St Paul Dishcrawl ▪ Montréal

It's hard to know where to begin when I haven't posted in a while so I've decided to post the most recent restaurant outing and I'll try to work my way back. This was a fun one as it was my first Dischcrawl with Elle and our friend E, on one of our coldest days this year.

The concept for Dishcrawl is similar to university days' pub crawls and apartment crawls (good times!). There is a Dishcrawl ambassador who picks 4 restaurants and a large group (I think we were close to 25) crawl through the restaurants trying out different foods - all for $60. Only the first restaurant where we meet is revealed and the rest are a surprise.

Chez L'Épicier
311 St Paul Est
Montréal, Québec
website

Our gathering place was Chez L'Épicier. Elle and E were excited about our first stop as it has a good reputation for refined French food. The restaurant served a trio of appetizers: a play on grilled cheese, a beef tartare slider and a shot of Jerusalem artichoke soup, which was our favourite. Since E does not eat meat, she had an intriguing savoury macaron, flavoured with olive and goat cheese. We were all intrigued and jealous!

 

*****

Brasero Hardi
139 St Paul Ouest
Montréal, Québec
website

Making our way west on St Paul, our next stop on the crawl was Brasero Hardi. A new restaurant that opened last September, it was one of our favourite stops, and not just because drinks were waiting for us at the tables. The drink, named "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", consisted of Midori melon liqueur, green tea, lime, cardamom and weirdly seaweed.

Brasero Hardi served a main of braised short ribs on mashed potatoes dotted with bacon and smoked salmon. The short ribs that were cooked for 6 hours completely stole the show; they were melt in your mouth tender and the potatoes were just as good. I'm not one to order short ribs at a restaurant as I usually go for seafood, but I would definitely order this dish again.

Our friend E didn't do so bad herself. I didn't take a picture but she had gnocchi with a truffle sauce. The truffle scent was so strong and fragrant, it left us omnivores wondering what we were missing. I think Brasero Hardi is worth another visit, especially after hearing about the terrasse they have in the summer.

*****

Dolcetto
151 St Paul Ouest
Montréal, Québec
website

While I worried after our first stop that we wouldn't have enough food, after our second stop I was worried I'd be too full. Dolcetto, which the owner described as serving Italian style tapas, had a marine/Breton vibe. We were served a trio of pizzette: Margherita with burrata, pear and Gorgonzola and their best seller fig and foie gras. I loved the burrata but thought there was too much Gorgonzola and it took over the pizzette. I surprisingly liked the foie gras against the sweet figs, as I'm not the biggest fan of foie gras.

*****

Santos
151 St Paul Ouest
Montréal, Québec
website

Santos also specializes in tapas and Spanish food. I wasn't feeling the vibe at Santos with its strong red colour, its loud music and large TV's. It seemed to not know if it was a restaurant, a club or a sports bar.

We were first served salmon tartare with a slice of avocado on top of a toast that we all enjoyed. When the paella came out, we were a bit overwhelmed as we were pretty full. I'm not a big paella person, so it was ok to me. We were all very excited to end our night on a sweet with a churros, although I was hoping it was going to be hot instead of cold. It was still good nonetheless.

We all had a great time at our first Dishcrawl. The ambassador Jenny King was very friendly and picked some good restaurants. It's nice to not only discover new restaurants, but discover them all in one night. While $60 is not cheap, I think it was a good price, considering the amount of food, and that it included taxes and tip. I would definitely sign up again, maybe once it gets warmer.

For better pictures, check out Dischcrawl's blog post on the event.

Truffles Bistro ▪ Saskatoon, SK

230 21st Street East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
306.373.7779
website

While working in Saskatoon, I stayed near the Saskatoon office near the airport. One evening, I ventured out to downtown Saskatoon to walk along the South Saskatchewan River, look at art for free at the Mendel Art Gallery, and have a nice meal all by my lonesome. I don't travel very often for work, and usually just pick up some food, or eat at the hotel when I'm on my own. I thought I would go out of my comfort zone and experience eating a nice meal on my own.

Truffles Bistro specializes in French fare. I decided on this restaurant for dinner because it is known for sourcing its food locally. It is located in the historic Birks building, and boasted very high ceilings and an open kitchen in the back.

Truffles Bistro.

Complimentary chips and aioli first came to the table. While I apprciated the freshly fried chips, I think they were slightly overdone, giving them a slightly burnt taste. First time ever that I did not finish chips placed in front of me!

Chips and aioli.

For my starter, I ordered the pan seared local chicken livers ($12). I really enjoy chicken livers and so if I see it on the menu, which is rare, I will likely order it. The server seemed to approve of my choice, and understandably so. The livers, cooked with lardons, were served on two slices of toasted baguette, topped with greens and a Dijon vinaigrette. The acidic vinaigrette worked very well against the fatty lardons and creamy chicken livers. I was very happy with my dish.

Pan seared local chicken livers.

For my main, I ordered the grilled Saskatchewan pork loin chop. The perfectly cooked chop was served on top of a creamy corn tarragon purée, with a side of Dijon potato salad. The chop was also well seasoned with a dry rub. The potato salad was studded with bacon and good but I slightly wished it wasn't a cold salad. One of my favourite components of the dish were the pickled cucumber slices and onion. I recently discovered that I am a sucker for freshly made pickles!

Grilled Saskatchewan pork loin chop.

I was very happy with meal at Truffles Bistro. I think I picked well. The staff at Truffles Bistro were very nice and friendly, maybe even slightly more attentive because I was on my own. Unfortunately, I think I felt a bit awkward and acted like a skittish cat. I realize there was no reason to feel this way, and hopefully, I will feel more comfortable dining on my own once I have a few solo dinners under my belt.

 

Le Valois ▪ Montréal

25 Simon Valois Place
Montréal, Québec
514.524.2292
website 

After my tennis match with MC on a Sunday morning, we grabbed breakfast at Le Valois in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood. The HoMa neighbourhood had sparked my interest when I read about ArHoMa on Lake Jane. Le Valois also happened to be in Place Valois. We were nicely surprised that it offered a beautiful terrace so we could enjoy breakfast outside.

 Terrasse at Le Valois.

After our workout, we both enthusiastically ordered a fresh juice to hydrate ourselves. The Elixir ($4.95), a blend of mango, orange juice and strawberry juice was quite refreshing. We also noticed other patrons ordering sangria, maybe an idea for next time.

 The refreshing Elixir juice.

MC was intrigued by the croquette de chèvre, served with a beet sauce ($9.50). While she enjoyed the fried croquette of goat cheese, she was disappointed by the small portion. It would have been nice if it had come with a more filling salad, or a piece of bread.

 Croquette de chèvre.

I ordered the Spécial du Valois ($8.95), which consisted of 2 eggs, sausage, bacon, a baguette and potatoes. I had assumed correctly that “oeufs miroir” meant sunny side up. Good to know for next time as I don’t like my eggs that runny. The special was quite enough to fill me up, having both bacon and sausage on the dish. My favourite part was the pommes de terre rissolées; they were well cooked, well seasoned with a good amount of onion.

  Spécial du Valois.

Le Valois is a good place for breakfast, especially if you’re looking to sit on a terrace on a sunny morning. They also offer a late dinner special that would be nice to check out one day. Place Valois seems to have a lot offer when it comes to food. I’ll just have to come back to check out ArHoma another time (and fine sausages at William J. Walter).

P.S. this post is my first post using my i-phone and Instagram for pictures. This might be my preferred means of taking pics as it is much more convenient than carrying a camera all the time!