236 St. Zotique St. E. (corner Alma St.); 514-273-5776; www.ilmulino.ca; wheelchair access; reservations are essential; valet parking; vegetarian friendly; major cards; price range: $$$-$$$$.
Photo The Gazette
Chef Tony De Rose and partner Aniello Covone
Ever have the perfect restaurant dinner? I've dined out hundreds of times but have only experienced a handful. What do I mean by perfect? Seamless service, welcoming ambience, appealing surroundings, skilled wine choices, and, most especially, flawless food.
423 St. Claude St. (corner St. Paul St.); 514-861-1112; www.leclubchasseetpeche.com; major cards; reservations are essential; vegetarian friendly; Price range: $$$$.
Published on Jun 27, 2009
There is a Relais & Châteaux property called Le Vieux Logis in Trémolat, deep in the French Périgord, that has the most beautiful outdoor dining room. I had lunch there three summers ago on my mother's birthday, sitting on teak furniture under a ceiling of linden trees. We all started out in a terrible mood (it had been a long trip), but by the time the café and mignardises hit the table, we were friends again.
Montreal's terrasse scene gets plenty of hype, but I'll pass on those rooftop patios filled with sangria sippers and scene soaker-uppers. My fantasy terrasse, like that one in Trémolat, offers bucolic views, chic table settings, exquisite food and a cast of smooth waiters and sophisticated rosé sippers. You won't find many like that in the city, but there is one hidden behind the Château de Ramezay that fulfills all of my terrasse fantasies. Even better, it's run by the staff of Le Club Chasse et Pêche.
355 St. Jacques St. W. (in the St. James Hotel ); 514-841-5000; www.xolerestaurant.com; All major cards; no wheelchair access; free valet parking; vegetarian-friendly; price range: $$$-$$$$.
Published on Mar 31, 2009
Photo John Kenney/THE GAZETTE
XO's magnificent dining room
You know what’s on the “out” list these days? Ostentation. This hit home big time as I sat in XO’s plush dining room, a room known as “Banker’s Hall.” Perched on a Louis the somethingth chair while fingering the Christofle silverware, guilt swept over me. Suddenly I was not restaurant reviewer wearing a decade-old cardigan, but a Merrill Lynch CEO rethinking the office decor or an AIG exec planning where to stash the bonus
5357 Park Ave. (between St. Viateur St. and Fairmount Ave.); 514-272-3522; www.milos.ca; major cards; wheelchair access; free valet parking; vegetarian friendly; price range: Dinner $$$$; Lunch $$.
Published on Aug 09, 2008
Photo Dave Sideway, The Gazette
Three years ago, I sat down to lunch with Sinclair Philip, owner of Vancouver Island's famed hotel/restaurant Sooke Harbour House. Arguably Canada's original locavore, Philip has long been committed to using ingredients grown a maximum of two kilometres from his kitchen door, which means that no lemon, no chocolate and no raw milk Camembert from Normandy is seen at Sooke. When deciding to meet, he let me choose the restaurant. I selected Milos, one of the city's only top restaurants open for lunch.
Before even tasting the food, Mr. Canadian Ingredients told me he disapproved of my choice. Why, he asked, would I champion a restaurant where most everything, from the shrimp to the honey, was imported directly from Greece? Taken aback by his disdain, I came to the swift conclusion that in Philip's world, the best restaurants should be committed to serving only local ingredients. So much for culinary tourism!
Fortunately, when the food arrived he changed his tone, for there was no denying most everything was beyond reproach.
900 Place Jean Paul Riopelle (near St. Antoine St.); Phone: 514-499-2084; www.restaurant-toque.com; wheelchair access: reservations essential; price range: $$$$
Published on Jul 14, 2007
Photo Pierre Obendrauf , The Gazette
Chef Normand Laprise with (from right) sommelier Pascal Paradis, chef de cuisine Charles-Antoine Crête and Christine Lamarche.
In 1990, I sat down to dinner with a 19-year-old chef friend who had invited me to a new restaurant whose chef, he said, was quickly shaping up to be the guy to beat. The restaurant was called Citrus and the chef, of course, was Normand Laprise.
I remember him stopping by our table to greet my friend, and how pleasant and humble he seemed. French, but not French from France like most of the chefs at the time, Laprise was a Quebecer whose food, beginning with a foie-gras terrine with blueberries, bowled me over that night. He was indeed the chef to beat in 1990. Today, he still is.
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