MTL a Table: Taboo Cuisine Rebelle

On to the final MTL a Table! Our last location was in Downtown Montreal at Taboo Cuisine Rebelle.

Taboo Cuisine Rebelle is a lounge style restaurant with a rather relaxing generally bite-size food offerings and intricate drinks. With that said, the service was slow. It felt like there wasn’t enough servers to occupy the tables especially in high traffic periods like the time we had dinner at around 6pm. At the same time, they also overbooked as it was mentioned when we arrived that we had another table reserved 2.5 hours after and we only ended up leaving very close to that time with the next party already waiting around the bar. However, a redeeming point between all the stress of leaving and the slow service and the rather lacking service as well as the fact that in the lounge setting the music was rather contained but was a comfortable background addition and the ambiance and lighting was rather decent.

Now to move on and look at the food…

Aeroplan Privilege Drink: Lacroix Cider

The Aeroplan privilege drink that was offered here was the Lacroix cider. We’ve never had this one before and it actually is on point with most of the Quebec ciders that we’ve had. Its not particularly overly sweet but it still is fairly good.

First service: Starters

Sweet potato and pear soup, blue cheese on a crouton from Boulangerie L’Epicurien, walnuts

Salmon gravlax marinated in lemongrass and ginger oil, Asian sauce, wasabi, pomegrenate, fried capers, shoots

There was a choice of two appetizers. The husband had the soup where he found it good except that its for blue cheese lovers. For him, the blue cheese was a hurdle to appreciate the dish more than he would have wanted. As for the salmon gravlax which was my choice, it was very delicious. For someone not too huge on raw fish, this one packed a lot of flavors and depth in general from the crunch pomegranate to the delicious sauce, there was a lovely balance to it all.

Second service: Main course

3 mini burgers: Antipasto (salmon, mango, bruschetta, arugula, garlic); Ying Yang (shrimp, bruschetta, arugula, crispy noodles, citrus mayo); Benji (crispy chicken, goat cheese, bell pepper, arugula, garlic)

Bison Tartare panache, Taboo Mix, olive oil, dijon, apples, hazelnuts, lime juice, croutons, house salad

4 oz. filet mignon, crispy onion, demi-glace with maple syrup and foie gras, portobellos, grilled pistachios

For the main course, the husband go the 3 mini burgers. The three burgers were each about 2 or 3 bites. His favorite was the Ying Yang which was a surprise as shrimp usually isn’t his favorite type of seafood. The next one is Antipasto which was pretty good as well however, he did not enjoy Benji because of the goat cheese which is a rather acquired taste ingredient.

As for myself, I chose the filet mignon was a decent choice and one that usually isn’t on the menu as the filet mignon is usually 2 oz and in other mini burger varieties. The only issue here is that the filet mignon is so small compared to the three crispy onions that took up 80% of the plate itself. The sauce was pretty good as well.

Third Service: Desserts

Fried crepe stuffed with cheesecake and chocolate marbled with fondant caramel, whipped cream, caramel served with apple chutney

Vegan Brownie

Finally, for the desserts, the husband had the very unique fried crepe with cheesecake which was the best part of the entire meal for him. As for myself, I had the incredibly moist and decadent vegan brownie which was heavenly and rich in chocolate goodness. It was also a big highlight for my meal here.

Overall, Taboo is a restaurant with a decent ambiance and a nice selection of finger food/bite-size mini burgers and such. Its normal prices are overpriced for sure for what it offers (ex. there is a $16 mini burger, which is unfathomable for myself). While the service left a lot to desire whether it was in its efficiency for its urgency to have us out before the next party arrived and the server’s unattentiveness and rather leaning on rude service, the food here was pretty delicious. Its not someplace that I’d go back to per se as the overall experience wasn’t quite on par to some of the other restaurants we’ve discovered through MTL a Table this year and in previous years.

MTL a Table: La Classe (College Lasalle)

Another MTL a Table adventure is here as we head to the second restaurant on my list (out of three). This time we head to a much more familiar spot to the College Lasalle restaurant which employs the students of College Lasalle to hone their various skills related to the restaurant business. La Classe was previously called Fuschia and serves French cuisine at a very reasonable price to the public.

Aeroplan Privilege: Gin Cirka, pear puree, rosemary syrup and Labrador tea

The Aeroplan privilege drink was this La Classe cocktail that was very unique. I haven’t tried Gin Cirka before and I rarely drink gin in general and this one was very strong in flavor however it was pretty good.

Amuse-Bouche

The amuse-bouche is a tuna of sorts with sesame seeds and whatnot. I don’t have the actual dish name but while I’m not a huge fan of raw fish, but this had quite a lot of depth with the one bite. It was really delicious.

First service: Starters

Mushroom veloute, chestnuts, hazelnut oil

Seared scallop, squash ravioli

Arctic char gravlax from Baie des Chaleurs, beet-crusted soft boiled egg

Crusted poultry

I had the crusted poultry. I’m not quite sure what poultry it was but it had this foie gras sort of texture to it. Paired with the crust and the dijon in the middle and the little jelly and other adornments in the centre, it all gave it a nice balance in flavor to compliment it. However, foie gras texture, even though it is poultry is denser so felt a bit much in the last bite or two but it still tasted really good.

Second service: Main course

Halibut filet, mussels, cauliflower

Pork served in three ways

Smoked duck magret

Citrus lobster tail

For the main course, I went with the citrus lobster tail which was absolutely delicious. The puree seemed like some squash puree or pumpkin puree or something and the sweetness it brought meshed with the citrus flavors and the perfectly cooked lobster tail gave it a really lovely balance in flavors. Plus, they had these crunchy sides which I’m not quite sure what it was as it didn’t have quite a lot of taste to it but it did add a depth to the texture itself.

Third service: Dessert

La Pomme

Passion-Coco

As for desserts, they all look so wonderful. The dessert list actually had two more options from the original MTL a Table list on the website so I don’t have the info for it. Luckily, they did add in one that I could have which was the Passion-Coco. Its a lovely little citrus taste which was a nice blend of aromas and flavors of passion fruit and coconut that actually wasn’t overpowering and worked well together to be a good blend without being too acidic.

Overall…La Classe Restaurant is a great location. Its MTL a Table menu is in the $23 range which is incredibly affordable and a good bang for the buck  especially for French cuisine. While it is primarily student run, they have very patient servers and the kitchen makes very delicious food. Its a very thorough experience and always enjoyable atmosphere. Its a restaurant well worth visiting even outside of this event.

MTL a Table: Rose Ross

The Battle of Ingredients is taking a break in November as normal to check out the MTL a Table. We’re definitely back on track as this time, we kick off the eating earlier in this restaurant event. The first we’re hitting up is Rose Ross.

Rose Ross is a cozy little restaurant. Its actually just one strip of restaurant that was easily missed when we were first looking for it until we crossed the street and saw the sign. Its rather nicely ambient and while its fairly close quarters, the decor is very comfortable. Right off the bat, the service here was fantastic. They made an effort to make sure that allergies and intolerances were addressed and confirmed before ordering and was patiently answering all our questions and then when the meal came, they made sure to assure that anything that might look like it could trigger food allergies were confirmed to not be the case.

MTL a Table menu was rather good with a good few choices for each course and they also offered the Exclusive Aeroplan privileges for Aeroplan members.

Exclusive Aeroplan Privilege: Glass of Suriol Cava

They offered everyone with the Aeroplan card on hand a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, Suriol Cava as a starter. I’ll talk more about it in the wine recap for November. I can say that I’m not usually a huge fan of sparkling wine but this one was pretty good and matched well with the meal.

STARTERS

Honeynut squash, pumpkin seeds and herbs, pesto, mozzarella di bufala Maciocia

Mushroom cream, fried shallots, chive, curry oil and crispy chicken skin

Brussel sprouts a la vietsesame oil and coriander

A big group is always nice as we get to at least see everything on the menu. With the starters, we got the 3 out of 4 choices. My husband having the first one with the honeynut squash where his general comment about his meals throughout the evening was that they had a lot of depth in the food with the different textures combined and the flavors and such.

I had the last one (which was the one that I had my eyes on) with the brussel sprouts. I’m always on the lookout for new ways to cook and eat brussel sprouts. While this one was a tad powerful in the vinaigrette, it was really delicious for the majority of it and we all had a debate on how to fry or roast the brussel sprouts to be like that. Very lovely dish and it says a lot about it as I’m not a huge fan of coriander to begin with but the vietssesame oil and coriander was great with the brussel sprouts.

MAIN COURSES

Gnocchis, pecorino romano, chanterelles, fried cauliflower, chard, tarragon and cream

Blood pudding from Cochonnailles, squash puree, embeurre of cabbage with lovage and bacon, glace de viande moutardee

Coregone, carrot mousseline, beluga lentilles, fennel and basil

Onglet de boeuf IPE, cognac sauce, fries and mayonnaise (+$10)

Kid’s meal: Penne with tomato sauce

The husband’s choice was the Gnocchi, Phoebe’s choice was the Onglet de boeuf and mine was the Coregone fish option with the carrot mousseline. Everyone liked their main course. Mine was very unique as I’m not sure that I’ve ever had this type of fish before. The fish was cooked nicely and then the carrot mousseline was heavenly then it was paired with the sides that gave it a lot of depth and the flavors blended really well together.

Worth noting here is that they gave the option for kids menu where they had various types of pasta and two types of sauce to choose from which is always nice to see it having a certain level of accommodation on that level.

DESSERTS

Hazelnut cream puff with vanilla ice cream, salted caramel and goglu cookie crumble

Carrot cake and miel d’Anicet

In terms of dessert, they also landed quite well. The group enjoyed the hazelnut cream puff while I had the carrot cake which was a change in the original MTL a table menu which was some almond milk rice pudding. This one was also lactose-free option and tasted really  nice. It was very aromatic and not too sweet and the cake texture was moist as well.

Overall, Rose Ross is definitely a restaurant that we’d go back to. For MTL a Table, it was in the 2nd tier pricing at $33 a meal with a lot of options in each course to choose from. The service was impressive and very friendly. The restaurant atmosphere was really efficient and very comfortable. The food also delivered really well especially since it has a mix of French and North American food which sometimes is rather sensitive on the possible allergies but they were all very knowledgeable about their menu so had options for the basic allergies. It was an awesome first impression and first experience that we’d gladly go back a second time, even during a non-MTL a Table event for their regular menu if the opportunity presents itself. If you’re in Montreal, this one is a definitely one to consider.