Saturday, March 6, 2010

Food is Good

As my regular readers know, I am training for a marathon in May. Today I ran 17 miles and it was pretty hard. It was hard because I couldn't eat enough before or during the run. I've been having some GI trouble on my longer runs. Luckily, today, I passed my dad's house at mile seven and was able to make a pit stop and use his facilities. (Dad lives just 2.5 miles away, but I did a five mile loop with Rosie before dropping her off at my house and continuing on, making Dad's Rest Area pop up at mile 7, exactly when I needed it. Phew).

In any case, I made it through my planned 17 miles at a decent pace and after a bath and some stretching, I was ready to eat. And all I could think about was cheesy popovers!* So I made some and ate them with Gram's Blueberry Jam and my friend Jen's homegrown, homemade pickled garlic. Boy was that a perfect lunch!

* I didn't use gruyere, but some leftover french cheese I had bought in Montreal. It had a firm texture and was fairly mild. I can't remember what it was called. It worked beautifully.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Montreal Resto Reviews

In keeping with my "I only post when I'm pretty psyched about something" theme, I will write about my recent dining experiences.

Last Wednesday I went to Au Pied de Cochon, the restaurant of the famous and somewhat wacky Martin Picard, with Neil's childhood friend (and all-around-good-guy) Bill. Bill is a chef and had wanted to go to APDC for some time. I'd been once and wanted to go back. We started with the foie gras cromesquis, aka a foie gras explosion. The waiter instructed us precisely how to eat it and while it did catch Bill a little by surprise, we agreed that it was amazing. I'm hoping he'll figure out how to make it and we'll have it again. Next we had the crispy PDC salad, which sounds kind of gross (it involves pig knuckles and cartilage), but is actually wonderful (trust me) and the Guinea Hen Liver Mousse, served with a of pickled onion and a chutney. Totally delicious, even though I'm pretty sure guinea hen is kind of like a pigeon. For a main course I had the Foie Gras Poutine, which I will dream about until I have it again. It was just out of this world. Bill had the famous Duck in a Can, which included duck meat and foie and was served on a bed of celeriac. I just had one or two bites as I was totally focused on my poutine, but he seemed to be happy with it. Bill chose the wine. It was red and good, but I don't recall what it was. Sadly, we had no room for dessert and were grateful for the walk home.
Here we are at the end of the meal. My restaurant pictures are blurry because I don't like to use the flash.
AU PIED DE COCHON
536 avenue Duluth Est
(514) 281-1114

The next morning Neil and the kids arrived and Thursday night we all went to Tapeo, a tapas place near Little Italy. We tried 13 different plates (including dessert) and wouldn't decline to order any of them again. Our favorites were the Fideo, Octopus Salad and Calmars Frites. The best dessert involved homemade crullers to dip in a chocolate sauce that was so sublime it could be eaten straight up (yes, when the crullers where gone I did this...and my companions were very sweet not to shame or tease me for this indiscretion).
Here is Pat right before he taught Bill about Hazzlers. Hazzlers are the tough spot on a shrimp or scallop and Patrick coined this phrase, which Bill will now be introducing to his foodie friends, making sure they are removed before serving.
TAPEO
511 Rue Villeray
(514) 495-1999

After a long run Friday morning, I wanted some Portugese Chicken! So I limped over to Romados, waited patiently in the line and was rewarded with succulent rotisserie chicken, outstanding fries and a nice big salad, which I brought home and shared with my most appreciative family. This is one of my favorite meals and I've sampled similar menus from several of the Portugese take out places in the neighborhood and I really think this is the best. It is a short walk from the apartment.

ROMADOS
115 Rue Rachel Est
(514) 849-1803

On Saturday night we went, with the Cragins, to Moti Mehal. This was the best Indian (Pakistani/Indian, really) food any of us had ever had. I had the Mutton Balti (was that lemon rind? sweetened? So good!), which I thought was outstanding, though we all shared and it was all outstanding. The Paneer Nan was something dreams are made of. A highlight of the whole experience was when, shortly after we started eating, my 12 year old friend Baxter exclaimed, "This is incredible!" Indeed, it was incredible. It seems as though every spice can be tasted separately but also creates a harmony of flavor. Not only that, but we all feasted, with leftovers and lassis for the kids, for less than $20 per person, including a good tip. The place is halal so they don't serve alcohol, but they allow you to bring your own beer or wine. Here's Harper loving every minute of it (well, not beer or wine, but the food). Don't miss the cucumber salad!

MOTI MEHAL
1024 Jean-Talon W.
(514) 315–8801

Marathoning--A Record of My Times

  • NEW HAMPSHIRE MARATHON, October 3, 2015. 4 hrs. 56 minutes, 8 seconds.
  • MONTREAL "ROCK 'N' ROLL MARATHON, September 22, 2013. 4 hrs. 20 minutes, 41 seconds.
  • VERMONT CITY MARATHON, May 2012. 4 hrs. 20 minutes, 8 seconds.
  • MOUNT DESERT ISLAND MARATHON (Maine), October 2011, 4 hrs. 45 minutes, 14 seconds
  • SUGARLOAF MARATHON (Maine), May 2010. 4 hrs. 18 minutes, 35 seconds
  • MONTREAL MARATHON, September 2008. 4 hrs. 19 minutes, 33 seconds
  • VERMONT CITY MARATHON, May 2008. 4 hrs. 11 minutes, 58 seconds
  • VERMONT CITY MARATHON, May 2007. 4 hrs. 19 minutes, 42 seconds
  • MONTREAL MARATHON, September 2006. 4hrs, 30 minutes, 2 seconds

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