Barroco… a complete disaster compared to its sister restaurant Bocata which is right next door?

 

Where do I begin….

I was happy that I was able to get reservation or have a spot at 8:45pm when I called at 8 pm on a saturday night. It was completely random to go there as I originally planned on going to 400 Coups! The decor is your usual style of place. Reminds of Garde Manger, Joe Beef of some sorts….

But that’s where the highlights end unfortunately….

It’s sad to see that restaurants still serve mediocre bread that tastes like bread from Maxi. You know… that basic uninteresting one that you get for like 99 cents. At the very least, serve bread from Premiere Moisson…. c’mon guys… you’re not a Bocaccinos or Guido and Angelina’s…..

Service was horrid, we ordered cocktails and expected the waiter to ask us if we wanted wine for our meals. Obviously he did not and he missed the opportunity of making an easy sale for the establishment. We have a habit of starting the night with a cocktail and perhaps have 2-3 wine glasses per person. OH WELL! Your lost and I guess I got to save an easy 50-60$ as a result! When desert came around he asked what we wanted…. we ordered it but oddly enough he didn’t ask if we wanted coffee or dessert. Instead he waited for us to finish dessert to ask if we wanted coffee or tea to “finish the night”. Are you a tool? That’s the first time ever that it ever happened to me that a restaurant would do that. Maybe am just crazy

Food was pretty odd. I was under the impression that this was some french / spanish inspired type of place but the only thing that was “spanish” was Paella.

We decided to venture ourselves and ordered 1 appetizer and 2 Entrees.

The appetizer had really high marks…. wild mushroom, pure of squash, poached egg with micro greens and a variety of flavours that were memorable!

The mains…. was the oddest thing ever… we ordered the caviar spaghetti which I found very odd with green apples and pickled onions. I think a splash of good quality olive oil from Spain would save the dish … but ultimately if they put a piece of uni on top or an UNI based cream sauce… then the dish would be A+. Unfortunately, it completely missed the mark.

The second dish was fish with a “symphony” (am being sarcastic here) or random bits of cauliflower, gnocchi, mussels, cream sauce and I don’t remember what else. It felt like they couldn’t decide on putting 4 separate dish on the menu but instead created some crazy melting pot.

Dessert was a ginger bread with pumpkin ice cream and marshmallows. Sounded crazy and fantastic…. but ultimately it tasted like some ginger-ish carrot cake with frozen pumpkin pie.

I am rather disappointed given how much I enjoyed Bocata.

Sorry friends… but I have to rank you a 4/10… and be happy I actually tipped you! PS you get a 4 because I liked the appetizer. I certainly hope for them… that it was just an off night and they cook and serve like they do at Bocata…

Ground Beef and Bean Chili with all the spices I can find in the pantry!

Inspired by watching last season’s Top Chef…. decided to make Chili this morning. Although this is not your typical texas chili I decided to make one that was a meltin pot of spices I enjoy

Recipe-ish:

1 Kg of ground beef

4 mergez sausage outside of casing

3 chopped onion,3 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot

1 can of 6-7 bean mix

1 can tomato paste

2 can of San Marzano tomatoes

Olive oil

for spices:

Old el Paso taco mix

Cumin

Garlic powder

Onion Powder

Ras El Hanout spices

Chili powder

paprika

Canned chopped Chipotle peppers from Mexico

Montreal Steak Spice

Texas Salt Lick Rub

Habanero Hot Sauce from Mexico

Salt and Pepper to taste ….

I think it should be ready in about 6-8 hours, but here’s a picture at the 1 hour mark:

Nem Nuong, Pickled Carrots, Daikon, Kimchi Bibimbap

I am really digging this purple rice that my friend Jenn introduced me too. After the holidays, a home cooked melting pot of leftovers is the way to go….

Multigrain Rice, Daikon, KimChi, Pickled Carrots, Nem Nuong bibimbap

Bouillon Bilk – A great way to end 2012

It is always nerve wrecking trying to find that ideal restaurant for New Years’ Eve… and for the last couple years I’ve been lucky enough to pick some decent one.

This year we went to Bouillon Bilk – set menu at 55$ – 5 course tasting menu.

First Course – Scallop

Second Course – Deconstructed Shrimp Cocktail

Third Course – Pigeon with consomme

fourth course – Steak with wild mushrooms and bone marrow

T-T forgot to take photo

fifth course – mignardise and an pistachio dessert

Everything from food, service and presentation was spot on. Pressure is high on New Year’s eve and I felt that the restaurant did really well. I would certainly go back again and try the regular menu.

I think the only complaint that some people had was that the portion was a little on the small side. I didn’t mind it that much considering how much I have been eating during the holidays. It’s very rare that I give really high marks for a restaurant but this one gets an 8.5/10…. and yes their wine pairing is spot on!

This place certainly is not a novelty and I am sure it is here to stay. The Executive Chef there used to be part of the team at XO and Bronte. Two restaurants that I enjoyed in Montreal.

Oreo-Stuffed Red Velvet Crinkles

A recipe that Annie used for holiday treats

From Sprinkle Bakes

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. liquid red food coloring
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flou
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
24 chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat in buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring.
3. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Add to butter mixture and beat on low until just combined. The dough should be very soft and a little sticky. If it is very sticky then add 1/4 cup more all-purpose flour and stir again. Cover and chill in the freezer until the dough is very cold and easy to handle.
4. Place confectioners’ sugar in a bowl and set aside.
5. Using buttered fingers (I used cooking spray) scoop out a 3-4 tbsp.-sized piece of dough and press the dough around the sandwich cookie.  Alternate method: flatten dough between the palms of your hands.  Place a cookie on the flattened dough and fold the dough around the cookie. (Butter hands between each dough piece.)
6. Roll lightly between the palms of your hands to make the cookie-stuffed dough a little more ball-shaped and roll in powdered sugar. Repeat until all the dough and cookies are used.
7. Place dough balls on a cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.  These cookies will spread, so I suggest placing no more than 5 per cookie sheet.  Tip: re-roll dough balls in powdered sugar just before putting them in the oven.  The crinkled appearance will be more prominent.
8. Bake until cookies are puffed and cracked on top about 14 minutes. Let cool on the pan about 5 minutes (cookies will be soft) then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Best Meal of 2012

What was your favorite meal of 2012? Describe it in rich detail — the setting, the sights, the sounds, the smells.

La Salle a Manger – tad overpriced and faster than a chinese restaurant!

Went to Salle a Manger a a few friends and I must say the food is good but I’ve been so rushed ever in my life for a restaurant that is priced on the high side.

It is so hard to describe each dish as it went by so fast…. all i remember was that the charcuterie, tartar and carpaccio was delicious and there was this pork belly bun with crab that reminded me of momofoku but not as tasty. They also have their own version of kimchi ramen with wagyu veal which tasted good but odd. 

I think the issue here is there description versus what we received. 

We ordered around 8-9 plates and it was delivered at the speed of a chinese restaurant / fast food….

Overall I would rate this restaurant 5/10 – simply because they serve food way too fast for a restaurant that charges similar rates as joe beef or chez l’epicier. Speed = loss of time taken to appreciate each dish and makes the ambiance feel rushed.