Copoli

Our Rating:

2 Fat Buddhas: Big and delicious burgers
Cheap eats, good value for money

The Review:
We'd heard tell of a little place in Westmount reputed to have "The Biggest and Most Delicious Hamburger in Montreal", and thought that kind of slogan definitely merited our attention. So it was early on a Saturday night, hungry after a hard day's manual labour, we went in search of the burger of legends to sate our appetite before the night's entertainment (the Montreal Roller Derby grand final—hooray for La Racaille!).

Situated on the corner of Ste Catherine and Metcalfe, Copoli is pretty much what a burger bar should be: peeling lino, booths with splitting vinyl, bar stools, grill on display. It's clean, it has character, and even some background music, at the behest of some regulars who arrived shortly after we did. We were duped by the lack of wines and beers on the menu, but it appeared that they do actually have a stash if you ask for it. The menu offers a selection of pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, and salads, but we were here for the burgers. Indeed, it looks as if they were the biggest and most delicious in Montreal—it said so on the menu. The burger is listed as clocking in at 8 inches ("That's not so big", says one of our female companions to much snickering), and can be shared for a small fee. So we launched into the order, for Michael the full 8 inches, with cheese and bacon, Ree shared a similar burger with one of our companions, and yet another diner ordered a salad (to much snickering).

Well, the burger was big. It filled half the oblong plate, with a healthy side of fries covering the rest. The shared burger was more than sufficient for a smaller eater, and the sharing fee appears to buy you some extra fries to fill in the rest of the plate. In comparison to the large horizontal axis (which required the whole be quartered to be manageable), the vertical appeared a little short, but still had the full complement of lettuce, tomato, pickle, and what seemed to be thousand-island dressing. Our option also saw some cheese and bacon accompanying the burger. The burger itself was quite good, some flavour of its own, which is a nice change from many other generic burgers. It's cooked fresh (you can see it on the hotplate), and almost fills the full 8 inches of custom-made bun. It's a good amount of meat. To be highly critical, it was a little dry, but this was soon remedied with some of the supplied tomato sauce or mayo. We can't argue the "Biggest" claim, these are certainly the largest constructions we've seen on the Montreal burger scene. The "Most Delicious" claim we would dispute—we have tasted better burgers—but this one is certainly passable. Perhaps it can rightly claim the joint title, "Biggest and Most Delicious", since this is the most delicious burger of this size we have tasted.

The salad was similarly generous in its proportions, and was declared good. It was a decent pile of lettuce garnished with canned salmon, some olives, and a few other bits of healthy stuff, and a good slathering of a tasty homemade dressing.

Best of all, the price is right. The full burger with bacon and cheese came in under $10, so that's only $5 or so for smaller bellies who need to share. The pizzas seemed popular and may merit a trial sometime, as well as the other burger options (there's even vegetarian).

The lowdown? We'll be going back whenever the desire for a burger arises. In fact, the proximity to our abode (and the availablity through online ordering services) means that it's a viable option for a quick meal whenever we like. So we'll probably be back to try out other items on the menu too.


4458 Ste Catherine Ouest, corner of Metcalfe, Westmount
A second Copoli can also be found on Maisonneuve, directly opposite the Vendome metro station for the late night burger on the way home.

The Burgundy Lion

Our Rating:

1½ Fat Buddhas: Hit and miss food in a nice enough place

Fairly reasonably priced pub grub

The Review:

In our continuing quest for good food and a local pub, we thought we'd try out the newly opened Burgundy Lion, not too far from our home. They're going for an English Pub theme, with a nice wooden bar and staircase, a pretty small courtyard area, and lots of English beers on tap. The place is still a bit stark, though (maybe even more so since it was quite empty early on the Thursday night we visited), without the warmth of an English Pub, and the music (an eclectic mix of 80s rock) seemed to creep louder through the evening to make conversation a little difficult.

The service was quick, friendly and attentive (and wearing suspenders). The water brought to the table had cucumber in it, which was refreshing, and pleasantly reminiscent of our favourite gin, Hendrick's. The wine list, however, is quite limited, especially when you're drinking by the glass—only a couple of decidedly average wines available. The beer list is better, with many imports. They have their own Burgundy Lion Ale on the list which was not very good—tasted like a cheap draught beer with a nasty aftertaste. To redeem them, they do have Bierbrier beer (try ordering that after a few) on tap, which is an interesting ale from a local Montreal micromicrobrewery.

We had some help on this review, which meant we were able to sample a wider range of their offerings than if it were just us two. Good thing too, since we managed to order some pretty average dishes, but our fellow diners picked some good ones. The food appeared in a twinkling of an eye after ordering, making us wonder how much was preprepared and just quickly heated up. It was all nicely presented, and looked quite appetising. Upon the raving review of the waiter, Michael foolishly chose the Portobello vegetarian burger over the meat version. It was somewhat disappointing: the mushrooms (there were 3 rather thin specimens) were not thick and juicy, and were accompanied only by some plain cheese (the burger not even hot enough to melt the cheese), lettuce and tomato. Kind of plain. The chips were pretty good, and a generous supply of tomato sauce and mayo were provided, along with a small bowl of some generic packet gravy, which did not add much to the plate or palate. The bangers and mash were also disappointing—who'd have thought it could go wrong? The sausages had an odd, lumpy, and yet somehow floury texture, with very little taste. They appeared well-cooked, but tasted undercooked. The mash was uninspiring, and reminiscent of Deb, that delightful dehydrated packet mashed potato. Just add water. All this was drowned in some dark gravy, which, again, did not add much to the plate.

Thankfully our fellow diners had more luck than us. The fish & chips were excellent—the fish thick pieces of firm, white, tasty fillet, encased in a crunchy thick batter without any trace of excess oil. A good sized portion too, with a pile of chips, coming with tartare sauce and, oddly enough, a small bowl of mashed peas. Maybe that's supposed to be English. The other dish ordered was their "Colonial chicken", which was a cardamon-heavy tikka masala style. It was tasty enough, and what we'd expect to be seen in an English Pub. One thing that was a little on the annoying side were the flies that seemed to be attracted to our meals. We had quite a little fly party happening for a while there.

The food was reasonably priced, between $13–$16 for the mains we ordered; wine and beer was also in the average price range. All up this decent meal, with a couple of drinks each, set us back about $60 for the two of us, so it's not overly cheap, but still reasonable value for money.

Not too sure we'll go back, however. The food was ok, but nothing that would merit a special trip to the place. The atmosphere was ok, but I also wouldn't make the trip there for drinks. If we were in the area at the right time, then perhaps we'd stop by.


2496 Notre Dame O., "Little Burgundy", Le Sud-Ouest
http://burgundylion.com

Ye Olde Orchard (Prince Arthur)

Our Rating:

2 Buddhas: Good food, good service, nice atmosphere
Cheapo!

The Review:
Ever since this latest chapter of Ye Olde Orchard opened 20 metres from Michael's work in March, he, and a lot of his colleagues, have been regular visitors for a weekly 5 à 7 after-works drinks (to the point where Michael can now just order his "usual"). In addition to a good selection of local and imported beers at reasonable prices, there is also a broad menu of typical pub foods ranging from wings to burgers to salads to curries. There is nominally a British-type theme to the place (Irish music, staff in kilts, Scotch bottles on display, Premier League football on TV), but the food is actually decent, so the theme falls down a little there.

This newest addition to the fleet of YOOs is conveniently on Prince Arthur Ave, right next to Blvd St Laurent, and, as mentioned, literally a hop, skip, and a jump from Michael's work (as proven one night after the 5 à 7). Good location. The interior is what a pub should look like. Clean, reasonably well lit, wooden tables, stone walls, and waitresses in short kilts. There are, unfortunately, in my book, too many TVs in the place, so no matter where you look, you get distracted. It's seems a global phenomenon that when there is a TV in a bar, one tends to watch it rather than socialise, no matter how boring the show. Let's face it, it's usually golf or ads, and surely our bar companions are more interesting than that. That aside, the staff are friendly and attentive, the music at a pleasant volume (with a good selection of British/Irish music), and the seats comfortable.

So, onto the food. There are a number of choices in each section of the menu, and nearly all the choices made so far have been met with satisfaction. The sweet potato fries (with curry mayo if desired) is quite popular, but I find them a little limp. The home fries are, however, crisp and good, and cut nice and thick, as they should be. The soups seem to be popular, but nothing overly exciting, and we've never tried them. Same goes for the wings. Winners on the menu are the selection of burgers ($9–$15). Good-sized, tasty, not full of fat. The selection of pies is also quite good, although I always question the definition of a small baking dish covered in pastry as a pie (~$10–$12). Surely a pie should have crust on the bottom as well? Either way they have so far been meaty (real chunks of meat), hot, and delicious.

But to be honest, you don't really go to the pub to eat, normally. But if you're in the neighbourhood, and looking for a quick, reasonably-priced meal with a beer to match, this is the place to go. It's a good local to have.

We're regulars here. Normally for drinks, but for food as well when the time is right.

20 Prince Arthur Ave Ouest
http://www.yeoldeorchard.com/
Other locations on Monkland in NDG, and Montagne in Centre-Ville are similarly good by reputation.

Thai Grill

Our Rating:

1 Buddha: Mediocre food with terrible service

Overpriced for what you get

The Review:
The location is easy to get to on St Laurent and Laurier, and the restaurant decor certainly transports you to a stereotypical Thailand vista with the use of Thai Gods and Goddess statues, and a rather unusual use of fountains in the washrooms! The atmosphere was good, even if you did feel a little like you were in a Thai brothel (not that I've been in one, but all the red, the dull lighting, and the ornate partitions fits with my impressions of Thai brothels). Maybe the brothels aren't quite so fancy.

We went in wanting to catch a quick bite before heading to one of the comedy festival shows.
We expected that the appetisers we ordered with a glass of wine wouldn't take too long to prepare (can you see where this is going already?). There were some impressive dramatics by who we assume to be the head waiter, in just laying plates on the table, but even that was not enough to keep us entertained whilst we waited for half an hour before our drinks were delivered. Half an hour to get 2 glasses of wine. Nice glasses, mind you, but very thirsty by that stage. Then, we pressed the urgency of our timeframe upon our flamboyant waiter to see if we'd actually any food within the hour, he said he'd hurry the process along. Another 20 minutes later, our shared appetizer plate arrived. Not too impressed, because that left us only 10 minutes before it was time to leave.

The restaurant professes to provide savoury and succulent dishes, and in our experience the appetiser plate was reasonably good. It included three different dipping sauces and a nice arrangement of mango salad in the middle. Shame the mangoes were not quite ripe, or maybe that was the texture they were going for? The prawns appeared to be strangled by some fried noodles, which looked pretty good and thank goodness for the dipping sauces, otherwise they would have tasted quite bland. The standard chicken dumpling, satay chicken shaslick & spring rolls were ok, but nothing overly impressive. And certainly not worth waiting the best part of an hour for (especially without wine). How hard is it to chuck a few things in the deep fryer?

On this small sample, the food seems reasonable, but generously overpriced—the appetiser plate turned out to be an unexpected $14 per person. The wine list seems to cater for a large variety of people with most of the wines by the glass costing around $9. So for a handful of spring rolls, satay, and dumplings with a glass of wine for two, the bill was up over $50.

If you're after a quick meal though, this is not the place to go to. And if you're after a cheap meal, this is not the place to go. And if you're after an authentic Thai cuisine experience, well, our small sample didn't really allow for full assessment of that. At least it's a purely Thai restaurant, and not a cross-cultural mix, like the Szechuan–Sushi place down the road.

We most likely will not be going back to this one.

http://www.thaigrill.ca/
5101 blvd. St-Laurent, Montreal

And so it begins

After 9 months in Montreal, we have yet to find the basic necessities of life - decent, reliable, well-priced restaurants. So we've decided to keep track of our ventures in this area with a series of reviews of all the restaurants we visit. In the past months, we've been to a number of places, some of which we may return to at some point. So far, from memory, we've been to a few restaurants below. There are a number of others that we've been to, that are not memorable enough to be remembered...

Excellent (the full 3 Buddhas )

• Le Mitoyen, Laval
  
• Decca 77, Rue Drummond
• Chez L'Epicier, Old Port
  
• Schwartz's (has to be here), Blvd St Laurent
  

Good (let's say 2—2.5 Buddhas )

• Le Convivial, Rue Sherbrooke, Westmount
  
• Brontë, Rue Sherbrooke
  
• Ye Olde Orchard, Prince Arthur
• M*Brgr, Montagne (but overpriced)
• Weinstein and Gavino's, Crescent
• Le Cartet (for brunch), Rue McGill, Old Port
  

Mediocre (1—1.5 Buddhas )

• Maestro SVP, Blvd St Laurent
• Ghandi, Old Port
• Le Cap Vert, Rue McGill College
• Hurley's, Rue Crescent
  

Terrible (0—0.5 Buddhas)

• La Casa Grecque, Prince Arthur
• Tamales, Prince Arthur
• The Winston Churchill, Rue Crescent