DAVE I.'s Profile

Another chi-chi burger place, another disappointment.  What's a burger? It's a patty, its cheese and a bun. I don't need 2, 3 sauces, caramelized onions and short rib and both sesame AND poppy seeds. Can we PLEASE keep it simple and also... do all burger places have to make horrendously huge frakking burgers?

DO NOT call it Philly cheesesteak. 1, Cheesesteak is only made in Philly, you can drop that part. Plus it's made from rib steak, not shoulder. If yer gonna wit' whiz it, at least use Cheeze Whiz, not a copy brand. But as a beef and cheese spring roll, it work pretty good.

I could go into details, but I'm not up to it.

They made a tasty Tom Collins though. And the lemon pie was awesome.

I haven't reviewed Cheeburger Cheeburger yet? Shame, for shame. So here goes.

It's a build yer own burger joint. But hot damn is it awesome. You have the Chassis. Start with a delicious glossy moist bun. The patty, anything from 1/3 of a pound to the full-pounder. On that you can pick from an impressive array of cheeses and like the menu says, you can have it without cheese but why would you? This is followed by a plethora of free toppings and not-so-free topping, but worth every extra penny because you can go freaking nuts on the combination possibilities.

I had the semi serious, which is 1/3 of a pound and opted to slap some bacon and a fried egg, with mayo, ketchup and American Cheese. It was crazy good. The patty was piping hot, well seasoned, moist, fatty and delicious. The toppings were amazing. The bun is simply AMAZING.

I had a side of Onion Rings. The only thing I can say that's wrong about the rings is that the onions were not allowed to dehydrate overnight after being cut, when that's not done, the moisture makes the batter mushy. But they were still awesome. The fries.... poor, poor Americans. They couldn't make good French fries to save their lives. I've eaten all over in the states and only at the Navy Yard's Bistro did I find good fries, otherwise, they are always dry and crunchy. But they weren't bed, just not how I like me some fries.

All sides (fries and rings) come with a choice of 5 dipping sauces. I of course hit the melted cheese sauce... you can dip the last remains of the burger into it as well.

Wait it gets better. Made to order soft drinks served in Masson jars. Cherry Coke in a Masson jar.... just perfect. But wait again, it gets even better. Homemade milkshakes. Tasty, cool, delicious shakes, about 30 different types. I love me a good shake.

Tacky 50's decor which is cool, great service, supremely nice owner, trivial pursuit cards with the condiment tray, 50's music, lotsa pink and what is currently the best burger experience in Montreal. Nothing else comes close to it. So despite some very minor blunders, it's SERIOUS 5 outta 5

I normally wouldn't review a chain but this needs to be said.

You need to understand something about La Belle Province; it's a franchised restaurant chain. The chain is owned by Greeks and they sell franchises only to other Greeks. If a non-greek wants a franchise he can purchase it, but the price is likely to be tenfold. Furthermore, once LBP to another the menu can change a little, there are no standards followed so from one LBP to another, quality, product and experience can vary. It can suck or be awesome or anything in between.

This La Belle Province is not owned by Greeks. This La Belle Province is franchise that just doesn't care. You see they managed to get a counter space in Québec's largest food court, in the basement of the Eaton's Center in downtown Montreal. Just having this location guarantees a franchise owner the right to print money.

The owners are obviously in it for the easy money because the food is fucking horrible. Yeah they fucked up hot-dogs, burger and fries.

I went with a friend for a quick meal after work. She had Combo #2, which is 2 dogs, a poutine and a soft drink. I had the cheeseburger combo, with a poutine and a soft drink.

It was during the supper-time rush. My burger patty was a pre-cooked patty warmed over rapidly on the grill; the bun was not toasted, grilled or even steamed. How warm was my burger? By the time I was seated with my tray, the cheese was still cold and un-melted. The slaw had a weird taste. The poutine, a staple food for any self-respecting Québecois, was somewhat warm and tasted bland. The 7up was warm and tasted metallic.

But here's the kicker...

My friend had some dogs remember? Well first of all the buns were not steamed. When I order steamers, I want steamed buns. But then it gets worse... much, much worse. For some reason, my friend's dog flipped over to expose MOLD, FUCKING MOLD on the buns...

So you know it, STAY AWAY FROM THIS RESTAURANT. They don't care about quality, service, their clients, they only care about their profit margin.

Burgers, I like my burgers like I like my women, a hot mess. So all these Upscaled Burgers get on my nerves. And Le Gourmet Burger is no different.

You'd think I would learn but I keep trying. In I go this small quaint little restaurant, hoping for burger goodness. But that would be what I like to call WRONG.

I'm not gonna mess around and I'm gonna deconstruct this thing called a burger. First the bun, dry and over seasoned with sesame seeds. I love sesame seeds but here there was to much and tasted overcooked. All burger comes with lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. Now I never tasted them onions. The client also has a huge array of possible toppings. I opted for bacon (duh!) and Boursin. Now Boursin is awesome but let's face it, it's France's answer to Kraft Philly cheese. It's a cheap, cheap cheese and yet it was more expensive than Brie but it added a nice taste to the burger. Also added some delicious garlic mayo.

"But Dave, what about the patty?" you say. Yeah about that. The burgers are grilled over charcoal. Personally I prefer burgers on a flattop but grilled over charcoal, not bad either. However you better cook it right. Charcoal will dry ground chuck FAST. And TADA I got me a dry overdone patty. Firstly, you need at the very least 20% fat content if yer gonna fire grill burger. (Why I love flattops, the burger cooks in its fat.). The fat will keep it moist and add, you guessed it, flavour.

The burger looked pretty but tasted just north of OK.

Fries? Well they were pretty tasty in my poutine. The sauce was pretty tasty to, but I don't feel it was made from a reduction but I could be wrong, and ehhhh WHERE'S THE CHEESE? Looked more like fries with sauce than poutine.

Oh and homemade lemonade my ass.

The Cheeburger Cheeburger experience is far more what I look for in a burger. Simple, fresh made but awesome burgers. Meat, buns, cheese and bacon. No trippy hippy upscale bullshit. Burgers should not be upscaled, it should be a hot messy affair. So Le Gourmet Burger get's a middle of the road 3 outta 5.

Well I went back again and there was a serious and hard to forgive lack of consistency. This time the burger was overcooked, the meat chewy and greyish. The onion rings were soggy with grease. And I tried the Mac n Cheese which left me wondering, who stole my cheese? Therefore I must downgrade my rating. Consistency is a key element in restoration.

Dear Irish Embassy owners, today I had the displeasure of eating at your establishment, often cited as "the better Irish pub" in Montreal. On the lunch special was a Bolognese Mac n' Cheese, one Béchamel sauce away from a Pastitsio. But you had me at Mac n' Cheese, easily the greatest comfort food of all time.

But seriously guys, how could you possibly FUCK UP a Mac n' Cheese? It was so HORRID; Kraft Dinner was fine dining compared this heaping lump of oily greasy pasta which I was served by the lovely and friendly Sarah. 2/3 of the way and I stopped eating because there's was a puddle of oil in my dish. There was no Bolognese sauce, just minced meat on top of pasta... and really mozzarella in Mac n' Cheese? SIGH. And then I had to pay 24$ for the dish, cola and tip.

You guys have an awesome location and some cool staff, but your food is lost in the mail.

Avoid Tandoori Xpress http://www.tandoorixpr.../ on 220 boul concorde est, Laval, QC H7G 2E1 at all costs.

Friend got Norovirus from eating there which is due to bad hygiene i.e. urine and fecal

I was invited to a restaurant for the holidays, having zero knowledge of it prior to setting foot inside. I had heard some murmurs of it but nothing solid. Chez L'Épicier (The Grocery Store in French) looks like a very upscale grocery store with canned goods, oil bottles and such all set in a charming Old Montreal where the old bricks and rock walls of the historical site give it its rustic elegance. Beautifully lit in subdued light, the spacious restaurant says welcome before the greeter can.

The service staff so well coiffed, polite and elegant gave me fear for a pretentious dining experience, which I dislike. I can't stand art-food and refuse to pay the overpriced bill that comes with it. But the prices are fair for the quality of food to be eaten and I didn't hold back on ordering my desired plates for fear of paying too much.

Right out of the ballpark, I spot foie-gras on the menu as an appetizer. I can't resist foie-gras, it's the ultimate food-stuff I can think of. Life without foie-gras is pretty meaningless, that's how much I love it. But I love it well prepared. Having eaten the best foie-gras on this planet at Le Pied de Cochon, the bar is set stratospherically high. Chez L'Épicier did not disappoint. At one point I contemplated whether Chez L'Épicier beat out Le Pied de Cochon, but the texture made it lose out to Le Pied de Cochon. But don't get me wrong. This awesome perfectly seared foie-gras server on a croissant pastry and top with duck pâté was sublime. Serving it in a tiny cast-iron pan was a presentation coup that rendered it even more appetizing. There were expressed regrets at the table for not having chosen the foie-gras once it was presented.

Now the problem with foie-gras when well prepared is that it can easily ruin the rest of the meal. Foie-gras is like having sex with twins, pretty hard to top. I've come to accept defeat in these cases. With a few exceptions, the main-dish never satisfies... once again I am supremely surprised by the main dish: Grain fed veal chop, all dressed fingerling potatoes, asparagus au gratin and prosciutto chip. Now I was somewhat disappointed by the over-crunchy-not-so-al-dente asparagus (Also white asparagus is prettier, but doesn't taste as good as the green variety) but the lardon-lace gratin was good, really good. Someone says fingerling potatoes and I say "Yes Please!", enough on that, they were perfect. Same for the crunchy prosciutto. But the piece de resistance, the veal chop, was quite possibly the veal I've ever had in my life. I had never considered veal served as a 1 inch thick chop. I normally eat meat rare, but the chef suggests serving medium-rare. Good enough I can play along though there are only 3 possible cooking degrees with meat, rare, medium and the yucky well-done. Everything in between is basically a crap-shoot that depends on the cook's feel and attention, but I digress. Well it was perfect and the taste exponentially above my expectations, if there is such a thing. Had I had more money and stomach space to spare I would have easily gone for another mind-blowing veal chop.

For desert I jumped so quickly at the thought of eating delicious soufflé (a rarity in restaurants these days) that I completely glanced over the word ICED. I was disappointed in not getting a traditional soufflé; however the taste of the homemade ice-cream and its toppings made me quickly forget. I almost didn't eat the fennel Madeleine, but thankfully I went for a taste anyway and it was amazing. I also ordered a tiny butterscotch-banana macaroon, so sweet you'll reach for insulin but small enough not to burn your palate.

This is my favourite way of going into a new restaurant, blind. Expectations easily lead to disappointment. Disappointed I was not, in fact it was an experience I will not soon forget and hope to relive.  Service was slow, but I'm told they were short on staff for the unexpected amount of clients on a date so soon after Christmas, which probably explains why some of the menu items were either no longer available or some ingredients were modified. This was not an issue for me, as I don't mind long diners with friends.

Oh oh I almost forgot...The Tom Collins... quite possibly the best I've ever had. They added something pinkish to it and I never asked for details. Awesome.

Despite some menu and service issues and keeping in mind it was the 27th of December, I really can't complain about anything. The food was above and beyond; the service despite latencies was great. I expected to blow a lot of money but it ended up costing me just above 100$ which is not expensive considering the quality of the food and service.

Just your basic convention center often chosen by my firm to hold huge meetings. The food is surprisingly good, as good as I've found in convention centers. I expect dried chicken but instead got veal filet. And I don't even know what that desert was except it was freaking amazing. As convention centers go, it works. Plenty of room/rooms for a large firm such as my employer. Service is OK and we were able to get the waiter's attention which goes against conventional wisdom concerning convention centers.

A small local bakery which offers breads and patisseries and does it well. They must sell too many establishments as they have a tiny store front but with a huge kitchen area. The baguette French bread is really good. The patisseries are amazing, especially the chocolate éclair - one of my all time favourite pastries by which I judge patisseries because often the chocolate is rock hard and cracked, the crème Chantilly is sloppy or just plain bad custard that in my humble opinion doesn't belong in an éclair; and the pâte à choux is often not pâte à choux. And Au Pur Délice passed with flying colors. They are my local go-to place for patisseries now.