Toque

If you’re looking for a high scale, amazing restaurant near the heart of Montreal, than you can’t miss toque. The service was amazing and the food was too. The ambiance was like the cherry on top, which tied everything together. Toque is contemporary in their food and ambiance.

Recommendations:

Appetizers:

When you go to Toque you MUST try the rabbits leg for an appetizer. It is served with sliced radish and pickled squash, carrots and cucumber. It sits over a glaze, which gives the lamb a kick and brings the dish together. The lamb is tender and there is an abundant amount of it so it will fill you up just enough to get you ready for the main course. Another appetizer that is great for lunch is the parsnip soup. It was creamy yet at the same time light. There is not much to say about it. The simplicity lets it shine. Another light lunch appetizer is the chicken liver mouse. It comes with popcorn on the plate along with mixed greens and a little bit of sweet jelly. It wasn’t to my liking but other people on the table who tried it liked it.

Main course:

For a main course at toque when you go for lunch, you have to try the venison. It looked so good three people on our table had it. The venison wasn’t too gamey which was good. It was served with cauliflower purée, edible flowers, mushrooms and an amazing glaze. The glaze and all the components on the plate really shined and went well together. The flowers and purée cut out the very strong gaminess of the venison and the mushrooms tied everything together, which made an amazing dish. Another dish you try for lunch is the lamb parmentier. It is kind of like a “fancy version of shepherds pie”. It was just DELICIOUS

DESERT:

For desert we had the maple moose. On top was a maple carmalized cookie like dessert, and under a breath taking moose. The moose was so soft and smoothe and the cookie gave it a nice crunch.

SERVICE: *****

AMBIANCE: *****

FOOD: *****

Bouillon Bilk

In a neighborhood with not much to do, here’s a reason to go. Bouillon Bilk is a high scale restaurant in not such a great area in Montreal. The food is great along with the service. The simplicity of the ambiance really let’s the food shine, with a minimalistic decor.

It’s located at 1595 Boulevard Saint-Laurent and you can reach it at (514) 845-1595

Recommendations:

APPETIZERS:

For the one of the appetizers at Bouillon Bilk they have a DAILY SOUP. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch and the soup was zucchini. The soup was creamy and heavy, with just the right amount of soup. Served on the side of the bowl are slices of pear, blue cheese and grilled zucchini. They are meant to be mixed with the soup to in-hence the flavor. Another another appetizer you should try is the DEER TARTARE. It was just the way tartare should be. The deer was strong but the cracker made it taste just right. It was chewy and brought serenity to the mouth. It tasted sort of like steak tartare but gamey. When you go there you should definitely try it. Another appetizer you should try the SMOKED SALMON. Smoke salmon was amazingly amazing. It was no ordinary smoke salmon that you spread on your bagel, this was Scottish smoked salmon. It was served with papers which enhances the flavor, which created delicious smoke salmon it was. Another appetizer you should try is the SALAD. It was dressed in a beautiful mayonnaise like dressing. In it was pears shredded carrots cabbage and grapes along with other assorted greens. It might’ve been the best salad in Montreal because of the dressing.

A must try at Bouillon Bilk are the BRAISED PORK CHEEKS. The cheeks were so tender they fell apart on your fork. They lay under clams and chorizo sausage. All of the other components on the plate made everything come together into one big delicious dish. Another main course you should try is the BEEF. The beef was served with mashed potatoes and melted cheese on top. If you try that for lunch make sure to have a late dinner, because it was very heavy. There was an abundant amount of cheese and mashed potatoes with mixed with the beef like bread-and-butter. The beef was cooked to a perfect medium, the most popular way. Another main course we tried is the DORE FISH. It was a little fishy, but otherwise it was good. It was served with a carrot pure and a tossed salad.

ATTIRE: You should wear something semi formal, but a tuxedo isn’t necessary. Jeans and a nice sweater are fine, and if you’re on a business meeting it’s the perfect place for you!

Don’t you just wish that you can hop on a plane and take off to the beautiful country of France? It’s so hard sometimes with school or work or taking care of the kids, and you know you deserve a break once in a while. Just head up North to wonderful city of Montreal! Montreal is full of places to see, things to do and my favorite, restaurants to eat at. Montreal is one of my favorite places to go and you can never go wrong with some classic french food. Now I know what you’re thinking. WHERE DO I EAT?!?! Well, let us help you with that. There’s this one restaurant that stands out in my mind: Maison Boulud. 

This restaurant is so amazing I just had to come here twice. Maison Boulud opened about 18 months ago, by non other than Chef Daniel Boulud! Daniel Boulud was mostly well known around 1993 in the south of France, where he originated. He has opened about 14 other restaurants some in NY, Miami, Palm Beach, Singapore, Beijing and around the same time as Maison Boulud, he opened one in Toronto. “He is a very passionate man, very humble and great to work with” quotes Sommelier at Maison Boulud. Daniel Boulud has also received 3 missional stars.

Maison Boulud is connected to the Ritz Carlton on 1228 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal.

You can reach it at (514) 842-4224

When you arrive, you get treated to a nice  BUTTERNUT SQUASH CROQUET. It’s filled with fresh butternut squash and a rich cheese, and a light cauliflower puree on a bed of rice. It was light and delicate and I could still taste the flavor even after I ate it. 

For the gluten free guests, you will have a nice GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN SOUP. It’s savory sweet with just a touch of cream added, and it’s balances well with everything. 

APPETIZERS: For appetizers, try the BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP. It comes with chestnut potatoes, butternut squash Gnocchi and nutmeg with sage. Just by looking at it you can see it scream flavor! The Gnocchi has a smooth texture and the squash just slips out of the pasta. The nutmeg and sage give it a nice edge to it, making it more unique than simple. If you’re saving your stomach for the main courses or you’re just not that hungry, then there is nothing wrong with going with a salad, but of course it’s a French restaurant so you’re bound to get an elegant one like the BEET SALAD. It is served with baby beets, fresh goat cheese and pistachio with a sherry vinegar dressing, with micro greens. The sweetness of the beet complimented well with the saltiness of the goat cheese and the tanginess of the dressing made every bite well balanced. If you’re in a mood for fresh seafood go for the SARDINES. They are flown in from Portugal every Tuesday and Wednesday, which we were lucky to try. It was lined with grape and shaved radish. It was crispy, crunchy with no metallic taste unlike the usual sardines. 

If you’re a pasta fan like I am, then have the EGG YOKE RAVIOLI.  It comes with Bufala Ricotta cheese, black truffles and chanterelle mushrooms. When you first bite into it, you get a warm mouthful of ricotta with pieces of walnuts. You finally get to the center where the egg yoke breaks and coats your ravioli, making it a genuine gastronomic dish. If you want a nice fish for dinner, then have the SALMON. It is candied with olive oil served with creamy cauliflower, Romanesco and Capers and Lemon. The salmon was heavy with a nice light touch with the cauliflower. If you want a heavy meat dish, then I suggest the VENISON. It’s a red deer venison with a brown butter squash and berry juice.  It’s topped with fresh juniper and Lardo. The meat was so tender and cooked to a perfect medium, and it’s juices just burst with flavor. 

DESSERT: At Maison Boulud we had a chocolate caramel lava cake with 2 different kinds of ice creams. Similar style to the ravioli, the caramel flowed onto our spoon and gave the chocolate a nice delicate touch, complimented by the ice creams which smoothed out our palette.

ATTIRE: Maison Boulud is a very fancy and elegant restaurant, so for the men a nice shirt and some slacks would do. For the women a nice dress is fine with some minor jewelry.

SERVICE: *****
AMBIANCE: *****
FOOD: *****