Who container gardens? We container garden.

After many years of exhausting all window box possibilities, we decided to branch out this spring and experiment with container gardening. Last year we had a modicum of success growing two types of small tomatoes (pear tomatoes and “pink lady” tomatoes) and small cucumbers and thought we’d continue in the same vein, only this time we’d use two very large Ikea plastic containers. After an aborted attempt at Reno Depot (the lines ran the length of the store and people were arm wrestling for the picked-over basil plants), we headed off to Home De(s)pot where we found most of what we were looking for (anybody know where we can find some arugula plants?).

Once home, we began by drilling several drainage holes in the bottom of the containers (luckily the boxes already had “feet” so there was room for the water to drain…). We then filled the boxes with a mixture of soil and planted three types of tomatoes, two types of peppers, zucchini, lettuce, broccoli (!), two types of cucumbers and a variety of herbs including, but not limited to, flat-leaf parsley, chives, sage, oregano, etc. My dining companion also promises to re-pot all of the dying basil plants lining up on our kitchen counters…

We also planted a variety of flowers and a decorative lavender plant just because it smells pretty. Despite some cold and windy weather and the claustrophobia our balcony now induces, the containers/gardens seem to be holding up well and I look forward to sampling the fruits of our labour (although not really any fruit…).

La Montee du lait, 71 Villeneuve, est, Montreal, 2008

I had been interested in trying this small restaurant for a number of years now, and upon hearing that it had altered its menu (making it more of a fine-dining establishment and less of a wine and cheese bar), I was more eager than ever. Thus, on a recent Thursday night – looking for a nice restaurant to celebrate a friend’s academic accomplishment – we headed to the small restaurant on a quiet corner, just West of St. Denis.

To begin, the restaurant is quite small (as previously mentioned), which makes for loud dining. Sitting at a spacious table for four, our little trio had troubles hearing each other, and thus spent much of the dinner admiring the blonde wood accents of the restaurant. Many years ago, while conversing with my father on the subject of Montreal restaurants, he suggested that restos should come with a noise rating. At the time I scoffed at his paternal hearing impairment, but even at 32, I found the noise to be distracting.

But, on to the food. The set-up at LMDL is not unlike Atelier (another fine Plateau/Mile End restaurant), where diners make up their own tasting menus. At LMDL, one can choose the four or seven course tasting menu (there is also an ‘a la carte’ option), with each course being paired with a featured wine by the glass. I began the meal with an aubergine “pancake,” which consisted of a pancake... of eggplant and other odds and sods, topped with a piece of wonderfully light and creamy goat cheese and a mixture of greens. The pancake was sitting atop a layer of onion confit and surrounded by a grape/balsamic flavoured reduction. The dish was outstanding -- a perfect starter. At this point, I should mention that the portions are just right, neither too big, nor too small, however, I could have been happy with three courses rather than the suggested four. My next course consisted of a “deconstructed” romesco sauce served atop a seared skirt steak (served Tataki style). Each piece of rare beef was topped by one element of the romesco sauce – almond (a kind of almond butter), tomato (tomato foam), garlic (garlic chips), etc. The beef was perfectly done and despite the seemingly pretentiousness of the ‘deconstruction,’ it actually worked. The third course was described as ‘glazed suckling pig breast,’ but the waiter informed us that they had run out of breast and were now serving the loin. Although still delicious, we couldn’t help but think that the other cut would have been better suited to the dish; however I do appreciate the fact that the waiter alerted us to the replacement.

For our fourth courses, we were torn between a dessert (they looked wonderful) and a cheese course. Given that we had Cocoa Locale cupcakes waiting for us at home and that we were at a wine and cheese bar, it seemed only fair to forgo the desserts. And indeed it was the right choice. With three of us choosing the cheese plate, we had a sampling of six different cheeses, ranging from a Tomme to a creamy blue, which were accompanied by lightly-spiced almonds, prunes and of course, fresh baguette.

All in all, the meal was delicious. With regards to the food, there were no off-notes. The service was a trifle confusing, as we seemed to be served at the beginning by one of the ‘head’ waiters and then were attended to by a myriad of other servers. A quick note about the wine list: while the wine list is vast and features a number of very interesting wines, there are very few (especially red) under the $50 range. Instead, we opted for several glasses of the featured wine pairings which worked just as well.

Would I go back to La Montee du Lait? In a heartbeat. Would I wait until tax refunds come? Yes.

Thanks for visiting, Jen-Jen.


8.5/10

Four course tasting menu: $44

Bistro Cocagne, 3842 St-Denis, Montreal, 2008

Many moons ago, back when the mighty American dollar was trumping (no pun intended) our own, a good friend of mine was in town on business and wanted to treat us students to one of the premiere restaurants in town. Given that she was coming from silicon valley and had a fairly healthy meal stipend to dispose of, I wasn’t feeling bad about choosing a restaurant beyond our usual price bracket. This restaurant was, of course, Toque. The meal was outstanding, but sadly, too long ago to review here. Now, many years later, Toque’s old space on St. Denis street houses Bistro Cocagne, a restaurant helmed by Normand Laprise’s once-sous-chef – Alexandre Loiseau. Looking to celebrate my dining companion’s birthday, it was to Cocagne we ventured on a recent Sunday night.

Feeling sheepish about arriving a little late for our 7:30pm reservation, I needn’t have worried as the restaurant was only one third full, at best. Our jackets promptly whisked away, we were invited to choose any table we liked. While the restaurant is resplendent in warm wood, soft yellows and deep burgundies, it was the food that impressed most.

The menu at Cocagne is rooted in cusine du terroir, although not quite the same as that popularized by Au pied de cochon (think less pork). We both opted for the chef’s tasting menu, being attracted by the foie gras (gasp) and the venison. We began our meal with a kir and my dining companion ordered a couple of oysters on the half-shell. The first course of the evening consisted of a cappuccino mug filled with a frothy cream of fennel soup, drizzled with a home-made arugula oil. It was absolutely delicious -- not too heavy and just faintly flavoured with the fennel. It was also a treat to drink the soup out of the mug (as our wonderfully apt waitress suggested). The second course featured a piece of very mild smoked salmon (this suited me best, as I am not a fan of fishy fish). The piece of fish was served atop a layer of fresh cheese and the whole thing was topped with tiny salted croutons. The entire dish was terribly light and a good follow-up to the soup (although my dining companion would have preferred more salt). The third course was definitely the stand-out. Described as a macaronade, the dish consisted of home-made flat noodles, tossed with a medley of wild mushrooms and topped with a piece of perfectly seared fois-gras. The entire dish was brought together by a heavenly foie gras sauce. At this point, the meal could have ended right there and I would have been happily satiated. As a side-note, our waitress said that the macaronade had ended up on the menu quite by accident. One night, several years ago, the kitchen had run out of the daily special and had quickly thrown together this macaronade as a replacement. The dish met such rave reviews that it became one of the menu’s mainstays. Following the macaronade, we had a perfectly-cooked piece of venison, which was flavourful and toothsome. It was accompanied with more wild mushrooms and roasted potatoes. Following the meat courses, we had a cheese plate with four types of cheeses, including Riopelle and an aged gouda. The dessert consisted of a “pudding chomeur” for two (served in the saucepan!), topped with a scoop of cardamom-laced ice cream and a caramel sauce. The dessert was absolutely delicious, but a little heavy for a tasting menu…

All in all, the evening was a tremendous success. While the chef made the rounds to the “fancy” tables (there seemed to be many regulars and/or vedettes in the room), he didn’t give us the chance to compliment him on the wonderful meal. That aside, our waitress was very attentive, terribly knowledgeable (she had put the wine list together herself and had recommended a lovely wine, of which, I am embarrassed to say, I don’t remember the name).While not as pricey as Toque, it remained an expensive evening, but they do have a $25-30 and $35-40 menu. To conclude, I can’t recommend this place enough. I would hate to see another excellent restaurant close because of poor attendance. Just make sure you bring along a somewhat wealthy benefactor, or somebody with an expense account.

9/10

Mains: $25-40

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Tasting Menu, March 2008, Montreal

Every February, Montreal plays host to the HIGHTLIGHTS FESTIVAL which, among other things, brings in chefs from around the world to create menus in some of Montreal’s finer restaurants. This year, one of my friends and I decided to make a concerted effort to partake of the highlight festivities (read: tasting menu) at one of our favourite restaurants – Le Jolifou. However, due to last minute financial restrictions, we decided rather than heading out for a tasting menu, we’d invite a number of guests and bring the tasting menu in. The menu plan for the evening was simple: each guest was to bring one small course along with a wine-pairing. We had briefly consulted with each other beforehand to make sure there were no duplicate dishes (we almost came to blows over beets – beets on repeat).

The evening began with cocktails, or rather hard liquor. While we sipped on any one of the following: whisky, vodka -- herbed and otherwise, as well as aged rum, we munched on spiced cashews and toasted baguette with herbed goat cheese and grapes. Following the hors d’oeuvres, the first course consisted of a small espresso cup filled with lentil soup. It must be said that this was one of the best lentil soups I had ever tasted (an “old country” recipe) -- it was hearty, without being heavy and had the perfect amount of spice. The soup was paired with a glass of “La vielle ferme” – a good Cotes de Ventoux stand-by. The second course consisted of a toasted corn tortilla (fresh from the Mayan store down the street-ish), topped with a combination of slow-cooked black beans, yam, onions, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and feta. The delicious dish was paired with a Domaine de Moulines “vin bio” merlot (2006), which promised, and did, go quite well with the vegetarian dish which was the only one to follow Jolifou’s menu of Latin-inspired dishes. The next course comprised roasted beets topped with a slice of ashed goat cheese and arugula, surrounded by a beet reduction. While the beets were tasty, the “reduction” suffered from being heated, and reheated ad infinitum, and ended up being dubbed “beet candy,” as it hardened as soon as it hit the plate. I can be critical as it was my own dish. The wine pairing fared better. I had asked the SAQ guy for a wine that would pair well with beets and goat cheese. He suggested a Cabernet Franc, and I ended up with an Alain Lorieux Chinon from 2005 -- also quite a good match. The fourth course consisted of a mushroom charlotte topped with a port sauce -- it was rich and filling and a perfect end to the savory part of the meal. As we already had a number of unfinished bottles of wine, we skipped the wine pairings and continued with the wines already on the go. The tasting menu was rounded out by a key-lime-esque pie with a hint of cream cheese and a graham cracker crust. The wonderfully tart and tangy slice of pie was equally well-matched with an amazing sparkling dessert wine -- Nivole Moscato d’Asti (certainly the wine highlight of the evening for me).

All in all it was an excellent evening. There was little jockeying for the kitchen, all of the courses were well-paced and there was a wide variety in the dishes. I had planned to take photos of each of the courses, but as the wine-tasting progressed, the photography suffered. The above photo is one of the few that turned out (and even that’s debatable). As such, I would have to pronounce the tasting menu a success. We may not have had the culinary chops of the Highlight chefs, but we made up for lack of skill in unbridled enthusiasm… or something like that.

A Cab by any other name… or price.

A curious thing happened last month…

Attempting to stave off the winter blues, my dining companion and I decided to spend the weekend in the Laurentians with assorted friends and family. In addition to all of the skating and board-gaming to be done, we were all looking forward to some cabin-comfort-food, which would naturally include grilled meat, a little beer, a little wine and a few martinis. The second day in, after spending the day skating on some picturesque lake, we retired to the cabin for a dinner of grilled steak, potatoes and assorted vegetables.

Having recently returned from a “boy’s trip” to the States, my dining companion had brought with us to the cabin, a few bottles of Californian wine, purchased at a very reasonable price ($15-$20 max). Just as dinner was coming to a close, and after everyone had imbibed their fair share of any one of the following: beer, rum, scotch, and/or vodka, we decided to open one of KC’s bottles of California Cabernet Sauvignon. Declaring it a tremendous bottle of wine, we marveled at the $14.99 price tag on the bottle (its price was doubly-impressive in that this summer, while on a road trip through California, we had purchased the cheapest bottle of Stag’s Leap we could find and that rang in at about $60 USD). Upon closer inspection of the tag, we noticed that there was no decimal point and in fact, the price tag read $14999. While my dining companion was fairly sure he would have noticed a credit bill with a $150 charge for one bottle of wine, it was enough to cause some concern. In turn, it made us all a little sorry that we had not started the evening off with the good stuff. I would like to be able to comment on the wine’s bouquet, body, finish, etc., but I can honestly say that beyond being an incredible glass of wine, I don’t remember much else.

After returning home the following day (which had begun with a breakfast of no less than five or six meats!), and after comforting ourselves with the fact that KC did indeed only pay $14.99 USD for the bottle, we both did a bit of internet research only to discover that our bottle of Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner’s Blend retailed anywhere between $150 and $200. Did we feel a little guilty? Yes. But as this is a blog that focuses on culinary and oenophile experience, rather than ethical responsibility, we’ll enjoy it for what it was – a heck of a deal!

Stag’s Leap Cask 23, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000

9/10

Restaurant Review - Bombay Mahal, 1001 Jean-Talon Ouest

Bombay Mahal…Now Zagat-Rated

A number of years ago, a friend of mine spent three months in India at an artists’ residency. Upon her return to Montreal, she went in search of the best, reasonably-priced Indian food she could find (after living in India, it seemed absurd to pay $20 for a dish of palak paneer). With no surprises, her search wound up in Parc Ex, at the stoop of Bombay Mahal. Since then, it has been my Indian restaurant of choice. Recently however, my dining companion and I branched out -- at the behest of friends and family -- and tried a number of other Parc Ex offerings. After trying Pushap (reviewed), Mali Sweet and Maison Indian Curry (a steadfast favorite of friends of ours), we came to the conclusion that Bombay Mahal was still our favorite.

With little, or no décor to speak of (they recently took down the Inuit (?) print that was hanging above the stairs leading to the basement) and inconsistent service (although recently service has been quite amenable), the little restaurant more than makes up for it in ambiance which is mostly provided by the multitude of diners squished into every nook and cranny. Did I mention that it is BYOB? With no SAQ within real walking distance and few deps (for beer, not wine), it’s best to bring a bottle of wine/beer from home. One of the huge draws for me is the thali plate. I like compartmentalized food. I’m not one of those obsessive people who hates their food touching, but I like to eat things one at a time, and this prison tray-like plate allows me to concentrate on one dish at a time. The non-veg thali plate comes with a vegetable curry (delicious), chicken curry (you can substitute this for the Westernized butter chicken for a meager price increase), a lentil curry, rice, one naan and a pity salad. All of this rings in at $7 or less. The size of the thali is enormous and I end up bringing half of it home for lunch the next day. If prison trays don’t float your boat, there is a wide selection of other dishes -- favorites include the chicken korma, lamb madras and bagnan bharta. I also love the dal and my dining companion recently tried the “South-Indian-style” soup which was intensely spiced and full-bodied. While they lack the desserts of Pushap (you can always wander one block over and buy some to go), they do serve a wonderful Indian tea – although not after 8pm!

On our last outing, we brought my dining companion’s father who had recently returned from a couple of years working in Bombay… I mean Mumbai. While declaring the food not quite as spicy as in India, he seemed pleased overall and introduced us to a number of dishes that were not included on the menu.

While settling down to our meal, friends of ours wandered over from across the street where they had been dining at their favorite Indian place – Maison Indian Curry, proving that when it comes to Indian food, beauty is in the eye of the beholder… or something like that.

Mains: $6-10

8.5/10