Happening Gourmand 2020: Taverne Gaspar (Montreal, Canada)

Happening Gourmand Vieux Montreal is currently happening held between January 16 to February 9, 2020. A handful of restaurants in Old Montreal is participating in this food event filled with special priced menus for lunch, brunch, dinner and happy hour.  We had time to as a Battle of Ingredients in January replacement to go out with the group to try out a meal at Taverne Gaspar for their dinner menu.

Drinks

Blueberry Tea Cocktail

Honey Old Fashioned

Being a tavern, there is a no doubt that we were expecting some delicious cocktails. The first is one that I was recommended from the waiter as a hot cocktail called Blueberry Tea that has black tea, Grand Marnier and amaretto. Its really delicious and such a warm feeling to have a nice hot cocktail in the winter.. The second is my husband’s where Old-Fashioned is his go-to and for Happening Gourmand, the Honey Old-Fashioned which has bourbon, honey syrup and orange bitter. Its a nice taste and the husband liked it quite a bit. If we go back, he said that he’d try the other old-fashioned on the menu called MTL Old-Fashioned.

Appetizers

I realized that I didn’t take any pictures of the appetizers except for my own replacement for dairy-free option which was a green salad with balsamic vinegar. The actual options on the menu is:

• Seasonal Root Vegetable Soup
• Arugula Mango and Avocado Salad

Mains

Beef Mignonette

Winter Risotto

Cheeseburger

Confit Duck Leg

There was a good selection of mains and ended up with the Beef Mignonette which was the option that didn’t need to be modified except for taking out the mashed potatoes and replacing it with yet another green salad. I have to say, the beef itself was cooked very tasty. My only issue with this whole thing is that they didn’t think about how to replace mashed potatoes with fries or something instead of a second green salad. I was having a feeling that I had turned into a rabbit during this meal.

I believe that everyone did enjoy their meal pretty well. My husband took the cheeseburger (as expected) and he thought it was pretty good. The only meal that isn’t shown here is Mussel and Fries.

Desserts

Maple Creme Brulee

Sugar Pie with Chantilly Cream

Lactose-free option: Chocolate Chip Shot

Last for dessert, we had two main choices: Maple Creme Brulee & Sugar Pie with Chantilly Cream. I think that perhaps the dessert was the letdown for the main. My husband took the Maple Creme Brulee and it was a bit disappointing in his opinion. As for the sugar pie, I believe that as expected it was rather sweet, maybe overly sweet. I can’t quite remember that one. However, a really nice surprise for their lactose free option was to replace with a shot. The waiter chose to give me the chocolate chip (or I can’t remember if my friend went to follow-up and chose it for me..not too sure). Its really a great one that if you go to Taverne Gaspar should try because if you didn’t know what liquid chocolate chips taste like, this shot was like drinking a chocolate chip. It was absolutely delicious.

Overall, Taverne Gaspar was pretty alright. The ambiance was very good and it was overly loud as what you’d expect in bars. The food was delicious just probably not quite focused in the balance of structuring meals or not as well-thought through. However, if you don’t have the nuisance of lactose-intolerance then these issues shouldn’t occur. And of course, as a bar, their drinks are definitely a huge highlight and a place that we’d go back to try some other of their cocktails as they all sound very good. Despite some little disappointments, the overall experience was comfortable and nice.

Wine Recap – August 2019

Welcome to the next wine recap! A month sure flies by as we look at what we’ve tried out in August. We had a little trip away and we also were at the tail end of festival coverage so it was not too much about drinking a ton as work needed to be done.

Petalo Il Vino Dell Amore Moscato

Producer: Bottega SPA
Alcohol Content: 6.5%
Location: Veneto, Italy
Taste Tag: Fruity and sweet

I was first introduced to this wine at one of my friend’s gathering. Its a wine that is fairly popular during Valentine’s however, nowadays, its a lot more accessible, which is great because while it has a rather romantic name, its also a very good sparkling wine. Its both light, fruity and sweet. I do have to say that this one tasted a little different from the first time I had it before.

Domaine St-Jacques Riesling 2017

Producer: Domaine St-Jacques
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

Domaine St-Jacques is a dry wine. Maybe in the semi-dry area so it had a lot of acidity in its taste as well. We’re not a huge fan of this variety of wine to say the least. Its exactly fit in our palate. Sadly not what we had expected of a Riesling.

Laura Secord S’Mores/Salted Caramel Liqueur

Producer: Laura Secord
Alcohol Content: 5.4%

All kinds of companies want to diversify their products a little and Laura Secord was obviously no different as they had a cocktail edition which included two flavors: S’mores and salted caramel. Both of which we first saw at the grocery stores. In theory, it sure does seem like a great concept except, in our opinion, these two drinks are not great. Salted Caramel tastes a bit like a cough syrup and I’m exactly sure how to describe the S’Mores one because they sure didn’t taste like these two flavors.

Reif Estate Riesling VQA 2017

Producer: Reif Winery
Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Light and Crisp

Reif Winery Estates’ Riesling is in the extra dry category and it sure lives up to the name. Its probably one of the most acidic ones that we’ve had. It does have a nice smoothness to it after taking a few more sips but its definitely a lot drier than would suit ourselves. However, if you do like some extra-dry wines, this one might be a pretty decent choice.

Thornbury Village Craft Apple Cider

Producer: Thornbury Village Cidery
Alcohol Content: 5.3%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Medium-Sweet & Crisp

While I can’t say that Thornbury Village Apple Cider is a whole lot different from other ciders, this one still is pretty good. Its not overly sweet and still has that nice apple cider taste. There’s also a special taste to it that I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Overall, the first one which was a revisit and the last one was definitely more in my palate in terms of apple ciders and wines. A lot of dry wines in this time’s selection which probably would appeal to some of you.

That’s it for this wine recap!
Have you tried any new wines/alcoholic beverages?

MTL a Table 2018: Nom Nom Cantine

As usual, our November Battle of Ingredients is put aside as we head out for MTL a Table. This year’s MTL a Table included a good many more selections as more restaurants joined into the fun. A lot of new restaurants also participated which makes it all the more exciting. This time, we return to a familiar location where we went to previously when it was owned by another restaurant called E.A.T (Etre Avec Toi), the restaurant is closed so meaningless to check the post now (although you can if you want HERE).

The current restaurant in this location is Nom Nom Cantine which serves Asian fusion food. Just one look at the menu and it shows off those qualities right away.

Nom Nom Cantine

Decor

Nice and soothing to say the least. We had a pretty early reservation so we were the first group to arrive which gives me the chance to take these pictures with no one else in there. However, rest assured that the restaurant did fill up as the evening went along. However, one nice thing is that it stayed fairly casual and relaxing.

Cocktails

This time, our group went for the interesting selection of cocktails that it offered. Trust me when I say its unique when one of the cocktails (I think the Bloody Caesar had fish sauce as one of the ingredients). However, these are two popular choices among us. On the left is The Noble One (the guys took this one) and on the left is the one I chose called Deadly Sin which had a bunch of stuff I liked including the so underused Apricot Brandy. Both tasted fantastic (well, to us). Deadly Sin has a lot of citrus flavors including yuzu so it was more sour and floral. The Noble One is a stronger one but still very smooth.

Bread & Amuse-Bouche

Ten out of ten for presentation alone here. I didn’t taste the bread but our little bread expert (aka Phoebe’s toddler) approved it and ate a bunch. Props to the restaurant for making this happen although normally the MTL a Table menu doesn’t come with it.

They also offered up an amuse-bouche. This is a slightly modified one for my husband and I, the lactose-intolerant option. The original was peppercorn salmon with sour cream and coriander (I think) and ours is replaced with a mango and something sauce. I should seriously write these things down. Regardless, it still tasted really good.

First Course

There are two options for first course.

Dumpllings Basket (4)

Dumplings basket was one of these choices and the one that I chose (along with a few others from our group). Four different dumplings here: chicken, pork and shrimp, beef, vegetables. I could swear that mine came with two beef ones but I didn’t quite mind because it tasted like the beef that we have at dim sum and its a flavor that I’ve missed eating. Regardless, my husband did have all four and he liked it. I thought the dumplings are also really good. Actually, I’d love to go back just to have dumplings.

Second option was the white fish tartare, matcha, citrus, coriander, coconut cream. These were really clever as instead of having bread or something as the accompaniment, they went with shrimp chips to eat with the tartare. Its a very  nice twist that matched with the restaurant concept.

Second Course

Another two choices for second choice below.

Pork Roulade, Quebec Butternut Squash Puree, Roasted Mushrooms, Chestnut

While the portions were fairly little, there was quite a lot to like about this dish. For one, the Pork Roulade is pretty good. The barbecue sauce is made in the restaurant so it has a nice spicy kick to it. I really liked particularly the butternut squash puree along with the roasted mushrooms and the chestnut. Although they weren’t plentiful, they felt like it was done perfectly. I’m not a big fan of arugula but it wasn’t a huge amount so it was okay. That is really just a personal preference. The dish here is done very good and has a nice balance of textures and flavors.

Fish Tempura, Papaya Salad, Coconut and Chili Sauce

My husband took this meal. I tried a little piece and the fish tempura was done really tender. I didn’t try the sauce since I’m not really into spicy sauces much however the little taste I had was pretty decent.

Dessert

For dessert, there are two choices as well however due to the lactose intolerance issue for us, we got our own little thing.

Rocher Brulé, 70% Chocolate Mousse, Milk Chocolate and Puffed Rice Crisp, Coffee-Caramel Fondant, Vanilla Creme Brulée, Quebec Honey And Coffee Ice Cream

Judging from my friends, this one was a sweetness explosion. For those with a sweet tooth though, they enjoyed it quite a bit. The chocolate mousse looked delicious to be honest however, I have no first hand experience to talk about.

Cocolada (Pineapple Carpaccio, Rum-Coconut Sorbet, Tapioca, Poppy Seed Meringue, Lime Gel)

If this one didn’t have the tapioca, we could had it but unfortunately it also had that one.

Fruit Bowl with Poppy Seed Meringue

As for our fruit bowls…lets say that my one comment is that if restaurants could do substitutes for lactose intolerant people and not give fruit bowls, that would be really thoughtful. The bowl itself and the fruits were pretty good, except the extremely sour blackberries. They did add in the poppy seed meringue which tasted really good.

Overall, Nom Nom Cantine was a pretty nice experience. The food tasted really good. There were some delicious and creative cocktails. The service especially is what I’d like to compliment on. Our waitress was fantastic in both being attentive to all our allergies and dislikes as well as accommodating the best that she could. The food presentation was nice as well and all the little details were matching to the concept. At the same time, the decor was also really nice and lots of ambiance.

That’s it for the recap of Nom Nom!

Restaurant: Les Enfants Terribles – Place Ville Marie (Montreal, Canada)

Last weekend, we went out to celebrate my in-laws marriage anniversary – 45 years! #marriagegoals right? Anyways, I’m no good at hashtagging so that might be all wrong. My sister in-law suggested that we head out to a restaurant in downtown Montreal located at the summit of the Place Ville Marie building called Les Enfants Terribles. If you look at their site, they have a few other locations. However, the summit on gets a terrace view of Montreal at its 44th floor height above the city. We were a decent sized group and had a 9:30pm reservation. I can’t say that works as dinner but we tried to work that out as best we could since you know, the point of this is family time! And we did have fun hanging out, especially since my mom went out with the group.

Do note that I took pictures only of my husband and my own dishes and drinks because it was a fairly big group and walking around in the bustling restaurant would have been almost impossible. To be fair, mostly everyone got similar dishes. I’ll talk about it in the main meals section.

Les Enfants Terribles – Place Ville Marie

I didn’t take much of the interior design but the outside did have a pretty lovely view. There is a plastic wall fencing off the entire surrounding so its more for observation than pictures particularly at night. They also have a beautiful vegetable garden planted right in the middle of the terrace which I thought was a great addition.

Cocktails

Left: Rye Lemonade – Right: Collins

There was a pretty nice selection in terms of cocktails to choose from. We arrived a little earlier than the reservation so we had a little wait time where they arranged a table and seats for us on the rooftop terrace and gave us time to order some drinks. My husband and my mom both ordered the Rye Lemonade. Their only thing was that it was sour, excuse me, tart is the accurate word. Which I took a sip and it absolutely was. I ended up choosing Collins, mostly because there was something I didn’t know in it and also, it had a vodka base which I’m a fan of. It was alright after I remembered to stir it. Amateur mistake perhaps. It was okay. Cocktails, especially trying out new ones, is usually a hit and miss based on preference so I can’t say it wasn’t executed well, more that this wasn’t exactly my preference. They did look good, although a tad pricey for the size, but every restaurant with a view does boost up its prices.

Main Meals

Seared Salmon with Red Quinoa, Kale, Cucumber, Grapefruit and Edamame

Not surprisingly that my mom and I have the same sort of dining schedule. However, after long debate, we ended up not getting an appetizer but went for sharing a full meal. My mom likes to eat healthy and be healthy. Her ability to stay persistent to her healthy lifestyle is one that I look up to. With that said, as we debated fish and chips or seared salmon, it was obvious which one she would prefer although this seared salmon was one that yielded a very homely lady response of how she could probably make this at home for so much less. You know, moms, right? However, as healthy as this dish looked, it was also very good. Everything was cooked well. I was a little skeptical about the whole grapefruits being part of the meal but it works surprisingly well as a balance for the flavors here. Its also not overly salty either and flavored in a well-balanced way. It was pretty delicious especially since the cook of the salmon was also right on.

Fish and Chips

My husband got the fish and chips. Total coincidence that he ended up with this one and it also being a choice for me and my mom. I had a small taste of the fish and the batter and its honestly pretty nice. There’s a nice crunch to the batter and a nice flavor and the fish is cooked in such a tender way that it just falls apart. Its delicious. My husband also enjoyed it.

As for everyone else, a lot of us chose either fish and chips or the seared salmon. My mother in-law got a Ceasar Salad as an appetizer and had a pasta dish to follow. There was a pasta gratin that someone else took, I believe. My brother in law took the beef burger, which was a choice my husband was thinking about. The niece and nephew took each a kids meal, one of which was pasta and the other, I can’t remember right now.

Atmosphere/Experience/Service

Probably the biggest critique that I have of this outing was the atmosphere itself. I’ve been to rooftop terrace restaurants before. While the terrace area was pretty sane and comfortable to just enjoy the view and get some lovely air, the inside atmosphere is relatable to most modern lounges where its very loud with a lot of people talking over each other and talking over what I think was music since it was so loud that I barely could hear myself think. I spent a lot of time talking to my mom since she sat close to me and still talking very loud for her to hear me. At the same time, a little frustrated with having to repeat everything that I said. I feel like when I say that, it kind of makes me old. However, its a choice of how they choose to angle their restaurants. Its just a pity in my mind at least that such an upscale looking brasserie (which should have tipped me off on the noise level) would choose to be this sort of loud affair. However, I believe that is more of a personal preference.

The second critique of the night did go to service. I’ve heard of the service here being a tad below par. However, it was surprising to see it happen to ourselves as we chased over a few drinks that didn’t make it to the table for an extended time. However, after we canceled one of the last drinks that didn’t make it there at all, they gave it to us anyways for free as an apology. Its a nice gesture but in a spot like this, the drinks should be the bread and butter and especially for the price we pay for the experience, it definitely warrants better attention and efficiency. I was going to say quality of service but the waiters were friendly so that is a plus.

Overall…

Food is delicious, drinks were good, service is lackluster, loud atmosphere and great rooftop view
Not exactly sure that I’ll go back unless we have another family event there but it was an experience I can cross off my list now

Dinner: Restaurant Le Sanglier (Boucherville, Quebec)

Its time for another restaurant outing! 🙂

Yet another Tuango coupon approaching its expiration and because of overlooking the details, it turned out to be a huge debate on when to go. Week nights are harder to manage around. Luckily, I ended up inviting my mom and she came along with me. Its not her normal type of food but spending time with her and chatting outside of both of places is a good change of scenery. This coupon was for a rather new restaurant established in 2015 called Restaurant Le Sanglier. For those who don’t know French, Sanglier means wild boar. Surprisingly, you will see that we didn’t order any boar and I’ll tell you why in just a little bit.

Restaurant Le Sanglier

Located in the suburbs of Boucherville and embedded in a restaurant or lounge area near a lake that I’ve talked about when we make the ice cream outings with friends, its not a huge restaurant but the decor is very delicate. It reflects the food that you should get.  The inside eating area doesn’t seat a lot of people but somehow it still remains cozy to be there. However, oing in the summer, most customers prefer to sit outside on the terrace. The evening we went was beautiful and the terrace was packed, so we had our meal inside.

Cocktail

Limonade a Charlotte: lemonade, vodka, maple, basil

Normally when I’m out with my mom, I wouldn’t order a cocktail (with the exception of when we went on a cruise last year). This is a different situation mostly because I did buy a coupon that was paying $20 for the value of $40 so I try to be a little bit more generous with my spending and really giving everything a try. I ended up choosing the Limonade a Charlotte because it had some refreshing qualities from lemonade itself to basil and I personally like vodka based cocktails. Let me tell you: it did not disappoint. I liked it quite a bit actually, enough for me to think that the other choices on the menu deserve a shot as well when I come back next time.

Starter: Bread

I usually don’t talk about bread. Restaurant Le Sanglier serves their bread in a rather unique way. I don’t know a lot of people that still use those pins that we punch paper through to keep track of loose paper, but they used that for the bread. The brown paper bag also has more bread in it. Its definitely a cute way to serve it. Not to mention, the bread was delicious. It could’ve been warmed up a little but I thought it was a good start to the meal.

Main Meals

Onto the main meal, the coupon covered the main meals dishes while they also serve little sharing platters which had quite a bit of choice as well. The main dishes menu had about six choices. Three of those change around as they are the catch of the day. Is that what you call it? There’s the Dish of the Day, I guess and the other is maybe the chef’s special or something like that. Regardless, the catch of the day was Salmon Fillet. The dish of the day was paella with risotto and finally the chef’s special was…something else that I don’t remember right now.

Here’s what we got:

Catch of the Day (My mom’s choice)

My mom enjoyed her meal. The salmon was done well. Underneath was a squash puree which she also liked.

Surf ‘n Turf (My choice)

I’m not much of a Surf ‘N Turf girl usually but this time when I ordered, I tried a new strategy to ask the waitress to suggest. She suggested the catch of the day, which my  mom already took. Then she suggested the Paella, which has risotto so I couldn’t eat it. After that, it was throwdown between the Beef Bavette (is that even the world in English?) and Surf ‘N Turf and honestly, I’d go for something that I can’t make so much at home. This dish is really great. The scallops are done perfectly and the little pieces of beef are are well cooked. There’s a decent bit of veggies. They take good care in having veggies, especially asparagus that are not mushy but have a little crunchy texture to it. I think the beef was a little salty but other than that, there was a clear thought of how to balance the flavors in the dish here and I liked it a lot.

Why we didn’t order boar…

Its time for the curiously funny story. So, you know, I asked the waitress for suggestion. The weird part is that she suggested  most of the menu except for the Wild Boar Flank with Sweet and Sour Sauce. Honestly, I was curious for it since the name of the restaurant is literally wild boar. Since she didn’t suggest it, I figured I’d skip over it. Its just incredibly curious to me.

Overall…

Restaurant Le Sanglier is in a nice location and cozy decor. The cocktails are good and the food is delicious. The service took a little longer because we were inside and sometimes it does feel that when we use these online deals that we’re less taken care of but then there was only two waitresses and our waitress was very nice. Its definitely a place to check out if you are in the area. I’m definitely going to head back with my husband and some friends to give it another go and try something new. 🙂

Pinterest Spring/Summer Inspirations!

Its been forever since I’ve shared some fantastic Pinterest stuff! Mostly because while pinning is super fun and therapeutical, putting together the posts can be tiring.  Just deciding what to do takes so much time that it becomes less therapeutical than it actually is even if I love putting those posts up.  However, maybe this is what Pinterest is going to be: Therapy or Inspirations! Spring is pretty much almost over and hints of Summer is landing in Montreal.  The last few days have been hot and humid and I love it! 🙂

This also means spring cleaning and garden/outdoors stuff needs to be taken care of! I have some rhubarb to harvest and maybe make some nice drinks.  The heat also means that I kick in a much healthier lifestyle.  Lots of things that I seek out Pinterest for! Lets look at some of my faves and ones I hope to pursue if not now, eventually!

The Anatomy of Sangria

Hot summer days calls out to me in the form of Sangria. I don’t drink a lot in general but a great sangria is so hard to resist. This infographic breaks it down in an interesting way and peaks some new ways to use different ingredients next time.  For the record, I’ve recently realized that I’m intolerant or maybe allergic to red wine so any sangria’s now have to be with white or rose wine. I have also done a autumn sangria with brandy and that turned out pretty good.

Popsicles

I’ve tried out a few popsicle recipes before and I’m not really good at it but its something I’m trying to learn to do better. This one looks delicious.  They are called Fruit Salad Ice Pops.  I love fruits and especially fruit salads and wrapped up in a popsicle. Yummy!  I’m already thinking of what fruits to get to make it and wondering where those popsicle molds are.

Infused Water Combinations

Last year I started getting into infused water. I like cold drinks and water is super healthy so I’ve tried something with blueberry and basil before if I remember correctly.  This summer, I want to keep with the healthy stuff and try some other ones.  These ones are pretty neat especially detox and weight/sugar control and metabolism booster. I guess everything but the lower blood pressure one looks like choices I want to try out.

Watermelon Strawberry Sorbet

For those of you who are new here, I’m lactose intolerant or at least it seems to be in an extreme phase again.  Its really built a love and appreciation for Sorbets in my life. I’ve been wanting to try to make sorbet for a while and if these recipes say its easy, I’ll believe it! Its one of my goals this summer to give it a try.  This combination particularly looks great. I love strawberries and watermelons and yet, no one really pairs these two together. I wonder what it’ll taste like.

Liquid Sunshine

I know, its a lot of alcoholic beverages here! In general, there’s a lot of drinks. Thing is, I was going to do a cruise dedicated post after my cruise recap last year and I forgot about it. I flat out forgot. That’s just how I am. A year after, I remembered and was thinking maybe this year, I’ll start a little drinks segment to experiment different recipes.  I don’t mean alcoholic cocktails, even if they are resistible, I don’t usually drink that much but even for like lemonades or infused waters and other healthy stuff. I think its well worth a shot! 🙂

That’s it for this Pinterest Inspirations!
Originally, it had a ton of other stuff for the garden and whatnot, but I just wanted to keep this fun and short! 🙂 

Let me leave you with this lovely quote!

Happy Friday! 🙂

Sherbrooke Met La Table: OMG Resto

I love food festivals! Thanks to how much fun the MTL a Table was and our last hiking at Mont-Orford having us check out the Tourism Sherbrooke book that exposed us to this event called Sherbrooke Met la Table. This food event is pretty much what MTL a Table is except on a much smaller scale.  It has 20 restaurants.  Its currently running in Sherbrooke. If you are in that area, its definitely worth a visit.  We had a few restaurants that we wanted to try but in the end, we had a day trip which included booking a lunch and a dinner menu that appealed to us the most. This runs till the end of this weekend.  While its smaller, you will see that the style and menus are much more diverse and has some really great concepts.  I have some in mind that I hope will be there if this event runs again next year. I’m not even sure how long this event has been going for.

Our first choice was for lunch at OMG Resto!  Please note that they don’t always have the same wide variety offered on their menu so my husband took something from the normal menu. Before we get into the food.  You have to see the nice building that its located it. Its in a church.  Get it? OMG?

The inside decor is some of the best I’ve seen. Plus, its Christmas decorations are up so its so pretty!

Wine Rack

OMG Resto Decor

Giant Christmas Tree

Its really nice.  The tree is perfect for its high church ceilings. They had stairs going up and the backdrop was full of those LED pots.  Its a very nice ambiance and comfortable setting.  The wood walls makes it exceptionally home-y. Plus, I don’t usually talk about bathrooms but its a unisex bathroom.  There are four individual stalls and then in the middle was a urinal and you have this door that closes. Its super cool! This restaurant overview is getting really in depth.

Let’s move to the food now before I get too carried away!

Drinks

Mad & Noisy (Beer) & Cocktail: King Kunta

Mad & Noisy is an Indian pale lager.  My husband had it.  We both agreed that it was incredibly bitter. Not really our taste but it is smooth.  Not like a typical beer that I’d taste.

I had the cocktail mixo menu. I can’t remember everything that is in the drink but it had gin, pineapple juice, mint (or basil) and some other stuff. Doesn’t really matter because it taste REALLY  good.  Plus, it had a smaller quantity that other places I’ve been to but its to be tasted and enjoyed slowly, so that was alright 🙂

Appetizers

Met la Table menu: Mini fish cake, lime aioli, arugula with parsley

Les Cochonettes : Pulled Pork mini burgers

Met la table lunch menu’s appetizers was mini fish cakes. I usually have crab cakes so fish cakes was interesting.  I have no idea what lime aioli was. I’m guessing its the sauce at the bottom. It has something of a mayo sort of base.  I wasn’t sure what it was so I didn’t eat a lot of it but it was a good mix with the fish cake.

My husband had these little pulled pork burgers called Les Cochonettes.  There was four but he ate one before I could take the picture. Regardless, these are awesome! And I only took a bite! He liked it a lot too.

Main dish

Condiment rack

Burger de Gars

Met la Table menu: OMG Duck Burger with mango chutney and home fries

Look at that condiment rack! Three types of ketchups! I’m impressed.  When it first set on the table, I was like, now that’s hardcore. Haha!

Lets get back to business. The husband took the Burger de Gars (Translation: A Guy Burger). It had smoked meat, beef patty and bacon among tomatoes, pickes and mushrooms plus strong cheddar cheese. He liked it.  OMG resto age the beef in their restaurant so it enhances the taste of the beef.  The mix was good. His only critique would be that the “strong” cheese wasn’t very strong. Other than that, it was great.  Just a note for cheese lovers/connoisseurs.

Okay, so my burger. Let’s get something straight.  I like duck. I don’t eat it a lot nor do I claim to be a connoisseur or any sort but I didn’t get to taste the duck burger at La Maison du Magret during MTL a Table and this one has mango chutney.  If you missed it from a previous resto review, I LOVE mango.  This combination of duck, foie gras and mango chutney in a burger sounded really good.  Except, it didn’t.  The foie gras taste overpowered everything else. Mixing it with the mango chutney had this weird mix. Regrettably, it was suffice for half of the burger and then it took a little more effort to finish up. What would have been great is if the mango chutney was on the side and maybe found some sauce that would balance it but then when we have foie gras, the point is to taste it.  Its an acquired taste. To be honest, its really my issue because the patty itself was tender and juicy.  It was done very well.  Its just the strong foie gras that I couldn’t get over.

Dessert

Met la Table menu: Homemade donuts with vanilla infused whipped cream cheese

As many of you know, I can’t eat these.  You know, lactose intolerant  and all.  BUT, the resto didn’t know that and my husband didn’t order a serving of dessert but they still gave him a plate as well. Which meant he had double the indulgence 😉 It was very nice of the resto and we absolutely appreciated it with all our hearts. My husband was great because it was totally taste the homemade home taste and the addition of the sauce balanced with the dark chocolate filling was a great combination.

Additional Goodies with our bill!

Lollipops

Overall…

We have our critics of this meal but it was an enjoyable experience.  The food presentation is appealing.  The drinks and cocktails are nice and attractive. I would have loved to try more. The food was great (except my duck burger but thats because I’m not a foie gras lover).  I’m sure that if I had something else, I would love it a whole lot more. The decor and the setup and just the idea of changing a church (previously St-Therese Church) into a restaurant-bar is so weird and wrong but also done so right.  On top of that, the service was fantastic.  Our server was called Guillaume and he was an absolute gem.  Its worth every bit of the experience and if we were to go back to Sherbrooke, I’m pretty sure we’d stop by this place for a meal. Maybe even on one of the nights, they have some awesome performer there (because they seem to have some known musicians going there).

Do you love foie gras or other duck meals? What do you think of this restaurant setting and concept?

MTL a Table: Restaurant Verses in Nelligan Hotel (Old Montreal)

Next up on our food adventures was just two days later on a Monday evening after work to a restaurant relatively close to my work place! The next few are all in Old Montreal actually, now that I think about it.

Restaurant Verses offers French cuisine and the menu looks relatively decent. I’m a little nervous about a few parts of it but it does also say that it’ll offer other options (which they did).  The menu had extra options in both the 1st and 2nd service.

Excuse the blurry photos.  The lighting here gave me a lot of issues with the focus on my phone.  I’m taking my DSLR for the next two.

MTL a Table: Restaurant Verses

Cocktails

La Marronnier & Dolce Vita

I had the Dolce Vita and its a mix of Amaretto, Captain Morgan spiced rum, pineapple juice, egg white, cinnamon, “bitter fumé”.  It tasted absolutely awesome.  It wasn’t too sweet or too sour and it had a nice balanced flavor. My friends had the other one. I believe they said the espresso bits were mostly for taste and it had a peculiar taste.  Not sure if thats a good or bad thing.

Chef’s bonus: something to do with bison, radish, gravlax (I think), and mayonnaise

1st service

New fashion fish soup

Beef gravlax, chocolate truffle, brioche

Mushroom ravioli

I had the New Fashion Fish Soup.  So okay, this time we hit a little bit of a snag.  This soup has a few seafood bits, I think gravlax and fish mousse.  Fish mousse was put to the side because it has cream in it so I didn’t want to risk it. The soup itself had a peculiar taste between being salty and bitter in a way.  However, with the gravlax bits, it tasted a lot more balanced.  My friend tried the fish mousse with the soup and said it balanced it also.  I’m guessing if I didn’t have to remove the fish mousse and had the soup as a whole, it would taste a whole lot better.

I also took a little tasting of the beef gravlax and it had a really refreshing texture that I liked quite a bit. My friend found the chocolate truffle a little too sweet but she also enjoyed the beef gravlax.

2nd service

Icelandic cod, cipollini, passion fruit, carmelized apples, baby potatoes, Sherry veal jus

Mac n Cheese with orzo, peas, mascarpone

Honey and thyme butter glazed sweetbread, root vegetables, potatoes, juniper berries

I had the Icelandic cod and it was done so good.  The fish was cooked perfectly and especially tender.  The sauce was a nice mix.  It did feel a little schizophrenic with the flavors.  There were some bits where the pepper was really strong and then some where it was rather salty.  The fish and the sauce on top was great.  The veggies were fine.

I had a little tasting of the sweetbread as well.  My friends compared it to this sweet and sour pork while it did taste a bit like eating some sort of liver that I had tasted before. Its not a bad blend.  The glaze tastes really good.  Its just the texture of the meat makes me hesitate but that is a personal preference.

Finally, the Mac n’ Cheese was something I couldn’t try but my friend couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t that it was not good but rather that it was a little heavy.  Her guess was it was a mix of cheese.  Instead of macaroni, it was orzo (which I find usually fills me up quicker). Plus, there was mascarpone which is rather heavy in itself. I know that from before my lactose-intolerance days.

3rd service

Deconstructed carrot cake

Pear and chocolate sponge

Strawberryand lime sorbet with assorted berries

For our last service, we’re at the desserts.  I had my lovely extra choice because of lactose intolerance issues yet again.  The mixed sorbet and berries was awesome. The raspberry was really sour but every thing else was great. My friends always choose the opposite to make sure to taste more of the menu. They all have wonderful appearances.  Not a lot of feedback about how it all tasted though.

Overall…

The restaurant is very lovely situated on St Paul street which is where a lot of activities go on and right behind the Basilique Notre Dame. The set up and the seating was very comfortable.  The service was extremely thorough.  They made the effort to try to accommodate to my allergies as much as possible and remembered to mark down everyone’s allergies to make sure even a slight chance of it being in our food would be eliminated. The meal itself (at least mine) was really nice.  The cod was definitely the best part of the entire meal. The service is a little slow and relaxing.  We spend almost 3 hours for dinner.  We did take a bit of time to order but it still took longer than I had expected.

Restaurant: Jack Saloon at Quartier Dix 30, Brossard, Quebec!

Its been a good few months that I’ve posted anything on going out to restaurants.

A few months ago, I found a pretty good deal on Groupon for Jack Saloon in Quartier Dix30 in Brossard.  Its been a place I’ve been wanting to go check out with my boyfriend.

Situated down the main strip of Quarter Dix30, Jack Saloon has a great location where there’s accessible underground parking.  When you first enter Jack Saloon, the one thing you will not miss is its beautiful decor creating a very stylish ambiance.

We went for a 5pm reservation and outside was still bright but the copper counters of the bar situated in the middle and the racing and older style pictures dangling above it match the vibe they want to give.  The walls are lined with animal skulls and there are some classic lamp shades to match the lights decorating different corners.

We started off the evening with some cocktails.

Bloody Caesar a la Course

Mojito a la Mangue (Mango Mojito)

My boyfriend took the Bloody Caesar.  Its his thing.  He orders that everything.  Jack Saloon’s adds a little spicy twist to it with a few extra ingredients.  My boyfriend said that it tasted pretty good but the taste was definitely stronger than normal. I had the Mango Mojito.  I’ve turned into quite a mojito lover and I adore mango so this combination worked for me.  I can’t say I’m extremely wowed by it but it was quite delicious 🙂 Mango is a tricky fruit for cocktails in general, I believe (or maybe I’m just a little picky).

Moving along, Sundays at Jack Saloon’s meant that there was $10 on selected burgers which we could not take because it would render our Groupon useless and we’d have to use it another time.  We ended up both picking something else on the menu and I took the half rack of ribs while my boyfriend took a full rack with a side of onion rings.

Half Rack of BBQ Ribs

Accompaniment: Onion Rings

Closer look at onion rings: Its drenched in Honey!!!

I love ribs, oh do I love them? The choice for me was relatively easy, although I equally love pulled pork sandwiches as well.  There’s a ton of stuff to try here.  It sucks that I’m lactose intolerant or I’d have tried the Chicken ‘n Waffles which they also have here.  Anyways, we both had the ribs and the very nice waiter told us that because its done on the smokehouse at the actual restaurant, its going to be drier than the normal ribs that we have elsewhere.  We both were cool with that.

The ribs were spiced differently from other places and honestly, it may look dry but the taste was really awesome.  I’m glad I took the half rack because I don’t deal too well with spices (completely my own digestive issues) and this was just enough to satisfy my appetite and still be happy.

The onion rings were the star here.  I didn’t realize it was drenched in honey until I took my first bite.  The onions were cut large and usually I don’t like that but with the honey and the delicious crust, it just melted in my mouth.  It was so awesome and heavenly! 🙂 I took the second picture so that you could see the honey while the first one is the portion size of the accompaniment.

Jack Saloon’s is a pretty cool place to go.  The prices are a little higher than average and they may not have a huge selection on their 2 page menu but every choice is unique and original and they add their own little flair to it.  The ambiance and decor is extremely stylish and comfortable and well, the food was satisfying and delicious.  Oh, and the service was also very good.  We had a friendly waiter and that makes the experience every bit more pleasant.