Fou d'Ici or Fous Desserts?

Fous Desserts is a great cake/chocolate/tea/croissant store near Laurier metro. It sells my favorite croissant on the continent. It carries awesome & decadent cakes and desserts. In the summer I drop by every Saturday to get my fix.

I don't know why I never told you about it before, maybe to keep the secret to myself. They were a participant in our croissant Dishcrawl back in October 2010. They were also chosen by La Presse as the best croissant in Montreal.

The best dessert I had is called "l'ecureuil" or "the squirrel". It's a tart with salty caramel filling and covered with nuts. You cannot eat more than one slice at a time but it's out of this world.

Another favorite is the King Kong and Belle Helene viennoiseries. The first is a mix of banana and dark chocolate while the second is poached pear and dark chocolate.

Fou d'Ici is a new gourmet grocery store in the Louis Boheme condominium complex at Place des Arts metro. They have basic staples as well as fresh producce, dairy section, cheese section and a butcher. The prices aren't outrageously expensive when you compare them to the nearby Provigo or Metro supermarkets.

I explored the bakery & pastry department first of course and was delighted to see they carry desserts from Rhubarbe, a really great cake maker (they are located near Fous Desserts and also a Dishcrawl spot). I tried a basic croissant and found it better than average with a crust that is buttery like at Fous Desserts.

I was also happy they have Chef Daren Bergeron from Decca77 participating as the kitchen chef as I enjoy many of his food already.

They carry other Montreal businesses items such as the corn chips from Maya (best tortilla chips).

Answer to the question: both Fous Desserts and Fou d'Ici deserve your attention and stomach space.

@foudici
@FousDesserts
@rhubarbe_mtl

Restaurant Review: Deville Dinerbar

This place recently opened near work so I decided to go explore it with coworkers for lunch. Service was efficient and quick and we were able to leave within 1 hour.

This 50s styled diner looks fancy and the staff is dressed accordingly. The bar seats are uncomfortable so don't linger too long on them. The menu is presented in a tall leather bound booklet and the pages are in thick card stock. Prices may seem steep for a diner but it's supposed to be luxurious and the portions are big.

First we had the "Disco Fries" at 10$ which is simply a fancy poutine with matchstick fries, veal demi-glace and a cheese mix. This was very good except at the end when it was too salty due to the demi-glace sitting at the bottom of the dish.

A coworker took the bacon wrapped meat loaf which looked huge but he was satisfied with it. 

I had the Chicken Schnitzel and Spaetzle at 19$ and it was a lot of food. I ended up eating 1/3 in the restaurant due to the Disco Fries. The chicken has a layer of ham and cheese underneath the crust and was generously doused with lemon and capers.

Another coworker had the Deville burger at $16 and it was a double burger with all the fixings.

This new addition to the downtown core is different than what currently exists and although it's not an exceptional discovery it's good enough for people to try it.

http://www.devilledinerbar.com/

Restaurant Review: Zenya

Don't let the downtown location fool you, Zenya is not a tourist trap but a capable Sushi joint provided you know what to order. The restaurant is very large and has the decor fit for the downtown scene.

I've been here 6 times in the last two years and the food has been consistent: what was bad/good the first time stayed bad/good on subsequent visits. Do not order the cooked dishes!

I've been spoiled with the traditional dishes at Furusato so when I tried ZenYa's versions, they were horrible in comparison. The miso soup and miso cod are pretty standard but stick with the sushi bar.

This is my go-to place for the best amaebi (raw sweet shrimp) in town. They always have fresh Pacific salmon which is a plus. The maki rolls, the unagi (eel) and ikura (salmon roe) Are also ok like everywhere else.

They don't have the selection of Isakaya but the quality is superior.

Restaurant Review: Ta Chido

This new Mexican "snack bar" has been open for only 10 when I dropped by for dinner. The seating area is tiny like Kazu but the kitchen in the back is large. There is a large funky painting running on one side of the room.


I ordered a Milanesa Torta (breaded beef) and Tinga de Pollo Quesadilla (chicken, chipotle, onion) with Algua Fresca (watermelon) and Frijoles (black beans). It was a lot but I wanted to try everything.

The quesadilla uses a handmade tortilla which explains its thickness. The chicken preparation had little flavor. A little more salt or spice would be welcomed. The provided pickled jalapeño and hot sauce helped a bit.

The cooked beans was flavorless. It was prepared in a broth but it could have been water too.

The beef sandwich had flavor! It was my favorite item. I'm not crazy with the bread though.

Ta Chido
5611 avenue du Parc
http://tachido.squarespace.com/

Restaurant review: Azuma

Someone strongly recommended this Japanese restaurant on Chowhound, saying they go there weekly. It mentioned they serve traditional dishes as well as sushi so I had to try.

I started with agedashi tofu which was pretty standard except the sauce was too salty to slurp. The Chicken Kara-age however was not as pretty. Instead of marinated chicken chunks which were then deep fried, I received bland chicken nuggets with a coating that was soggy and not crispy.

If they put so much care into the decor to make the place look homey, please spend some extra dollars to give us something better than the freezer section of Provigo!

The next item was a fried maki roll with salmon, tuna, avocado, spicy mayo, and tobiko. I was happy to see this because when I lived in Northern California I enjoyed the fried California roll from the restaurant Satsuma. This version however was not as special. The fried roll was not piping hot and the coating had time to get soggy. the flavors inside was so muddled you couldn't care less what was inside. The sweet sauce that accompanied didn't help.

The unagi was chewy. The tamago was not fresh (you can buy premade tamago at the market). Only the fresh salmon was up there with the other restaurants I go to.

Overall I was disappointed with this place although it did serve traditional Japanese dishes, a rare thing in our city.

Japanese Round-Up 2/2

Izakaya is a japanese drinking establishment that serves food to go with the drinks. It's like a tapas bar. It's all the rage now in North America as people look for a new trend to adopt.  A lot of the new japanese restaurants in Montreal are labeling themselves as such and some of the older restaurants also prominently display this to attract new customers. I went to two new izakayas last weekend. Note the Izakaya restaurant on Park is only a regular japanese restaurant.


Big in Japan is where Le Pistol used to be on St-Laurent, near the corner of Pine. It's advertised as a Brasserie Japonaise and the decor reflects the main selling point, drinks. Their main food gimmick is a series of skewered fried things. You can have meat ones (3.50$ for two, taxes included in all prices) and non meat ones (3.00$ for two). I had a small carrot and daikon salad (4.50$) which was warm and satisfying. The skewers arrived next with 2 jumbo panko fried shrimps and 2 triplets of quail eggs. The eggs were too soft (I guess they don't have a good way yet to deep fry them) but the shrimps were good.


I think they comped my 2 cups of tea because the last order took a while to arrive, a pork and potato stew. Unfortunately the pork was ground pork and in such little quantities it felt more like a garnish to the big boiled potato cut into fourths. I was the only person not drinking alcohol in the entire restaurant.


Last but not least is Kazu on Ste-Catherine and St-Marc. It's a tiny place with a counter for 8 people then tables for 12. The chef owner is rather talkative despite a weak english. He wants to knwo how is everything and throws a "see you tomorrow" as a goodbye. I had the lujnch special which is tuna on rice bowl. You have sushi rice at the bottom of this modern white bowl, bits of fresh tuna on top and a small cut lettuce salad at the top. Everything is covered in a miso dressing. I also ordered the soup of the day which was a tomato and rice or barley soup. The green tea isn't as good as at my favorite Furusato. This is definitely a place I will come back to explore the rest of the menu.

Japanese Round-Up 1/2

Last weekend I tried 3 japanese restaurants that have been discussed about on Chowhound. One was a real gem and the others are not so stellar.


Sumo Ramen bills itself as a ramen experience and some people seem to like it for its authenticity. I am not an expert on Japanese ramen joints but this place looks rather kitschy with dark orange walls glass covered tables. I ordered the japanese style fried chicken wings (5 for 3.75$, all prices include taxes) which is a greasier panko-covered wings dish. I also ate the Sumo Ramen bowl with soy soup (7.95$). This came with 3 fatty pork slices and the regular accompaniement of the soy (the other choice is miso soup) mix: seaweed, enoki mushrooms, half a cold soft boiled egg and chop suey. The chop suey is simply spicy marinated soybean sprouts. The soup was ok and the cold soft boiled egg didn't make it better. Despite the averageness of the food it's worth discovering with a group of friends and try out the other ramen bowls. They also have some dishes with rice.


On a different stretch of St-Laurent there's Ramen-Ya which is smaller and looks more upscale. They have a smaller menu as well as they don't have the bubble teas and other pan-asian items of Sumo Ramen. I had the gyoza which was quite well made even though the filling was tasteless. The gyoza skin was superb however. I got a pork belly ramen soup and this stock was much better than at Sumo Ramen.


It was fun to try out these new places but I am not keen on returning to these two any time soon.

restaurant review: Poulet Bronzé

Fried chicken is not that good for you but sometimes when you gotta have it, you gotta have it. In Montreal we don't have Popeye's or good fried chicken joints and I used to go to KFC twice a year. I would eat one meal and then remember why I don't eat there more often.

Last year I found this gem of a place where they serve really good fried chicken. They have regular and spicy and now also nuggets and fried shrimp.

I take the special order of 4 pieces for 7$ because I am not big on the fries or side items. It's also delicious reheated the next day for lunch (and make all my coworkers drool with envy).

restaurant review: Furusato

This is my favorite japanese restaurant in Montreal. I don't eat a lot of raw fish so sushi and sashimi is not what attracts me although Furusato (formerly named Osaka) has never disappointed me on it. I haven't been to Tri Express, Jun-I, 

I prefer dishes that japanese people eat at home rather than the business/bar sushi. I also like appetizers and this place has most of what I was able to have in California. I have tried most of what they offer on the english menu and I often make a meal out of 4 appetizers.

I have been eating here since 2007 when I started to work again and I go at least once a week. The staff knows me well and these days I always get extra food. Here are my favorites:

Chicken Karaage

Agedashi Tofu

Shrimp + Vegetable Tempura

Petit Sukiyaki

Chawan Mushi

Fried Squid (no longer available)

Nabeyaki Udon

Oyakodon

Unadon

Tamago (sweet omelet)

On the raw side I like (in sashimi form)

Sake (fresh salmon)

Maguro (tuna)

Toro (fatty tuna, usually belly)

Ikura (salmon roe)

Tobiko (flying fish roe)

Finally there is a special maki using pickled plum (umeboshi) and perilla (shiso) that is a very good combination of tartness and herbal. Shiso (tía tô in vietnamese) is my 2nd favorite herb in the world, after cilantro.

There are some dishes that I like but they don't have: amaebi (raw sweet shrimp), tempura'd "golden" california roll (from Satsuma Sushi in Sunnyvale), fried fish,  Teridon (from Shogun Restaurant in Mountain View), 

restaurant review: Qing Hua

I bought 80$ worth of dumplings for a party last night. Most were available as frozen but I also bought two uncooked dishes to be boiled at the party. Everyone enjoyed them immensely. They cost from 10-13$ for 30 frozen dumplings to cook at home (6 minutes in boiling water). You get 18 boiled or 15 fried if you eat at the restaurant.

This restaurant only sells these soup dumplings and a few appetizers. All the meat dumplings have a broth in them so when you eat them there's soup gushing out. If you are not careful you can burn your tongue or splurt liquid all over yourself and your dining party.

The best flavor combination is lamb and coriander, I also like the shrimp/egg/leek one.

The restaurant started as a small below street level join on St-Marc and Tupper. It opened last winter and has been a hit at the chowhound board. They recently moved into a larger location on Lincoln and St-Mathieu (see sidebar for a google map link).

This place is part of Montreal's "Chinatown 2" which is in the Concordia ghetto. I'll be reviewing more restaurants in this area.