Howdy!
Au Feu Bistro Allumé — Part 3 (10:25); (MP3 11MB / FLAC 55MB / Ogg Vorbis 7.41MB / Stream)
In this final part of the second episode of the Montreal Burger Report Zeke and Ed discuss the philosophy, aesthetics and principles about what makes a good hamburger, a great hamburger or the best hamburger, along with similar points about hamburger restaurants (are the hamburgers at Au Feu the best in Montreal?) While talking and eating the delicious hamburgers at Au Feu, Ed ends up defending the fries at Au Feu (Zeke wasn't that impressed).
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
(The Montreal Burger Report: Au Feu, Part 1 and Au Feu, Part 2.)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Montreal Burger Report: Au Feu, Part 2
Howdy!
Au Feu Bistro Allumé — Part 2 (10:25); (MP3 11MB / FLAC 55MB / Ogg Vorbis 7.41MB / Stream)
Au Feu is was a small restaurant on the corner of Mont-Royal E. and St. Dominique. It's a friendly and unpretentious neighbourhood joint that serves up decent "corner bistro"-slash-"Plateau pub" fare. It's been around for some time, and before it was Au Feu it was called "Anubis," which didn't really look any different, giving the impression that this is a bit of a grand-dad place for well entrenched (read: aging) hipsters.
They only have a few burgers on the menu. Chris and Ed visited on a quiet Wednesday night, where they were met with friendly, indeed neighbourly service. The shadowy corner where they set up, and the fact that they were about the only people in the place, didn't bode well. The personal touch can be a lovely thing in a good restaurant, but Ed said he felt a bit like he'd walked into someone's house where the room mate was doing the cooking.
Alas, such prejudices where misguided. Both Chris and Ed were very happy with their burgers; they were fresh, tasty, cooked just right, and were not drowned in exotic sounding sauces and frilly things. There was cold Boreal beer on tap, and the fries, while not brilliant, were serviceable. By the time they paid up and left, a crowd had appeared and the restaurant was buzzing with activity.
Au Feu's burger was a real treat. The meat and bun were well proportioned, the preparation was perfect, and it didn't dissolve into a sloppy mess the way so many so-called "gourmet" burgers tend to do. This was a burger for people who really like burgers. I will definitely go back if I'm in the neighbourhood and I'm craving a burger.
Au Feu was a wonderful burger ably abetted by extremely low expectations. When we walked in the restaurant was pretty much empty, and no matter how hard I try, if a restaurant is empty I can't help but think "maybe nobody else likes their food." At Au Feu, after being served and taking a bite, I didn't care if anyone else likes their burgers.
Again, it was a fairly generic burger, but done just about perfectly (or as Ed said "perfectly executed"). I can't say the same thing about the fries, but we weren't going for the fires. The service was good, friendly and efficient. And they weren't intimidated by our microphones.
Despite what I said during the podcast, I actually have been craving an Au Feu burger recently and might actually cross town in order to get one.
Address:35 Mont-Royal E., Montreal, QC, CA. (See clickable map, below.)
Phone:514-843-3391
Web site: none.
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
(The Montreal Burger Report: Au Feu, Part 1.
Au Feu Bistro Allumé — Part 2 (10:25); (MP3 11MB / FLAC 55MB / Ogg Vorbis 7.41MB / Stream)
Au Feu is was a small restaurant on the corner of Mont-Royal E. and St. Dominique. It's a friendly and unpretentious neighbourhood joint that serves up decent "corner bistro"-slash-"Plateau pub" fare. It's been around for some time, and before it was Au Feu it was called "Anubis," which didn't really look any different, giving the impression that this is a bit of a grand-dad place for well entrenched (read: aging) hipsters.
They only have a few burgers on the menu. Chris and Ed visited on a quiet Wednesday night, where they were met with friendly, indeed neighbourly service. The shadowy corner where they set up, and the fact that they were about the only people in the place, didn't bode well. The personal touch can be a lovely thing in a good restaurant, but Ed said he felt a bit like he'd walked into someone's house where the room mate was doing the cooking.
Alas, such prejudices where misguided. Both Chris and Ed were very happy with their burgers; they were fresh, tasty, cooked just right, and were not drowned in exotic sounding sauces and frilly things. There was cold Boreal beer on tap, and the fries, while not brilliant, were serviceable. By the time they paid up and left, a crowd had appeared and the restaurant was buzzing with activity.
Ed's Verdict
Au Feu's burger was a real treat. The meat and bun were well proportioned, the preparation was perfect, and it didn't dissolve into a sloppy mess the way so many so-called "gourmet" burgers tend to do. This was a burger for people who really like burgers. I will definitely go back if I'm in the neighbourhood and I'm craving a burger.
Chris's Verdict
Au Feu was a wonderful burger ably abetted by extremely low expectations. When we walked in the restaurant was pretty much empty, and no matter how hard I try, if a restaurant is empty I can't help but think "maybe nobody else likes their food." At Au Feu, after being served and taking a bite, I didn't care if anyone else likes their burgers.
Again, it was a fairly generic burger, but done just about perfectly (or as Ed said "perfectly executed"). I can't say the same thing about the fries, but we weren't going for the fires. The service was good, friendly and efficient. And they weren't intimidated by our microphones.
Despite what I said during the podcast, I actually have been craving an Au Feu burger recently and might actually cross town in order to get one.
Address:
Phone:
Web site: none.
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
(The Montreal Burger Report: Au Feu, Part 1.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Montreal Burger Report: Au Feu, Part 1
Howdy!
Au Feu Bistro Allumé — Part 1 (10:25); (MP3 11MB / FLAC 55MB / Ogg Vorbis 7.41MB / Stream)
Au Feu Bistro Allumé is was a small and well established neighbourhood bistro on the corner of Ave. Mont-Royal and St. Dominique in the Plateau. Prior to the burgers, Chris and Ed warmed up down the street at Plan B, where they discussed the upcoming burger adventure over a couple of beers.
The podcast kicks in after they arrive at Au Feu. Check the links above, and listen in as they discuss beer, their expectations for the upcoming burgers, and a bunch of other burgery stuff.
Sadly, Au Feu closed for business soon afterward Chris and Ed's visit and has been replaced by a new and well lit café. Regardless, the Au Feu burger report is running anyway, because we'd hate to have all those beefy words wasted, and as a tribute to the passing of a good restaurant.
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
The burger ditty that introduces the Montreal Burger Reports' Au Feu reports is Hamburger Hop by Less Than Jake.
Au Feu Bistro Allumé — Part 1 (10:25); (MP3 11MB / FLAC 55MB / Ogg Vorbis 7.41MB / Stream)
Au Feu Bistro Allumé is was a small and well established neighbourhood bistro on the corner of Ave. Mont-Royal and St. Dominique in the Plateau. Prior to the burgers, Chris and Ed warmed up down the street at Plan B, where they discussed the upcoming burger adventure over a couple of beers.
The podcast kicks in after they arrive at Au Feu. Check the links above, and listen in as they discuss beer, their expectations for the upcoming burgers, and a bunch of other burgery stuff.
Sadly, Au Feu closed for business soon afterward Chris and Ed's visit and has been replaced by a new and well lit café. Regardless, the Au Feu burger report is running anyway, because we'd hate to have all those beefy words wasted, and as a tribute to the passing of a good restaurant.
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
The burger ditty that introduces the Montreal Burger Reports' Au Feu reports is Hamburger Hop by Less Than Jake.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Montreal Burger Report: Meat Market, Part 2
Howdy!
Meat Market — Part 2 (10:48) ; (MP3 15MB / FLAC 61MB / Ogg Vorbis 8.96MB / Stream)
Meat Market is a hip but affordable restaurant on Boul. St. Laurent, between Marie-Anne and Mont-Royal. As the name implies, they specialize in meat. The menu contains a number of tasty sounding items, including the ubiquitous bavette, a rib steak, and most notably, "meat sticks" (meat on a stick) that are served with a variety of sauces.
However, this being the burger report, we went for the burgers.
There are five composed burgers on the menu, bearing names like "Le Grand Bleu" and "Swiss Miss." They each come with a cheese (bleu, goat cheese, provalone, etc.) as well as a sauce and a number of unusual items such as wallnuts, green apples, harissa, or a "calabrese chip." Interesting, to say the least, but how do they stand up as burgers?
Listen to the podcast and find out. This is where Chris and Ed's divergent opinions on what constitutes a good burger are revealed. They also discuss the fries (made from a mix of sweet and regular potatoes) and the rather odd beer selection.
Meat Market is a fun and affordable restaurant that doesn't try to outdo itself. I like the place, and will return. But the burger, while tasty, didn't fully work for me. It was too sloppy with too much goo and sauce, and not enough of a meaty burger experience.
Meat Market struck me as being a fairly generic restaurant with a fairly generic burger. I personally cannot remember anything specific about the burger that I ate. There wasn't anything really horrible about the place, but on the other hand there definitely wasn't anything super either. That all being said, my burger wasn't bad.
I did take a shine to their chips and tapenade, and the fries (a combination of shoestring sweet potato and shoestring normal potato) were quite tasty. Meat Market wasn't expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. Overall they strike me as wanting to be a middle of the road type of place. And probably (since I always prefer to eat at Great restaurants) the only way I would go back is if I was extremely hungry at the exact time I was in front of their door, and I would then order something else on their menu instead of a burger.
Address: 4415 Blvd. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, Québec, H2W 1Z8 (See clickable map, below.)
Phone: 514.223.2292
Web site: www.meatmarketfood.com
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
(The Montreal Burger Report: Meat Market, Part 1)
Meat Market — Part 2 (10:48) ; (MP3 15MB / FLAC 61MB / Ogg Vorbis 8.96MB / Stream)
Meat Market is a hip but affordable restaurant on Boul. St. Laurent, between Marie-Anne and Mont-Royal. As the name implies, they specialize in meat. The menu contains a number of tasty sounding items, including the ubiquitous bavette, a rib steak, and most notably, "meat sticks" (meat on a stick) that are served with a variety of sauces.
However, this being the burger report, we went for the burgers.
There are five composed burgers on the menu, bearing names like "Le Grand Bleu" and "Swiss Miss." They each come with a cheese (bleu, goat cheese, provalone, etc.) as well as a sauce and a number of unusual items such as wallnuts, green apples, harissa, or a "calabrese chip." Interesting, to say the least, but how do they stand up as burgers?
Listen to the podcast and find out. This is where Chris and Ed's divergent opinions on what constitutes a good burger are revealed. They also discuss the fries (made from a mix of sweet and regular potatoes) and the rather odd beer selection.
Ed's Verdict
Meat Market is a fun and affordable restaurant that doesn't try to outdo itself. I like the place, and will return. But the burger, while tasty, didn't fully work for me. It was too sloppy with too much goo and sauce, and not enough of a meaty burger experience.
Chris's Verdict
Meat Market struck me as being a fairly generic restaurant with a fairly generic burger. I personally cannot remember anything specific about the burger that I ate. There wasn't anything really horrible about the place, but on the other hand there definitely wasn't anything super either. That all being said, my burger wasn't bad.
I did take a shine to their chips and tapenade, and the fries (a combination of shoestring sweet potato and shoestring normal potato) were quite tasty. Meat Market wasn't expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. Overall they strike me as wanting to be a middle of the road type of place. And probably (since I always prefer to eat at Great restaurants) the only way I would go back is if I was extremely hungry at the exact time I was in front of their door, and I would then order something else on their menu instead of a burger.
Address: 4415 Blvd. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, Québec, H2W 1Z8 (See clickable map, below.)
Phone: 514.223.2292
Web site: www.meatmarketfood.com
View The Montreal Burger Report Map in a larger map
(The Montreal Burger Report: Meat Market, Part 1)
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