I recently hit up Le Poke Bar on Crescent to try out the hottest food trend in United States that has finally arrived on the shores of Montreal; Poke (pronounced Puh-KAY… or Poké ici à Québec.) Poke is a fantastic dish of lightly marinated fish or seafood that’s native to Hawaii. I can paint you a picture of grabbing a container full of fresh poke from the closest beachside food store, copping a squat on a sandy beach along the turquoise shores of the Big Island, enjoying fresh line-caught big eye tuna while having the sweet dewy mist caress your face from the crashing waves. Unfortunately, our Montreal Poke scene isn’t as romantic. But if you concentrate hard enough and squint just right, the sounds of the street sweeper knocking down orange traffic cones and hold your breath as speeding cars splash puddles of random street juice onto your pants… it’s like you’re almost there.
Before I start my review; here’s the link to make your reservations NOW. I dine out very often and I’m blessed to live in a city where we have such a vast variety of restaurants at our disposal. It goes without saying that not every dining experience is going to be a great one, and unfortunately I’ve hit a rough patch in the past little while where a lot of my meals were less than stellar. However, I recently hit up a spot in the Mile-End for brunch that reinvigorated my passion for finding great restaurants – Danny St Pierre’s Petite Maison.
I’m making my way across the city eating at every barbecue joint in town. Why? Why not? I can never get enough of that tender meat nursed for hours laced with the most delicious smokey blue carcinogens. Barbecue is an art and an underrated one at that. Not to be confused with grilling – cooking over an open flame – basically what you make your dad do on father’s day because you’re un ungrateful child. True barbecue is also known as smoking or pit-smoking. This process infuses and tenderizes the meat you’re cooking with smoke that comes from word-fire heat. It’s a passion of mine and I get excited knowing that there are places around the city specializing in it. I hit up the recently reopened Le Fumoir Rubs Smokehouse on Prince Arthur street.