Little Italy Archives - Page 3 of 3

Last weekend I met a friend for lunch at Phouc Ky for noodles and we swung by Jean Talon Market for a walk and some produce. As we walked around I saw a lot of people in a concentrated area of the market with plates of deliciously golden fried seafood. I felt my noodles compress in hast in my stomach, making room for some friends, but I resisted and knew that if I forced it, I won’t enjoy it… kind of like when I try to squeeze that one more episode of Mad Men in before bedtime and fall asleep 5 minutes into it and have to watch it again the next day. If you can’t enjoy something, then there’s no point in doing it at all.

So I made a promise to myself to come back and further investigate these plates of FRIED.

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I went back this afternoon and practically sprinted to this stall. La Poissonerie Gourmet Aqua Mare was the name, which was pretty much an afterthought to me in my time of batter-fried desperation (I went back to find the name); I knew the location, therefore name came as secondary information.

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Like their name says, they’re a fish market, with fridge after fridge of fresh and frozen fish and seafood, but this isn’t what I was after… No. The deep fried seafood was what lured me. Like a mating call, the sizzle of batter touching scorching hot oil beckoned for me.

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You wander to the back of the store to take a look at the menu, place your order at the cash, bring the person manning the fryolator, then talk a walk around the store until they call your number. Yes, I’m sure there’s a more efficient way of handling their orders, but this has been working for them for this along already, so whatever. We stood outside to wait for our food.

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I ordered the fish and chips (…fries). Thick, crispy, battered, seasoned and fried to perfection, the fish was accompanied with home made tartar sauce. I appreciate my fried goods a bit hard and crispy, I don’t know how people are able to tolerate soggy batter, there’s nothing worse than biting into an onion ring and being able to pull the onion out leaving you holding a ring of batter… which honestly is still really good, but it’s the principle I’m talking about.

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My friend had the calamari and shrimp plate – served with spicy mayo. She was surprised that I ate the tails of the shrimp. I told her that when the shrimp are this small and tails just crisp up and it’s no big deal to eat them completely… She didn’t believe me, so I continued to eat the tails… and the feets of the calamari (it grossed her out… pfft, lightweight). There are also other fried fish on the menu as there were whole fried smelt (which I’ve made a date with to devour.)

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We finished our plates, but weren’t finished eating. We had made a point of it to walk around and find something else to eat. We found ourselves at one of my favorite bakery/trattoria Pizza Motta, right outside of the market.

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We walked around the place and literally changed out minds about what to eat at least five times, from pasta, fresh salads, sangwiches and pizzas, you cannot make a bad decision here.

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Everything was so tempting. We settled on a choice of three salads

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A mix of grilled vegetables, pasta with spinach, and a tomato salad with bocconcini cheese and hearts of palm. A great accompaniment to the fried seafood that we just ate.

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We also tried one of these golden fried risotto balls.

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A little surprise for us when we cut into it, CHEESE! Anything fried that involves cheese is practically an automatic hit in my book. Crispy on the outside and warm on the inside. There were a few varieties.

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The pizza and focaccia case is not to be missed as well. Also, DO.NOT.MISS.THE PASTRIES!!! The canolis are sinful.

A mighty successful eating/shopping excursion for this Friday afternoon. Tops for those who are visiting the Jean Talon market for the first time… GO.HUNGRY. With taste test plates full of fresh produce along the aisles of the market and and amazing prices that reflect the local producers and suppliers, every direction that you turn, you’ll find something that you know you’ll HAVE TO eat. It’s not as busy during the weekdays, but just be prepared to deal with the hoards of people on the weekend.

Poissonerie Aqua Mare
7070 avenue Henri-Julien
514.277.7575

Pizza Motta
303 avenue Mozart Est
514.270.5952

Autumn in Montreal… it’s 17 degrees and you’re walking around with a jacket and the hot weather lady calls it “chilly”, five months ago, kids would be waiting by the door for these temperatures, itching to get out in tshirts and shorts. I was driving around the other night and couldn’t escape the smell of burning, and realized people are already using their fireplaces. I should have gotten the clue that cold is coming considering Halloween candy has already hit the shelves.

I met a buddy for lunch today who’s in town from B.C. for a week. It was stipulated that when he came back, we’d be going for lunch and trying some place we both haven’t been to before. I’ve read some reviews and decided that I had to check out “Le Pick Up” for myself.

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This place screams down low. Located right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, it’s totally non-descript; and you would probably miss it if it wasn’t for a recycled children’s chalk-board easel sitting in front with the day’s specialty items… and the picnic tables and chairs kind of give it away too. So maybe not THAT inconspicuous really, maybe it’s just that they just don’t have a sign.

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We took a look at the menu which was straight up and simple. We took a seat outside, and being in a residential neighborhood, there’s a certain charm to actually sit in a “backyard” and this one next to the neighbor’s black market satellite dish and balcony they use as storage… yes, they’re located next to THAT neighbor.
Pictured: house blend iced tisane.

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To maximize our gastronomic experience, we split everything. This is the side salad, which I was told was pretty much a Waldorf salad. Really crisp greens, sliced green apples, wild grapes, walnuts and a well cured blue cheese, it was definitely a great surprise.

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The red cabbage coleslaw with parsley and mint.

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We first split the chipotle club sandwich. I was really impressed that the chicken they used wasn’t the same old boiled white meat you’d find in a club sandwich anywhere else. Skillfully grilled, it remained juicy and was served with a spicy mayo. I’ve professed how much I love a good sandwich, and normally I really like thick and chewy and crusty bread. However, they pressed toasted the bread on the griddle, so the idea that my sandwich looked like it was served up on crackers was overlooked due to the fact that the bread soaked up the smell and essence of the flat top.

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This is Le Pick Up’s claim to fame. Slow roasted pulled pork sandwich in barbecue sauce, served with grilled peppers, coleslaw on a Portuguese style bun. REALLY tasty. Straight up. There was a certain zing to the barbecue sauce and it was complimented perfectly with the crunchy slaw directly in the sandwich. All it was missing was fries and they could have called it a “Po’Garçon”.

We thought we were done until something – compelled us to sit at the counter – drew us inside. We decided to split a sandwich. We asked the chef to recommend something and he decided that we were going to have the day’s special, which coincidently he was having as well.

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A capicola sangwich, on country bread, served with arugula, roasted peppers, tomatoes, cheese, mayo and marinated eggplant. If this is the type of sandwich they’re putting out as a “daily special”, then there’s no saying what other wonders of the sandwich world they’re coming up with.

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Not to discredit the name, but they’re really a fully functional depanneur, however I don’t see anyone coming in here for something other than gum, drinks and one kind of booze. Stock resembled inadament props as supporting characters to the main players which are the hearty sandwiches being churned out of the diner counter.

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So for a Tuesday afternoon, Depanneur Le Pick Up was a really great place to go. Great staff, totally friendly, we ended chatting up the chef and he was sharing his culinary experience with us. Service with a great smile, I left the place with a little crush on our waitress…. dawwwwwww shucks. The atmosphere was something to experience; rough around the edges, but this is exactly its charm. With Johnny cash playing in the background, the faux wood finish of the walls accented with Christmas lights complimented the out of place beach print mural. I find it admirable to go through the effort of braising and slow roasting their own pork, and with the ingenuity of unique sandwiches, this will yield Le Pick Up with an edge for many years to come.

Dépanneur Le Pick-Up
7032 Waverly
514.271.8011
http://depanneurlepickup.com/
Notable: All espresso drinks are fair trade and organic.

Little Italy

Walking and eating – Jean Talon Market

Can’t put down at Depanneur Le Pick Up