Toque!

Always chasing after new restaurants is what many people do to keep on top of the restaurant scene.  However, we must not forget about the ol' standbys too.  They were, at one point, the new kid on the block.  One of the long standing restaurants in Montreal that still receives accolades is Toque! on the outskirts of Old Montreal.  It has been around for 30 years and has morphed from a small restaurant on St Denis to the larger elegant space in 2004.  We were able to squeeze in a lunch here on our eating adventures for this trip.

Their lunch menu is strictly table d’hôte featuring one appetizer and one main course.  For our appetizers, we had the classic Pâté en Croute.  This was beautifully plated with squash mostarda, apricot purée, somerset grape and pumpkin seeds.  Crispy and firm, the hot water crust pastry was excellent and did not separate from the pâté.  About that pâté, it consisted of duck liver, tongue and pork.  It was rather meaty, especially from the tongue.  Just enough fat to keep things silky and bonded.  The accompaniments helped lighten things up with tang and sweetness.  Loved the sprinkle of pistachios on top adding nuttiness without being wet.

Our other appetizer was the Laquered Miso and Maple Trout with cauliflower purée, nasturtium, apple & maple mignonette and trout roe.  This was a well-composed plate with super crispy fish skin that was properly seasoned.  The trout itself as lightly cooked where the centre was still rare.  It was buttery and sweet with the natural flavours coming through while the miso added fermented saltiness.  To balance, the maple did its job with aromatic sweetness.

For our mains, we had the Lamb with romesco, cauliflower, confit leek, matsutake mushroom, thyme and lemon sauce.  Served in 3 pieces, we found the lamb saddle, rib and leg meat.  Prepared medium-rare, the leg meat was tender and juicy with a nice char on the outside.  The thyme and lemon sauce was tangy, earthy and sweet.  Lamb saddle had crispy fat giving way to tender and fatty meat.  Nice saltiness with this.  Braised rib meat was more lean, but the romesco helped in that regard.  Confit leek were charred, so there was smokiness to go with the brightness.

The other main was the Beef Strip Loin with bak choy, shiitake mushroom, beet, zucchini, red bell pepper chutney, black sesame purée and foie gras sauce.  Prepared medium as requested (not for me, I like medium-rare!), the steak was tender with a meaty texture.  It was properly seasoned, but the foie gras sauce was silky and savoury with plenty of umami.  The black sesame purée was quite potent with plenty of nuttiness.  

Dessert was not included with the table d’hôte but we ordered 2 of them anyways.  The Corn Crémeaux consisted of basil dehydrated sponge cake, nectarine, caramelized corn, olive oil ice cream.  Really sweet and rich, the corn crémeaux was the beneficiary of actual sweet niblets.  Loved the crispy sponge cake, which was the perfect compliment to the creamy and mildly sweet ice cream.

Lastly, we had the Strawberry salad with jasmine syrup, gin, strawberry sorbet and lime gel.  Such a simple dessert, but truly refreshing and satisfying after some heavier dishes.  Since the strawberries were sweet already, the light kiss of the syrup was enough.  Could definitely get the brightness of the gin coming through.  Finished off with some Dark & Milk Chocolate with dried raspberry and ginger gel.  Nice little bites to end a very solid meal.   

The Good:

- Solid execution

- High level of service

- Classy and spacious dining room

The Bad:

- Maybe less sexy than the new places?

Le Violon

You would think that Le Violon would be known for its Co-Executive Chefs, Danny Smiles and Mitch Laughren.  Moreover you'd also think that they are known for their use of local in-season ingredients, in which they highlight in their carefully executed dishes.  Maybe, their inclusion in Canada's Best 100 restaurants, Michelin-recommended designation or being a finalist in Air Canada's best new restaurant would be their claim to fame.  But alas, they were the restaurant that Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry had their "first date".   For me, I don't really care about the latter as I just want to dine on delicious eats.  So yes, we got a reso for Le Violon and made our way for a late dinner.

We decided to get 6 dishes to share including the Automne Boulangerie Sourdough with whipped butter with fennel pollen.  Really loved this bread as it was firmly crusty on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside with some density.   It was perfectly salted where it totally stood on its own without the butter.  However, of course we slathered on all of the butter!  It was creamy and light with sweetness and only a hint of liquorice.

As if we didn't have enough lobster with Hollandaise already for lunch at Monarque, we had the Lobster with braised leeks.  Yes, it was covered in a velvety Hollandaise that was even better than Monarque.  Perfectly seasoned, buttery and with the right viscosity, it held onto each bouncy and sweet piece of lobster lovingly.  There was quite the generous portion of lobster too.  Underneath, we found braised leeks that were tender while holding some texture.  They added some sweetness to the dish as well as interrupting the heaviness of the sauce.

Our last small dish was the Corn with pine nuts, mint and sliced zucchini topped with zucchini blossoms.  Intensely sweet, the corn niblets were tossed in a creamy mint vinaigrette.  The acidity and herbaceousness of the mint helped compliment the sweetness but didn't obscure it.  Extra texture, albeit subtle, was provided by the sliced zucchini.  Add in some nuttiness and minor texture from the pine nuts and this was one addictive dish.   The only thing we wished for was it to be served warm rather than cold.  We thought it would've been even more impactful.

With our larger plates, we went for the Gnocchi as our mid-course.  It was made with ricotta rather than potato and hence, it was fluffier and lighter.  They repurposed the Guinea Fowl jus from the dish with the same name as the base.  Cream and mushroom were added, which made for a creamy umami-packed sauce.  This ended up to be a pretty rich-tasting dish, but the addition of fresh tarragon leaves on top provided that bright sweetness along with some background anise flavour.

Once again, we had fish in the form of Seabream with a wild green onion beurre blanc.  Since the green onion was cooked on a hibachi, there was a considerable amount of smokiness added to the sauce.  Hence it was buttery, a bit tangy (from the wine), smoky and bright.  The fish itself was beautifully prepared with a moist texture and flakiness.  The skin was lightly crispy and well-seasoned.  There was some sliced rabiole on top that was crunchy and sweet.

Here we are with our 4th Hanger Steak so far and this one was cooked to a beautiful medium-rare (being tender) and topped with Cantabrian anchovies.  Beyond the nice sear and proper cook on the steak, it was also nicely seasoned.  However, with the addition of anchovies, there was intense umaminess but not an overbearing amount of saltiness.  Underneath, there was a piperade that was sweet and aromatic but not spicy.  It complimented the steak while allowing the beefiness of the hanger steak to shine.

Finally, for dessert, we avoiding having meringue again by ordering the Valrhona Basque Cheesecake topped with pistachio crème anglais.   Employing 70% bitter chocolate, this cake was not very sweet.  Perfect in my opinion as the bitterness of the dark chocolate made it appealing.  The cake itself was a bit firmer than the usual Basque cheesecake, but I enjoyed it.  As for the pistachio crème anglais, it was a bit sweet, which balanced of the bitterness nicely.  In the end, we agreed that Le Violon is deserving of all the accolades earned during its short time in business.  Food is fantastic and pricing is rather reasonable with all things considered.

The Good:

- Well-crafted eats that are not fussy

- Reasonable pricing

- Attentive service

The Bad:

- Really tight seating (not unlike many other Montreal restaurants) and hard to get a reservation

Mastard

Here we go with my only Michelin-star restaurant for this trip to Montreal.  I was lucky enough to snag a reservation for Mastard but not Sabayon.  I didn't even bother with Europea as their reviews are all over the place.  As for Mastard, Chef Simon Mathys is at the helm and he uses as many local ingredients as he can.  He is also the master of sauces where each dish is composed and flavours are thoughtful.  We were excited to experience their reasonably-priced tasting menu (available in 5 and 7 courses).   Go big or go home, there was no hesitation in deciding for the 7 course tasting menu.

It started with an Amuse Bouche consisting of fry bread stuffed with cream cheese and topped with coppa.  A very nice start to the meal with varied textures including the crispy and light fry bread.  It was contrasted by the creamy cheese in terms of temperature and texture.  The heavy-lifting was provided by the coppa as it added a sweet savouriness with a touch of spice.  That in itself also offered up a different texture with its pleasant chewiness.

Onto the blind tasting menu, we began with the Nova Scotia Scallop.  It was hard seared on one side and sliced into 3 pieces.  Hence, we were treated to a progression of flavours and textures.  Buttery and rare, the 2 bottom slices were the soft introduction to the sweet scallop.  When we got to the top slice, it was crispy on the top while still soft on the bottom.  Best of all, the caramelization afforded an intense brininess.  Very clever.  We found a corn puree and white onion foam that offered up different types of natural sweetness to further supercharge the dish.  There was also a white wine sauce with trout eggs on top. On the side, we found some charred bread with butter and what I thought was lettuce custard (from his famed tart).

If the scallop wasn't a great enough start, the hits kept coming with the Braised Cabbage with an emulsion of smoked clams with guanciale.  Delicate and packed with flavour, the cabbage was salty and smoky.  With some ying and yang, we found 2 different sauces including a emulsified matsutake-infused sauce and sea urchin & pepper sauce.  Both sauces were packed with umami.  I found that they complimented each other well where we had an oxymoron of effects - subtly impactful.  Completing the dish, the 2 pieces of buttery sweet sea urchin added fresh sea vibes and raw thinly sliced matsutake with its natural woodsiness bite.

A little surf & turf followed but not in the traditional sense.  Instead of steak and lobster, we had Braised Rabbit with 2 smoky oysters.  Tender and sweet, the rabbit was presented in its own juices.  Exhibiting briny smokiness, the buttery oysters provided a gentle jolt of the sea to its land-based partner on the dish.  Adding some bright sea sweetness and tanginess, we found a prosecco and oyster seafoam on top.  Adding some texture and a vessel to soak up the delicious sauces, a crispy and flaky feuilletée sat atop the dish.

As a supplement to our tasting menu, we really didn't hesitate to add Chef Mathys signature dish, the Bluefin Tuna with lettuce tart.  It featured a beautiful and large piece of fresh bluefin atop his famed lettuce tart.  Creamy and almost airy, the lettuce custard shone in a bright green.  It was subtle tasting with some sweetness.  Contrasting the custard, the crispy tart shell was flaky and buttery.  Ah yes, then we had the beautiful bluefin from Gaspé with its meaty butteriness.  The inherent sweetness exuded bright and clean sea vibes.  Just a touch of salt on top and it helped highlight those flavours.  Finished off with a nutty camelina oil, it meshed well with the salt to give the dish some silkiness and flavour.  There was a hit of acidity for balance as well.

At this point, we were thoroughly impressed with the intricate and thoughtful execution of our dishes.  That was further reinforced by the Nova Scotia Swordfish that was cooked to perfection.  Just a touch rare in the middle, the fish was tender and soft.   On top, the miso and koji sauce was silky and full of depth.  It had a rich saltiness that was balanced off by its creaminess.  Accenting the components, we found eggplant and a zucchini puree with a basil curry.  Combined together, they offered a complexity to compliment the miso and koji sauce.  We found the slightest bitterness combined with sweetness and anise-like flavour of the basil.  Served on the side, we found some Agnolotti stuffed with chicken and pepper.  Pasta was firm with a nice chew and the ample chicken filling was tender.

Moving onto the heavier dishes of the tasting menu, we had the Lamb with cheese, mint puree and lamb jus with Swiss chard.  The piece of lamb was cooked to perfection being medium-rare.  It was juicy and full of natural lamb meaty flavour.  However, it was a bit on the chewier side.  Bordering on salty without going over, the jus was full-on lamb essence with the slightest bitter influence from the chard.  I felt that the mint puree really helped cut the saltiness and add some classic compliment to the lamb.

Our final savoury course was the Duck from Ville de Carignan.  Much like the lamb, it was prepared with precision where it was evenly cooked being medium-rare and sporting fully-rendered skin.  It was sufficiently flavourful by itself, but it was further elevated by the tomato puree that was cooked on the barbecue for 10 hours.  It was intensely concentrated in flavour as well as being smoky.  We also found a herring emulsion that was quite mild.  There was a side dish consisting of Fried Potato with heirloom tomato and a smoked tomato sabayon.  This was delicious with brightness and natural sweetness.  It was also lightly tangy while the potato was super crunchy.

For our dessert course, we were served the Meringue encapsulating mini-cantaloupe melon balls.  Superb and strategic, this refreshing dish helped balance off the rich ending to the blind tasting menu.  Once we broke through the crispy and sweet meringue, the melon balls were sweet and juicy.  Complimenting all this was a marigold ice cream that was bright and creamy.  However, the most impactful part of the dish was the cantaloupe water and lemon vinaigrette.  It added a real kick of tanginess and intense sweetness.

To completely end off the meal, we shared an Apricot Tart with vanilla and salted caramel.  This was also excellent with a semi-firm tart shell that was buttery with a nice mouth-feel.  Sweet with a soft texture, the apricots were further enhanced by the saltiness of the sweet caramel.  We also found some house-made chocolates that had a pleasant bitterness from the ganache in the middle.  I have to say that Mastard was one of best, if not the best meal we had in Montreal this time around.  Considering the reasonable pricing, precision and a Michelin Star, it is no wonder securing a reservation is so difficult.

The Good:
- Lives up to its Michelin Star
- Reasonable pricing
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- Hard to get a reservation

 

Chez Céline

Just because a restaurant is "French" doesn't mean that it necessarily representative of France itself.  Take St. Lawrence for instance, they are French Canadian (Québécois) restaurant with definite French influences, but in reality, a unique cuisine in itself.   Now St. Lawrence is a Michelin-starred establishment which isn't a place that is your usual daily dining spot (unless you are loaded).  Well, they now have such a place named Chez Céline out in the Fraserhood.  More approachable eats, yet at the same time, capturing the charm of bistros found in Montreal, Chez Céline did elicit memories of Montréal (as I was there recently, and yes, the posts are coming!).

To start us off, we got an Amuse Bouche of Fried Chickpea Fritter.  These were well-salted and almost creamy on the inside.  Perfectly crispy on the outside.  Onto our first appie, we had the Croque Monsieur Croquettes.  These were cleverly presented with a creamy béchamel filled croquette topped with ham and gruyère.  This definitely captured the spirit of a Croque Monsieur where it was more crispy and slightly deconstructed.

With all of the available options to accompany the Sourdough Flatbread, we went for the Rillettes de Carnard (Duck Rillette).  First and foremost, the bread itself was fluffy and appealingly chewy in the middle while sporting the ever-so-lightly crispy crust on the outside.  As for the rillette, it was plenty meaty and quite moist.  Hence, it had the desired succulence associated with well-prepared duck.  Unlike other duck rillette I've had, this was not overly fatty.  Flavourwise, it was naturally gamy with balanced sweetness and savouriness.

Sporting the same bread, the Terrine de Campange was a hearty slice.  It was plenty meaty and ate quite well in chunks rather than being spread onto the bread.  In actuality, this isn't supposed to be spread anyways due to its density.  Lots of natural flavours was accented by a touch of earthiness from the herbs and also the background flavour of cooked-down alcohol. 

Topped with anchovies, the Beef Tartare was prepared so that there were discernible pieces of beef present.  This gave the dish plenty of meat chew, yet at the same time being tender and buttery.  It was mildly seasoned where the tanginess of the white anchovies added acidity and also just a touch of salt (as they are not the salty type of achovies).

Really enjoyed the Charred Radishes served atop EVOO and tonnato.  Juicy and tender, the radishes were aggressively charred and hence, were smoky with plenty of depth.  The earthiness of the radish still came through in a sweet and bright manner.  Oh that tonnato was creamy and flavourful with just a touch of brininess.  It was also great with any bread we had left.

We went for both pastas including the Pappardelle with red-wine braised short rib.  The wide ribbons of pasta were al dente but still had a tenderness to them.  Nice bounciness.  They were inherently flavourful for the salt in the water, but the shortrib did add plenty of meatiness and rich braised flavours.  Loved the acidity to the dish from the cooked down wine as it kept it from being too heavy.  The meat itself was super tender.

Even though the Cavatelli was functionally prepared well, the dish itself was quite subtle.  It did have the promised mushroom and earthy flavours, but it was mildly impactful.  Compared to the mushroom pasta I had at Dovetail recently, this was only 1/4 of the impact.  It wasn't as if this wasn't good though as the pasta as al dente and they didn't overdo it with the truffle.

My favourite dish was the 18oz bone-in Pork Chop.  It featured a modest brine which kept the meat juicy and tender.  It also added aromatics in the form of thyme and sage.  However, the maple apple cider sauce was the star as it was sticky, sweet and full of umami.  Nice acidity too as it kept things from being overly rich.  I really enjoyed the bone as it ate like a sweet and sticky rib.

The T-Bone Steak was prepared to medium-rare as we requested.  Pretty even cook despite consisting of both tenderloin and striploin steaks.   If you look closely, this was more like a porterhouse as it had big portions of both striploin and tenderloin. Naturally, the tenderloin was softer and required very little chewing.  Striploin was predictably more meaty, but it was still plenty tender.  Nice char on the outside and the black pepper sauce was creamy with only a hint of pepperiness.

We ended up with 2 of their sides that were the same base ingredient, but ate very differently.  The Frites were excellent being crispy with some fluffy potato left inside.  It was served with a garlicky aioli.  The real star was the Poutine with legit cheese curds and a well-balanced gravy.  Since the gravy had a consistent viscosity, it was able to coat the fries without drenching them.  Hence, the fries were still crispy with the flavour of the gravy coming through and the partially melted cheese curds (with a few that were not, which is ideal) added that unmistakable texture.

With the desserts, it was only logical that they had a Maple Crème Caramel available.  This was predictably sweet and well, "Maple"-tasting.  In fact, it was quite apparent and concentrated.  As for the flan itself, it was smooth and had the desired density.  It was also sweet, but not as much as the maple caramel sauce.  That in itself saved the dessert from going overboard with the sweetness.

Our last 2 desserts both had soft-serve ice cream.  The first was the Profiteroles, which featured some on point choux pastry.  It was crispy on the outside while airy and light on the inside.  It held up to the creamy soft-serve and table side chocolate sauce.  It wasn't as sweet as it looked, which was appreciated.  The best dessert was the Pain Perdue (Bread Pudding) as it was not dense at all and ate quite fluffy.  With reserved sweetness and the hit of fall spices, this was comforting for a cold day.  The contrast of hot and cold with the bread pudding and soft-serve was rather appealing.  Overall, the food at Chez Céline is good and the menu is fairly well-priced.  Since I recently revisited Montreal, this gave me the same vibes.  Would come back.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Decent portion size

- Authentic Montreal bistro vibes

The Bad:

- Loved the sourdough, but too many appies featuring it, need a bit more variety 

 

Brodeur's Bistro

Here is another spot I've been meaning to try for a very long time.  People have raved about it and yes, I've seen those monster Montreal Smoked Meat Sammies on social media.  So why the delay in eating there?  Well, it is in Abbotsford.  Nothing against Abby, but I'm rarely out that way.  Therefore, on our yearly trek out to Castle Fun Park, we made a pitstop at Brodeur's Bistro for some lunch.  As a bonus, they have a dedicated EV charging spot at the side of the restaurant.  Score!  I was all over that!

I was also all over the Fried Spicy Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich, because as most of you know, I'm trying the find the best one in the GVRD (although Abby doesn't really count as GVRD, oh whatever).  This came with cheddar, greens, tomato, jalapeños and extra spicy chipotle heat sauce.  This didn't look all that different but it was actually quite good.  The chicken breast was tender and moist with a crispy batter.  There was a good amount of spice and tang all wrapped up in a soft toasted bun.  At Brodeur's, one can choose one of 27 sides for your meal and for this one, I had the Seafood Chowder.  This appeared to be freshly made with a light creamy broth with chunks of barely soft veggies and just cooked seafood.

The other item that we had to order was their Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich in "Le Monster" size (16oz) on light rye bread.  Got this in their fattier cut and with hot mustard.  Sliced super thin and being buttery soft, the smoked meat tasted a bit different than all of the other ones I've had before.  Much more earthiness from the coriander and cumin.  Bread was good being soft, but still held things together.  Yes, I didn't finish this if you were wondering.

Another sandwich that contained the same meat was the Montreal Smoked Meat and Fromage featuring smoked gouda, cheddar & Cajun alfredo sauce.  Again, this merely looked like any a melt sandwich, but due to the smoked meat, there was more depth from the smoke.  Also, the smoked gouda added even more of that and creaminess as well as the alfredo.  For the side, we had the Bacon and Cheddar Smashed Potatoes.  This ate like a cross between mashed potatoes and scalloped potatoes.  It was heavy and cheesy.

Viv decided on a Quebecois classic in the Tourtière with pork, beef, mushrooms and onions.  This did not eat as heavy as it appeared.  Yes, there was a lot of meat, but it was fairly loose and tender.  The gravy on the side was flavourful without being salty.  Crust was decent with a few denser spots.  For her side, she chose the Pea Soup, which was pretty good.  It was rich, but not heavy and there was some ham served on top.

For my son, he once again went for his standby, the Beef Dip Po' Boy with beef brisket, crispy onions and horseradsih aioli.  As you can see, this was a large sandwich with a wealth of tender beef brisket.   Lots of crispy onions provided crunch and aromatics.  Bread was good being crusty, but completely soft when dunked into the au jus.  His side was the Garlic Parm Poutine and that was ok.  Cheese was completely melted, would've liked some curds to chew on.  However, that is nitpicking as most of the food was solid and in good portions at Brodeur's.  Lots of sides to choose from and something a bit different in a mashup of Quebecois/Cajun cuisine.  

The Good:
- Large portions
- Interesting items
- Free EV charging

The Bad:
- Not many lighter options available, but you don't really come here looking for that