The small entrance and cavernous main room downstairs gives the impression that you have found a niche, away from passing eyes on the street, in which to party and let loose. This particular venue is great in the way that it provides three fairly popular activities all in one area, at a fair price. For the group of friends that can’t come to an agreement, the person who can’t have just one or the attention deficit, this is your haven.

The kitchen is open until 11 and snacks are offered all evening. This isn’t your place for fine dining after the kitchen closes, but more for late night drinking snacks.

The pool and snooker tables are in decent shape and are hardly ever all taken. Except for the odd busy day, it’s quite empty. They are charged by an hourly rate so for the pro’s that’s good news and those of us who take an hour to finally scratch on the 8… well, we’d better go more.

The bowling area with its black lights and bar close at hand makes for a real party environment. The bowling itself is as would be expected except for the, some times, reoccurring technical issues with the scoring screens.
Don’t want to be around all the hustle and bustle on their busy nights? Two private bowling lanes are also available off to the side but for the extra price you aren’t offered much more service or any seclusion except for a single pane of glass between you and other players, somewhat putting you in the spotlight.

The lounge with its overview of the surrounding pool tables provides a decent area for socialization and leisure. The low height, leather sofas and chairs are fairly comfortable albeit somewhat tricky to manoeuvre into an upright position with. For those of us who’d rather sit at an angle greater than 30 degrees, the lounge bar is right there and stocked predominantly with what seems to be  barmaids of  mid-east origin who, depending on the day, may or may not speak your language of preference.

Furthermore there is a VIP lounge with room for 50 people. This room comes with its own bar, pool table and couches and looks rather snazzy.

Service can be lacking in the pool and bowling section on quiet nights as they tend to under staff but in general it’s fair priced and well served venue.

Attention all chocolate lovers… paradise is right here in Montreal!

Picture this: a hot chocolate brownie topped with a scoop of delicious vanilla ice cream covered with melted chocolate. How about a big crepe filled with fresh fruits and a lot of chocolate topped with a scoop of ice cream?  From chocolate fondue to delicious salads or meal crepes, whether you are going for lunch or for dessert, Juliette et Chocolat will leave you coming back for more…

Should I continue? White chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, sweet, semi-sweet or bitter, something for everyone’s taste. You want hot chocolate, you’ve got choice. In the mood for a drink? How about a Choco-Mojito? THEY HAVE IT ALL!

During my last visit I had the fruit bowl: vanilla ice cream, strawberries, bananas, pears, topped with whipped cream and meeeeeeeelted chocolate… Portion was huge and the presentation mouthwatering; though I couldn’t finish it, I didn’t want to give it away!!

A very cozy space with very friendly staff. I love the big bright red chef hats they all wear. As you step inside, the smell of chocolate is so strong that it makes you want to jump over the counter to satisfy your craving (I knew writing this article was a bad idea… I NEED Juliette et Chocolat!!!)

The ingredients and chocolate they use come from all around the world.

To keep up with the growing number of fans, Juliette has two locations, one on St-Denis and one on Laurier.

But don’t take my word for it… try it out for yourself!

Check out their website for pictures and for more information www.julietteetchocolat.com .

My good friend Dave calls me up two weeks ago; “Want to go check out Garde-Manger? I managed to secure a table for four people. Kriss and Lindsay are coming along too, and we need a fourth participant.” There was no way in hell I was passing this opportunity, so I hastily agreed. I kept hearing about this place from friends, and I wanted to review it for Montrealing ever since I first witnessed it across from Santos.

Getting a table at Garde-Manger is a bit hard, as the restaurant is constantly packed with people. Dave had to call in a week and a half in advance to reserve a table for four people. This says a lot concerning Garde-Manger: they must be doing something right if they’re always this full. Most of the publicity this place gets comes from the cooking show Chuck’s Day Off (seen on FoodTV). Don’t let this fool you though, as the quality of the food alone would be enough to sustain their business without the extra publicity.

Friday night rolls around, and our reservations are for 9:30 PM. Since Montreal city loves digging up their roads constantly, we decided to leave early to curb traffic and cut through the mess Old Port is currently in at the time of writing this review. For reasons unknown, there was no traffic and finding parking was a breeze. This resulted in arriving at our destination half an hour early. Luckily for us, our table was already ready and we were seated immediately.

Looking around the (packed) place, it reminded me of a time where restaurants were actually in business to please their clientèle. Garde-Manger is quite warm and cozy. If this place could talk, it would say: “sit down, relax, have a coffee… there’s no rush, stay for as long as you like”. With that said, Garde-Manger is small in size. I think the whole place can roughly handle 40 seated people at a time. But great things come in small packages, right?

The only menu you’ll get here is a wine list, so you’re going to have to glance at a nearby wall that has the specialties scribbled on a blackboard. This leads me to realize that their menu changes constantly. On the left side of the blackboard are the appetizers, while the right side features the entrées. There were so many dishes I wanted to try as they all sounded great, but I settled on the short-ribs with barbecue sauce as I had a craving for meat. Right before the waitress moved on to ask what Dave was ordering, two magical words that were at the top of the appetizers list just hit me in the head: lobster poutine. Rudely cutting off my friend placing his order, I screamed it out: “LOBSTER POUTINE!”. That’s when Dave and Kriss looked at each other and said “make that three”. The waitress, smiling, wrote it down on her pad.

Lindsay, who is not a big seafood fan, decided to try the salad with cheese-balls.

Since my friends are the kind of people who love sharing, I managed to savour a few dishes in one sitting. From top to bottom, the images below feature the short-ribs, pork & mushrooms and duck meat. I can’t describe what the dishes were mainly composed out of, but what I can confirm is that everything just tasted so damn good. The pork was very tender (properly cooked) and the duck… well, I’ll simply quote Kriss: “They didn’t even ask me to cook it medium-rare… this is how it’s supposed to be. They got it right on the money.” I couldn’t have agreed more when I tried it.

I thought the meal I was having was the bomb, up until I glanced over to the table next to me. I cannot describe the monstrosity of this tray, so I will let the picture do the talking.

Finally, our night was coming to an end, but there was desert on the horizon. The four of us didn’t know what to expect in terms of sweets. Before the desert, our waitress asked us whether we wanted any coffee or tea. Kriss and I tried the espresso, Dave had Earl Grey tea while Lindsay had a cappuccino. It was a machine that prepared the coffee, so it was good, although my espresso felt a bit luke-warm. Now, choices for desert were banana cake with caramel, fried Mars bar, and the classic chocolate brownies fused with marshmellows. All three of these dishes were served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. In the order they were introduced, take a glimpse of what you will experience should you have a chance to check out Garde-Manger.

If there was a list of places I would take my first date out on, Garde Manger would be at the top. The place is small and cozy, and dimly lit for that seclusive factor when you’re with friends or a loved one. I had one of the finest dining out experiences in a long time. I’ll be coming back to this restaurant very, very soon.

Pros

• Delicious meals, all original
• Cozy atmosphere
• Great wine list
• Excellent service
• Lobster poutine

Cons

• Somewhat pricey
• Loud, but you can still have a conversation
• Reserving a place is difficult, so think in advance!
• Get ready to add on some unwanted weight with all the great food

Address: 408 Saint-François-Xavier, Old Port
Telephone: (514) 678-5044

The tables are placed in an auditorium-style arrangement, converging towards the stage as the focal point of the restaurant. I highly suggest you grab a seat facing towards the stage, because as beautiful as the music sounds, half the excitement is watching some of the most talented artists play this intricate music with such ease.

With daily performances, it’s no wonder their clients stick around for many hours at a time. The Taurrey Butle Trio, a band I had the pleasure of watching, blew my mind. As a musician, I’ve always had the utmost admiration for jazz performers for it is the hardest style of music to play.  I couldn’t take my eyes off the pianist’s fingers, which seemed to be moving at a speed of a thousand miles an hour.

These men share a chemistry that is reflected in their music; they play as if they’re the only ones in the room. The pianist raced his fingers up and down the keys with agility, the bassist held up some of the best tempo I’ve ever head, and the drummer jammed away like only someone with ADHD can.

Aside from the music, The House of Jazz serves an array of dishes you can easily enjoy while watching the show. I highly suggest ordering the plate of ribs if you don’t mind getting your fingers dirty.

Montreal’s lucky to be home of such an authentic jazz establishment, with amazing toe-taping beats and a service reflecting the New Orleans hospitality.

Wanting to do something a little different with my friends this year, I went online to search for a good apple-picking orchard. One that stood out was the Verger Labonté, located in Ile-Perrot. The website promised a variety of traditional activities such as tractor rides, a petting zoo, home baked goods, and, of course, a variety of apples, pumpkins, and squashes to pick. But what caught my attention were their “famous apple muffins” (among other baked goods made fresh daily) and their corn and sunflower mazes (that’s right, I said mazes!).

I was glad to find out that the self-advertised Verger Labonté does not disappoint! The aromatic scent of baked apple goods intoxicates you from the moment you walk into their homemade goods store! Their “famous” muffins really do melt in your mouth! One is compelled to buy at least one box of these delectable morsels to take home, or even a box of their delicious apple-crumble, as well as a carton of their superb homemade apple juice. One should take note however, that due to the fact that there are no additives in their products, the apple juice is not pasteurized and will only last one week of refrigeration.

You can feel good about encouraging this orchard as Verge Labonté prides itself on using as little pesticides as possible, if any. A bucket of apples will cost you 12$ and your pickings are to be shared with up to 4 people. However, if you intend to bake or cook with the apples that you have picked, you may want to research which type of apple will work best for your dishes. For example, Spartan apples will hold up better when baked, and so, are better to use when making desserts, while McIntosh apples are preferred when making applesauce.

Since 2006, the orchard’s corn and sunflower fields have been tended to create an intricate maze much to enjoyment of children and adults alike. This activity not only entertains, but also helps raise awareness for various causes. This year, the labyrinth is being used to educate the public about the hardships in Vietnam. Various clues about Vietnam are well hidden throughout the three mazes and a questionnaire is handed out at the beginning of the adventure. The mazes vary in level of difficulty and the most intricate one requires at least an hour and a half of your time, but I assure you that it is well worth your time and effort. It should be noted that a dollar of every ticket sold goes to a humanitarian organization that helps with the demining of yet-active mines hidden in the soils of Vietnam.

Overall, this is another activity we are lucky to be able to experience in Montreal and since the season (and sunny days) are limited, I suggest we all take a day and go enjoy this wonderful, family-oriented experience!

Check out their website for more information: www.vergerlabonte.com

As far as the atmosphere goes, it was alright: the stage is located on the second floor, completely cut off from the bar at the entrance. Like most comedy clubs, the lighting is dim and the bar is standard enough to offer you your everyday run-of-the-mill drinks. However, beer aficionados be warned as there were only a few select brands on tap. Seating was ample enough, and there are no “bad” seats like the ones you’d find in movie theatres. Even though the room was small, you won’t feel crammed up as you watch the shows. As one would expect, there was a modest cover charge (5$) and a one drink minimum (which may seem like a scam to most) but in my opinion is fair priced. After 2 pints, the total for my night was less than 20$. For transportation, Guy-Concordia is your metro. Drivers will appreciate the fact that parking was pretty abundant since it was, after all, a Monday night.

The crowd during the night I frequented was pretty supportive: even when bad jokes were plenty, some people would force a chuckle. Of course, there were comedians that were more successful than others and simply ripped the place apart in tears. Overall, the night was time well spent. Probably an unknown highlight of this place is that big name comedians have been known to stop by and try out some of their content on the crowd, almost like a focus group. It is a good way to get a sneak-peak of upcoming comedy shows without paying the outrageous prices for tickets. While I would like to believe this place is a hidden gem amongst group of friends, I’m pretty sure Comedy Works will now be packed on Monday nights after this review hits the streets.

This review was written by Jordan V for Montrealing.com

Having grown up in the West Island suburbs, the originality of restaurants around there was limited. What has especially bothered me was the lack of seafood places at affordable prices. When thinking about fresh seafood joints, La Sirene and Pêche Pêche generally comes to mind, along with the image of dollar signs.

However, Peter’s Cape Cod in Ste-Anne de Bellevue has been open for years and, despite the area’s seasonal wave of clientele, has managed to stay open through the vacancy in the winter times. The portions are generous and the freshness of their product is taken seriously. The Fish N’ Chips platter is definitely a favorite. I suggest you don’t try to be too health conscious and skip out on the fries, they’re some of the best I’ve tried!

Peter’s Cape Cod has a look that doesn’t scream overpriced. As good as the food may be, I highly discourage taking a romantic date there. The décor would make you believe a fisherman’s ship threw up all over the walls, but the tacky objects are worth putting up with for the giant terrace and view over the water.

http://www.bar-resto.com/peterscapecod

]]> http://www.montrealing.com/2009/09/peters-cape-cod-any-fresher-and-the-fish-would-be-swimming-to-you/feed/ 4 http://www.montrealing.com/2009/09/restaurant-lordia-lavals-only-good-resto/ http://www.montrealing.com/2009/09/restaurant-lordia-lavals-only-good-resto/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:52:19 +0000 Saro G. http://www.montrealing.com/?p=819 I’m never too keen to hit up a middle-eastern sit-down restaurant, even though I’m considered a middle-easterner and think like one. Usually, these places are ghetto, badly run-down and the food never tastes good. When I was invited to hit up Lordia for a birthday party, I was a bit hesitant at first, but I decided to try it out anyway as I am working for an editorial website after all…

The birthday invitation said the party starts at 9:30 PM and ends at 3:00 AM. With a little bit of math and experience, I concluded I should hit the place up at 10:30 PM. Reason why I delayed by an hour was because I know middle-easterners like me always tend to be late. I was right again this time, as only half of the invitees arrived when I got there. Secondly, the appetizers (not to mention the main dishes) are always served late… always. There’s no point of going early to these types of places because you’ll go crazy while you starve. I recommend you curb your appetite with a little snack before you go to Lordia. You’ll thank me later.

Within twenty minutes of sitting down, the cold and hot mezzes were served (my timing was perfect) and they looked pretty good. There was the usual tabbouleh, hummus, basterma, soujouk, falafel, balila and stuff you would have no clue what they are judging by their names. I can assure you they all taste great, especially this one little dish that had an orange-ish cream with escargots floating in it. Escargots! At this point of my night, I was very pleased with the way things were going.

One thing people don’t know about these types of restaurants is that the main dishes are always served very, very late… I’m talking twelve o’clock here, sometimes as late as 1 AM. It’s best you feast on the mezzes as much as you can, because you might starve to death till the meat arrives.

One thing I highly recommend is the shisha [arguile] while you wait for your food to arrive. The tobacco tends to suppress your appetite just a bit and allows you to socialize with your gathering over a bottle of wine, relaxing you and all the while keeping your mind off the food. You will, of course, have access to the mezzes while you smoke and drink. When the meat and chicken dish finally arrived, everyone on my table attacked it at the same time. Both the meat and chicken were well cooked (via charcoal) and had plenty of flavour. The wait was definitely worthwhile.

I’d like to mention one thing in particular that really set the mood for Lordia. There is this one guy with a crazy-awesome moustache and red hat who walks around, making sure everything is up to par on your table and to your liking. He’s also the guy who brings you the shisha and makes sure your charcoal on the bowl is lit at all times. If he catches you touching the charcoal, he tells you to keep your hands off it and that it’s his job. I was told that he is the owner of Lordia, but I cannot verify this right now. Awesome service is all I got to say.

Pros

• Amazing shisha/arguile, one of the best smokes I’ve had
• Nice decor and atmosphere, very clean
• Professional & friendly staff members and waiters
• There is a belly dancer. Belly dancer.

Cons

• Washrooms a bit too small, no ventilation, steamy…
• Music a bit too loud sometimes, cuts through conversations
• Main dishes served a bit too late

Going out to drink and get absurdly drunk is a regular activity for many of us (…right?). Well there is one bar that I am pretty sure is among the most efficient places for that, rivaling even campus bars. The place is called La Station Des Sports or as many of call it: “Sports Station” and it totally fits the bill if your goal is to:

• Not get dressed up
• Eat a decent meal
• Booze up
• Enjoy the company of your friends.
• Catch the game
• Spend under 25$

Located right in front of Lasalle College on St-Catherine (corner of Fort and St-Cat), this place can accommodate a nice crowd. While it is a sports bar, you will quickly forget that because pretty much anyone from the area stops by for a beer or their awesome fish and chips. This is one of the few places I know where you can get a good meal and pretty drunk by dropping only 20$ and probably getting change back. The menu is pretty vast and the kitchen closes late and they also have a standard variety of beers to choose from. They even have a breakfast menu and the waitresses are pretty hot.

Ok, so the highlight of this place? You can buy a 4L pitcher of beer for $17,50, its practically a bucket of beer in your face and they clean the taps often enough so it doesn’t taste like rust. No it’s not a Happy Hour Special, or a seasonal promotion, it’s the universal law here; even during the recession. Another cool feature is that some tables have a beer tap built into it, I don’t remember what the deal with that is, whether you pay a flat rate or something but hell it’s a beer tap at your disposal!

The atmosphere is nice, hard wood décor, solid tables and chairs and big flat screens all around showing you whatever sports are happening at that very moment. In the summer there is a make-shift terrace that puts you in everyone’s way but you are protected by a rope-line; it’s actually not that great. But if you want to catch a game you should do it here; hockey games attract a nice enthusiastic crowd. For a casual beer with friends an off night can be just as fun because they don’t blast the music in your ears so you can carry a good conversation. As for logistics; it is located between Atwater and Guy Metro, a short walk from either.

There are only a few great electronic music events in Montreal, and Piknic Electronik is high up there. While I’ve been to Bal en Blanc, Cream, Celebration/Resolution and countless of after-hours events with big name DJs, nothing comes close to Piknic’s setup. Take four parts of talented DJs (and maybe one or two that’s very well known internationally) throw in some powerful speakers and subs and host the event outdoors: you get a Piknic Electronic. What makes it better is that the event is on a Sunday and it starts at 2 PM and ends something close to 10 PM, so there’s no staying up late trying to enjoy the music. The cherry on top to all this? The entrance fee is only 10$.

The true electronic music lovers will recognize the big name artist in this lineup for the day, and that is the infamous Richie Hawtin who is an English-Canadian artist, owner of  record label Minus. I could go on and on about Hawtin’s music style, but that is out of the scope of this review. The majority of Montrealers out there will most likely not enjoy minimal techno as much as I do, so I’ll leave it for everyone to hear for themselves and judge accordingly.

Last time I had a chance to attend the event was two or three years ago, or the last time Richie Hawtin was in town. There was something close to a thousand people and more wondering around Ile St-Hèlene, and a large portion of them dancing to the beats to the artist of the moment. It was a gorgeous day and everyone was in a damn good mood. If I’m not mistaken, I believe there was alcohol being served to the public, or it might’ve been people bringing in their own bottles of booze. I don’t remember much of my surroundings because I was dancing away to Hawtin’s music. What I do remember, however, is the amount of people smoking marijuana close to the water.

For June 28th, the line-up consists of the following artists:

• 2:00 PM: Stefny Winter
• 4:00 PM: Pheek
• 5:00 PM: Ambivalent
• 6:30 PM: Barem
• 8:00 PM: Richie Hawtin

Piknic Electronik runs from May to October, so check out Piknik’s website if you wish to know the upcoming artists and their respective dates.

I managed to get to the event at around 5:25 PM due to me getting lost, but all I had to do was follow the music. Parking cost me 10$ and was a good 7 minute walk away from the main event, but I didn’t mind it. At about 5:35, a rush of people started swarming in from a nearby metro station.

Entry was pretty quick; there was a lack of security as bags were not searched. Not that I fear that anything happens during these events, since rarely I hear about violence during an electronic music event. The lack of security, however, was made up for the fact that about twenty something police officers showed up to patrol the event. There’s no denying that drugs are being sold here and the cops want to crack down on it. I got a few looks my way while I sitting around watching people walk by. Perhaps they thought I was the one selling since I looked so suspicious.

This year, there are more people than ever, and to answer the mystery about the booze situation here: you can bring your own booze but don’t get caught! The trick is to either bring beer in cans rather than bottles. If you bring bottles, you should bring plastic cups. If you want to buy, there’s stands selling alcohol and food for the public.

Since I’m covering this event live (yup, out here with my camera and laptop) a lot of people came up to me asking why I’m on this darn thing. I told them I’m working and enjoying the music.

More photos available, just continue browsing after the 30th picture.