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December 6, 2010 7:19 pm

Montreal “Inspired By” Dishcrawl

When I was asked if I wanted to be part of an “Inspired By” dishcrawl, I was both flattered and so excited! I had been part of all the dshcrawls since they had started in Montreal back in August and this was the opportunity to share some of my favorite restaurants and dishes with some 30 or so Montreal foodies. How could I say no?

After a couple of setbacks, my dishcrawl was ready and I couldn’t wait to share it with everyone!

At 7pm on Wednesday December 1st, we all met at Ella-grill, the first restaurant on that night’s dishcrawl, ah but was it really?
Anyone who knows me knows my undying love for all things sweet so when Marcella suggested we start this dishcrawl with dessert, I was thrilled that I was actually “allowed” to do that! Starting (and ending!) with my favorite course? Yes please! I had met Guillaume from Pâtisserie de la Gare a couple of weeks prior to the dishcrawl at Saveurs et Tentations and had been floored by his desserts and especially by his éclairs. So we of course started the meal with one of their stunning éclair filled with caramel and vanilla cream and a raspberry jelly and topped with an amazing chocolate ribbon.

I hope everyone was (pleasantly?) surprised with the dessert starter? I did see a lot of empty plates so I’m guessing everyone liked the éclairs.

After the dessert part of the meal, we moved on to appetizers from Ella-grill: an amazingly unctuous tzatziki made with 100% Greek yogurt, followed by one of my favorite spreads, a spicy and delicious kopanisti (grilled red pepper and feta spread).

The two spreads were then followed by one of the best grilled octopus in the city, sweet, perfectly seasoned morsels of tender octopus mixed with grilled peppers, onions, dill and capers.

Annie (Ella-grill’s owner) also surprised us with plates full of her famous feta fried potatoes, paper thin potato slices fried until crispy and topped with shaved and melting feta.

It was then time to move on to the second restaurant, Biron. A short walk in the snow up the street where we were warmly greeted by chef David Biron and his staff. We continued our meal with 2 appetizers, a deconstructed maki with salmon sashimi, steamed rice, flying fish roe, avocado and cucumber in a sesame vinaigrette and a salad of citrus-caramelized pork, Thai vermicelli, crunchy vegetables and a house soya sauce.

The scrumptious appetizers were followed by David Biron’s take on a holiday meal: slow cooked young turkey, wasabi velouté, braised mustard leaves and sweet potato purée.

My motto is “there’s always room for dessert” so I, of course, couldn’t end the meal without including another sweet treat! So all the dishcrawlers that night went home with a goodie box filled with 2 choux from Pâtisserie de la Gare, one filled with chocolate and the other with praline.

After everyone had left, a small group of us lingered at Biron’s and I started to relax and think back on the night. I do hope everyone enjoyed discovering these new restaurants with me. I really enjoyed organizing the dishcrawl and meeting everyone who was there that night and I am definitely looking forward to seeing you all at the next dishcrawl!

Mayssam Samaha (Will Travel For Food)

Posted on 06. Dec, 2010 by tracy

Tags: amazing food, Biron, delicious, dessert, dining adventure, dining montreal, dish crawl, dishcrawl, eataliangirl, Ella-Grill, featured, food adventure, food crawl, foodie, foodie adventure, Inspired By, Matchmaker, Mayssam Samaha, montreal food lovers, montreal food scene, Patisserie de la Gare