We just got back from L’Express! All hits, no misses. The perfect bistro meal down to the last detail. And the cornichon service was an unexpected treat that nothing will ever compare to.
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This is fantastic intel, thank you!
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Holy tabernack (quebecois swear slang)!
Wow! Im so glad a) i randomly caught your post earlier b) you went to l’express!!
When i first started going there as a very young kid, my most indelible memory are the crayons they left on the white butcher paper tables for kids to draw on.
If you dont have am plans, Arthurs and Atwater mkt. FYI- dont buy any maple syrup etc if over TSA limit and youre not checking luggage. Le$$ons learned!
Q’s: Have you been to old mtl yet? what are your din etc meal plans tomorrow/ before u leave? where in mtl are you staying?
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We’re staying in Old Montreal. So far we’ve done Stash, Bagels St. Viateur, Bravo Coffee, Lester’s, and L’Express.
Tomorrow is either Arthur’s or Greenspot and a walk around Atwater, then coffee and lunch at Mange dans mon Hood, and dinner at Garde Manger.
Sunday no meals planned until dinner at Foxy, but Wilensky is top of mind for a lunch.
Ok great. Good to know your starting point.
Tomorrow am, Id hit Olive and Gourmando very close by for coffee/croissant. Then Arthurs for brunch and a walk around Atwater afterward.
Garde Manger holds a very special place in my top lifetime food memories. I was by told Chuck Hughes that I was first person to tell him i caught his tv show in la on cable in LA. I freekin’ love that series, are you familiar?
Having said all that, for a true OG Mtl spot still frequented actively by locals, see if you can call an audible for Gibby’s Steakhouse if your budget provides. Have no idea if GM or CH are still around. Gibby’s Old Montreal institution.
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From Old MTL on Sunday, the ultimate food crawl ever would be to follow ST Laurent boulevard.
Closest spot, hit Montreal Pool Room (opens 10 am) for a “steamée” hot dog- fries im sure are dope, cant recall. Then further up on ST Laurent, Larry”s is a very locals OG spot (opens 9 am).
Wilensky’s closed on Sunday. You should also consider Beauty’s, just a few blocks west of St Laurent. They hold trademark for “mish mash” omelets which will equal Willensky vibe.
If your stomach can still deal with more, walk further north on St Laurent to La Banquise for best Poutine. Also Coco Rico for amazing portuguese grilled chicken. A little further, you’ll hit Jean Talon market that eclipses Atwater Market with stalls. Phenomenal oysters, etc…Be sure to check out Dante store; foodwares and guns… no joke.
Never been to Foxy but seems like a hipstery Express. Same hood as Arthurs too. I’d consider Damas if u like med/ middle eastern food. Same hood as Larry’s. Great chinese too if u want even diff options. Super close to Old Mtl.
PS: if youre sick of eating, consider Bota Bota spa in Old Mtl for massages etc…
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If you hit Jean Talon, Chez Toussignant around the corner has a great poutine and they are open during the day on weekends. I think it’s better than La Banquise for a base recipe poutine.
In Old Montreal Bar Bisou Bisou is a Spanish style bar with great cocktails and aperitifs. Enjoyed their happy hour (4-6pm). Cold Room is another great cocktail bar across the alley and hidden in the basement.
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Wen Hui (or 西安手工面 if you prefer). Hole in the wall on Garvey in Monterey Park. I liked this you po mian more than most because it was flavor packed — lots of garlic and, uniquely, black vinegar. I’d like to go back and try the liang pi.
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More Wen Hui.
Liang pi with sesame sauce. Some restaurants start from wheat starch powder to make liang pi. Others start from wheat flour and separate it into starch and gluten. The second way is considered higher quality by some sources. I’m guessing Wen Hui does it the second way given the irregularly shaped chunks of obviously homemade gluten. Good dish. I’d like to go back and try the other liang pi flavor, without the sesame, before making any comparative judgment.
The seaweed was exceptionally good. Not the typical vinegar and garlic liang cai recipe that’s so common in the SGV (and at Pine & Crane / Joy). Instead, a slightly warm, ma la sauce.
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Words for Luv2Eat:
Partner’s friend had a show at the Bourbon Room, so Luv2Eat was an obvious choice. I think I’ve only been here once many, many yrs ago. So delicious, and the place was PACKED (lots of people waiting) when we left.
Crab curry can now be ordered mild, medium, spicy. We order medium. Delicious, but my memory is that the original (almost unbearable spicy) version had an earthy funk that really put it over the top. Phuket seafood fried rice had great wok hei. Even the dipping sauce for the eggrolls wasn’t the usual overly sweet (and disgusting, IMHO) stuff you normally get at other places.
So glad this place is doing well.
Words for Cabra:
I was still on the lookout for a place to host a work event in DTLA, and this place had been mentioned as being a rooftop location (which was important to the organizing committee).
Salmon ceviche, whipped ricotta, tuna and tots, shrimp-hash pancake, chard and kale empanada. All were DELICIOUS. Ceviche was wonderfully acidic, whipped ricotta strongly tasting of crab, hash package insanely crispy. I don’t have a strong memory of the tuna and tots, other than really liking the tots and perhaps wishing there were more tuna.
The star for me, though, were the empanadas. That crust is SO buttery and SO flakey. Outstanding.
Fantastic service (very reminiscent of Rustic Canyon’s, actually, in the sense that the wait stuff is relatively casually dressed, but their demeanor is pretty close to lower-endish fine [fine-r?] dining), and the view is great.
Sampas Pizza (Santa Monica):
Partner and I were driving back from a X-Mas walk in Palisades Park and noticed this place had replaced Dagwoods (to which we had never been). We were rather hungry, and Danny Boy’s was closed.
I have no idea what a Brazilian pizza is supposed to taste like. I asked the cashier, “What slices do you have today?” Her: “All of them. Whatever you like.”
This was really tasty. Crust borders on crackery, and the napolitana was light and fresh (and had little tomato sauce, which is always a plus in my book). I had no idea what catupiry was (prior to looking it up just now). Very tasty but quite rich.
If you’re nearby, it’d give it a try.
The Front Yard (North Hollywood):
We were looking for an X-Mas dinner that wasn’t hugely expensive (so that ruled out San Laurel, along w/ @PeonyWarrior mentioning slightly overcooked scallops), and partner wanted something more on the traditional side.
This place is a riot. It’s part of the Garland (previously “Beverly Garland” hotel), I think the restaurant must’ve been built decades ago and then recently renovated in a largely incoherent fashion. The servers are dressed somewhere btw cowboy and alpine, which made our server’s British accent all the more enjoyable.
The food was… fine. And I think that, for an $85 buffet on X-Mas day, this is actually a compliment. Shrimp were a touch overcooked, and the crab claws seemed overly cold. I think those are acceptable issues, given the buffet. The carnitas (not pictured) were stuffed and had good flavor. Smoked chili rub portion of the prime rib thankfully simply tasted savory, rather than spicy. Potato and leek soup tasted strongly of cream of mushroom, which was just fine w/ me.
Option of 3 salads and fresh fruit for dessert. I liked that the desserts were all petit four sized.
I didn’t love the lemon cheesecake (lemon and caramel don’t really go together, in my head or on my palate). Partner said that the fingerling potatoes were leathery, and the mashed potatoes were kind of boring. Other than that, we really enjoyed what we had and would go back. Outdoor area was quite nice (we sat inside).
Doner Corner (Brentwood):
The only Turkish food I’ve had was in Munich last yr. So I have no idea what good Turkish food is supposed to taste like.
Having said that, I think this place is DELISH.
Why am I taking a pic of the bottled water? B/c the cashier/server asked us if we wanted room temp or chilled. As someone who grew up w/ parents who hated chilled water, I actually like room temp water. And I’ve never been asked that question at a restaurant b/f. Classy.
Owner’s uncle gave us a few freebies. We finished nearly everything (and are SO stuffed right now), it was that tasty. Doner plate over rice (which apparently still comes w/ fries), falafel (we had ordered the pita, but the carb seemed more sandwich-y to us), sojuok cheese, lahmajun, and babaganoush.
The falafel and doner didn’t have that much flavor on their own (we ate them after the highly seasoned lahmajun, so maybe that affected my palate) but were great when paired w/ all the garnishes (or in the sandwich). There was a LOT of meat hiding underneath the lavash (which is house-made). Babaganoush tasted strongly of olives (so not particularly smoky).
I don’t know much about tea, so I can only say that I really enjoyed the flavor.
Fries had a great fry.
I don’t know who the heck they hired as the cooks, but the food was surprisingly refined for a fast casual place that has institutional-grade lighting (I really wish Upper Crust hadn’t changed the lighting from Belle Vie). If they can keep up this kind of quality, I can easily see this being on our regular rotation.
Absolutely delightful and very much worth a visit.
Edit: @robert, does Discourse now automatically arrange photos so artistically? I I just uploaded “straight” pictures. Cool.
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Just did a work event at Chachacha in the arts district the food was better than expected and the drinks very good. Very nice space, not mind blowing but worth looking at
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If you upload multiple images at once it wraps them in a grid element.
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New York Cont’d
Stretch Pizza from Wylie Dufresne was bangin. So nice to get small NYC pies with a big party and try a ton of different specials.
Superiority Burger still the best restaurant in the city. Highlights were a chicory salad with peanut dressing and toasted rice and the Yuba Verde sandwich this time. A killer tiramisu special too.
Then off to Chicago:
Andros Taverna - Eh. Fine.
Indienne - Refreshing to have an Indian Tasting menu for a great price point (125$ for omnivore) with vegetarian/pescatarian/vegan option too. Our service was exceptional. Most courses were REALLY amazing and balanced, especially the early ones with more chutneys/acid/yogurt vibes. Great lamb main with an incredible dal. Dessert okay, drinks excellent.
Maxwell’s trading - Gave majordomo vibes, this place rocked.
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Think I’m going to try and hit the Gatsu gatsu (tonkatsu) pop up in Chinatown tonight, any thoughts on an non omakase sushi spot nearby in Little Tokyo that’ll be open for a bang bang?
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Bar Siesta (Silver Lake). A new tapas restaurant where Alimento used to be. We liked everything. We’d give the nod to Barra Santos as better restaurant, but it’s close.
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Food from a weekend trip here:
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First meal back from Tokyo last meal eating out in 2024. Bojstar Schwarma hit the spot. Great combo of garlic sauce and their excellent hot sauce. Everybody else got the chicken wrap. Delicious.
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As great as Tokyo is, it’s also great to come back to this hellhole of an airport in this gritty city and get some satisfying ethnic food.
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In CDMX. The best barbacoa tacos ever at Senor Tacos Insurgentes. Both the barbacoa and al pastor pinas were something to behold. We were at the F. Khalo museum on our way to La Jefa, which was closed. We were steered to Señor Tacos and man, that’s all she wrote.
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Yum!