Montreal Restaurants' Dirty Little Secrets Are Not So Secret

Ever wonder if Mickey Mouse's cousin took a crap near the burrito you are eating or if that bowl of steaming noodles was perhaps tossed on a dirty counter?   Unlike some states which force restaurants to post their health grade boldly in the window, Montrealers need to do their own homework to know if the place they are about to dine in is treating their food AND their clients' safety with the utmost regard.  The good news is that this information is easily and publicly available-- the bad news is that you have likely eaten already in some shocking places that have already failed possibly MANY health violations.

An industrious individual named Jeff Wallace has taken all of the City of Montreal health inspection reports which are publicly available via an open data feed and worked them into a brilliant website that delivers the violations in a clear and concise manner AND includes a map interface showing you exactly where the offending establishments are.

Resto-Net is a 100% free website that delivers the shocking news about which Montreal island eateries have faced violations, the REASON for the violations, the amounts they were fined, and how many total violations they have been cited with.

"Noodles U & ME" - a formerly popular asian food restaurant on the corner of Ste. Catherine and St. Marc was frequently busy at all hours.  Even I was guilty of frequently eating their sesame beef which I considered to be one of the more tasty versions of this dish.  Imagine my shock when I discovered they were the public enemy #1 in health violations of all Montreal dining spots with a whopping eleven (11).  Fortunately there were usually ambulance drivers and policemen dining nearby in case someone took violently ill-- they were usually across the street at "Soup And Noodles" which, by the way, has two (2) violations of their own with the last being in 2008.   It's no surprise that "U&Me" has been closed now for a few months-- word must have gotten out or the whopping combined $33,650 in fines was too much to handle.

Of the top ten all-time violators, a whopping five of them are asian cuisine.   In fact, the largest concentration of violations are coincidentally located within or around asian neighborhoods.

Some shocking violators within popular chain locations are "Cultures", "Salades Arc-En-Ciel", "FranX Supreme", and even an "Amir" thrown in for good measure.

I even managed to find a "Baton Rouge"... maybe there is more to the secret of why their ribs are "fall off the bone" tender.

E.Coli and Salmonella aside, a real concern is Hepatitis A or B which can cause much distress and irreparably damage your liver-- seems like a high price to pay for a tasty bowl of noodles or a shish taouk.

With the new student season upon us and a new crowd of people looking for quick, tasty, and cheap eats for their budget, I strongly recommend that this site is bookmarked and used as a reference to not only plan your dining experience but also potentially prevent a life-threatening illness.

www.resto-net.ca  

Foodie Vocabulary 101- Today's Word - "Compote"

"Compote (French for "mixture") is a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are immersed in water and with sugar and spices added to the dish, over gentle heat. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit, or raisins. The compote is then served either warm or chilled arranged in a large fruit bowl or single-serve bowl for individual presentation." (Wikipedia)

You will hear this word used quite often on a lot of the popular cooking programs to "glamify" almost any type of whole fruit sauce.

My favorite is to take blueberries in a saute pan, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, and a little bit of water and fresh orange juice (enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a 1cm depth) and simmer until the blueberries break down to reveal a nice deep purple-blue sauce.   I then either serve this in dishes topped with whipped fresh cream or drizzle it over ice cream.  A MUCH better option than buying prepared packaged items.

Thai Express - EVIL In A Little Green Box With Handles

First off, please don't assume I am making a generalization that all Thai food is bad-- like any cuisine, there are healthy preparations.  Western culture has been duped into believing that most of the asian food we eat from North American places are actually quite healthy or at least low-cal--aided mostly by the fact that the majority of asian men and women tend to not be obese.  While every asian menu has healthy alternatives, we need to escape this mindset by remembering that:

1. Most North American versions of asian cuisine have been drastically modified to suit a western palate or to accommodate the availability of certain ingredients.  This is often exaggerated in the direction of sweet and salty-- two of our favorites.
2. The availability (or lack thereof) of the processed high-sugar processed foods in the eastern part of the world until recent decades has not had the detrimental health impacts on the asian cultures like it has here in the west.  In fact, the growing occurrence of obesity in the east has coincidentally (insert sarchasm here) coincided with the rapid availability of processed fast foods and "junk food" like sodas.   
3. Asian people do not traditionally sit down and consume large quantities of meat in equal proportion to the rice and vegetables as a single serving.  While we find it normal to eat everything in a take-away box, the portion sizes we consume are astronomically higher than what an asian person would in a traditional sense.  Everything is mixed and matched with rice forming the bulk of the meal and the meats and vegetables being the supporting actors.

Now that I am done with my sociological and biological hypothesizing, we all must admit that when a major chain's website has this in their "Nutrition" section, we need to raise some alarm:

"Good nutrition and health are our top priorities. Ingredients in our menu have evolve over the years guest’s to cater to needs and desires by offering choices that can fit into a healthy lifestyle.

Results of nutritional values are being finalized. Thank you for your patience!"

(It's important to note here that the "finalized" results have been pending for at least a year or more.)

 I have to admit that I am guilty of being hypnotized by the sprouts, noodles, tofu, chicken, and vegetables dancing in front of my face in a hot wok and had the "Chicken Pad Thai" as one of my favorite pleasures.   I would hungrily race home and pop open that familiar little green box and neck down my peanut covered tasty treat in record time and try to feel good that I ate sprouts, tofu and rice noodles instead of burgers or pizza.   In fact, it became almost routine that once a week I would treat myself to my "Chicken Pad Thai" until I decided I wanted to lose some weight, did some research, and almost fell out of my chair when the results hit me like suckerpunch to the gut.

 

My chicken pad thai had more calories than four cheeseburgers and enough sodium to blow someone's head off.

Despite Thai Express' best effort to dance around revealing the shocking nutritional truth surrounding their food, an industrious individual took it upon themselves to do an analysis on the chicken pad thai and here is what they found:  (Warning- you might want to sit down when you see these numbers)

• 1131 Calories
• 40g of Fat
• 163mg of Cholesterol
• 2594mg of Sodium
• 390mg of Potassium
• 160g Carbohydrates
• 33g Protein

Simply put, that little green box with the cute metal handles is representing 62% of your daily value of fat, 54% of your DV of Cholesterol, 108% (!!!) of your DV of Sodium and OVER HALF (53%) of your DV of carbs.

Keep in mind too that these numbers assume you didn't add extra sauces and peanut sprinkles on top.

While I am certain other items like the soups and rice based dishes are slightly less "calorific" - I am inclined to believe that the sodium levels especially are astronomical across the board.

With all this new information in hand I can only recommend that a person hell-bent on having a Thai Express fix either opts for the steamed rice and vegetable based options on the menu or shares their Thai Express between two people instead of eating it as a single lunch.   If you are on a low-sodium, low-cholesterol, or low-cal diet-- STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THAI EXPRESS.

For my part and given my new dedication to dropping some weight and eating healthier-- my relationship with Thai Express is over.  

Maybe I'll send back the engagement ring in one of those little green boxes :)

Foodie Vocabulary 101 - Today's Word - Aioli

Not ALL "flavored" mayonnaise is "Aioli".   While a lot of restaurants try to glam up their menus dropping fancy food terms, an aioli in the traditional sense is:

"Aioli ( /aɪˈoʊli/; Provençal Occitan: alhòli, IPA: [aˈʎɔli];^[1] Catalan: allioli, IPA: [ˌaʎiˈɔɫi]) is a garlic mayonnaise. It is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil, and (typically) egg. There are many variations, such as the addition of mustard or, in Catalonia, pears. It is usually served at room temperature. The name aioli (alhòli) comes from Provençal alh 'garlic' (< Latin allium) + òli 'oil' (< Latin oleum)." (Wikipedia)

Simply put, if it doesn't have garlic in it-- it can't be an aioli.

It's good to note that the french word for garlic is ail - giving you another easy way to remember that if it doesn't have garlic in it, you can't pass it off as aioli.

Foodie Vocabulary 101- Today's Word - "Chiffonade"

From the lovely folks at Wikipedia:

"Chiffonade (French pronunciation: [ʃi.fɔ.nad]) is a cooking technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables (such as spinach and basil) are cut into long, thin strips. This is generally accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then cutting across the rolled leaves with a sharp knife, producing fine ribbons."

I have personally found this technique to be one of the most efficient ways to break down any fresh leafy vegetable as the first stage to get it down to a fine mince instead of simply putting the leaves on the board and wildly chopping about like a cartoon chef with double cleavers.  This amount of control on the initial chopping also prevents a lot of bruising of the leaves and allows for the initial cuts to be precise.  The rolled bundle of leaves also provides much more safety and control for the inexperienced knife-wrangler.

Here's a good representation though I strongly recommend against the hand positioning used below and suggest that the hand was just held like that so the picture could be taken better--knuckles on the blade, fingers tucked in people!

 




Picture taken from The Blender

Eating, But Not Blogging...

If you have visited my blog in the last year or so two things may strike you as obvious today:

1. I haven't blogged much, if anything.  And,
2. I have changed the atrocious banner graphic- finally.

Without going into too much detail, the last few months have been fraught with a difficulty all too common to the average citizen these days-- unemployment and financial uncertainty.  Suffice it to say, when paying the rent and keeping the lights on become a chore, dining out takes a back seat.

I am happy to say that through persistence, things have turned around in both my employment and financial situation and my attention can now turn from the stresses of the daily grind back to (or at least partially so) contributing to this blog.

Since I last blogged I have been exposed to a lot of new culinary perspectives thanks to my devout following of such shows as "Top Chef", "Masterchef", and "The Next Food Network Star".   I find it inspiring to watch these programs populated with up and coming culinary stars more so than watching overplayed perspectives from the same brands and people.  Seeing new faces and palates full of enthusiasm has energized me to set out again on my own culinary adventures with a renewed fervor.

So, gentle gourmands, please stay tuned and spread the word that the Montreal Foodie has returned from the value bin at the pick-and-save and is ready to set out again on tasty trails.

Buona Notte - Why "Trendy" People Are Skinny

A fixture on Montreal's trendy St. Laurent street for many years as a place to be seen, "Buona Notte" has been one of those places I've avoided dining at as I hypothesized that it was really a nightclub that served over-priced substandard food instead of a good quality restaurant that offered a nightclub atmosphere.    Aside from hearing stories of what Hollywood celebrities were spotted there, I never really heard anyone rave about the food.  But surely if Jerry Seinfeld and Nicolas Cage dine there, it must be good, right?

Finally, the day came where a vendor from my previous job proposed to take us all out to dinner there and I would get my chance to sample anything I wanted from the menu.

Noisy and buzzing, we were seated and the vendor group ordered up a variety of appetizers.  Nothing remarkable here. Tartares, carpaccio, tempura... nothing really spectacular, noteworthy, or trend setting.

The mains we ordered took FOREVER to get to the table and the place was not packed...

I ordered the "osso bucco".  When it finally arrived, it was very well braised (perhaps too well) as the marrow was almost non existant and obviously had melted away somehow into the braising liquid.  What meat that was left on the bone was succulent but a small consolation for the best part of the "osso" being missing from my "osso bucco".

My colleague two seats down had ordered the risotto of the day which, in this case, was a seafood risotto.  You have to assume that any italian restaurant worth it's salt should be able to make a risotto and, at the prices they were charging, she was expecting a damn fine one.  What she got was a risotto that completely lacked the molten lava type consistency and gloss around the firm rice that you expect from a good risotto.  It was amateurish at best and too congealed.  A much too high starch to liquid ratio had clearly ruined it.

Most shocking of all was the two plates of duck ravioli that were served.  Nine small raviolis placed in a tic-tac-toe board pattern on a flat white plate in a orangish/brown reduction.  Not only did it look like very little food... for over $29.00.. the two 6ft tall men who ate it were quite starved afterwards.

White ravioli on a white plate in a clear carmel colored sauce.  Quite shocking.  I didn't get to taste it because it was such a small amount of food that I think the two diners who had it would have bit my hand off to protect what little food they had. 

Dessert?  The raspberry gelato was rich in flavor but the "chocolate experience" ordered by my colleague was nothing short of sad.  The chocolates lacked richness and the variety of biscuits and wafers served with the various dollops of chocolate concoctions tasted like they came from a package and were definately not fresh.  I would be shocked if they were actually made in-house and simply not brought in.

The general consensus around the table upon finishing the meal was a resounding "I'm still hungry!" as we piled into a cab with half of the group actually going for burgers and pizza.

Buona Notte attempts to advertise itself as holding to stout italian cooking traditions.  Nothing could be further from the truth as true traditional italian cooking is based around freshness, quantity, and quality of ingredients.  Italian cooking is about extracting rich and filling flavors from even the simpliest of ingredients.  Buona Notte fails in all such accounts.  Mario Batali would pitch a fit if he dined on the dishes we had.  The food was an insult to italians.

If Buona Notte is the "place to be seen" on St. Laurent, it is to be seen for anything except eating.  The "trendy" people who go there stay skinny, I suppose, because they spend well over $200 a table and actually don't eat.

Go there to be trendy if you must-- but I suggest packing a lunch.