Sandwich Art

I'm a Subway fan. I'll admit it. Its not because the food is great (its mediocre), its not because the service is great (although I do have people who recognize me as a "regular" at the subway on campus, which is kinda nice), its not because the price is great (its not), and its not because I'm trying to lose weight (I am, but Subway definitely does not factor in). I like subway because my dad buys me subway cards, as a gift, and mails them to me.

Having a "trio" with a warm cookie, that was bought with a gift card from home makes me feel less alone, I guess. Cheesy, right? Also, who am I to argue with free food.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about Subway "Sandwich Artist's" sometimes alarming art, the way we fall in line with it, and the uniqueness of Subway in Quebec.

First, Subway in Quebec. Their combo is a trio (though this isn't just a Subway thing). Their sandwich du jour selection (known to us simple folks as Subathaday) has a great deal more variety than what I am used to in Saskatchewan. In Saskatchewan, it ranges from Ham, to BMT, to roast beef, right up to (of course) tuna salad on a Friday. Here, bbq pork is thrown into the mix, as well as Wednesday's (todays) unique offering: fruits de mer.

Sidebar: fruits de mer : fruits of the sea (known to us simple folks as seafood)
             pomme de terre: apple of the earth (known to us simple folks as 'potato')
* I am not certain why the French language has this propensity to add a touch of poetry to the names for such unpoetical things as crabs and potatoes, but what the hell, right?

Back to Subway, and the sandwich art.

So, I sidle up to the counter, and mutter "Subathaday, sizzinch . . .brown" in my (no doubt terrible) western accent. The girl slops some (raw? lightly cooked? preserved? I dunno) crab meat onto the bun and hastily asks "cheddar or swiss?"

"Swiss," I respond automatically, though honestly the notion of having dairy on a seafood sandwich is somehow stomach turning. She took me off guard! I answered by rote. To my horror, she passes off my sandwich to the guy running the toaster oven. I watch as the sandwich goes in, envisioning the cheese covered, unhappy, possibly rancid pile of fishmeat that will come out. The guy behind me happily orders extra cheese on his fruits de mer, and his goes in the toaster too.

My sandwich emerges, looking like something an Italian hacked up, and now I am at the veggie station. "Everything except the cucumbers and green peppers" I say, in a state of despair, knowing nothing can salvage my sandwich now.

"Dressing?"

"Ranch" comes my helpless reply. Ranch dressing is spurted on top of my (I swear it is moving) pile of crabmeat and melted cheese, the lid is put on the sandwich, and the sandwich is safely bound in its wrapper, and tucked away in a sandwich bag condom. Presumably so it cannot escape.

I obtain my cookies, my drink, and make my way out of the restaurant to find a sunny place to sit and eat. (Ironically, when I go to sit down, my sandwich really does make a run for it, almost spilling out of the bag). But when I eat it, its not so bad. In fact, it tastes pretty much like every other damn subway sandwich I have ever had.

Which brought me to contemplate the role of the sandwich artist. The sandwich artist, is very much like the artist who covers himself in paint and throws himself at a white wall. The pattern may be ugly, little thought or craft goes into it, and yet somehow, some customer somewhere is going to be satisfied.

Eat fresh, guys.

Restaurant Eduardo Duluth

Had a girls night out last night, and continued that elusive quest for good, reasonably priced restaurants in Montreal.

Restaurant Eduardo Duluth fits the bill.

 Located at 404 Avenue Duluth Est (which is a lively but not overwhelming street off of Saint Denis), Eduardo's is an Italian restaurant that has a distinctly family feel. Like a smiling Italian grandmother might walk up to your table and goad you on, "Eat! Eat!"

Don't be fooled by the less than stunning exterior: inside, Eduardo's is decorated in a very nifty, incredibly cozy "cottage" style of dark aged wood (wood errywhar!). There are a number of quirky little touches which add to the homey feel of the place: crayon drawings from child patrons up on the wall, and inexplicable cartoons of scaly monster things (think where the wild things are) on the bathroom doors.

Its also byob, which is great. Coming from SK, where a night drinking at a bar is bound to leave you bankrupt, and minus the left eye you used to pay for that last bottle of Keiths, I heartily approve of anywhere I am allowed to bring my own cheap alcohol and not pay restaurant prices.

And now for the food. We started with warmed and breaded cheese (fondue, minus the due?) which was soft and flavorful and delicious (and nummy, too), and some herbed bread, which seems to be a house specialty, and is quite good.

For mains, I ordered cheese tortellini with rose sauce. I won't lie, deciding what to eat was kinda interesting due to my stupidity when it comes to french, but I was pleased with my choice. The sauce was rich, tangy, and irresistable. The tortellini was packed with cheese. I ate all of it. OM NOM NOM. I'd like to go back and sample their spaghetti, I think.

Also, the prices are good. My share of the bill, all told, came to $13. It is so hard to find good food in Montreal that isn't expensive, but Eduardo's is one of those places. I will definitely try to get back there, perhaps on a shopping day sometime in the coming month.

In other news, hope everyone has a great long weekend! I have a park to go sit in. Ciao!

Eatz Encore

Despite the dubious name (Eatz Encore makes me feel a bit like I'm eating leftovers), this little deli/bakerty type shop thing has become one of my favorite places to pick up a lunch or a bit of dessert. They sell all kinds of baked goods, salads, soups, dinner-type dishes like lasagna . . . all with a home made taste minus the effort of making this shit yourself.

Also, the price is good. I got all of this, plus one bagel, for $8.00 for dinner:

LOOKA THE SIZE OF THAT CHICKEN SAMMICH. Also, best chicken sammich of my life k. Now, I don't want anyone complaining I never said anything good about Montreal food.

Check them out! 

4824 Sherbrook W.
Westmount, Quebec, h3z 1j8
514-482-1778

http://www.eatzencore.ca/

Miso: Sushi Bar and Fusion Asiatique, or Saskatchewan Dines French

My friend came in from Ottawa yesterday, so I took her around Montreal a bit. We toured the Musee des Beaux Arts, which had a way more impressive permanent collection than I'd anticipated (I always underestimate such things in Canada because, lets face it, we're not Europe), wandered around looking at shops and the like, and then for dinner we decided to go to an Asian fusion place on Ste Cat's, called Miso.

This place has a very classy vibe, as you'll see on the video on the front page of their website. I enjoyed the zen-modern interior design of it. I also went totally underdressed, hahah. But so it always is with me, and I'm reaching a point in my life where I'm done being embarrassed about/apologizing for who I am.

Moving on, to their menu:

My friend ordered:
Cucumber sushi, which was fairly typical, from what I understand. A little on the small side, perhaps.

Miso, which once again is fairly standard wherever you go

Sunomono Moriawase - A seafood and vermicelli salad, that the restaurant gave an interesting twist by dousing in some highly citrusy-tasting sauce that was pretty potent. I liked the tartness of it, the contrast to the bitter greens, but the citrus sauce completely drowned out the flavor of the seafood, which was sort of a downside. If you can't taste it, eating baby octopus is kind of like chewing rubber.

She also ordered a drink, which was melon juice, vodka, and something else. It had also had pepper sprinkled on the top of it, which gave it a bit of additional kick. However, black things floating in your drink is not exactly appetizing. I suppose if you are taking it in the context of a classy restaurant, it is easier to accept.

I ordered:
Water: I'm cheap.
Avocado roll: Like the cucumber, typical, good, a little on the small side.
California Dreaming: snow crab, shrimp, avocado, egg, asparagus, tobiko, and a wasabi sauce. I really liked this. For me, the wasabi sauce wasn't overpowering, though my friend found it to be so. The dish wasn't as packed with flavor as I'd anticipated, but it had a nice crisp, clean taste to it that I really enjoyed. The portions were also larger, so despite the small portions of everything else, I felt pretty full after sushi.

For dessert we split the creme brule trio, which I *really* loved the presentation of. It was three kinds of creme brule: regular, chocolate, and green tea, served on a long rectangular plate, each one in its own little clay pot, with strawberry quarters interspersed. The regular creme brule was quite good, somehow rich, but light. The chocolate was also very good, very rich and sweet. They sprinkled chili powder on top to enhance the flavor of the chocolate, which was something of a surprise for me, not having encountered it before, but its something I think I could get used to. The green tea creme brule, in my opinion, was also very good, though my friend did not like it. I can understand why. .. it has a taste of eating raw tea leaves if your first bite comes just from the broiled bit on top. But if you sink your spoon into the creamier stuff beneath, the flavors balance into something quite pleasant.

Overall, the portions were small, and perhaps overpriced for that (but so it is with restaurants having pretensions of class. I say pretensions, because we are in Canada, after all, which could almost be its own post). The food was good, but not possessed of the astounding range flavors and attention to detail that I've experienced at restaurants like The Fainting Goat in Regina, where each ingredient has been lovingly tended to. The dishes were well presented, very visually appealing, playing well with color and with texture.

I also learned an important lesson. If you go to a fancy restaurant, under-dressed, and your friend continually calls the food "interesting", and you are talking about the quality of it both in ways that are good, and in ways that are unflattering, and you also (perhaps too loudly) mention that "this is going on the blog" or say "I'll put that in the review". . .during the meal the entire staff will try to subtly line up and stare at you and whisper about you. At the end of the meal, the manager will come over and anxiously inquire whether everything was ok. After you have paid and as you are leaving the restaurant, the entire staff will shout "Thank you! Have a good night! Arigato!"

I burst out laughing as we left.

They thought we were food critics, or really wanted our approval, or both. That's the only explanation I have. They didn't shout at anyone else as they left the restaurant.

Too funny. I'm going to do this at every restaurant I go to. Maybe eventually they'll start giving food to me for free.

Cold Stone Creamery

This past summer, I spent a lot of time travelling in the United States. Being the food-lover I am, I visited a variety of interesting restaurants. One thing that bothers me about eating across the border is the fact that, with a few exceptions, if its not a ma-and-pa greasy spoon, it is a part of a chain. Even the exceptions (small-business type restaurants with $10-16 menu items) were rather bland and lacking in culinary finesse compared to similar Canadian restaurants.

Not that all the chains are bad. Many serve much higher quality food than you'd find at any of the chains we have in Canada. (Compare a Whataburger--a chain in the south--to a burger king burger, for example). But the nature of the chains can be surprising. Many of them take an idea that would be excellent within the loving environment of a small-business setting, commercialize it, assembly line it, and churn out a less-than-excellent version for mass consumption.

An example of this is the Cold Stone Creamery, which I had an opportunity to visit this summer while in Lawrence, KS. The notion behind the Cold Stone Creamery is that they provide a higher quality ice cream by making it fresh in store every day. Not only that, but customers are invited to experiment with their flavors, as different ice creams are mixed with a variety of additional ingredients on a slab of chilled stone right before the consumer's eyes.

To be fair, its pretty damn good ice cream. Maybe slightly overpriced for what you get, but really, honestly, very good. Just, perhaps, not as good as it could be. A lot of the homey-feeling experience of this sort of thing is lost in a chain-restaurant setting. Comedian Azis Ansari says it best in his rant about CSC: http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Cold+Stone+Creamery/2CvrPL?src=5

Otowa

So, yesterday I took the little sister driving again, and we wound up at a Japanese restaurant downtown called Otowa. I'd been meaning to visit this place since I lived in Saskatoon in the summer of 2007. What drew my attention to it was the fact that, walking by it one day, I saw a girl come out in a kimono to set out a sign. The servers dress up! How cool is that?

The atmosphere is excellent (if a little dark). Its cozy, nicely decorated (though perhaps in need of an update--particularly in the bathrooms. YES I AM PARANOID ABOUT BATHROOMS). The dishware was quite nice to look at:

We ordered a variety of dishes: Caterpillar sushi, miso soup, salad, and agedashi for starts. Then Jaimie had tempura and more agadashi, and I had beef don.

happy sushi caterpillar!

some of the most amazing miso I've had

Agedashi

Jaimie's tempura

Jaimie om nomming

Unfortunately,  I forgot to get a picture of my beef don. Oh well. For the most part, the food was really good (if a little heavy). I particularly enjoyed the miso, the salad, and the sushi. I think this is definitely a place I will go back to to try a wider variety of their sushi. The beef don was a little on the bland/dry side, I found, however.

Overall this was a good dining experience. The staff is friendly, and didn't even look at Jaimie too oddly when she asked if she could have her plain white rice packed up (. . .). The appetizers were amazing, and while I didn't like my main that much, I would definitely give them another chance.