream cheese and the third world portion of fresh fruit.

Service was bit slow, but only because this resto is very busy and apparently very popular with the locals. I should also note, we had a coupon which was the main reason we ate here, and when the discount was applied my breakfast only cost me about $8 with tip.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

La Grand-Mere Poule (which I think translates as "The Great Rooster") is yet another breakfast destination in the Plateau that CCF and I tried. I thought it was not as good as Beauty's, but better than Dusty's. CCF felt it was the weakest of all 3 breakfasts we ate in Montreal.

Actually, "The Grand Mother Hen." Thanks for another good review. I've eaten here a number of times, as well. I remember having breakfast with you and another guy there a few years ago on a busy Sunday. There was a family sitting right next to us, but that didn't stop our companion from discussing "the scene" in quite a loud voice. I wanted to crawl under the table.

Of the places, you've reviewed, I'd rate them a bit differently:
1. L'Avenue. The eye candy can't be beat and their breakfast of 2 eggs, meat, toast, home fries, and a skewer of fresh fruit is the best deal in town at $5.95. The only better home fries in Montreal, in my experience, is at Cosmo on Sherbrooke in NDG.
2. Beauty's
3. Dusty's, for it's '50s luncheonette feel.
4. La Grand-Mere Poule.

 

[Doc Holliday]

One negative: the orange juice is vastly overpriced at $4 per glass. It is fresh squeezed, apparently, but nothing special and the glass is not particularly large.

Holy crap! That's even worse than paying $10 for a glass of crappy Molson EX at the Bell Center!

On our way out, CCF and I noted a large group of young, English speaking girls, apparently McGill students, who were seated at several tables near the entrance.

Interesting. That's nice to know.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Great restaurant reviews, EB.

With all this eating going on, how on earth did you find time to see any sps?

 

[EagerBeaver]

La Sala Rosa, 4848 St. Laurent, Montreal QC

http://www.casadelpopolo.com/contents/lasalarossa

This Spanish tapas restaurant was recommended by an American friend of mine who, along with his girlfriend, joined CCF and I for an early dinner here. When I arrived with CCF (by taxi), I initially thought we were at the wrong address. There is no obvious sign indicating that a restaurant is operating in the building. However, after I peered in the window of the exterior door, I realized that the restaurant was indeed inside, to the left after walking up the stairs. It seems as though there are other rooms in the building not affiliated with the restaurant, and in one I observed a group of middle aged women who appeared to be playing bridge.

CCF and I arrived 10 minutes early, and shortly afterwards we were joined by our dinner companions. CCF and I ordered 5 tapas plates: (1) a mixed olive platter; (2) a serrano ham platter; (3) antipasto/mixed cheese and marinated vegetable platter; (4) chorizo sausage platter; and (5) grilled shrimp. The first issue was that the waitress did not tell us that the antipasto plate had a mixture of olives on it, therefore it was totally superfluous for us to order the mixed olive platter, which had 4 different kinds of green, brown and black olives, the best of which were the kalamata olives. As a result, CCF and I were already “olived out” after picking from the mixed olive platter, which came out first before the antipasto ever arrived. The chorizo sausage platter was a major disappointment to both CCF and I, because both the sauce and the quality of the sausage were not that great. The best plate we ordered was the serrano ham platter, which is very similar to prosciutto de Parma, but somewhat leaner. The grilled shrimp, 4 large shrimp, were served whole, head and shell on, which is not unusual in a tapas restaurant, in a scampi-type sauce.

My American friend and his girlfriend raved about the house specialty which is fried goat cheese with honey and caramelized onions, which they said tasted like cheesecake. The waitress had recommended this dish to us as well, but I was more interested in trying the other things noted above. Anyone trying out this restaurant should give the fried goat cheese a shot, and I regret that CCF and I didn't. They also ordered the bruschetta, which looked good, and also got the same serrano ham platter CCF and I ordered.

We also ordered drinks. The first one I ordered was a mojito. It had an odd taste, and a lot of chopped limes in it. The second drink was a campari and soda. The only problem was they served it with tonic water rather than soda. I drank it anyway. CCF was mostly drinking Guiness.

I have only eaten at two other tapas restaurants in Montreal – Pinxtos in the Plateau and Casa Tapas – and I would not consider La Sala Rosa to be quite as good as either one.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Great review once again, EB. I wonder....you must rack in the pounds whenever you happen to be in Mtl, considering how often you eat (very well, i must add) at those fine restaurants. Do you have any problems shedding the extra weight gained whenever you're back home from a trip? Personally speaking, i've avoided restaurants most of the time over the past few years because i realized i usually gained 5-10 lbs during my stays in Mtl from all this eating i used to do back in the day. The older i got, the harder it was to lose the pounds.

Again, great reviews & thanks for sharing. This thread, i must add, is one of the best threads on this forum.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Great review once again, EB. I wonder....you must rack in the pounds whenever you happen to be in Mtl, considering how often you eat (very well, i must add) at those fine restaurants. Do you have any problems shedding the extra weight gained whenever you're back home from a trip? Personally speaking, i've avoided restaurants most of the time over the past few years because i realized i usually gained 5-10 lbs during my stays in Mtl from all this eating i used to do back in the day. The older i got, the harder it was to lose the pounds.

Again, great reviews & thanks for sharing. This thread, i must add, is one of the best threads on this forum.

I think the Beav ought to start a thread of restaurants that offer TMS*.

*thimbles of maple syrup

 

[EagerBeaver]

I think the Beav ought to start a thread of restaurants that offer TMS*. *thimbles of maple syrup

Actually Sapman should be the one to start that thread as he has a vested financial interest in pointing out some of the shenanigans that are going on now, as more and more restaurants use the thimble approach with some using tiny thimbles and others using actual legit sized cups.

Just by way of example, on our way back to the USA CCF and I stopped for breakfast in St. Albans, Vermont at a place called KJ's Diner. KJ's menu indicated they were charging 0.75 for extra syrup. I ordered one, fearing I might be subjected to the L'Avenue style sissy thimble. However, my fear was all for naught as I received my maple syrup in two generous sized cups, one of which would have been sufficient especially because CCF did not use all of his. I paid the 0.75 extra for mere insurance as it turned out.

KJ's menu gave a long song and dance about the skyrocketing cost of maple syrup. How much of that is reality and how much of that is bullshit to justify an extra charge, I will leave to the Sapmans of the world who profess to have some expertise on the subject. I am just a regular guy who wants a decent amount of maple syrup to pour on my pancakes. There are a lot of shenanigans going on with the portioning of maple syrup and it would behoove Sapman to start such a thread so that we can all distinguish between the syrup hogs and hoarders and those who actually recognize that their customers want to do more than coat a half of a pancake.

 

[lgna69xxx]

It is common nature with a large majority of people when visiting a city for relaxation, or even business, to check out restaurants in different cities,it is not really easy to cook when visiting (and who wants to in a short stay) and fast food is, well, not very good for you everyday.

When your a reisident or visit the same city over and over, your not as inclined to have every meal at a nice resto. Heck, i had a few awesome bbq's out on my balcony over looking the pool and Mcgill University this past summer, but it is also nice to grab your fav girl and go to a nice dinner with a good bottle of wine also, just not everyday.

Great review once again, EB. I wonder....you must rack in the pounds whenever you happen to be in Mtl, considering how often you eat (very well, i must add) at those fine restaurants. .

 

[EagerBeaver]

Igna,

I agree and frankly I do not know too many tourists that start a diet once they come to Montreal. I do recall one time some years ago getting an email from Breadman when he was staying at the Hyatt, telling me he really did not want to eat out and that he had a small refridgerator and he was wondering where he could get himself some good whole chicken. I sent him downstairs to the IGA and Breadman bought himself a rotisserie chicken of some kind, whole, and he sent me an email back saying, "oh this is some great chicken, etc. etc." He sounded like he was having a better time with that IGA chicken than with the girls he saw that trip. Of course knowing Breadman that chicken probably only lasted him one or two meals. This is a guy who has six (6) egg breakfasts to feed a large body.

I should note on my last trip to Montreal I was eating 2 meals a day, a late breakfast and then a late dinner. No lunch. Most people coming into the city are eating fast food 3 times a day, which is worse. But, I enjoy eating out when I am in Montreal and it certainly is not something I do every day when I am at home. As I already stated, I never cook pancakes for myself at home and I only have them on very rare occasions when I eat out. My posts may make it seem like I eat them all the time but only when I am on vacation. When I am not on vacation I can go for months without eating pancakes as it is something I just don't make at home. I don't have a pancake griddle and could not make them even if I wanted to.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Bagels and Hot Cocoa

Chercherfemmes asked me to post about the bagels he bought at Fairmount bagels. They were fresh Montreal bagels, several varieties including plain, sesame seed, poppyseed, garlic and onion. I had the sesame seed and they were just absolutely awesome, fresh, and delicious. The locals have advised us that the bagels at St. Viateur and Fairmount are the same and are actually being made by the same employees who are interchangeable between those two businesses from what I understand. Unfortunately these bagels lose their freshness pretty quickly, so it is not advisable to buy a lot, as they lose a lot of freshness by the next morning. But any newcomer to Montreal absolutely has to try them. Ask for the ones that are still warm. It's a great experience!

I also got some very good hot chocolate at Second Cup, the one on Guy and St. Catherine. They will serve it with whipped cream at your request. It's a rich hot cocoa that really hits the spot if you are headed back to the hotel after a long walk through cold and wind and harsh elements.

 

[Doc Holliday]

It is indeed good to have at least 3 balanced meals, whether you're in Mtl or not. However, when i plan on hobbying, i've found it to be difficult to maintain this rule since i hate having a full stomach prior to see an sp (for obvious reasons), and it's why i often wind up eating late....of course, depending if i'll see 1, 2 or 3 sps per day.

I've had bad eating habits whenever i go to Mtl. I don't really have time to go to restaurants for the reasons listed above (it impedes on my hobbying), but i've had a knack of eating late & what i'm eating isn't exactly the healthiest food around. A late order of chicken wings from Buffalo Bill's....a couple of shwarmas or shishtouks from Boustan's....a combo from St-Hubert BBQ.....or some chinese food from Wok Cafe.

But the advantage (if there's any) of a late meal prior to going to bed is that when i wake up in the morning, i'm not hungry & i might decide to see an sp if there's a good one available. If i do see someone, i'll eat either early or in mid-afternoon...then see another sp a few hours later. Indeed, my schedule (incl. meal times) revolves around my sex life. Unfortunate some may say, but in my opinion, so worth it!

As for maple syrup, people shouldn't get mixed up with corn syrup, which is often what they serve now with pancakes or waffles. It's much cheaper than maple syrup, but does a lot more damage health-wise. Corn syrup is total crap! Just look it up if you don't believe me. I've since stopped eating pancakes or waffles altogether unless i'm 100% certain i'm being served 'true' 100% maple syrup whenever i'm having breakfast. Which is why i'll usually only go for the bacon n' eggs whenever i happen to eat breakfast in Mtl.