Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Montreal Burger Report Episode 44: Le Cheval Blanc & Restaurant Philippe

Episode 44: Le Cheval Blanc & Restaurant Philippe (2/5) [13:10]
(Download: MP3 20MB / FLAC 144MB / Ogg Vorbis 11MB / Stream)
(or play it here)[Audio http://www.archive.org/download/20100224/MBR_44_vbr.mp3]

This week Chris 'Zeke' Hand and Ed Hawco (also known as Blork) are still at Le Cheval Blanc, the oldest microbrasserie in Quebec. Julie Rondeau, one of the best chefs in Montreal has joined them and they have serious plans to go to the Legendary Montreal Institution Restaurant Philippe which is just down the street.

[caption id="attachment_1063" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The menu board at Le Cheval Blanc"]The menu board at Le Cheval Blanc[/caption]

They discuss Julie's changes to the menu at Le Cheval Blanc and how beer is ordered in Quebec.

[caption id="attachment_1064" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Make mine a rousse."][/caption]

Le Cheval Blanc
Address: 809 Ontario E.
Phone: (514) 522-0211

Restaurant Philippe
Address: 1877 Amherst
Phone: (514) 528-5957

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&source=embed&msa=0&msid=101337671826617990441.0004725bfe498f2b4a89e&ll=45.519474,-73.563552&spn=0.005262,0.00912&z=16&output=embed]

[Previous Episodes:
Episode 43: Le Cheval Blanc & Restaurant Philippe (1/5)]

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Montreal Burger Report Episode 43: Le Cheval Blanc & Restaurant Philippe

Episode 43: Le Cheval Blanc & Restaurant Philippe (1/5) [13:45]
(Download: MP3 20MB / FLAC 149MB / Ogg Vorbis 11MB / Stream)
(or play it here)[Audio http://www.archive.org/download/20100217_526/MBR_43_vbr.mp3]

This week Chris 'Zeke' Hand and Ed Hawco (also known as Blork) start off at Le Cheval Blanc before walking down the street to the legendary Montreal institution Restaurant Philippe. And by a happy coincidence they are joined by one of Montreal's best chefs, Julie Rondeau.

[caption id="attachment_1011" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Le Cheval Blanc; north side of rue Ontario. Easy to spot."]Cheval Blanc on Streetview[/caption]

Zeke ended up arriving early and as you would expect immediately started talking to himself. Julie spots Zeke from across the bar and joins him. Blork shows up slightly later.

[caption id="attachment_1012" align="aligncenter" width="498" caption="The view upon entering Le Cheval Blanc."]Inside the Cheval Blanc[/caption]

Le Cheval Blanc
Address: 809 Ontario E.
Phone: (514) 522-0211

Restaurant Philippe
Address: 1877 Amherst
Phone: (514) 528-5957

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&source=embed&msa=0&msid=101337671826617990441.0004725bfe498f2b4a89e&ll=45.519474,-73.563552&spn=0.005262,0.00912&z=16&output=embed]

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Montreal Burger Report Episode 42: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 5 of 5)

Episode 42: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 5 of 5) (14:07);
(Download: MP3 19MB / FLAC 155MB / Ogg Vorbis 12MB / Stream)
(or play it here)
[AUDIO http://www.archive.org/download/20100210/MBR42_vbr.mp3]Chris 'Zeke' Hand, Ed (Blork) Hawco, and guest Montreal burger reporter Frank Hashimoto debate the good and the bad of the Firegrill burger experience. The result is an existential quandary in which the burger is simultaneously a good burger and not a good burger.

[caption id="attachment_973" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Firegrill burger with fried slivered onions."]Firegrill burger with fried slivered onions.[/caption]

Ed's Verdict


Firegrill makes a pretty good burger, but the big-box format of the restaurant and the corporate feel of it diminishes any sense of craft. There's no way to know where the beef came from, and in my case the taste of the beef was overshadowed by the taste of the barbecue sauce (my own fault for ordering that one). That said, I give Firegrill points for keeping it juicy and not overcooking, and for keeping the toppings on point and suitable for a big juicy burger. On balance, I think it was pretty tasty, but not particularly distinctive.

Zeke's Verdict


I was impressed with how good the hamburger at Firegrill was. Part of it is due to how low my expectations were going in - however any place that will cook a hamburger rare for me, instantaneously becomes a good burger joint, if not a great burger joint in my mind. That being said, the generic nature of the restaurant does take something away from the whole experience - but not as much as I would have thought. Add to that the Deep fried onion, and anytime I think of Firegrill it makes me smile.

Frank's Verdict


I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the burger. Firegrill is much like other many of the other nicer generic restaurant chains where you could expect a decent burger. Given that their raison-d’etre is food cooked on a grill, you could either expect that they know how to cook all variations of meat or that they are geared toward grilling steaks and would overcook your burger. I’ve usually found it to be the latter so I was quite content to have gotten a nice juicy burger well-seasoned to bring out the flavour of the meat. Plus the burger itself was well constructed with fresh ingredients. As far as comparisons to other restaurants, the burger was not good enough or special enough to make it a burger destination, but if I found myself there and didn’t have a craving for another menu item I would be happy to order the burger.

Decca 77
Address: 1077 Drummond
Phone: (514) 934-1077

Firegrill
Address: 1490 Stanley
Phone: (514) 842-0020

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&source=embed&msa=0&msid=101337671826617990441.0004725bfe498f2b4a89e&ll=45.498948,-73.573122&spn=0.010528,0.018239&z=15&output=embed]

[Previous Episodes of The Montreal Burger Report:
Episode 38: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 1 of 5),
Episode 39: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 2 of 5),
Episode 40: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 3 of 5),
Episode 41: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 4 of 5)]

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Montreal Burger Report Episode 41: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 4 of 5)

Episode 41: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 4 of 5) (14:15);
(Download: MP3 20MB / FLAC 158MB / Ogg Vorbis 12MB / Stream)
(or play it here)
[AUDIO http://www.archive.org/download/20100203/MBR41_vbr.mp3]Chris 'Zeke' Hand and guest hamburger fan Frank Hashimoto have started to eat their burgers at Firegrill and get down to the business of describing them. Ed (Blork) Hawco is still waiting for his because of an ordering mixup.

[caption id="attachment_969" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Zeke's Cheeseburger, ½ lb all beef burger, Monterey Jack cheese, toasted bun, lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onions."]Zeke's Cheeseburger, ½ lb all beef burger, Monterey Jack cheese, toasted bun, lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onions.[/caption]

Zeke initially does not think it will be a good burger, but will his opinion change when he sees how it is cooked?

[caption id="attachment_970" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Zeke's Cheeseburger cooked rare."]Zeke's hamburger cooked rare.[/caption]

Finally Ed's burger shows up. Quantities of sauce and cheese are debated.

[caption id="attachment_971" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Blork's Firegrill Burger."]Blork's Firegrill Burger. ½ lb all beef burger, Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, toasted bun, lettuce, pickle, red onions.[/caption]

Decca 77
Address: 1077 Drummond
Phone: (514) 934-1077

Firegrill
Address: 1490 Stanley
Phone: (514) 842-0020

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&source=embed&msa=0&msid=101337671826617990441.0004725bfe498f2b4a89e&ll=45.498948,-73.573122&spn=0.010528,0.018239&z=15&output=embed]

[Previous Episodes of The Montreal Burger Report:
Episode 38: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 1 of 5),
Episode 39: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 2 of 5),
Episode 40: Decca 77 & Firegrill (part 3 of 5)]