DAVE "In the Food Dojo" I.'s Profile

In the animal world, some animals don't evolve and haven't evolved since the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Take the alligator for example, a living dinosaur. It's a perfect survival machine for its environment so it didn't need to evolve, become more complex. Why bother when you're king of the swamp and food will just eventually drift by for you to kill it without much effort? Well let me tell what else doesn't need to evolve. PIZZA.

I could be wrong but...

Pizza is to me, just like Italian food, simple, fresh, unpretentious (there's that word again) peasant food filled with warmth and soul. Most Italian food rich, filling and made from basic ingredients that keep coming back from one recipe to another but the flavors always vary and it's got some punch to it. It's no surprise that Italian food is the most popular ethnic food the world over. Pizza has become the ultimate comfort food that everyone loves. Flatbread, tomato and cheese as the base, what could possibly go wrong?

Wolfgang Puck went wrong that's what. He popularized the California Pizza (or Gourmet Pizza) and really the fancy nancy foods they serve in those restaurants are both bland and lifeless, but hey it sure looks pretty. And of course it went through North America like a prairie fire.

Arlequino Pizzeria's Manufactured Pizza

Arlequino opened its doors this year on Drummond. The website still isn't live and very little history is known about the place. But this is of little consequence because as soon as I stepped inside the restaurant I knew this place was all about form over function...again. The entire experience is staged. Tuscan colors everywhere, chalk board menu with fine dining table setting. But sadly the service staff was uneducated and knew nothing of spices and peppers as denoted when my fellow diner asked a basic question about the spices. And also it is one noisy restaurant. I couldn't hear my fellow diner speaking to me from all of 2 and half feet from me. Antipasto served on a mini cutting board - an attempt at rusticity that fails on many levels I won't go into here - but it just wasn't antipasto to me.

But I was there with my team, manager and director and our work is driven by urgency and availability so no time for starters and such things. We went straight for the Pizza. My initial reason for going into this restaurant blind was the appeal of wood-oven baked pizza. This was dashed immediately when I received my Bari pizza. The idea sounded good on paper. Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Rapini, and Sausage. Again I ask, what could possibly go wrong? A great many things it seems.

Cheated

As soon as I received my pizza I noticed 2 things. The glory of wood-oven baking is that TASTE OF WOOD. But this pizza was aseptic. Where were the burnt edges? Where was the powered and blackened bottom? No where to be seen. This pizza was picture perfect. The cheese unbrowned, perfectly leveled, perfect topping distribution, everything a pizza should not, especially if you wood-oven baked that baby. The second item I noticed was the sausage and immediately I knew something had gone wrong. There was nothing Italian about this sausage. And it had been sliced with a slicer, in other words purchased as is. No better than Domino's except in flavor. I would have loved handmade sausage, cut unevenly and thick. The Rapini had been steamed with nothing added and this sucked the entire flavor that would have been available out of the pizza.

Now don't get me wrong, the pizza wasn't all that bad once they added to oil and I added a pound of salt on it. So much for fine dining. At fine dining establishments salt and pepper should not even be made available on the table because the food is supposed to be salted and spiced adequately. And after eating this circle of blandness, I was not satiated - which as you know is the whole point of scarfing down some delicious pizza. Bland, soulless, un-filling and yet pretty damn pricey for Italian staples on dough.

A twelve inch very thin pizza ranges from 14 to 16 dollars. 3$ for barely a handful of extra olives. A pizza and a Coke cost me 22$ (not including tip). I can get 2 slices (which will be more pizza than I was served) and a coke for under 12$ at more down to earth pizza shops in Montreal. Pizza doesn't need to be fancied up, it's perfect the way it was meant to be and it in no way should be so expensive. But rich pricks seem to think paying a lot of money for food is important. I won't be found dead anywhere I can get a burrito for a dollar but I don't think a 12 inch paper thin pizza cheaply topped is worth 16$. Don't get taken in by the cool sounding word Rapini, it's cabbage. A tasty cabbage, but still just common cabbage that can grow anywhere. It's said that pizza is like sex, even when it's bad, it's still good. While true in this case, it was like being stuck in the missionary position with an unskilled high-priced hooker.

I have never really had interest in West-indies cuisine until last year when I saw Feasting on Waves, the follow up to road-food frenzy, Feasting on Asphalt with Alton Brown. Alton Brown is a Food-Porn God for his eagerness and endless knowledge of anything food and food related. But it wasn't until an episode on Food TV about a Roti Shop that it was all over for me. First of all, I just had to know what the hell a Roti - besides the obvious French meaning was - and finally delve into the world of Caribbean Goodness.

It's difficult to tell how authentic a cultural cuisine is when you've never been to the source, never had the food or don't have any friends from that country, but a coworker of mine is Jamaican and swears by this restaurant so it was an easy choice for my inner-foodie to pick the Mango Bay as my first foray into Caribbean delights.

As luck would have it, turns out the Mango Bay is barely over a Hop and a Skip away from work so the Monday following the Roti episode I was walking down to Mango Bay for some Wrap Roti Decadence. When they say that Caribbean food is all about heart and soul, they ain't kiddin. Because, if you don't know, a Roti is very simple yet an explosion of flavor and nothing but good eatin'; it consists of a stew of meat and potatoes in a curry based gravy all neatly wrapped in a flatbread. I, not feeling to frisky, went for the chicken wrap roti. And served with 2 carrot sticks and a soft drink for under 10$ we're talkin cheap eats also because this thing is HUGE. It was big enough that I barely finished it. But I was very satisfied. How satisfied was I? I went back the very next and this time I came back with even more friends.

This time I went all out. I had a main with a soup. First the soup. A simple thick cream curry and chicken brother with thick hand cut carrot chunks and potatoes. It also included a pasta dumpling (or domplin as they say) which was unexpected and delicious. But I appreciate anything homemade and made with care. This soup definitely didn't taste like Campbell's Mmm Mmm Good crap. And weirdly the soup seems to get increasingly spicy as you eat it but this just makes it all the better.

Then for the Plat de Resistance... some things exist just to tempt you into derision and this was one of them, because I was makin faces and hittin ma fist on the table during the whole meal. There's something about the sublime that makes a man act all kinds of stupid. But what can I say; a simple plate of rice and chicken was enough to push me over the border. I ordered the Stew Chicken, again lacking a sense of adventure but this time it would turn out to be an awesome compromise.

The Stew Chicken is prepared by being sear or fried in a pan and then stew off in this awesome sweet, sweet rich gravy until you can simply take the meat clean off the bone with the back of a spoon. For someone who is generally bored with chicken in restaurants - I avoid it like the plague - this was by far the best tasking chicken I've ever had. Sweet, tender...I can't really explain it. This had to accompaniments.

Rice and Peas prepared in coconut milk. Someone say coconut? That's right. I live for any recipe that can incorporate coconut and oh yeah this sure as hell works for me. 'nuff said about that. Fried Plantains - just kill me now - something fried never tasted so good. I thought I had eaten fried plantains before but these were so fluffy and light and exploding with that singular sweet taste that it's only weakness is its limited quantity. It's best to just keep'em on the side for the end, sort of like a mini-desert because that's kinda what they are.

What I can't understand is why this restaurant isn't packed to the hilt on lunch hours with such fresh good food to be served. The place is tiny, 30 seats tops. The food is, well it's completely different from the corporate fare that can be found in the area. With big glass towers and a University Campus right on the corner, you'd believe that these low prices would attract loads of folks. Maybe they're just like I was, afraid to try new flavors but it's not so foreign either. They have grub like burgers also, there's some stuff for everyone. And be sure to say hello to Nemo at the back of the restaurant.

The Mango Bay gets without hesitation 5 glorious sunsets on the beach.

I don't normally review chains but this one is tiny and local so I figured I give it a quick and dirty review anyway if only to spew off a few words about this Sandwich Shop.

Not that there's a lack of sandwich shop in Montreal. There's a lack of seriously good ones and I think Sac Wich can somewhat fill that hole though it's not a Mom and Pop store and any shop that claims to be "The Best Sandwiches in Town" will undergo certain cynical scrutiny. But I don't believe Sac Wich tries to move in on the Mom and Pop stores' turf but rather it's telling the bigger shops like Subway and Quisnoz that they can do better and here's the proof.

Sac Wich has a gimmick which if the chain grows I foresee they will give up which consists of picking a brown paper bag writing your name on it and picking your sandwich from the list off the bag. Cutsey at best but I don't care for it. I much rather communicate verbally with my hosts what it is I want. Apparently it's about getting the customer more involved in the process. Maybe I'm just not motivated by this and am reminded of Kramer's build your own Pizza fiasco. Also if I'm eating in, I don't see the need to trash an extra high quality paper bag in these days of environmental sustainability. But I won't let a paper bag get in my way of a good Sandwich.

The owner was on site and hand held me through the whole process and I was tempted to put him through the ringer when I spotted the Philly Steak sandwich. If you're the best sandwich in town and you have a Cheesesteak on your menu well this dude who lived in Philly is tempted to put you on the spot about your cheesesteak. But it's not served wit whiz so obviously not a real Philly cheesesteak so I opted for the Prime Rib to avoid probable disaster instead.

So Sliced Primed Rib (yeah yeah), Gouda, Roasted Red Peppers, Roasted Onions, Tomatoes, Basil, and Aioli sauce all on some dense chewy Chiabatta bread. All fresh and not cheaply portioned. Sounds good huh? Well you would be right. They set up your sandwich and then stick the sucker in a brick oven to heat it up real good. No not a microwave oven, a brick oven. So what you get is one hot crispy tasty sandwich with a side.

A side of what? Well like the big chains you have your chips but they also have cold vegetable and pasta salads and to differ they have criss-cross-cut French fries which I took. I love those. Sadly they were soggy or soft. I expect them to be crispy with this cut but they were still ok and served with a zesty mayo. You also have a choice of pop but also a good selection of beers and wines bringing a more European feel to the shop than an American one. Something Montrealers can better identify with than soft pre-digested slop served at Subway's

In all the sandwich menu is somewhat predictable with some surprises but way above what your options are at Subway's and Quiznos and tastier. But it doesn't top the homemade taste of Italian sandwich shops where you eat sandwiches until you explode like the fat man in a Monty Python sketch because they are THAT good. But scanning your meager options when at the AMC theater for a movie, this is some good eats.

Despite being a sandwich chain I can't help but give a slamming 4 outta 5.

It was by the luck of the draw that I even heard of this Brittish Pub in Montreal. I was listening at The Montreal Burger Reports' Podcast on Dilallo Burgers. Since the guys needed some hops to start off their review and Dilallo serves none they stopped by Burgundy Lion's Pub and linked to it in their podcast. I took one look at the pictures of their food and thought that if the food is only half as good as it looks I would be plenty satisfied. So off I went for some Pub Grub.

At first I was surprised by the look of the place. It's definitely not a dingy musty old pub. It's modern but still keeps an old England feel to it. Extremely clean and I can't say enough how much I love that. The place is crowded and had I known we could I would have made reservations but despite being packed, the service never forgot about us as we drank at a standing bar shelf. We struck gold and got seated in their tiny interior terrace which was a thing of beauty and had a Tardis on the second floor. The owner(s) definitely knows who to keep mens attention by picking the simplest yet sexiest outfit for the feminine section of his service team - the white camisole - it just works.

Sadly the service barely handed us the menu and asked us if we were ready to order. Slow down Nelly, we just got here and it's our first time. But she did make a valiant effort to speak French and after letting her trip and stumble for a few minutes we switched to English and began with the house chips, as in homemade Potato Chips. And seriously, I'm ruined. I don't know how I can ever eat a bag of chips after getting still warm, thick freshly fried potato chips served to me. This was a first for me and the first of many firsts for the evening to follow.

As starters we ordered the Scotch Egg and Cod Fish Cakes. The Cod Fish Cakes were something I had never tried before but wanted to. Fishcakes are made of - of course - fish and potato mash crusted and fried - yes fried; you just can't go wrong with fried. They served it with a tasty curry sauce. The fishcakes were quite peppery which contrary to my usual tastes, I quite enjoyed. My friend's starter was the Scotch Egg and I suddenly feel the need use a lot of expletives to describe how good this was. I had never heard of a Scotch Egg before and shall never forget it. This was the winning dish of the evening, for me anyway. A Scotch Egg consists of a shelled hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a pork mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. Scotch eggs are commonly eaten cold, typically with salad and pickles but they served it with some kind of compote I didn't care for - the egg alone was just insanely awesome and will definitely be having it as my starter at my next visit - because there will be a next visit.

Now for the main course I hit the Sunday Roast, a British classic it seems and foolishly I wanted it because I had to try the Yorkshire Pudding. This was a mistake on my part. Been dying to have a Yorkshire Pudding and sadly I was somewhat disappointed; it tasted like a pancake in the form of a muffin - well I tried. But let's get to that roast, oh baby. I could pull it apart with my fork. It was perfectly seasoned and had this crust on the outside that was bursting with flavor. It also had two sides of veggies and this is where it gets weird. It had a side of beyond delicious roasted roots - including potatoes - and all were perfectly sweet and flavorful from - hopefully - roasting alongside the succulent Angus beef I was eating. And then another side of potatoes, this side is mashed. Sadly it was dryer than the British sense of humor and I fail to see why I needed mashed potatoes when I already had roasted potatoes right next to it. The mash was horrible and the roasted root veg were awesome. I would have gone mad with delight having simply more roasted veggies. The peppered gravy supplied for the Roast and the Pudding was lukewarm. I should have simply complained about this but I did not for some strange reason. There was also some horseradish sauce of which I did not partake because I have no taste for it. But as a whole the dish was great, I consider the superfluous mash a minor faux-pas.

For desert I had the Raspberry Trifle. It was kind of a disaster, thankfully I don't go to pubs for desert but on my first run at a restaurant I go through everything. The custard was liquid and bland. The sponge cake was rock hard - not even soaking up the liquid custard - and the raspberry coulis was way too sweet. The whipped cream was delicious.

As a final review, the upscale pub grub was overall a hit for me. Fresh Chips, both starters and the main were fantastic with the exception of a few missteps and a seriously troubled trifle I cannot under good judgment give it anything less than a 4 out of 5 stars. I'm already dying to go back.

WHY? WHY? WHY? I used to go to Baton Rouge for the ribs but after living in the US and getting a taste of wood smoked ribs, I was done with utilitarian ribs. This week I went back since there's a Baton Rouge right outside the office with the team. I had forgotten the insane prices at this restaurant for straight a no frills trying to be everything to everyone menu. One shouldn't have to remortgage his home to eat out at lunch.

That being said, it was an office lunch and I was going. This Baton Rouge also has a very nice terrace to eat outside and enjoy the nice summer weather and make you forget you are downtown. The service is acceptable but they fail to distinguish between lunch service and evening service. If your restaurant is between two large corporate glass towers, you know your lunch crowd is a working crowd that doesn't always have time for a long lunch. On to the food...

I ordered the NY steak which is a beautiful cut of meat and also easily prepared. The fat alone can flavor it and it doesn't need much more than some spices. So done deal right? You would be SOOOOOOOOOOOO WRONG. When I got my steak just from the sear marks I could tell that this steak had been constantly thrown around the grill. From the way the fat strip was curling off the meat I could tell the steak had not finished thawing before being grilled - which rendered the meat tasteless. There were no salts, peppers or spices. EPIC FAIL. The potato, and I'm only speculating, tasted like last night's oven baked potato because it was so dry and bland that even the quarter of a cup of sour cream, cheese and bacon dressing on it couldn't save this potato, which also had no seasoning. No third party veggies were made available. Louisiana touch, my ass. Half an ear of corn would have been a nice southern touch with my steak. But there's NOTHING Southern or Cajun on their menu.

I'll blame consumers for this disaster in my plate. Why? Because no one ever bitches and complains about their bad food quality they are being served in restaurants, especially for a 38$ NY steak. Like I said to my colleague and former chef, I can make a 5 dollar strip loin from a super-market into a feast you'll think I got from a pro butcher. I cringe that a restaurant cook can't have steaks at room temperature ready for lunch time - if your boss is too much of a cheap bastard to buy it fresh - and season them appropriately to taste and for the sake of all that is good in life when you drop a steak on a grill, the next time you touch it is to flip it and after that to remove it - stop paddling and twiddling the meat, you will ruin it. Same for a potato. If you can't bake a fucking potato... GO HOME. What's so hard with crusting it with olive oil and coarse salt and make the tatter explode with extra flavor?

Why am I bitching? Cause that plate cost me 38$ plus tip and all I got was a badly prepped steak and an old dry potato. For 30$ I made all 3 Rib-Eyes, Duck Sausage, Beef Ribs and potatoes at home and we foodgasmed for hours. For a single plate at 38$ plus tip, I'm expecting some added value to the experience, not leftovers. What a total complete ripoff to be charged so much dinero for such lack of care and passion. Again another establishment that values form over function. I'd rather eat at a shack that serves me great awesome tasting food in a paper plate than go to an upscale looking restaurant made for corporate power-lunchers but serves me barely edible badly prepared  low quality products.

A lame 1 outta 5 stars

The outside is cute with a nice sign outside to make sure you won't miss it. But the inside is very average. It's as if they took a pre-existing restaurant painted it with colors that say smokehouse and blues music and slapped on some blues and jazz music icons laminates on the walls and called it a BBQ restaurant. Let's just say it looks a little Spartan décor wise and could use a bit of a sprucing up. But they played a great array of Blues nonstop. And the best smokehouses I've been too in Texas didn't even have plates; you were served on a piece of parchment paper layered at the bottom of a cafeteria tray. So I digress. Let's attack the food shall we?

THE GOOD

Everything...really. They bring us a small basket of chili cornbread with spicy whipped butter spread. I could have fed on those buns alone all night.

I started with an entrée of ribs. This was almost a small meal, not an entrée but DAAAMMNNNNNNNNN. This is smoked ribs the likes of which cannot be found in Montreal - unless more Southern BBQ joints can be found in Montreal of which I'm not aware - and are supremely well prepared. I could taste the smoke and the wood in the meat. I'm sure the rub is a well guarded secret but I would kill for it. It was well balanced. Not harsh but certainly not flat. And I'll say this without hesitation that these were the best ribs I've ever had in Montreal.

As the main I had the combo platter - because I wanted to sample as much as possible for my first test drive - which consisted of Pulled Pork, Brisket and 2 sides of my choice. I picked the Mac'n'Cheese and the Shaved Fried Onions. The Mac'n'Cheese was a bit peppery but made with freshly grated cheese, this was certainly not KD. The Shaved Fried Onions was insanely delicious and any steakhouse and burgerhouse should pay them for their recipe. My friend also had a side of Baked Beans with Jack Daniels... AWESOME! Sweet, Tasty perfectly cooked beans and the JD after taste really had some kick to it.

I've never been a big fan of BBQ Brisket and this one was cut a big thick in my opinion but it was worth the detour for any Brisket fan. And of course there's my personal favorite, Pulled Pork. If you've never had Pulled Pork, you've never had pork; it's the way it was to be. And Mesquite certainly doesn't screw it. It was so good I had to sit in the back of my chair and close my eyes and let it all soak in. Flaky, fall apart full-flavored smokey goodness. I can't really describe it but fans of Pulled Pork with thoroughly get their fix here at Mesquite.

THE BAD

Now I don't have much in the way of bad to say. Except that every Texan smokehouse I've been to served their ribs dry and they pretty much make fun of Yankees with their over-sugared and wet ribs. But I could see in the kitchen that the sauce was added at the preparation part, not the smoking part so I'll just order them dry next time. Same goes for the Pulled Pork and Brisket. I like them wet, just not drowned in it. So the bad really isn't about the food, but the presentation which can be fixed as you order.

And I know it's a smokehouse but not self-respecting southern establishment is complete without the fried chicken. I mean where's the Southern Fried Chicken? That would be a great addition. Here in Montreal our Fried Chicken options are meager - KFC DOES NOT COUNT. Wouldn't be great to have a place that serve homemade Fried Chicken drizzled with sweet golden honey?

Also in Texas, Dr. Pepper is king. Hell they still make it with real sugar there and not corn syrup. So I ordered Dr. Pepper seeing as my BBQ sauce is made with Dr. Pepper. Denied. Which made wonder on the authenticity of the sauce. Was it made on site or purchased in bottles? Which brings us to...

THE UGLY

Desert. Both deserts were obviously store bought factory made over-sweet sugar-rockets. I mean I ordered Apple Crumble Pie, thinking I'd get some awesome homemade crumble but no, it tasted like something taken off the shelf at Costco. This was a disappointment. The restaurant had so far Prefontained itself through BBQ heaven and then tripped, broke a leg and failed to finish the race with a nice homemade desert. Apple Crumble, so easy to make how could you buy it from a factory? Fail.

THE SHOWDOWN

In the end, best ribs in town, awesome, awesome pulled pork. I only wish I was in delivery range - but again this may be a good thing for my health - and I will definitely return often since as far as I know it's the only smokehouse in town and they now have a loyal customer in me. I'm going back as soon as I can and bringing friends.

I'm still trying to discover new places to get some decent grub in my neighborhood but Verdun is not so easy. The area is replete with 99¢ pizza joints and littered with hot-dog stops. Respectable feeding is hard to come by.

But they're around and slowly I'll tread the waters. The other day I tried the Garage Café, a Pizza slash burger slash pasta restaurant. Reassuringly the place was packed and people were standing outside drinking. The place looks like the neighborhood food stop filled with regulars that simply walked to get there.

The décor is a bit patchy but has flair of its own, service is friendly but a bit slow but they try with all the traffic. The menu is varied but offers nothing innovating yet isn't boring either. Fun comfort food to have with beer, wine or sangria.

As is often the case, I'm in no mood for alcohol after work (Unless I'm not working the next day) so I ordered a Coca-cola and this was the interesting part, they serve it in a Mason jar that has a handle on it. Loved the idea so much I want some of my own now.

Not feeling the pasta menu because it's my fall-back plan when I don't know what to prepare for myself at home I hit the Burger Menu, something I never get bored of. I love a good burger so much I'd eat one for breakfast and I have in the past thanks to American Diners. So I went for the Four By Four.

The Four by Four is a healthy helping of Beef (of course) and Philly Cream Cheese, Bacon and fried Mushrooms and Onions. All ingredients I simply can't get enough. Sadly I didn't get enough. The patty was a whopper but seriously if you're gonna be a restaurant called the GARAGE CAFÉ, to me it seems like a grease monkey wouldn't eat a flimsy burger and with the price, gimme something to chew on.

Burger 101: A burger must be meaty, juicy, greasy and yes a sloppy mess. But also it's gotta be heavy on the toppings and I'm not talking ketchup.

If you tell me you're gonna put some Philly Cream cheese, don't scrape it on; slather it on thick. The mushrooms? I want them flowing from the sides. And the bacon... the bacon. How many times have I said this? Life has no meaning without bacon. This was the big epic FAIL of this Burger that coulda-been. When I go to my local La Belle Province - often derided for being the bottom of the barrel of fast food restaurants in Montreal - and order a bacon-cheese burger, the cook takes out 3 or 4 slices of fresh uncooked bacon and drops them on the grill before taking out the fresh burger patties and then making me a super fresh and tasty messy sloppy burger. But at Garage Café, I got one tiny slice of pre-cooked bacon. Come On! And the patty was to perfectly round and well shaped to be fresh prepared.

The fries were pretty damn tasty though and it was served with a side of very tangy and spicy mayonnaise that added some serious punch to the burger. The burger wasn't bad in the final analysis it just could have easily been an out of this world kick-ass burger with a few simple steps.

3 buns outta 5

When it's nice outside, Montrealers run out and play, this goes for lunch time also. My favourite Deli was PACKED because of said nice weather. So we headed of to Katz Deli at the Place Ville Marie. Because we wanted a Reuben Sandwich and that was the plan we were sticking too.

The place looks like it must have looked 40 years ago but it's clean and maintained and looked like every generic restaurant looked like when I was a kid but it had this nostalgic feel to it.

Now there's not much to say here because we had our grub and left. It wasn't a culinary exploration of any sort. But they had a twist on the Reuben Sandwich which I didn't expect but I loved it anyway.

They made it an open faced sandwich where you have the usual Russian dressing, the krout, the smoked-meat and then a heaping pile of cheese the whole thing is salamandered until the cheese is nice and toasty, some fries are added and raw veggies.

Making things better... they have CHERRY COKE. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

Reuben's remains my kick ass Deli but this was definitely a tasty twist I wont shy from biting into again.

Being Québecois I always have a soft spot for Cuisine du Terroire and without a doubt, Le Pied de Cochon is its Mecca. Martin Picard, the owner and chef of PDC has a penchant for my number favorite food stuff of all time: Foie Gras. His menu is littered with Foie Gras. The menu has items and then with added Foie Gras just to make it even better. Just with that he would score points with me. I was simply unprepared for the ways he presents Foie Gras and it changed everything.

You're probably saying "Dave, you're going overboard here, Foie Gras is good but it's not life altering" to which I answer "Sit down, shut up and read on" because you obviously haven't been to PDC and have experienced what I have experienced. I'm sure it's the kind f elevating sensation those religious people experience during conversion.

It started with The Cube or as the menu calls it Foie Gras Cromesquis. When your plate is presented the waiter has to give you some instruction first. He explains that it's a Foie Gras Terrine breaded and then deep fried. The terrine is now liquefied so you must wait a minute or two for it cool down and when you do bite down on it, keep your mouth closed. I looked at him with incredulous eyes. I take hold of the breaded cube, put it on my tongue and closed my mouth as the waiters behind the bar looked on, I bit down on it and then... time... stopped... My eyes closed and I wanted to say something but the Cromesquis exploded into a liquid spray of flavor napalm. At that very moment I could have died and it would have ok. This was only the beginning.

I then continued this blissful expedition to culinary perdition with an off-menu item that was offered to us. Fried-Head cheese on a Gribiche sauce. The Head-Cheese was breaded with a smear of goat cheese on top and the Gribiche was just so good that I cleaned out the plate. The head cheese was so far beyond what I expected. The meat tastes so much stronger and is more diverse in flavors. Unbelievable and the best head-cheese I've ever had in my life.

Did you think we we're done with entrée? Oh HELLLLL NO. Picard mixes Quebec's masterpiece of fast-food with Foie-Gras and turns into an orgasmatron of taste and sensation. Poutine with Foie Gras. Just the idea was mind-boggling and the execution was akin to sex with a very willing firm horny barely legal co-ed. I've had a lot of Foie Gras before but this was simply the most textured, flavored and fragrant one I ever tasted. I just wanted to bash my head on the bar it was so good.

I ordered the restaurant's namesake dish, The Pied de Cochon. Pied de Cochon translated means Pig's Foot. And that's what it was. A whole pig's foot and some of the leg too. It was MASSIVE. The meat is removed braised and then stuffed back in the breaded leg with the hooves. It's layed on a bed of mashed potatoes then covered with a medley of tasty and very aromatic veggies, some of which I failed to Identify. Oh and yeah with a cherry on the top, another artery clogging portion of Foie Gras. The plates was enough to feed a family of rufees for a week and it was impossible for me to finish it but trust me that no meat was left on the plate, just the hooves and some veggies. Pig's leg is easily the tastiest part but it's work to get at sadly and probably explains why my mother only made Pig Leg Stew once a year.

I decided to attack the desert menu. I quickly spotted Pudding Chômeur (poor mans pudding) I had to try Picard's take on this cultural institution. I was not dispointed, it was dessert heaven - though my mom's Pouding chômeur was light years beyond his - and a brilliant close on the evening.

The service was top notch friendly and unpretentious. If you've ever seen Picard's show, he looks like a lumberjack, he's not anything like a snotty pedantic chef, he's all about good food and he'll go and kill it himself to get it on the plate. So his staff is equally relaxed and approachable. I'm not big on chi-chi restaurant experience and this restaurant looks like a sugar shack and is very laid back while still having 2000$ wine bottles on its wine list. Fine Dinning without the dickishness.

Le Pied de Cochon is by far the best restaurant, culinary, eating experience I've ever had and I can't even begin to explain why. All of the above are mere ramblings of a mad man drugged by an experience that will not soon be overcome. I seriously doubt I can find another food experience to top my carnivorous proclivities anytime soon. Best Foie Gras ever, awesome head cheese, sublime Poutine, insane Pig's Feet. It took me about 3 days to come down from the rush. There is a God and his name is Martin Picard.

I found this gem while in the middle of nowhere. They call it the Cité des Multimédia, a seemingly desperate attempt at this time to revive this almost barren and abandoned part of Montréal. Now it seems to come alive with high priced super-condo buildings popping up, luxurious lofts built in old factories. It's getting there and it will soon replace The Plateau as the hippest place in North America. It's the ultimate pastiche of modernity and early industrialization.

Most businesses there right now make it look like a mini-Silicon Valley growing in a bombed-out neighborhood. It's all tech-related. All of them and a few chic architect offices. But in the middle of it all an art gallery has sprung up for modern art and artists to find shelter. It would make Trent Reznor salivate with envy. I didn't even get the name of the gallery. But in there, there's a small art bar. Take a good look at this picture.

Now look again, in the window, near the corner of the street, you see it? That's as visible as the sign gets. Since the beginning of the week I've seen a lot of taxis stop and back up. You blink and you can miss it. As I did. I was walking by when it caught my eye. I was scouting the area to take pictures and for restaurants. I refuse to brown bag. I hate making, packing and carrying my lunch to work. I'll survive on hot-dogs and Coke if I have to but I will not brown bag. And the area is devoid of restaurants. Or so I thought.

I was walking on the sidewalk when Lara caught my eye. Someone had graffitied Lara Croft on the wall leading to Cluny's. I snapped a picture and that's when I saw a plaque advertising Cluny's restaurant. This had coolness written all over it. I had to go in.

You enter the lobby and you start feeling lost. It's a big square lounge with a sofa and a wooden table. You hear the tinkerings of a kitchen so you follow the noise and walk into a small unpretentious cafeteria but everything has a feel of restaurants you see in movies and always wonder where you can find those restaurants. You pick up your bright yellow plastic tray and head on to the grub.

You have no idea what to expect. You look in the counter and it's loaded with sandwiches in French baguette of chiapata bread. They all look delicious, but which one do you take? The roasted veggie delight? Or the Hawaiian chicken with roasted red peppers, Spanish onions, pineapple and what seems to be a whole chicken breast ripped into chuncks. But there, while you debate with your inner-avarice chewing your insides for the sandwichy goodness before you, you see the chef preparing something, you can't really see or understand what it is, but like a bug to a flame, you desire it. You say to the chef: "What's that?". It's meatloaf. Not your aunt's meatloaf covered with Campbell's tomato soup as sauce. Oh no!

It's meatloaf delivered by the hands of God. I think it had lamb in it but I can't tell. The loaf is covered with a mild curry and sweet mustard sauce with fine herbs giving it a gustatorily orgasmic bouquet and then covered with cheese. It took a while to get my plate because you can only fit so many dishes in the salamander oven that gives that unforgiving trait that all au gratin dishes have... pure ecstasy. It was served with a purée of potatoes and carrots with a side of green salad with a light touch of oil and vinegar. Just take a look at this and try to hold back the drool.

So the sandwiches looked great. They have a one-item menu every day; the desserts looked fantastic. They have wine for the wine-lovers and pig-out-frenzy-worthy deserts. All for a not cheap but not too expensive average price of $15(Can) per meal. But what a meal and what an ambience with its metal, its damaged concrete and aged wood foundry from the late 19th century or early 20th century. The only complaint -- and this is a minor one -- is the chairs. To keep the metallic and wood feel they have these grey metal stools, which are the same ones I had in art classes, that are a tad uncomfortable. But who cares with food so good and such an environment? And it only adds to its cachet.