The Sads of Freezing Rain

Asian and Pasta

I've recently acquired a crockpot (slow cooker), and I've started to use it! Just throw some stuff in there, turn it on before I go to bed, and by the time I wake up, meals for the next few days! I love this. 

So I crocked up a beef roast with some spices and soy sauce, and it's been sitting in the fridge, waiting for me to cook delicious dinners with it. That tender beef and fragrant broth... Hmmm...

Warmed up some beef and its delicious broth...

Some bok choy, spinach, and broccoli florets...

Toss 'em in and simmer for a couple of minutes... That vibrant green is quite lovely. 

Add some angel hair pasta, and that's a fantastic Asian dinner! Two plates, for myself and my dad. Yum!

Korea Next Door? Atti Restaurant

There's something to be said for being very close to a restaurant, no matter what it is. You just have to try it. When I was a kid, we lived in New York, on the outskirts of NYC, and we'd never even set foot on Long Island. That's kind of a tragedy, and you really can't take such risks with food.

Atti is a Korean place pretty much right next to Mcgill University. It's about 30 seconds from the Mcgill metro station (University exit, go figure). In the same corner as Broadway Cheesecake and my most frequented Tim Hortons, this restaurant has got some serious expectations to live up to! After a year and a half of procrastinating, I finally gave the place a try.

It's really really pretty inside. The picture doesn't do it justice at all. Every single aspect of the décor blew me away. Scrolls and art pieces adorned the wooden walls, and the ceiling had a modern design with wide arcs and curves that gave off a grandiose feel. The tables were tastefully decorated, and there were even colourful cushions on the polished wooden benches. Niiice.

The menu was also sweet. There were tidbits of trivia about general aspects of Korean food and culture, and each menu item was explained adequately. Western-friendly to the max.

Banchan are side dishes to a Korean meal, and usually come for free. On the left, there is lightly battered and fried zucchini in sweet sauce. I've never seen such a thing at an Asian place before. It was actually tasty and appetizing. This is saying a lot, since I typically despise zucchini. Off to a good start. In the middle, there is the obligatory kimchi, bunched up into a roll. I would say their kimchi was okay. It was nicely tart, but lacking in spiciness. A good try, though. The last one... Uh, it's a cucumber and lettuce salad. Really, that's it. A tiny garden salad drooping in its dressing. The Western-friendliness just went from sweet to awkward.

This is the Doenjang Jjigae (comes with rice), for 13$. Doenjang is a type of soybean paste, similar to miso. Jjigae means stew, usually made with tofu and vegetables, as well as meat or seafood. It's always served in a hot metal bowl, while the broth is still visibly boiling. A great Korean comfort food of mine... Yum. Here at Atti, the broth was deceptively spicy, perfect for a winter evening. They used ingredients like tofu, potato, winter melon, green onions, potato, wakame, diced shrimp, clam, bits of fish and octopus, and potato. Oh, did I mention they used potato? By the end of my meal, I was straining to finish the last few chunks... Ugh. This is an unforgivable sin of cheapness. There was barely any tofu, and I felt like I ate three whole potatoes. Seriously... the menu didn't even say potato. Lies.

The Bulgogi Deopbap (15$) was a surprise, to say the least. I've never had Korean barbeque this way before... It was essentially a lukewarm pile of shredded marinated beef over a bed of rice. The marinade was disappointing, lacking the robust goodness of garlic and pepper tones. The meat was also a disaster. It was not tender nor juicy, and I actually suspected that they were using the supermarket "Chinese fondue beef" slices -- I found one slice of unshredded meat that was about the same consistency. Ew. Also, do you see that garnish? Yeah, those are uncooked soba noodles. That's like ordering an Italian dish, and finding a garnish of uncooked macaroni. Why...

Well, that's Atti... Pretty place, friendly staff, questionable food. I really wanted to like this restaurant, and I would have returned so I could review a third dish, but after the bulgogi mishap, I just lost all desire to come back. Ever. There are much better Korean places to choose from, perhaps not as accessible, but making up for it with good food and authenticity. 

2077 University Street

Montreal, QC, H3A 2M3

(514) 842-2884

Entertainment Session

Bear's playing with the new Chew Bone while Lele nuzzles his squeaky rat.

He stole the bone while she was looking out the window.

Bear looks so bummed out...

Aha!

Rawr. 

Cakey Brownie Bites

My favourite thing to bake is brownies, hands down. They're quick and easy, and I never have to buy extra ingredients. Chocolate treats are always appreciated at parties and gatherings, and you can usually whip them up in an hour, tops. My dream is to make a batch of triple chocolate brownies (with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting... yum!), but I haven't made the effort yet. One day...

Preparing the liquid component...

I've tried a few recipes over the years. Fudgey brownies, cakey brownies, cinnamon brownies, Bailey's brownies... I love all of them, with just a touch of cinnamon. Walnuts are a must too in my opinion, but when you're baking for a crowd, it's best to just stick with the bare basics to avoid allergies.

The basic batter. Or is it dough?

I want to say that if you like your desserts very sweet, you should double or even triple the amount of sugar I indicate. I tend to halve sugar values on recipes I find, because I don't like tooth-numbing sweetness in desserts. A sugarbomb isn't good for anyone, and of course I'm cheap like that. I don't think anyone have actually noticed, so maybe it doesn't matter.

Proud momma <3 Burnt the edges a little, so don't overbake!

Cake Brownies (makes 36 bite-sized, or 16 regular-sized)

Ingredients: 
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of cinnamon (optional)
- chopped nuts (optional)
- caramel bits (optional)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 8x8 inch pan.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in separate bowls in microwave. Chocolate chips should be melted by 30 second intervals (around 1 minute in total); mash with spoon to check if they are fully melted. 
3. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, chocolate, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs. 
4. Add in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix until smooth. 
5. Stir in nuts and caramel if desired. I used Skor pieces, which melted in the brownies but gave a nice hint of caramel. 
6. Spread batter evenly into pan and bake for 25 minutes. 
7. Cut and serve.

Mmm, perfect party treats... If you can resist them until the party! Of course, to test if they turned out properly, you need to try one in the corner... and one on the edge... and one at the center.... And hmm, maybe another one just to be safe, because one of them were too hard or too soft. And oops, this one here fell off the plate...

But let's hope you'll have enough for your friends~

Cheese Please: La Foumagerie

I'm really fond of Westmount. I went to school there for a couple of years, and I love browsing the tiny Japanese grocery store Miyamoto on Victoria Avenue. There isn't a lot of good food on the few streets I haunt, but La Foumagerie never lets me down. It's a little cheese shop that also sells sandwiches. In the summer, they set out chairs and umbrella stands on the patio, and it's always hard to find a seat. Sometimes, you can even see people lining up outside to order delicious lunches. 

The inside of the shop is crammed to the brim with goodies. Every shelf and counter displays sauces, jams, digestive crackers, imported chocolates and fancy sweets. There is, of course, a cheese counter with dozens of choices. Yum! But that's not what we're here for...

Here, we have A Well-Dressed Turkey, for 7.25$. Pesto rosso (aka sun-dried tomato pesto) smeared onto a good chunk of baguette bread, then piled neatly on top: a generous portion of turkey, one slice each of mozzarella, provologne, and swiss cheese, and finally dressed with fresh lettuce and tomato. This sandwich was quite a delight. The different cheeses provided fragrance and texture to every bite, and the pesto added a subtle woody aroma that slowly emerges as you chew.

This is the Smoking Goat, for 9.25$. It contains quite a bit of creamy goat cheese and a few slices of smoked salmon, topped with capers, black pepper, lemon juice, and the Foumagerie sauce. This sounds like a delicious combination of ingredients, but the lemon juice really overpowers all the other flavours. Yes, even the cheese.

I didn't have high expectations for the Beef Blues, priced at 6.50$. It has roast beef, Stilton sauce (a type of blue cheese), celery rémoulade, red onions, and lettuce. I have very little experience with blue cheese. Twice, I tried it in burgers. Twice, I was disgusted with the overwhelming sharpness and stink that invaded my mouth and stayed there. But Beef Blues was a wondrous revelation! The sauce was creamy, and actually paired well with the rest of the ingredients. It was sharp, but in a smooth way rather than in a stabbing me in the mouth way. The roast beef is pink and perfect, and my only complaint is that there should have been more of it! Don't be stingy with that yummy, tender beef...

Here is the British, for 6.95$. It looks like there is a lot of roast beef in this one, but I still found it to be less than enough. There is also tomato, Monterey Jack cheese, celery rémoulade, and Spanish onions, but the Foumagerie sauce masked all those flavours with its sweetness. It tastes like the honey mustard from Subway, honestly, and while I could see it working with other combinations, it disappointed me in this particular sandwich. The single slice of Jack, although tasty, didn't help. 

All in all, this is a lovely place for a light lunch or dinner. Some of their sandwiches need work with sauce toppings, but there is no disputing the quality of their cheeses, which are clearly the stars of the show. Next time, I'm going to buy from their cheese counter -- can't wait!

4906, rue Sherbrooke O.
Westmount, QC, H3Z 1H3
http://www.lafoumagerie.qc.ca/
(514) 482-4100

Dogs on Holiday

In addition to chows, we also have another dog in our family. His name is Jeffery, and he is a German Shepherd mix. I took a lot of pictures of him when I was on holiday~

Soon.

Curled up in a tight ball... :3

Bear sleeps on the doormat like a true guard. 

He likes to keep me company when I work at the desk. 

St-Georges: La Table du Junior

If you think there's nothing to eat in a small city like St-Georges, think again. Okay, there's not much, but  we've found a very popular upscale restaurant that boasts of different cuisines from around the world. On a frightfully cold December evening, my mum and I came here for an extravagant dinner.

Right off the bat, you can see the restaurant with its emblazoned name from far. The exterior is elegant, with a real spinning windmill that adds to its charm.

It's better if you call ahead for a reservation. Ask for a table on the second floor, the view there is fantastic and the decor is really nice. On the main floor, there are several sections divided into rooms, if you want to hold a dinner party. The waitress gave us a room all to ourselves, and it felt great to be able to talk and laugh and take pictures with flash, just the two of us. 

Mum took the table d'hôte, meaning that 10$ is added to the price of her main meal, for the addition of an appetizer, a soup or salad, a dessert, and coffee or tea. For her appetizer, she took the salmon gravlax with limoncello and lemon purée (8$ on menu). It was really nice! The salmon was well cured and went nicely with the flavour of lemon. The fact that it was served in a cube was original; sinking your teeth into a chunk of raw salmon is just fantastic. 

The soup of the day was squash and parmesan soup. The serving size was small, as expected in fancy restaurants. Although the consistency and the flavour was good, this soup was way too salty! 

I chose my appetizers from the tapas menu. This is portobello mushroom stuffed with 2 year aged cheddar, for 7$. The mushroom was large and juicy, and had a slightly sweet tang to it. 

My other tapa (fried calamari) was not available, so at the owner's recommendation, I got the parmesan and brie fondue for 6$. The concept is very nice, and the presentation was great. The texture was good, like creamy, savoury frosting... But I hated the taste of it. Weirdly sweet and sour, and hardly tasted like parmsan or brie at all. I wouldn't recommend this one. 

Mum had the daily special for her main dish, veal flank with basil pesto, fries and salad for 30$ (40$ with the table d'hôte). She ordered it medium, which turned out to be too tough for veal. The owner did suggest rare or medium-rare, and now we know how to order veal. The sauce was really flavourful, and went well with the meat. The fries were very nicely done, just the right amount of crisp and very slightly sweet and not greasy at all. The garden salad was a disappointment; it was the same mix of greens and dressing that came with our appetizers. You'd think they'd at least come up with something new. 

For my main, I had the tarragon beef tartare, also with fries and salad, for 28$. The sides may seem unoriginal, but I swear, we ordered the only two dishes with salad and fries. I didn't like my tartare. The meat was good, but the entire thing was much too greasy. It was made with something similar to mayonnaise, giving the dish a slimy texture that stayed in your mouth and left you gulping down water glass after glass. 

We were uncomfortably stuffed at this point, and had to ask for a doggy bag for my fries and some of mum's veal, but as I say: there's always room for dessert. We tried the liégeois cake that was included in the table d'hôte (and for 6$ on menu). It's a creamy 4-layered chocolate cake with a walnut crumble crust and served with cream. Delicious! Not too heavy, not too sweet, it was the perfect dessert after a big meal. 

Overall, we had a fun time. The decor is really pretty and the service was fantastic; our water glasses were never empty, despite the fact that we sat in a far off and empty room. We were given plenty of time to order, and our plates were taken away just as we finished eating. The food was very original, and we didn't even try the Italian or Oriental flavours. I ought to mention that, although we don't drink wine, the menu suggested wine pairings for every main dish. Very impressive. Additionally, they were able to give us menus in English, despite being in a very French-centric region. We did order too much food, so don't get as much as we did, or be prepared to bring some home. Try it!

10735, 1re Avenue

St-Georges, QC, G5Y 2B8

http://www.latabledujunior.com/

(418) 227-0888