business lunch #5: Lunch at Birks!

So I finally found my new favorite business lunch location downtown: Birks Cafe!

This is the new restaurant by Europea in the Birks jewellery store on Cathcart and Ste-catherine. We didn't have reservations but luckily a reservation for 2 had just been cancelled.

There`s something about eating surrounded by pearls, gold and diamonds that`s just so glamorous! The dining area is situated in the back in the elevated area and is all white table cloths, nice silverware and glass cases with pretty items such as vases on display. Of course, my camera battery died when I got there so bear with me and the blackberry photography.

When we sit down they immediately offer us a taster of cabillaud mousse with some pretty edible gold thing on it. Quite tasty although mousse form is not usually the way I enjoy my fish... But I absolutely adore when a place offers their patrons little dégustations, it's just so classy and considerate and a little extra that clients really appreciate and it allows the restaurant to show off what they're capable of creating. Also the bread was whole wheat and the butter came covered in seaweed and rock salt and there was also some lemon infused olive oil and balsamic. Very nice touch.

Every dish on the menu has been reviewed by a nutritionist so its all relatively healthy and portioned properly for a one person meal. This restaurant proves that healthy doesn`t have to mean boring. We had the table d'hote and I ordered the beef gravlax which came with lentils and whole wheat toast. It was ginger honey flavored and delicious. My mother ordered the squash soup and it was a little spicy and contained cubes of tofu and squash. Both very good entrees.

Next, I ordered the papillote of sole which came served to me in a plastic wrapping that made it feel like I was recieving a present! The waitress cut open the package for me and in it was the rolled sole which contained tomatoes, olives and zucchini. It was served on quinoa and vegetables. I loved it. It was light but still flavourful. My mom's ricotta stuffed ravioli was also amazing. It was covered with beautiful delicate mushrooms and truffle shavings.

For dessert, I went for a litchi macaron which was not comparable to Pierre Hermé one, but good and not as sweet as the other ones I've tasted in Montreal. We had cappucinos (5.50$, the only overly expensive item on the menu!) and they gave us lemon madeleines.

Everything was amazing. The service, the food, the decor.

Even the prices were not offensive (a little less than 30$ each for an entree and main) considering the quality of the food.

Also the man who offered us dessert and gave us our bill really reminded me in his graciousness of the man in Breakfast at Tiffany's who allows them to get their cheap ring engraved. The whole experience sort of reminded me of that movie which is maybe why I liked this place so much!

Finally, my hunt for an excellent lunch location in the downtown core is over!

This is definitely my go to place from now.

xoxo

s.

Business lunch #3: Brasserie T!

If you ever receive text messages from me you know I love exclamation points. This little bistro next to the museum of contemporary art is the little sister of the famed Toque! restaurant, hence the ! at the end of its name. I like it.

I've never eaten at Toque! but from what I hear it's very pricey innovative food served in very small portions. This is not quite the case at the Brasserie T!. The menu doesn't offer much out of the ordinary for a bistro. I had the salmon tartare as a main and my mother had the entree portion of the same dish. Very well executed with the salmon chopped in rather big pieces (which i really liked) and flavored perfectly with olive oil, capers and echalottes. However, the main dish tartare didn't seem that much larger than my mother's entree... I really couldn't tell the difference at all.

I ordered it with the salad which was basically romaine lettuce. Not too exciting but the vinaigrette was very good so I got over the lack of visual appeal pretty quickly. My mother ordered the french fries and I have to say they were worth the calories. Crispy and not greasy at all.

The service was very professional and efficient and the waiter/bartender was helpful in suggesting wine to go with our meal. We had a meursault chardonnay called le petit tetu and at 14$ a glass cost more than my mothers meal(12$). It was unusual and a little nutty but accompanied the salmon very well.

This was a perfect place for a fast lunch as we were out of there in 45 minutes. I liked that my allonge came with a little pot of warm foamy milk. It was a nice, friendly touch.

I should probably mention the decor since it was quite strange in that the whole restaurant is pretty much all window which creates a kind of fish bowl effect. And to greet you at the door there's a vase with a fish swimming around a bottle of vodka. Clever.

I don't think I would come here for dinner because of this modern environment. I like my nightime locations to look more like men's clubs a la club chasse et peche.

But good bistro food at good prices! Even if there was nothing on the menu that enthralled me I'd like to come back to try some charcuteries and the steak tartare.

http://www.brasserie-t.com/

xo

S.

Business lunch #2: L'Aromate

Today we hadn't planned on going for lunch and so we made a last minute decision to go eat at the new L'Aromate location on Maisonneuve. Considering that it is now part of the Hotel St-Martin, we expected the food and service to be of a certain standard. It was most certainly not.

There were many items on the menu that I was interested in. They had a good variety of contemporary cuisine and I had a hard time deciding on what I wanted to eat. I finally went for the tian de legumes with goats cheese and the seared sesame tuna steak as my main while my mother went for the cauliflower and potato potage and the veal cheek bourguignon.

First of all, the service was slow and unattentive. They took away our utensils after our entrees as though we were done our meal, they couldn't remember who ordered what and they gave my mom a coffee when she ordered a mint tea. It just felt like the staff was hungover or that they simply didn't care much.

In terms of the food, well the presentation was nice. The tian was probably the best part of my meal. It was a tower of aubergine, peppers and red onions with a few slices of melted goat cheese. There was a bit too much onion though as it gave me heartburn after and the aubergine was not cooked through and so a bit hard to cut. The soup was ok, nothing very exciting.

For our mains, once again, well presented. However, the ponzu sauce was way too salty (and i loooove salt) and the sesame crust seemed to be glued in an unatural way to my tuna steak. It scared me a little. The veal cheek was tender as it should be but the dish was underwhelming which should never be the case with veal cheek or a bourguignon.

The fare was very ordinary. The prices were not.
The meal without desserts nor wine came to 100$. This is ridiculous for the level of attention placed on the food and service.

I'm all for aesthetics but there has to be something more than just well presented plates and fancy decor. L'Aromate is definitely one of those style over substance kind of places and I would absolutely not go back here.

Can't wait to try Le Renoir's lunch menu at the Sofitel hotel. From the brunch I've had here, i can safely assume that the dining experience they offer is what it should be at a 5 star hotel.

toodles

S.