Archive for November, 2009

Nov
0

Jounieh

DINNER November 13, 2009

When I eat outside my cultural boundaries I tend to be concerned about the authenticity of what’s on the plate. It’s an interesting concern. You’d think that when venturing into a foreign cuisine one’s main concern would be that it taste good not that it be authentic. Like many foodies, I have been known to pester friends of all nationalities for the inside scoop on where their community is eating. Which is what led me to Jounieh, which an Egyptian friend described as the only worthwhile Egyptian restaurant in Montreal.

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Nov
3

Zen Ya

LUNCH November 13, 2009

Sushi downtown is a tall order. Normally, I would opt for Kaizen but its not really downtown and its not priced for lunch. My dining companions wanted to go to Isakaya  until I informed them I had blacklisted it based on my last two meals there. You also  have your Sho-Dans, your Sakuras and your Takaras downtown, but I don’t find any of them very interesting. They will do in a pinch, but usually not when I have any discretion in the matter. That’s when I remembered Zen Ya. It has been on my list of places to go since it opened (which I now realize was a good four years ago) and I hoped there was no expiry date on the good reviews it had received back then.

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Nov
1

Le Gourmet Burger

LUNCH November 5, 2009 and November 11, 2009

I don’t often get requests to do restaurant reviews. So when I  received two e-mails within minutes of each other requesting that I try Le Gourmet Burger, a new burger joint on Bishop, it was clear that I was the victim of some new form of viral marketing. Little did they know how easy their task would be, given my long love affair with the hamburger. And it has never been easier to love the hamburger downtown. The last couple years have seen quite a few credible burger joints pop up downtown (mostly around Concordia). I’m not talking about restaurants that have burgers on the menu, I’m talking places that live and die by the burger. Le Gourmet Burger joins Buns Hamburgers and Picks as the latest contenders in this category.

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