SubscribeLUNCH June 16, 2009
As with any tourist haunt, Old Montreal has its share of trendy eateries with sub-par food. But while these tend to cater to the upper crust, the expensive and disappointing fast food niche has been largely unfilled to date. Enter Müvbox, plopped onto the Quai des Eclusiers at the end of McGill Street, a design-forward, solar-powered “canteen” made out of a recycled shipping container. From a design perspective, it really is quite interesting (the video on their website is well worth a view), but, despite claims of producing”chic” fast food “with gourmet appeal” and a “fresh local menu”, the food at Müvbox doesn’t live up to the promise of the design.
The accent is on lobster from the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, with a short menu featuring chowder, lobster rolls and pizza, including a lobster pizza as well as one with duck sausage and a margherita. Drinks consist of canned soft drinks and there is Bilboquet ice cream for dessert. Lobster rolls, which will run you $10, are served in the traditional top-split hot dog bun, but the lobster is stringy (lacking in the big hunks of meat that are necessary for a great lobster roll) and the mayo lacks acidic bite.
Müvbox is the brainchild of Daniel Noiseux, the man behind Pizzaiolle, so you can imagine the lobster pizza is prepared according to that institution’s strict standards, but in a space the size of a refrigerator carton and by a pimply teenager. The crust is actually not terrible at the edges but blobs of tomato sauce and melted cheese overwelm it at the center making picking up a piece a hazardous venture. And while the cheese and lobster are not too discordant, the shrivelled white mushrooms don’t bring much to the party. Ring that up for $14. Do you want water with that? $3.
Müvbox has brought subpar fast food at big restaurant prices to Old Montreal. The good news is that, if you don’t want to eat there, coming down to take a look at it is free. Now that sounds like a good deal for everyone.
Müvbox
Quai des Eclusiers
(corner of McGill and De la Commune)
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