méchant boeuf for a night out and a burger
A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I had dinner at Méchant Boeuf, the lively bar-restaurant in Vieux Montreal.
Tall windows define the front of the restaurant, the tiled back wall streams with water. The bar, suffused in red light, runs from front to back. The place is packed with square tables, leather-backed chairs, and, on that Friday night, the nervous energy of young, well-dressed urbanites.
The air throbbed as the DJ, wearing a tuque, goggles and tattoos, cued up the Rolling Stones, followed by the Tragically Hip. Waiting for our table, I smelled oysters.
The food at Méchant Boeuf is French brasserie fare - raw bar, hanger steak, grilled salmon - with a nod to pub food, including burgers and a poutine made with braised pork and Canadian Migneron cheese.
My salad of arugula and goat cheese was decidedly French: half inch slabs of creamy chèvre stacked between rounds of yellow and red beet made a delightful and delicious sculpture.
Eating required deconstruction; in the process I slathered cheese on slices of fresh crusty baguette. The loose pile of peppery greens with grape tomatoes and grated carrot, paired with a glass of Chilean cab, left me satiated, and full.
The burgers at Méchant Boeuf are said to be the best in town, and Ken couldn’t resist. The half pound of charbroiled beef arrived nicely pink at the center (even though our server told us they’re not technically allowed to serve beef rare).
The juicy meat was covered with blue cheese, gruyère, caramelized onion, and two substantial slices of bacon. A warm onion roll contained the dense, smokey concoction. An English pint of Tetley’s cream ale, with notes of caramel and a hoppy finish, was exemplary at its side.
Good as it was, the search for the city’s best burger continues…
Do you have a favorite? Let us know!
chocolate lovers’ montreal a valentine classic
Our self-guided tour, Montreal for Chocolate Lovers, was featured on My Gourmet Connection - a food lover’s guide to great flavor.
What a great gift for your favorite chocolate lover, and at $14.95, it’s outrageously affordable!
time out at hotel nelligan
Hotel Nelligan — a boutique hotel known for great service, luxurious rooms and French cuisine - is offering a winter promotion: a loft suite for $189 CAD (normally $365-$650 CAD).
With two restaurants, a bar and, for added romance, a poet as a namesake, the Nelligan is the perfect place to cocoon.
I spent 24 hours at the Nelligan - read about my micro-vacation, including the best eggs benedict I’ve ever eaten, in this week’s Seven Days.
