poutine Archives - Cool Food Dude

Le Louis Cyr, Ma Poule Mouillée, 969, rue Rachel Est, Montréal, QC.

Every time I go to Montreal, I make a promise to myself: this time, I am going to try somewhere new.

Montreal has an almost embarrassing number of great restaurants. I have a list. I have recommendations. I have friends who send me messages that begin with, “You have to try this place.” There is no shortage of places to eat.

And yet, sooner or later, I find myself at Ma Poule Mouillée eating chicken.

At this point, it is less a restaurant visit than a failure of character.

Ma Poule Mouillée has been serving Portuguese charcoal grilled chicken in the Plateau Mont Royal since 2013. It is famous, there is almost always a lineup, and nobody seems particularly concerned about keeping it a secret. You stand outside with everyone else, watching people walk out carrying enough food to feed a small wedding, and think, yes, this is probably where I belong.

The chicken is the reason.

Charcoal does a lot of heavy lifting here, in the best possible way. The skin gets smoky and deeply seasoned while the meat stays juicy, and then there is the sauce. The restaurant makes a big deal about its house spicy sauce, and for once the promotional copy is not lying. Chef Tony Alves has said that anyone can grill a chicken, but it is the sauce that makes the difference.

He is right. (more…)

Disclaimer. I attend the Rogers Cup to bask in the presence of the world’s most elite tennis players. I gawk, observe, touch, run after, pose with and marvel at. It’s an exhilarating and sometimes exhausting endeavour that requires regular fuel ups throughout the day. Although I am thankful for the rationed IÖGO yogurt and Lindor chocolate samples, they are certainly not sufficient enough to sustain me for a day of chasing after Rafa and Nole.

I am usually quite ambivalent of sport arena grub. I’m there for the event. I don’t expect stadium food to be a first-class gastronomical wonder. But in a culinary mecca such as Montreal, I yearned for something a little more palate pleasing. This longing set me up for a big letdown.

For lunch, I ingested a hapless sandwich named “The Baguettini.” It was sad, painful and even insulting to eat. The hard, dry exterior managed to sheer off the skin on the roof of my mouth. The sandwich’s interior contained a tasteless collection of flavourless turkey, soggy lettuce and some kind of spread. This rather unpleasant experience cost a whopping $11.50.

After having scored a pic alongside Milos Roanic and snapped some shots of Nadal and Djokovic, some substenance was required. After my last experience, I was wary to venture into anything too adventurous, so poutine was my next selection. The iconic dish is a Quebec native. Perfection was not expected but I didn’t anticipate the sloppy, deplorable, unappetizing mush that I was subjected to. Disappointing.

Was I just bad at making the right choices?

Seems not. I was saved by a food on a stick in the form of a mango flower. Imagine a whole mango, peeled and carved into a blossom. Wacky novelty? Yes. Delicious and beautiful? For sure. Manly? Not so much. But a relative bargain for under $5.

So what’s the lesson here? The Rogers Cup is Disneyland for adults. A rip-roaring fun place to marvel at the brilliance of professional tennis. Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Roanic and Simon are a wonder to behold. But the food? Well, let me set myself a reminder for next year. Pack a lunch. It will save me from the unsavoury alternatives of the concession stand.