L'Express

Nearing 45 years old, L'Express is been a big part of the dining scene in Montreal.  It was originally the brainchild of Colette Brossoit and Pierre Villeneuve, who wanted to open an affordable spot for classic French fare late into the night.  Things have changed since then, but it is still reasonably-priced and open late.  It was recently awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand designation that reflects its original mission as well as its current iteration.  Trying to fit in a visit at L'Express was fairly easy since they are open for lunch.

Compared to the bistros I've been to in France, L'Express really captures the decor, vibe and classic menu items.  We started with the Chicken Liver Pâté with pistachios, which was served in a fairly large portion.  It was rich and buttery smooth.  Nice sweetness and the aromatic hint of brandy made this really delicious.  Sure, it was probably full of cream and butter, but that is why it was so delicious!  I really didn't want to eat that much bread, but we dusted it off quickly.  Prior to that, we were delivered some Cornichons and Mustard.

Next, we had their classic Homemade Ravioli stuffed with veal, beef and pork.  The pasta itself was on point being thin but still having a nice chew to them.  In fact, the rebound from the pasta was some of the best I've had of late.  The filling was a bit crumbly, but tender with plenty of natural meat flavour.  To bring it all together, the reduced veal stock and mushroom sauce was silky and gelatinous.  It was full of umami and didn't need a lot of salt to be impactful.

Another must order here is the Veal Kidney in mustard sauce.  Okay, I'm a big offal fan and normally, nothing fazes me.  However, the kidneys in this dish were extra pungent and gamy.  Texturally, they were perfect being cooked through but still showing a bit of pink.  Hence, there was definite meatiness, but it ate tender and juicy.  The mustard sauce had a tangy sharpness complimented by the earthiness of mushrooms, gaminess of the kidneys and the richness of cream.   I would not recommend this to anyone who doesn't like gaminess.

We moved onto a few more dishes including the Quiche with leek, ham and emmenthal.  This was a pretty solid quiche where the egg was fluffy and light.  Inside, the balanced amount of ham provided not only some saltiness but a meaty chew.  Some brightness was provided by the leeks while the emmenthal added some cheesy sweetness.  The best part was the crust as it was light, flaky and buttery.  It really helped keep the quiche from being heavy and the texture was on point.

For the second meal in a row, we had the Hanger Steak.  This was cooked to somewhere between rare and medium-rare.  Hence, it was juicy, yet a bit chewier due to it being rare.  It was also very beefy, which was fine by us as it didn't need much of anything else as it was also well-salted.  However, the shallot butter was welcomed as it was aromatic and sweet.  The large pile of frites on the side were excellent being lightly crispy but plenty potatoey in the middle.  Nice creamy aioli on the side too.

For dessert, we had their famed Île Flottante with caramel.  This thing was huge but thankfully ate light due to the airy meringue "floating" on crème Anglaise.   I would say this was pretty sweet, with the combination of ingredients including the hard caramel dome.  Providing some sweet crunchiness, the almond brittle/granola was nutty and aromatic.  I felt this was good, but not really my thing.  It was impressive to look at and the crème Anglaise was good, but the entire thing was too sweet for me.  In general, L'Express does satisfy its core mission, providing competent food at reasonable prices.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Reasonable prices

- Attentive service

The Bad:

- The kidneys were a bit too pungent for me