tourist in my new town... asian inspired burritos

Asian inspired burritos in Montreal? I've never heard of such a thing... Oh wait, that's because they're not from MTL but TO, my soon-to-be new town.

That's right, I'm moving west (just not as far as some might expect) to Toronto and I was there last weekend to drop off stuff at my new place with VDB and indulge in some proper Super Bowl weekend junk food. On the menu over the course of the three days was McDonalds cheeseburgers... Ikea hotdogs... beef jerky (for the drive) and some kick a$$ burritos from a local (to Lesliville) spot, Chino Locos.

I'd ssen Chino Locos on "You've Got to Eat Here" and was pretty sure it looked close to our new pad so we entered it in the GPS after a long day of shopping and BAM. It's only 5 minutes away. This will be trouble.

I ordered the fish burrito and VDB ordered the BBQ pulled pork. I asked the guy at the cash how best to order it and he said, "With chow mein of course," so I did and spicy.

It was awesome. The fish was perfectly moist and the chow mein and black beans married perfectly with guac and sour cream. So odd. And the level of spice was just right, enough to burn my lips but not too much to overwhelm the rest of the flavors. (VDB tried mine and said the heat of the medium was more his style.)

My fish burrito with pineapple soda in background.

Chino Locos has two locations, the one is Lesliville and one downtown. We'll be back often to try more and grab Mexican sodas that they also stock. Just don't be put off by the mish mash of lucky Asian charms (cat statues, etc.) with dia de la muerte figureines. I think it's charming.

tourist in my own town... dinner in chinatown

Last night I was having a drink at my friend's local watering hole (St. Liz) and the topic of good Chinese came up. I had just driven through Chinatown and had wondered why we don't eat there more often since my friend B lives close by. Feeling inspired, and hungry, we decided to walk down and dine at one of his recommendations, Keung Kee Restaurant, on Rue de la Gauchetière.

Walking up and into the restaurant it already checked so many of the boxes that our group (all originally from Vancouver and convinced we know true Chinese) wanted to see:

1. It's in an alley.
2. It's on the second floor and the carpet covered stairs have seen better days.
3. The tables are covered in disposable plastic table clothes.
4. The hot tea kettle hits the table before you can even sit down.

Even though we were filled with anticipation that we were sure couldn't be met on this side of Canada, it was. Our servers were fantastic.... they cracked jokes, mocked us for our love of Vietnamese hot sauce, brought us their own freshly mixed concoctions to try, recommended new dishes, and happily boxed up our soup before our second course even came because we had clearly over-ordered.

The food though was legitimately the best part. We ordered 5 dishes and 3 appies for the four of us (did I mention we had been drinking?) and all were good... But the Spicy and Salted Shrimp, the Kung Pao Chicken (typical white people order! I know!) and the duck were my fave.

I used to think you couldn't get good Chinese in Montreal... and while this may not be quite the same as Vancouver... it's legit.

So thanks B!

tourist in my own town... brunch at l'avenue

3 years ago my parents came to visit me in Montreal. My Dad didn't travel much later in life but he fell in love with my neighborhood, the Plateau. And he fell even harder when I took him to breakfast at L'Avenue. He loved the fresh blended fruit smoothies, the humongous omelettes and other brunch entrees, and the atmosphere (which was really mainly due to the fact we got the table in the window which allowed him to people watch). Every time we met in Vancouver afterwards he asked me if I had recently been to L'Avenue.

Today with my Mom and brothers in town for the holidays I took them to enjoy what my Dad had so often fussed about. My Mom and older brother had the classic eggs benedict which they are famous for. They enjoyed it very much, and almost even managed to finish, though we were perplexed as to why they have changed the recipe from a traditional ham to one slow roasted in beer and maple syrup and then pulled like pork. They agreed it was good, but almost too rich.

My younger brother and I had the Idaho omelette. This is my favorite as it comes not only with the BEST hashbrowns on the side but also with mashed potatoes folded into the omelette. I love poatoes of every variety. It also has bacon, red onions, and sour cream of course

I wholeheartedly recommend L'Avenue to anyone visiting Montreal for breakfast. But take note, i said breakfast and not brunch. If you get there after 10am you will be waiting in line.