The Mane Event: A Bucket-List Dinner

 I don't think it's really any secret that I'm a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain, his show Parts Unknown, and really, really excellent food. So, when we decided we were heading to Montréal, we decided to re-watch his episode on Quebec and were reminded of a place we absolutely had to try--Joe Beef. This Little Burgundy masterpiece was opened in 2005 by three of Canada's finest (and coolest) chefs and culinary geniuses, Allison Cunningham, Frédéric Morin and David McMillan. 

Joe Beef takes its name from the proprietor of a tavern which once stood on the site. The neighborhood is still a little rough-looking, which lets the restaurant stand out as even more of an unusual gem. 

When you enter, you're greeted by really friendly servers dressed in flannel shirts, in keeping with the warm, rustic, and classy nature of the establishment. We had a 9:15 reservation (you'll definitely want to make one--the place is usually PACKED!), but by some stroke of luck, there was a table ready for us more than a half hour early. 

 Our table was basically a dream--cosy and gorgeously stocked, warmly lit, and attired with vintage plates and napkins that I hope I'll be able to find for my kitchen. 

A facet of JB that I really love is its menu--all in French, all written daily on chalkboards that line the walls. Our amazing waitress helped us a lot in deciding what to order (although I was already partial to a particular dish you'll see later), and gave us some wonderful recommendations for drinks and appetizers. 

In light of what I had in mind for dinner, I started off with some absolutely delicious Canadian sparkling wine, and D started off with an Oatmeal Stout from Le Castor. The wine was wonderful, but the Stout was definitely something to write home about. It was rich, malty, smoky, earthy, and musky, with a caramel smell that turned into a cocoa aftertaste without any loss of its maltiness. 

To start, we ordered some of JB's famous croquettes, which, for the evening, drew inspiration from Chicken Pot Pie. They were absolutely wonderful, if not quite as earth-shattering as what we ordered next.

D ordered the Monsieur Diane, a 16-ounce steak topped with mushrooms, gravy, and spinach, and accompanied by an onion chutney.

I decided to try Cheval á la Stroganoff, a deliciously tangy, rich, and tender filet served with wonderfully meaty mushrooms, marvellous pearl onions, and buttered Papardelle. This might just have been my favorite meat ever... And despite the fact that I love horses and have been riding since I was very little, I would love to have this again.

Everything was incredibly fresh and local, and our food was an absolute culinary masterpiece. Joe Beef is a place for the gourmand and man's man alike, a place where you'll want to savor absolutely everything you order and you'll be unable to stop raving about the food as you eat because it's just that good. 

If there's one place to visit in Montréal when you're hungry and really want to dig into some delicious, unpretentious, and generously-sized food, this is it. It is a little pricey to visit frequently, but given the chance, do--this may be the best meal you'll ever have. 

(P.S. If you can't visit Joe Beef in Montréal, get their cookbook. It's wonderfully clever and well-written, very eclectic in its style, and has absolutely amazing recipes. Definitely a great one to have in your collection or to give as a gift to your favorite foodie.)

Montréal Brews

     Among the items on our Montréal agenda were a handful of brewery visits. The cold, snowy, icy first Sunday of our trip seemed like a great day to find somewhere cosy for a bite and a brew, so we headed over to Brasserie Dieu du Ciel.
     We hadn't thought we'd need the Métro, but because we didn't quite feel safe getting to the Plateau district skateless, we caved. It took us quite a while to find Dieu du Ciel once we disembarked at Laurier Station, but eventually we turned a corner and found ourselves in a small, warmly-lit brewpub. 

On most days, Dieu du Ciel is a notoriously difficult place to find a seat. However, in light of the nasty weather, we were lucky and found a table right away.

Our copper-topped table gave us a great view of Dieu du Ciel's extensive beer list, and it wasn't long at all before we were able to order four six-ounce beers to taste and a cheese plate to nibble on. 

Among the brews we decided to taste were, from left to right, Aphrodisiaque, Premiere Neige, Solstice d'Hiver, and Peches Mortel.
Here's what we thought:

Aphrodisiaque

Deliciously chocolatey but a little too heavy. Bitterness balances out the sweetness of the chocolate and vanilla, though. A little like drinking a 99% cacao bar.

Prémiere Neige

Delicate anise flavor. Light, sweet but not sugary, warm and complex, anise at the floor point. Most of the flavor on the next breath. Our top pick, excellent with a baguette and Brie, or with green olives.

Solstice d'Hiver
Barley wine. Excellent with pungent cheeses and onion chutney. Dark, fragrant, reminiscent of wine or brandy, but with an inner heat.

Péché Mortel
A Coffee-infused Imperial Stout. Intriguing on the first sip, but entirely too heavy for continued enjoyment. Pretty good with nuts.

To accompany our beers, we ordered this big beauty. 

The kitchen at Dieu du Ciel treated us well, and gave us an assortment of nuts, crusty bread, green and kalamata olives, onion chutney, Brie, what we're guessing were a type of Porter cheese, and two other pungent and delicious cheeses. 

We also decided to try Dieu du Ciel's Cidre Rosé, and our expectations were far exceeded. 

The cider was absolutely beautiful, with a semisweet, dry fruity palate. It would be wonderful with creamy cheeses, Baked Brie, or Camembert, but alas we didn't save any of the cheeses on our plate to accompany it.

Everything was absolutely delicious, and I don't think we could have ordered anything better for such a cold and dreary day. 

Over the course of our meal, we met some other Americans--a couple who were in Montréal to explore its pub scene. They recommended some other breweries to us, including Le Cheval Blanc, Station HO.ST, and Le Saint Bock--the other brewpub we visited on our last day in Montréal.
  
On Wednesday, we stopped into Le Saint Bock to try their beer and have one last Poutine. 

From bottom to top, we tried RIP Brett (Porter Imperial Russe aux Brettanomyces), Prémiere Dame (Stout Imperial), 666 (Black IPA), Malédiction (Milk Stout), and Sweet Jesus (Scotch Ale). 

RIP Brett Porter 

Cedary, vinegary nose. Thin layer of eggshell foam. Tart, woody, and spicy in flavor, almost like Dijon mustard. Vinegar and smoke aftertaste. Pretty gross, probably would not order again. 

Premiere Dame

Nice layer of foam the color of coffee with milk. Light malty bouquet. Aftertaste like smoked ham; lovely mesquite flavor. Very easy to drink, would pair nicely with a creamy mild soup like Cullen Skink, a nice cold weather beer.

666

Basically no foam at all but a thin, patchy later topping a cola-colored brew. Heady, tropical fruit smell, like Passionfruit. Extremely hoppy, but has a nice fruit base to balance it out. Bitter but not harsh. Hoppy, sour aftertaste. A perfect, sexy summer IPA, and a good party beer. D's favorite. 

Malédiction

Dark Chocolate and smoky smell. A little bit of dark foam that sank down over time. Tastes a lot like semisweet chocolate, with an aftertaste of baking cocoa and hops. My favorite.

Sweet Jesus

Effectively no foam. Deep burgundy wine color. Malty, slightly cocoa-y, clean smell. Musky, earthy, apple-y smell; almost musty but absolutely delicious. Aftertaste like dried fruit and the air in a preserves cellar. Not particularly sweet, but almost like a really dark mulled cider.

Montréal has a really great craft brewery scene, so although we weren't surprised to find so many good places, we were thrilled that they were as wonderful as they were. 
If you're in the area and love a good brew, Montréal is really your oyster. 

Happy exploring!
Xx

Valentine's Day at the Gaslight Brasserie

Hello, All!

   My SO and I were trying to figure out what to do for Valentine's Day after a hectic and stressful week. We wanted to do something special, but not too crazy, so we decided to pop into the South End's Gaslight Brasserie for dinner. 

I'll share what we did and what we ate, but you have to make me a promise... Don't judge the photography too harshly this time, okay? In my excitement to see him after a long week and our haste to leave in time to make our reservation, I left my good camera at home and was stuck with my iPhone.

But anyway, as long as you're okay with that, here's just a taste of our experience at the Gaslight Brasserie.

When the taxi dropped us off, we walked through a brick corridor lit by gaslights, and immediately we realized that Gaslight would be even nicer than we'd expected. 

Swankier than the average students' haunt, to be sure. 

The bar we saw upon entering the restaurant was so evocative of 1920s Paris that I had to fangirl a little bit. 

We were seated in the lounge, which turned out to be even nicer and more romantic than the main dining room.

And of course, my wonderful, handsome date
and I shared a table for two.

Now, onto the phenomenal food we ate...

We started with escargots with toasted garlic and parsley butter.
These were so deliciously buttery!
They were also his first escargots, so they were a great introduction.

We followed the escargots with a raw oyster for each of us. 

For mains, he ordered Saumon Roti (Scottish salmon with swiss chard, golden raisins, cumin carrot puree & harissa aioli),

and I ordered Duck Confit with Carmargue red rice, cherries, roquefort, and Banyuls vinaigrette.

To round out the night, we decided to share an enormous Crème Brûlée between the two of us. He'd never tried one before, and it had been far too long since I'd had one. The overall verdict--incredibly good; the flambéed-sugar crust was just right, and the creme within was perfectly sweet and cool. 

All things considered, dinner couldn't have been more perfect. The prices were a little steep for a college-student budget, but the food was well worth the cost--everything was absolutely delicious!

Having filled our bellies with phenomenal food, we made our way through the unfamiliar South End towards my flat, and in the process, tried and failed to catch a shuttle, lost a shoe, laughed a lot, found ourselves at the spot where we first met, collapsed as soon as we got home, and rounded out the night by watching UP. 

I think it's nights like these that remind you what's really important. Although you'll both have some crazy, stressful, or exciting experiences on your own, at the end of the day, you're just two people who have chosen to share those experiences with each other, to make time to be together, and to plan and have new adventures together. Friday night was bigger than just treating ourselves to a nice meal--it allowed us to step away from the stresses of school and work and from the loose routines we had established and helped us remember the importance of recognizing and being grateful for what we have. 

I hope you all had a lovely night, whether you spent it with friends, family, a loved one, or treating yourself to a little TLC.

'Til next time,


Xx Caroline