I went to Toronto for two days last week to research stories for my blog, to attend a social media event and to meet people. One thing on my list was having a formal tea service. When I saw that Windsor Arms starts serving their tea service at 1 pm, I jumped at the occasion. Some people find it old-fashioned but I like the luxurious feeling of sitting in a classical tea room. For me, the more formal style is part of the pleasure.

I went with Ian Barr and Brenna Flynn of Rocket XL, the firm that planned the Pillsbury Baking Challenge for which I am a judge. Since we only communicated by email or on Twitter before that day, I wanted to actually meet them. The tea service experience was enhanced by our lively conversation.

What comes with the Full Tea Menu at Windsor Arms?

We each chose a tea blend. I opted for the Earl Grey tea with blue flowers. The lavender adds an exquisite touch to the classic Earl Grey blend. Brenna enjoyed her Earl Grey tea with roses. Since they had to go back to the office after, they ordered the Full Tea menu. I indulged by ordering the Complete Tea menu, which added a sparkling wine (or a sherry) to the full tea menu.

We started with elegant sandwich rolls. They look so much more elegant than basic triangles. They served us three delicious sandwiches:

• Smoked Salmon and Salmon Caviar with an Oven-Roasted Tomato Cream Cheese
• Baby Greens with Asparagus, Cucumber Salsa and Chive Cream Cheese
• Grilled Chicken with Citrus Essence

The smoked salmon sandwich and the asparagus one were my favorite. The scone with raisins pleased me. I did not try the plain scone. Besides the sandwiches, the scones and the sweet desserts that I captured on photos, they served us a goat cheese and caramelized shallot tart. The finale was a small bowl of strawberries with whipped cream. As you can see there was a lot of food. Overall, I am pleased with my tea service at the Windsor Arms.

For almost any tea service, you need to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. I knew it but I didn’t reserve! Still, they have accommodated us by sitting us at a nice table.

Business and Pleasures

A while ago, I read an interview where Martha Stewart mentioned that she booked her meetings around her daily activities. For me, it a pleasant way to talk business. When I asked Ian to join me for lunch at a place that I was researching for a blog post, I made him laughed by making this reference to Martha Stewart.

+ Tea Menu at Windsor Arms

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I had a special lunch twelve days ago. Hivron and her husband Paolo Macchi received me for a tasting of their products at a local restaurant in Old Montreal. While talking to Hivron during the lunch, I discovered that we have several things in common. We both studied interior design for one thing.

Prosciutto crudo

Macchi imports and distributes the highest quality of Citterio’s prosciutto crudo (raw ham). They carry Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di San Daniele and Culatello. I invited my foodie friend Nathalie Rivard to share this experience.

The Citterio’s prosciutto crudo are all natural. They are made without additives. The curing masters created them with ham, salt, air and time. Another main difference with these prosciutto is the sweet taste of the fat. These premium prosciutto are miles away from the taste of the pre-packaged prosciutto.

We savored 5 famous types of Italian and local (meaning made in the USA) prosciutto crudo. We were able to taste each prosciutto “nature”. Plus, DNA’s chef Derek Dammann made us as a delightful appetizer dish for each type. They each have their own personality.

I enjoyed the food combination that Derek Dammann served us. Derek had been Chef de Cuisine at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in London, England. You know how I love Jamie Oliver. He takes great pride in serving sustainably grown and harvested produce, meats and seafood because food tastes better when its ingredients are the product of thoughtful stewardship. He was the right chef to serve us this prosciutto.

I particularly enjoyed the plate where he mixed prosciutto with a very light mustard vinaigrette. A appetizer recipe that you can do at home is to drizzle aged balsamic topped with shaves of Parmesan Reggiano. The mix of salt and sweet is delicious. Another tasty combination was to serve prosciutto with dates.

Macchi imported directly from Italy as much as possible. It makes a difference. The pigs used in the United States are smaller than the pigs used in Italy. The Italian prosciutto is ham from a very rare bread of pigs that are bred in north-central Italy. How you cure the meat is also important. You get the best results with time. It generally produces a prosciutto that is more tender.

Shopping Tips

Look for these qualities when buying fresh prosciutto:

• Color should be lighter rather than darker, a light to medium pink. If it’s burgundy, don’t buy it!
• Fat colour should be white and not yellow. A fresh prosciutto should be sweet and not salty
• Ask to taste a slice before buying prosciutto
• Outside fat should not exceed 1/2-3/4 of an inch. Every animal is different. If it is more than 3/4 of an inch, they should trim the excess fat for you.

The Swedish-born Hivron writes a blog for Macchi where you can find recipes and food information.

SOURCING:
+ Macchi
+ DNA restaurant

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We have seen a few European examples of portable restaurants established in shipping containers from a promotional campaigns. Architects assembled containers into houses for years. This year, restauranteur Daniel Noiseux revamped the trailer diner concept.

The first Muxbox fast-food restaurant unit sits in the Old Port of Montreal for the summer season. They will close soon. My husband and I had dinner there last weekend. Muvbox is a wonderful and well-thought fast-food restaurant concept. We were impressed by how much you could accomplish with a small space. Muvbox is more than a pretty face. It is an efficient place to serve and eat food. We examined the staff preparing the food and watched them close the restaurant at the end of the day. It is a smooth operation.

The Design

From a closed box, Muvbox transforms into a chic fast-food restaurant in 90 seconds. The panels go up and down at a touch of a bouton. The side panels become the floor when they are down. The two patios are big enough for 28 patrons spread between the standing bar tables and the bistro tables with benches and chairs.

The eco-friendly actions did not stop at reclaiming an old shipping container. The floor is made from recycled tires. The solar panels supply up to 40% of the energy. The fact that you can relocate the restaurant anywhere and easily adapt it for another restaurant concept increases the usable life of each unit.

The Food

Muvbox operates its own high-end fast-food restaurant in the Old Port of Montreal all summer. You still have a couple weeks left to savor their clam chowder, lobster rolls and seafood pizza made in a wood-fired pizza oven.

If you are interested to start your own restaurant, one Muvbox unit costs $150,000 USD. The container can be branded to fit each restaurant concept. Sid Lee Architecture did the visuals. Watch this video to see Muvbox in action.

I took more photos. Look at the gallery by clicking on a picture.

MORE:
+ Muvbox Concept

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Naming a restaurant Basil and Cacao is a sure way to grab my attention. I had the pleasure of eating a wonderful gastronomic at Basilic et Cacao located in Eastman, Quebec last Friday night. Friends who were vacationing in the region invited us. We are glad we drove from Montreal to experience a delightful meal. Since our cottage is in the Eastern Townships, we took this opportunity to relax a bit.

The restaurant is run by the husband and wife team. Mario does the service. Monique is the cook, an outstanding cook. It is good to know that the woman who prepared us these fabulous creations is not a Chef. We were all astonished by her talents. I am telling, you will take notes on how to dish your plates.

The menu is one prix fixe menu per night. It costs $50 per person. They served nothing else. They carry a nice wine list. The 5-course dinner is made of an amuse-bouche, a soup, the appetizer, the main meal and the dessert. Do not worry, when you call to reserve that will inquire if you have allergies or strong dislikes.

Since we were in season, the herbs and vegetables were freshly picked from their small garden. They grow out of the ordinary varieties like the maroon carrots and the very long French beans. Each course was a refined composition of food and presentation. Everything went well together.

We had rolls of foie gras and a fig for the amuse-bouche, two tapenades that complement the soup, an ostrich carpaccio and its local cheese mousse decorated with an ostrich chip before we received a superb duck entree with lightly cooked vegetables. A chocolate waffle with a chocolate sauce filling topped our dinner. It was exquisite! I will definitely return during the ski season.

MORE:
+ Gastronomy at Basilic et Cacao

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This is a delicious French restaurant in San Francisco with a beautiful quiet terrace, set on a plaza not far from Blue Bottle Coffee. I am showing you the lunch we ate on the terrace of Chez Papa on Mint Plaza last Monday.

My Grilled Arctic Char with Fingerling Potatoes, Capers, Lemon and Brown Butter was excellent. Jerome, my husband took the Niçoise Salad. I almost regretted not taking it since it was one of the best Niçoise I tasted this side of the Atlantic. On the menu, it is described as a Seared Ahi Tuna Niçoise with Roasted Peppers, Haricots Vert, Artichokes, Arugula and Meyer Lemon served with quail eggs in a pesto sauce.

The dessert of the day was equally delicious. We paired it with a French white wine.  After all, I needed to get the full experience of the restaurant to give you a proper review. I will definitely go back to Chez Papa.

MORE:
+ Chez Papa
+ Follow Chez Papa on Twitter

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I told you on my other blog that Twitter can be an efficient marketing vehicle for businesses. One type of business that benefits well from the free marketing platform that Twitter provides are local restaurants.

What I like is that I decide which local stores and restaurants I want to follow on Twitter. This way, I can learn in advance what is on today’s menu and when they host special events.

Cheap and On the Spot Survey

The benefits for small businesses do not stop there. Twitter is great to survey the opinions of customers. You can directly ask questions. Or you can set up a Twitter poll in less than a minute. I recommend twtpoll.

Myers + Chang’s chef and co-owner Joanne Chang used this method to validate a request from a customer. She tweeted: “Should cilantro be listed on menu item when it’s an ingredient?” Four hours later, she received enough answers to be convinced that plenty of customers would like to know which dish has cilantro in it. She went further and decided to give the option to have the dishes without cilantro.

Twitter allows businesses to quickly find information, features and services valued by their customers and to react accordingly. In a competitive market, it is an opportunity that small businesses cannot afford to miss.It costs almost nothing to tweet a few times a day. You can tweet with any smart phone. It does not require a computer or any technical knowledge. Your account can be up and running in less than a minute. Unlike a blog, it could take only a few minutes a day to maintain.

I now follow a few Boston restaurants and restaurant reviews accounts on Twitter. I will be in the know when I will go there next August. You could also explore the Alfresco dining options in Boston for some clues on where to eat.

MORE:
+ Restaurants using Twitter for cheap, effective marketing by Devra J. First for The Boston Globe
+ Pictures: L’espalier on Twitter and Myers + Chang on Twitter

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A few weeks ago, we were invited by a couple to eat at La Montée. I am delighted that L. & S. selected this restaurant because the food at La Montée is exquisite. The service is courteously friendly. The cuisine is North American. Their modern dishes are influenced by our French cooking background.

The menu at La Montée does not include the concept of appetizers and main courses. All the courses, except the dessert, are of the same size. The menu proposes a 4-course dinner and a 7-course tasting menu chosen by the chef. The 4-course option for $55 is plenty.

Basically, you take either 3 salty dishes and a dessert, 3 salty dishes and a cheese plate or 2 salty dishes, 1 cheese plate and a dessert. I recommend that you go for the wine pairing. The salty dishes provide a good mix of vegetable dishes, fish plates and meats.

The menu changes often so if you are interested by a dish, go for it. To show you how I like the place, I registered to their newsletter, a rare thing for me since I prefer RSS feeds. On top of being notice of upcoming events at the restaurant, the Chef sometimes shares his recipes.

Our friends took a picture of my husband and I. For this occasion, I wore the dress I bought last January at The Drove in Los Angeles.

MORE:
+ La Montée – get directions p (514) 289-9921
1424 Bishop Street, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3G 2E6

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I parked in front of Le Canard Libéré yesterday as I went to take pictures of a store on Saint-Laurent Street. It was just after lunchtime and I did not have lunch yet. I saw that they served gourmet sandwiches.

I entered for some take-out food and I got out with food provisions from their delicatessen. I was in a hurry but I took the time to ask a few questions and take pictures. I bought a duck pie for when I work late, a duck liver terrine and a pack of dried duck that you can roll over a melon like we do with prosciutto.

For lunch, I ate a country-style soup made with cabbage, duck cubes in a duck broth with a duck confit Panini. It was delicious! Not bad for a girl who had to eat in a hurry.

The duck from Brome Lake Ducks are not sold everywhere so it is great to be able to find everything under one roof. Le Canard Libéré also carries a vast selection of harmonizing gourmet food from small regional producers to save you time. There was a couple in the store who were having friends for dinner and the first reaction of the man was: get the sauce.

Whether you are a Montrealer or only visiting Montreal, put Le Canard Libéré on your shopping itinerary.

MORE:
+ Brome Lake Ducks
+ Le canard libéré, espace gourmand p 514.286.1286
4396 boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC, Canada, H2W 1Z5

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New York is a city where you can dare to launch an atypical restaurant. Sweetiepie is an upscale place where the design and the food is set to please both kids and trendy parents. After refreshing the kid furniture and the baby gears industries, new hip parents are starting to invade the restaurant business.

Maman, Bébé et Café was about giving time to parents with newborns to replenish their mind and body. Sweetiepie is about creating a magical place where to eat out with kids.

The Food

Parents of a 6-year old boy, the trendy couple Luke and Julie Janklow launched this venture located in West Village. I read mixed comments on the food, price and services on various Web sites. I could not determine who is right so will have to pay them a visit to be the judge.

But I feel some of the comments are unfair. During the day, there is a 3-course children’s tasting menu at $9.95 with many choices. It is not cheap but it is not excessive either, especially in New York City. Plus looking at the top picture, I like this level of decorum. Sweetiepie seems like an amazing place to host a birthday party for grown ups as well as kids.

One fact remains. I believe there is a need for more family-oriented funky restaurants where your kids can eat a good macaroni and cheese while you savor gravlax with toasts.

The Design Concept behind Sweetiepie

One restaurant element where they caught my attention is the décor. Kids must be thrilled to sit there. The bar section and the red banquets are stylish. The place is split in two spaces: the front restaurant and a second room with murals that screamed parties.

The wackiest extravagance is a table placed inside a giant gold birdcage. As an adult, you need the right attitude to enjoy the added attention. Kids must dream to sit there. Imagine doing a tea party.

The vibe amalgamates Alice in Wonderland with the excess of the Marie-Antoinette era. The dessert palette is decadent. Sweetiepie’s signature $75 sundae easily feeds 6 persons.

Sweetiepie delivers plenty of inspirations for designing a one-of-a-kind kid party. There are photos on their Web site to nourish your creativity.

MORE:
+ Sweetiepie Restaurant – get directions p 212.337.3333
19 Greenwich Avenue, New York, New York, United States, 10014

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Instead of our Sunday’s brunch, we went to our annual sugar shack event. Going to the sugar shack is a custom here in Quebec.

This year, we wanted to try something different. Good timing since a renowned chef in Montreal just opened his cabane a sucre. Six of us decided to try the most upscale sugar shack in Quebec. We only knew that Martin Picard would carry at Cabane à sucre du Pied de Cochon the same philosophy that made the success of his 7-year old restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon.

If you are a tourist looking to experience the folklore of the sugar shack, you will be disappointed: no sleigh rides, no session on how maple sap is collected and produced. Personally, the only traditional activity I truly adore is maple syrup on the snow.

With his freshly open Cabine a sucre, the acclaimed Chef Martin Picard concentrated on a great eating experience instead. Yes, it is him in the kitchen; we saw him.

The Food

The menu is fixed; the Chef decided what you eat. It costs $45 per adult. The entire meal was delicious. I am craving for more mackerel omelette, duck magret, ham and pork grills salad, meat pie and the two desserts.

I put on video many dishes as the arrived to the table. Everything is served family style and you sit at a communal table. There is a small sitting bar if you are only one or two persons. A woman was alone and they serve her the dishes in single serving bowls and plates.

We arrived early. Most of the people arrived later than us. The place was packed as we left. I checked the plates on other tables to see what others were thinking. Everyone seems to be delighted with their meal. I saw a room full of families and friends having fun, eating excellent food in a casual atmosphere.

The dining room fits 106 guests at a time. With the popularity of Au Pied de Cochon and the short season of a sugar shack, call to make a reservation. They are not quick on answering emails so it is better to call.

MORE:
+ pictures of all the dishes on AHWKV Facebook page or on Flickr
+ Cabane à sucre du Pied de Cochon – get directions p (450) 258-1732
11382 Rang De La Fresniere, St-Benoit De Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, J7N 2R9

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It is funny that I follow a post about less eating out and praising home cooking with a restaurant review but I went to Au Petit Extra with after a 3rd Tuesday meeting. What Au Petit Extra delivers is a sense of comfort food in a friendly atmosphere.

When you eat Au Petit Extra, you know what to expect. This French bistro restaurant will celebrate next year its 25th anniversary. The woman Chef Nathalie Major does not reinvent cuisine; she simply delivers well-executed classic bistro dishes.

My bison steak was cooked to perfection. The flan steak with its horseradish cream butter is exquisite. I shared a delicious tuna tartar. If you are looking for a sure bet in Montreal, bookmark Au Petit Extra on Places.

get directions to Au Petit Extra p 514.527.5552
1690 rue Ontario Est, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H2L 1S7

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I am delighted that I discovered earlier today a bakery in San Francisco called Tartine Bakery. I am sure if I told you that San Francisco is my favorite US cities; then, it is New York and the Los Angeles area.

I spot this charming bakery and café while reading the fabulous Black Eiffel blog. It sounds delicious.

Until my next trip to San Francisco, I can try to bake at home their recipes. Acclaimed pastry chef Elisabeth Prueitt and master baker Chad Robertson, who is a married couple, published the Tartine coobook in 2006.

The couple also co-owns Bar Tartine. It is a restaurant where Chef Jason Fox runs the kitchen. Jason was one of the 8 persons named “Best People of the Year” in the Best of San Francisco 2008 issue by San Francisco Magazine.

Your Own Favorite Places

Whenever I am traveling, I prefer eating at places where locals go. I try to keep a record of the best local restaurants. Having a blog is one way to build my collection but I felt I needed to do more. It was my motivation behind launching Places, the Praized community connected to my blog. I also want to know what are the places are people with whom I have things in common.

Why not do the same by becoming a member to enjoy for FREE the benefits of Places? You would not receive spam emails from AHWKV or Praized. I wish to be able to find the best spots to hang up, know what to order when I eat at a restaurant and shop at the best local stores. Help me by sharing your favorite places.

SOURCING:
+ Tartine cookbook by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson $23.10 USD
+ Tartine Bakery and Cafe – get directions p 415.487.2600
600 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA, United States, 94110
+ Bar Tartine – get directions p 415.487.1600
561 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA, United States, 94110
+ Via Black Eiffel

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