Sunday, April 15, 2007

Wine of the Week, April 15, 2007

It has been a while since I last posted a WOTW, but I am still in cheap white wine mode. And you simply cannot do better for the buck than this one.

2006 KWV Chenin Blanc, $9.99, NSLC

All the white wine you really need for sipping with dinner out on the deck. And it ain't a Chardonnay! Great wine, simply great for $10. And they won't run out of it for a while, either. Clean good acidity, slight smokey in the background, and some mild chalky tannin. Trace of tropical fruit. Clean, crisp and straightforward. Sure, there is not a lot of complexity, but it is $10!

Poutine on the Hops - A Montreal Pub Crawl

Beer buddy Alexandre was rallying some of the troops for a Montreal pub crawl the night before the March in Montreal (MIM) Beer Event. MIM is a reason to go to Montreal, and I have been to it the past 12 years in a row. I am pretty sure that despite the claims of one Montrealer, I am the only person to have been to all of them, and I live in Halifax.

Alexandre wants to start at his local pub, a very nice little spot way up on Saint Laurent neat St. Zotique called Vice et Versa. This place's claim to fame is a complete reliance on Quebec produced products, from cheese, to bread, to meats, to drink. There are about 20 beers on tap, all micros, most of which I have never had.

I beat Alexandre there, and order a 1/2 pint of the Brasseurs et Freres IPA (5.6% - ok, thinish, nice hops) to help me contemplate a theme for the evening. Plans were to end up at Le Cheval Blanc, a long ways away, which meant that there were a lot of potential stops in between. But we had until 10 am the next day, when the conference started....

Alex arrives shortly after 5 pm. No one else will be joining us here, as they will be meeting us at Dieu de Ciel, on Laurier and Clarke, about a 15 minute walk away. I'm hungry, and know enough to know I'll need some food for the evening. I order a cheese and pate plate, and follow Alex's habit of ordering a small size glass they sell at Vice et Versa called a "Galopin". It is sort of a large sampler glass. Maybe 4 ounces. I try the Bieropholie Cascade IPA, which was excellent; the Hopfenstark, post Colonial (IPA) 6.5%, drying hop bitterness with good malt balance; and the Hopfenstark, Ostalgia Rousse, nice, hoppier than expected.

True to form, I want more than 4 ounces of a beer. When my food arrives, and to cleanse my palate of the hops, I order a pint of Trois Mousquetieres, Dartagnan Lager, which was clean, a bit grainy, but with a nice malt character and trace of sulfur on the nose. The cheeses and pates are served with great olives (Quebec olives?) and nice breads, some toasted. This makes me happy.

Shortly, we are ready to begin the trek. The success of the IPA tasting here has set my theme, and I'm off to try as many IPA's, or beers close to that, as I can.

At Dieu de Ciele, the Corne de Diable IPA is on cask, on the hand pump. It is against my religion to not have a full pint of cask conditioned beer. This one is soft in the mouth with a very complex malt profile, and long long finishing hops with some vegetal notes. It is strange being here without cigarette smoke....

We hold down the end of the bar for a while, now joined by one of Alexandre's friends, who I'd met the night before. We are subsequently joined by another local beer guy, and once he has his taste, we are off to the Sergeant Recruiteur, not far away, just down Saint Laurent. There I have a pint of Sergeant Recruiteur Hip Hop IPA, which was very yummy, Northern Brewer hops I was guessing, traditional style, and balanced.

We picked up another member of the crawl here, one of the Ontario CABA crowd in for the next day's event. He was on the other side of the bar, and looked familier form previous MIM's.

Next stop was the Reservoir on Duluth, just off Saint Laurent. I had the IPA, a pint (surprised?). This beer was the best I have ever had at this place, known more for its excellent menu (it is really a bistro, well above pub food), with a good balance and chewey hop palate.

From the Res' we head down the hill (this is the right direction to do a walking pub crawl) and decide that the walk to the next brewpub, Amere a Boire, is too far for our liking (or was that bladders?) and we pay a visit to Else's Cafe, a great little neighbourhood pub/resto that is on Le Boullion. There I have a pint of L'Alchimiste IPA (clean, crisp hopping, slightly thin malt, bitter finish), and scarf down three (count em!) samosas, with some hot hot chutney, that went great with the beer.

After the food, we head off to Amere a Boire, on Saint Denis just above Ontario, having lost one of our party to the proximity of his hotel (it is now fairly late, or early, depending on how you look at it). Once there I have a pint of Amere a Boire Pale Ale, a hoppy bitter on cask and hand pump, that is as refreshingly hoppy as most of the IPA's of the evening.

A nod to the bartender, and we are off down the street to the Cheval Blanc. The place is still packed. I get a pint of the Cheval's India Rouge, a hoppy amber ale that is good, but has some slightly hot alcohol and balance issues. Or is that the samosas?

This ought to be the place where we eschew walking and get a cab to Brutopia for their IPA, but I am the only one doing an IPA theme (I didn't mention that, did I?) so we continue on to a nearby place called Yer Mad. This is the mead and cider bar (as well as beer) that Alexandre introduced me to a couple of years ago.

Alex is still in sampler mode, so we try a bunch:

Four Meads: Benoite, Verge d'Or, Marie Clos, Cap des Tourmentes (all good)
Three Ciders: Cheval de Glace, Kerissac, Verger de Minot (I loved the Kesissac)
and a Pommier, blend of mead, cider and Calvados, from a producer whose name escaped me.

We close the bar down.

Of course, no pub crawl that closes the bars in Montreal (3 am) is complete without putting the correct cap on the contents of your abused stomach. We head back up the hill to Deluxe Fries on Saint Denis for a final shot of Poutine.

We all head back to our respective beds, me to wake up the next morning at 9, to shower, and then find my way down the street to begin the beer conference with a breakfast of beer - weizen, and doughnuts.

I am shortly heralded as the king of IPA drinkers... Well, it was not a bad evening. One must really drink full pints to get the full effect, mustn't one? And it really is all about pacing oneself and not going without food.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Athenian Brunch

It is Saturday, in between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Resurrecting myself from the near dead, I am ready for some sustenance around noon. L and I head out in the general direction of Quinpool Road, passing various lunch/brunch options until we are in front of the Athens, a place we used to haunt, but have gotten away from of late. There are plenty of seats, so, why not, for old time’s sake?

Inside we wait innocently to be seated, and oddly, the first person to notice the lineup walks right by us and asked the person behind us how many are in their party. OK, I didn’t have a morning shower, alright! But maybe she could have at least wrinkled her nose as she totally ignored me. Sheesh….

Feeling like chopped liver, we get seated by another staffer who apparently noticed what had happened, and who seated us with a grin, making some minor apology for her cow-worker’s action.

Things get better from here, though.

The service we eventually get is great, fast and attentive. My fish cakes were really good, a mix of salt cod and fresh cod, with a crispy outer and soft inner. Not too salty, either, which is hard to do. The home fries are good (though not approaching those at Johnny’s), the toast not too burnt, and I am happy. L has poached eggs and toast, with sausages that she makes disappear in short time.

The coffee is OK, and is replenished at suitable interval.

The odd thing is that, unlike my memory of this place, it is not packed. There are ample open seats (we scored one of the booths right along the window) and good service is easy to provide because of that. We have some problem getting a bill to leave, perhaps being caught in the middle of a shift change, but otherwise, a solid Halifax brunch experience.

Not to hard, not too soft

Our final formal meal of the Montreal visit is planned to be with ME, F and J in the Anglais part of Montreal, NDG. I think NDG stands for Notre Dame de Grace, but because everyone there is English, they refuse to say it long hand, and say "Endeegee" instead. Damn English!

The place we go is called Al Dente. It is a cool small place below grade on the east side of Monkland, about a 10 minute walk from Villa Maria Metro. Best of all, it is a BYO with no corkage. I bring the wine. And I don't just bring any wine. Planeta Cometa - Fiano, 2005 - $35; and Rainoldi Inferno, Valtellina Superiore, Nebbiolo, 2003 - $23). Very cool wines in terms of geek factor, and they were wonderful as drinks or with the food.

We all had fairly simple pasta, pizza, or risotto dishes. All just fine, nothing to blow you away, but very good, inexpensive, and free corkage. God I wish we had this here. Can anyone with $$ buy Milano's and make it work this well?

Monday, April 02, 2007

Pupuseria La Carreta

Now how's THAT for a title. I am damn near trilingual!

Never having eaten El Salvadoran anything, I am sure, I figured that this Montreal trip could continue the Chilean inspired theme of Latin American food. La Carreta (the cart) was recommended by several people and in a few online sites, so we headed off to explore Little Italy, and to find our first pupuseria.

We arrived to a pretty full, lively place, full mostly of people who very well could have been El Salvadorans (Salvadorians?). I don't know. I didn't ask (L would not let me).

The server who came to greet us, and seated us at a great window table was wonderful. How wonderful? She took the time to describe everything on the menu to us, in English, recommended two different mixed plates when we said we wanted to sample as much different stuff as possible, and even showed us the correct way to eat it. This is always good, as sometimes when I have encountered a "new to me" food, I wonder when eating it in public if the locals are snickering behind their rice bowls, or whatever they have in front of their faces.

The food is almost as wonderful as the server (did I mention she was cute too?).

It consisted of:

pupusa (masa pancake with cheese inside that you cover with a coleslaw type thing before eating like a pizza) it is these that give these places their name.
yuca (fried root veg, I think, this came out like nice like home fries)
tamale de pollo - steamed corn polenta with chicken inside
taco (beef) homemade corn taco with beed/tomato pepper filling.
enchilada di carni (crispy round thin corn with beefy meat/veg/ etc on top)
y casamiento (blue frijoles and rice) Frijoles is refried beans, I think. This means a "marriage" of beans and rice. Ahhh, romance and food. I think this brought tears to L's eyes.

And to drink we had Fresca maranon and Fresca de horchata. I believe the second one is the one that was cinnamon and cocoa like, but was reminiscent of almonds. Correct me. Go ahead!

We ate til we could hardly move. But move we did, on to the nearby Jean Talon Market and a major beer buy at the Marché des Saveurs de Quebec.

The Vegans are coming!!!

Is this a scene from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? No, wait, that's Vogons.

A visit to Montreal's Au Vivre! restaurant, on St. Laurent above Mont Royal.

We were all hungry, and I figured what we didn't eat could come with us.

We started with corn bread with vegan butter, moist, aromatic, with some sweet red pepper bits in it. I am still not exactly sure about whatever that stuff was they called vegan butter.

Lunch came with a green salad with really good dressing, creamy dill (no dairy though...) and other tastes.

Then it was pizza with vegan cheese, red pepper and sun dried tomato sauce. This had a fantastic crust. This place is a great bakery.

I had the Chana sandwich - chickpea and potato curry in homemade Indian flatbread wrap. Delicious, filling, and providing me with plenty of aerosol assisted walking speed for the rest of the day. I also had a pina colada smoothie with my Chana - a tasty combination.

For dessert I had Cafe latte with a great, homemade style chocolate brownie.

L had a veggie burger and salad, and a coffee frappe smoothie for dessert, Clank a "BLT" made with coconut bacon, and a banana chocolate soy silk pie.

A great meal, and no animals were harmed, or even asked to give up their fluids, in the making of it.

A Victual Ritual

Schwartz's on St. Laurent in Montreal for lunch. I walk in at 11:51 am, and there are plenty of stools open along the lunch counter. I sit down, and in a minute or two the place is packed and lining up.

The usual. Smoked meat sandwich, regular (i.e. level of fat in the meat, you choose lean, regular or extra fat), fries, with a cherry cola from Cott Beverages. It arrives in about 2.5 minutes.

The guy sitting next to me writes for the Gazette on the Habs. He is talking to the waiter about how Huet will start against Buffalo, as he always stones them. I read the same thing in his column the next morning.

The fries are great as usual. The smoked meat is classic - almost corn beef, but not quite. The rye bread so fresh. Even the small sandwich and fries is more than enough. I wonder how I used to eat a small plate and side of fries! This stuff certainly does sit in one's stomach with intense gravity. A good base on which to drink.

On the Main

An evening out for a quick meal on St. Laurent, we drop into The Main, across the street from Schwartz's, for supper. L has a delicious borscht - I think any soup here would always be great - and follows that with a strange sandwich combo - smoked chicken and liverwurst. I am not sure she knew what she was ordering.

Clank, the vegan, chows down on latkes, no cheese. He is kept mostly quiet by this. I steal some from him (he is blind, so he didn't notice) and they are yummy.

My meal is the Barbecued Rib special of the day. Now you may be old enough to remember the Flintstones original cartoon series. In the intro, while the "Meet the Flintstones" song is playing, Fred and family scoot up to a drive through and he gets a set of ribs, that when hung on the side of the car, cause it to tip over. Remember that? Well, these ribs were almost that big. Done in a honey garlic style, there was a lot of work to scour the meat off the bones, but it sure was worth it. And then you could use the bones to play hurling with.

We passed on the cake, though I think that was a major strategic error, as apparently all the desserts here are handmade at home by the owner's wife. Next time. And there will be one.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

How many beers does it take to butter chicken?

Mississauga. If any word ever struck fear in the heart of a Maritimer who likes good urban form, this is it. This is an entire city of Clayton Park West. The mall gone mad, the car king forever, and the pedestrian a forgotten afterthought, no more than the sputum of a parked car.

This is what is coursing through my mind as my buddy Richard manoeuveurs through rush hour traffic from one part of Miss..etc to another. He patiently waits through three cycles of a light before getting through to the privilege of yet another similar wait, to exclaim that the traffic isn't that bad!

We get to where he is going. A place called the West 50 Pourhouse and Grille - I thnk it is named after a mall. But I am sure there are children here named after malls.

We manage to find our way in, after dropping $6 on a flat rate parking scheme/ripoff across the street. Turns out we come in the back door. The front door is from the second floor of a mezzanine off an office building lobby. I like our entrance better.

The blonde, stylish bartender greets us as if we are old friends. I find myself looking behind me. (You don't mean, me, do you?)

The line of taps is impressive. And included among the many many Canadian beer-by-label brands, are a number of great brews. OK, I can stand the place.

The menu is presented (we planned to eat here) and we order. Having seen that just about every single person I saw on the street (pedestrians) was of Indo-asian descent, I cleverly order the Butter Chicken. Richard wisely orders what the bartender tells him to.

I am enjoying my beers. Nothing off, great micro selections, prices not bad.

My $12.95 "butter chicken" arrives. Now I am not sure if anyone in that place has ever seen, tasted, or heard of "butter chicken" outside of the label on a can of commercially pre-done sauce. My "butter chicken" (really, it would be criminal to call it butter chicken without the quotes) is a pre-packaged leg/thigh/side of chicken that has obviously spent a lot of time in a brine packet awaiting consumption. The flesh has turned a cured pink. A (very) slight nod to India is accomplished with a dollop, a sparse one at that, of a commercially packed "butter chicken" sauce.

I am staring at this abomination of cuisine while Richard mows down his beef sandwich and fries thingy. When I try it, it is so salty I can hardly eat it - it burns. BLOOD PRESSURE ALERT!! BLOOD PRESSURE ALERT!! BLOOD PRESSURE ALERT!!

There is not enough "butter chicken" sauce to get my rice dirty.

We sat at the bar. There were some comfy looking seats and couches that the bartender told us would soon be full with after work types.

It is a darn good thing the bartender was cute, and friendly.

If you are in Mississauga (Lord help you) and you need a good beer (as we all do from time to time) then go here, if you can find it. But don't have great expectations for food. That way, you won't be so disappointed. Or better yet, don't eat.

But oh God, how I wished we were at the Winking Judge. Bill likes me, for some reason. Maybe it was the kegs of beer I brought him from Propeller and the Pumphouse back in 2001?

Montreal - La Popesa

After a drive from Moncton to Montreal, and only a chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwich at a Big Stop to fuel me, I am ready to join L, and her brother and his gal for dinner out on St. Denis. We go to an old favorite, La Popesa, near Ave des Pins on St. Denis on the east side. This place does pretty well any kind of pasta from around the world, and allows you to choose a sauce from a large amount of different suggestions.

I have a Linguini with Beef Stroganoff that is earthy, hearty and hits the spot. Washed down with a bottle of Boreal Rousse, an old standard, once a micro fighting for a chance, now a medium size brewery fighting the upstart micros for its hard won market share. My meal is about $15 all in.

Taking it easy, I call it a night, as the drive tomorrow morning to Trawna looms.

A Pyramid Scheme

Post Rogues Roost, we have not eaten. The general idea was to go to jane's on the common, but when we arrive it is jammed. So we amble up Cunard to the Pyramid Cafe. Lebanese themes beckon, and we are soon chomping up some very good stuff.

My Foul Madamas(chick peas/beans in a spicey broth) is excellent, though not as good as at Tarboosh. The rest of my meal is very good. J&J are happy with their meals, but one wonders, are they ever unhappy when they are with each other?

The food is good to very good. As we were about the only people there, the service was hard to judge, and concern about their security as a business (this was Friday night, prime time) is also elevated.

I hope they keep up the good food, and perk up the service. Other reports, including one in one of the local papers have commented on the slow service when the place has some people in it.

It is so close to my house, I'll be back.

Rouge All Over

Not one to limit punishment to myself, I managed to combine my trip back from Freddy (the wine judging) with a stop in Moncton for some work, but then to attend a wine tasting at Rouge Restobar in Moncton.

The bar there is more impressive than that at Onyx.

The talented and beautiful Tammy was our hostess, and Moncton man about wine Bill Vance led a tasting of wines from the portfolio of a reputable agency.

Five wines, blind. I am not sure how, especially after tasting I don't know how many wines the day before, but I managed to identify all of the five in terms of what they were, and where they were from (i.e. Napa Merlot).

Then it was supposed to be over. Rouge was closed on Mondays after all, only open for the special occasion. But it went on. The bar shut down, we stayed. It is all a mess after that.