Sometimes, the best meals are also the simplest. Last week, I made these easy quesadillas for some friends. They are vegetarian, oh-so-healthy and surprisingly filling. I would strongly suggest getting your tortillas from an authentic Latin shop rather than the supermarket…the ingredients list for even the fancier-looking ones included way too many chemicals. Tortillas should not be processed; they should be fresh, fun and full of flavour, like this recipe!

For the quesadillas:

4 tortillas

2 miniature eggplants

2 zucchinis

1 cup grated monteray jack cheese

a handful of fresh coriander

For the salsa:

8 plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 leek, finely sliced

juice of a lime

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped

a handful of fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Assemble the quesadillas by laying 2 tortillas flat and filling them with the vegetable mixture. Top with cheese and coriander. Finally, lay the other 2 tortillas on top of the first ones, as if making a sandwich. Cook for 10 minutes on the middle rack in the oven, or until quesadillas are lightly golden on top and slightly crisped on the sides. While the quesadillas are cooking, prepare the salsa by combining the tomatoes, leek, jalapeno, lime juice and parsley into a bowl. When the quesadillas are ready, slice each in half and arrange the halves artfully on a plate topped with the salsa. While I served these with fresh corn on the cob, they would also be a lovely accompaniment to sausages if you are feeling more carnivorous. Enjoy!

The Short Story: Sometimes even the most seasoned foodie needs good old-fashioned comfort food. Traditional chicken and tasty desserts are what I’ve come to expect here, but I’ve learned not to wander too far from the comfort zone.

The Long Story: In a way, I don’t feel qualified to throw in my own two cents about Quebec’s iconic St-Hub. The site of countless family dinners, take-out binges and hockey nights, this restaurant has a permanent place in our province’s history and culture. The branch nearest my parents’ house, on Cote-des-Neiges, is the one that I frequented last week when I wanted feel-good food.

It’s nice that down-home cooking comes in an attractive package now. While I would not want to spend a romantic evening in Pizza Hut, for example, St-Hubert restaurants are designed in a modern and visually-appealing way that it conducive to dating. The rich wood tones and leather-bound menus add to the allure of what is, in reality, a chicken joint. To match the decor (or perhaps vice-versa), the food has been scaled up from when I was a child; they now serve fajitas, bangkok salad and pork ribs along with the cuisse, poitrine, and filets that have become synonymous with their chicken mascot. However, as such things go, the prices have inevitably risen as the atmosphere and food gained chicness. Ah well, I suppose they knew that if you want comfort food badly enough you’re very willing to shell out $15 for a chicken leg.

The meal I ordered was straight off of their table d’hote, which seemed to me like an odd concept for a restaurant bordering on fast food. Strange or not, it won me over. I felt that the amount of food and choices offered on the table d’hote made the experience more restaurant-y and less MacDonald’s. For example, with my order of chicken fingers, I was able to choose between salad, tomato juice or soup (cream of chicken, vegetable, chicken and rice, chicken noodle) & creamy or vinegar coleslaw & rice or fries & coffee or tea & dessert. When it all comes for under $20, it begins feeling more like a deal and less like overpriced takeout fare. The sheer number of dishes offered on the table d’hote also allowed most people to be able to take advantage of it, regardless of their preferences, which I thought was a fair touch. (To illustrate this point, often I find that in Italian restaurants meat dishes end up on the table d’hote and are offered with soup and dessert, but the pasta dishes are not. In that scenario, as a pasta lover, I would have to pay extra for my soup while it was included in the carnivore’s meal).

My own preference would be not to have to judge a restaurant that provides me with my comfort food fix too harshly. After all, who knows what my chicken fingers might be dipped in next time I stop by for my fill? Seems like a good enough reason to sign my posts bittersweet. All joking aside, however, I have to give food credit when it deserves it and provide a critique if one is needed. In the case of my boyfriend’s meal, the Hot Chicken Sandwich, St-Hub had to realize that they had criticism coming their way. To be fair, Hot Chicken Sandwiches are not normally a dish presented appealingly or with much flair. I still felt, however, that their version lacked even more sparkle than most. What appeared before him was a gluey brown mess. Two white (Pom?) bread slices were drenched in light brown stickiness with a bit of chicken stuffed inside and peas sprinkled un-artfully on top. The problem began right on top of the sandwich. In my opinion, a restaurant should never serve canned peas to its customers; those are bad enough when a friend’s Mom dumps them onto your plate as a child. They are brownish and tasteless and do not deserve a place on a professional plate. The sauce was also off the mark; instead of being salty but flavourful, like the St-Hubert sauce served with my chicken fingers, or sweet and savory like their BBQ sauce, this tasted of nothing. It honestly had no notable flavour and had the consistency of glue… certainly not what you want your sandwich drowning in! The bread barely deserves commentary since it was almost fully disintegrated by the time it arrived at the table, but this statement at least hints at its horrendous quality. Last, and most insultingly, the pieces of chicken were sparsely laid out in the sandwich and (gasp) even had crunchy bits of cartilage in them. This in a chicken restaurant!

The Last Word: All in all, I was thoroughly un-impressed by the Hot Chicken Sandwich although my chicken fingers kept up St-Hub’s place in my heart as the home of comfort food. Can I give salty goodness a rating? If I had to, my foodie conscience wouldn’t let it be over 2.5/5…

The Short Story: On the website for Mesa 14, it is hailed as “one of Montreal’s best kept secrets”. Although the food is certainly tasty, I do not think a restuarant that serves soggy tortillas lives up to that catch-phrase. Affordable food served in an inviting atmosphere is a more accurate description of this eatery, in my opinion.

The Long Story: A regular haunt for my father as it is only steps away from his Concordia workplace, Mesa 14 has a very friendly vibe. Walking into the restaurant, I was greeted by a lovely sunflower painting, which set the stage for the warm and inviting atmosphere. We seated ourselves near the bar on comfy benches. The dark wood surroundings and reddish pillows made me feel like I was dining in someone’s living room. When the waitress placed chips and salsa next to us, one bite reminded me of Mexico itself. The homemade salsa seemed to have copious amounts of cilantro and the burst of fresh flavour with tortilla chips that were decidedly more authentic than Tostedos brought me back to Latin America. I recalled, suddenly, dipping similar chips into a cilantro dip in a dark basement in the Jalisco province. Then, I looked up and saw a TV on in the corner of the room with French news on- it provided a reality check that I was only a few minutes away from school, not taking in the sites of a warmer country!

My dining partners and I chose very different meals off their lunch menu, as usual, to try to get a real sense of the cuisine Mesa 14 has to offer. I noticed that they have a nice drink selection, although none of us tried any of them. The lunch menu was short, which is something I always appreciate.  Short menus mean the chef can focus on turning out the very best possible quality of a few dishes. The best quality is usually synonymous with freshness and, since a commitment to freshness is toted on their website, I hoped I was in for a real treat.

Mesa 14 did deliver fresh ingrdients on our plates. I ordered a Taco Rico with a soft shell which was served with rice and black beans. The black beans were fantastic- creamy, smooth and spicy all at once. They were probably my favourite part of my plate. The rice was pretty basic for Mexican rice, slightly tomatoey and long-grain. I would have appreciated more vegetables in the grain component of the plate; I felt that the rice was lacking crunch and flavour, and perhaps additions of chili peppers or other veggies could have helped. The taco itself was good, but not the quality I had prepared myself for. The vegetables inside were fresh and the meat was tasty, but without the herby sauce it was served with, it did not have any outstanding flavour. In addition, and this frustrated me the most, the tortilla was soggy. I don’t need a long description to give you a sense of how unappealing a droopy flour tortilla is. One of my dining partners ordered a Santa Cruz Wrap with french fries and the wrap was also soggy. This is a huge mistake for a Mexican eatery. At least there were fresh vegetables insid the wrap! The fries were also a big disappointment. They were set up nicely with chili powder and salt sprinkled on top, but they tasted as if they could have come from a frozen package. They were oversalted as an attempt to compensate for their tastelessness. In my opinion, there is no reason a restaurant has to serve french fries if they aren’t going to make the effort to make them good.  My father’s meal, the vegetarian chili, was the best. It was spicy, filled with beans, tomato and cauliflower, and came with soft un-soggy tortillas. He definitely got the best deal.

The Last Word: Overall, Mesa 14 does not meet its glowing online description. It is not enough to put fresh tomatoes in your tortillas if they get soggy and pasty on the customer’s plate, which is why they get a completely average 2.75/5. The sauces, and chili were a hit, however, and the spicy black beans might just lure me back for a taste of Mexico in the future.

(serves 4)

1 cup flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

salt

Combine and drop by tablespoons into boiling broth. Cover and cook until no longer pasty, about 8 minutes.

(makes enough for many salads!)

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white balsamic vinager

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic

salt

Combine & enjoy!

The Short Story: Kam Shing delivers fabulous Cantonese & Szechuan cuisine at very appealing prices at its home in the basement of the Cote-des-Neiges Plaza. Although the service can be indifferent some days, the spring rolls are stuffed with warm savoury goodness and are, as of this moment, unbeatable in my books.

The Long Story: Let me be honest about this- Cote-des-Neiges Plaza creeps me out. Besides the bagel store at its entrance, I haven’t found anywhere I feel comfortable shopping in since our watch repairman packed up shop. Maybe my snobbery is getting the better of me, but $5 movie night still can’t lure me to a place where the lights don’t always work. I am further repelled by the bar in the basement that, let’s face it, looks like the front of a criminal organization and the pet store with the cats and dogs in concrete cages only kept company by a grungy water bowl. Somehow, however, despite my misgivings, once a month I get my boyfriend to park his car in the underground lot and scurry through the dark maze to get my Chinese food fix…Kam Shing.

The interesting thing about this restaurant to me is that, despite its location, the inside of it still manages to look welcoming, if in a disheveled sort of way. The delicious cooking aromas disarm me as I enter and the usual bustle of people makes it feel both homey and happening. In fact, it is so busy on weekends and weekday lunch hours that sometimes it’s hard to squeeze in. The key to its popularity, I learned, is not the service and certainly not the (lack of) trendiness of the décor, but, as it should be with all restaurants, the food.

Something I appreciate at Kam Shing is the complementary pots of Jasmine tea (leaves!). Nothing makes me more partial to an establishment than having them serve up my hot drink addiction and tell me they won’t charge me for it. One visit, I was taught something about my poison of choice- in some parts of China, it is considered bad luck (and bad taste) to pour your own tea. I learned this entirely by accident as I was reprimanded rather harshly by our waiter for committing the faux-pas. While the authenticity was definitely appreciated, the lecture was not. The service at Kam Shing varies from decent to indifferent to a little…hostile. I am a regular diner there and have rarely had very poor experiences, but it is certainly not unheard of. For example, I was once informed by my waiter that my chosen dish was “very bad”, something he insisted on even after I told him I had sampled it many times. Although his intention was surely to improve my dining experience by deterring me from what he considered to be weaker dishes, it was done in an untactful way. This being said, however, I have also shared laughs with the waiters at Kam Shing and have had exceptionally quick and efficient service, so it really is a hit or miss kind of situation.

The food, however, seems to be all hits to me. I have sampled numerous dishes from them on busy nights and not-so-busy nights and, while I have my favourites, all could be considered excellent cuisine. Some suggestions? I cannot write about this restaurant without mentioning their spring rolls. Freshly fried and definitely not frozen, these rolls stuffed with pork (or mushrooms if you opt for the vegetarian version), and vegetables are a mouthful of goodness. The plum sauce accompanying it has also been praised by my sauce-loving dining companions as being the right amount of sweet. Another favourite of mine is the fried noodles with beef, which has lovely crunchy broccoli in it. I would rather have al dente vegetables to the soggy mess in most restaurants any day! If seafood is your thing, I would suggest the shrimp with ginger and green onions, which is hot and tasty. The portion sizes are hefty so I send out a caution to future diners here: don’t order a plate a person unless you want overflowing doggie bags. Above all, when you eat at Kam Shing remember one thing: location and service pale when you’re eating Chinese food this good.

The Last Word: Kam Shing’s fresh and flavour-filled plates make me salivate just writing about them. Since the food is utterly fantastic, despite the inconsistent service and location, I can’t give them lower than 4/5.

(serves 4)

375 g linguine

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 shallots, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons capers

1 cup homemade (or canned) chicken broth

1 can tomato paste

juice of 1 lemon

2 tomatoes, chopped

3 smoky Polish sausages

1/4 cup pitted green olives

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Put the sausages in a pan, cover with water and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent. Then, add garlic and capers and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Cook for 15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Chop sausages into bite-sized rounds and add to sauce. Allow flavours to mingle by simmering for 10 more minutes while linguine is cooking in salted water. Five minutes before serving, add tomatoes, olives and parsley to the sauce. Serve with parmesan, a parsley garnish and lemon wedges.

The Short Story: Whether you’re craving sandwiches, soup or a delicately flavoured main dish, Bale will serve up fresh and authentic Vietnamese food. Located in the heart of downtown, this hole-in-the-wall offers the tastiest tonkinoise soup outside a home kitchen.

The Long Story: Night classes in the Hall building, the bane of my existence in the winter months, were made tolerable after wandering into Bale searching for something to warm me up.  The first time I entered the restaurant last year, I was not in the most pleasant mood. I wanted a warm pick-me-up and had no expectations for a lovely dinner. The décor was certainly nothing special; if anything I tried to block out the sound of the television set constantly on CNN that rested in the corner of the room. Imagine my surprise then, when steaming glasses of tea were brought to the table and an elaborately constructed soup was placed in front of me. From its complex aroma, I could tell that this would not be a soup with watery broth, rubbery chicken and clumped noodles that so often attempted to pass as a tonkinoise at other establishments I had frequented (Thai Express, I’m talking to you!). Instead, I am happy to report, the broth tastes homemade and is flavoured with mint, coriander, and possibly lemongrass if I am not mistaken. The noodles are cooked to perfection and the chicken tastes like chicken. When crunchy beansprouts are added, the change in texture elevates the dish to a whole other level. For soup lovers like myself, such a find can not be over-exalted!

As I returned to Bale many times after that and usually in a better mood, I sampled more than their soups. The grilled beef or chicken, for example, is also very delicious. I have always been a fan of the thin cut of grilled meats flavoured with a sweet sauce and vermicelli that constitute a Vietnamese meat dish. Bale’s version of this is again infused with life thanks to the addition of fresh mint. It is amazing to me how fresh herbs can take a dish from average to excellent. They are perhaps the most crucial omission in many restaurant meals that I consider merely satisfactory. The springrolls at Ballie, which also contain mint, are refreshing and the spicy peanut sauce they are served with complements them. The sandwiches are another winner in my books, and a bargain at only $4.95. The bread is made fresh which is apparent in its springiness, and is garnished with pickled carrot, daikon, thinly sliced meat or tofu, and fresh herbs. A bite of one of these is sweet, salty and savoury at once. They are a treat for the tastebuds! In sum, I cannot complain about the food at this tiny establishment because each dish I have sampled has impressed me.

One criticism I have to voice, however, is although the service is exceptionally kind, you will have to wait for your food. Because of the limited staff at this family-run restaurant, I would not suggest it if you only have 45 minutes to eat and run. If you do have time to linger, however, this small place deserves a visit for its culinary accomplishments.

The Last Word: Although the TV in the corner can try the nerves of some, Bale deserves customers for the freshness and quality of the food they set in front of you. Even if I have to wait for my tonkinoise, it continues to be my go-to place for cheap Vietnamese eats. All in all, while the food deserves top marks, the environment is not up to its high standard; thus, I’m awarding Bale a 3.5/5.

I have learned that impromptu soups are often the best and this Middle Eastern Lentil Soup is no exception. Enjoy with crusty bread.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can italian or puy lentils

1 can tomatoes, or 6 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped

4 cups of vegetable broth

1 spanish onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, minced

2 carrots, chopped into rounds

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 tablespoon cumin

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Then, add carrots, celery and cumin. Cover and cook for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables are crunchy-tender. Add broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil and add tomatoes and lentils. Cook until tomatoes and lentils are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve!

The Short Story: Just a hop away from my history classrooms in Concordia’a Hall building, this favourite of my family’s happens to serve the meanest samosas in town with flawless service, classical music and classy decor. For Indian fare, I cannot recommend this establishment highly enough!

The Long Story: My first experience with restaurant Indian food was at Maison de Cari when I was only a tiny food critic. Its Bishop Street location at the time was very close to my parents’ house and their buttered chicken earned consistent praise from my father. The roses on the tables and violin music in the background made it seem very romantic to my young eyes. In some ways, their new abode on the second floor of a building is even more so with high ceilings, a big window and ornate crown molding. I find it a perfect date restaurant somehow, although it is also popular with business folk and families. I guess excellent quality food attracts gourmand(e)s of all shapes and sizes!

The service at Curry House is impeccable; you feel as if you are the only diners there. The food is steaming hot, as are the plates that the owner brings out himself before the appetizers. This is perfectly contrasted by the cold and creamy Tetley’s beer that he suggests having with your meal. After being waited on so generously, expectations for the food itself are high. That needn’t be a concern, however, because the food is the best in Montreal, in my opinion (but if a Concordia student’s views don’t cut it for you, consider the fact that Pierre Elliott Trudeau, our Prime Minister of exquisite taste, was a regular customer).

How I miss their samosas, even now when I am not hungry! My appetizer of choice is served with a lovely yogurt-mint sauce to tame its spice. Biting into the warm, potato-y, fragrant, spicy package dipped in the yogurt sauce is enough to make me seriously consider packing my bags and heading to India now, despite my plane phobia. The bursts of different herbs from the samosa in your mouth- cardamon, curry, cumin- come together to create a delectable harmony of flavours. Please do not let your taste buds miss this experience!

While the samosas are clearly a personal favourite, the onion bhaji is also an excellent choice of appetizer, for those who like onions more than me. For the mains, which I would recommend eating with the hot, buttery naan bread, you can hardly go wrong. Although I have sampled much of their menu and I never been disappointed, I always return to my staples that have served me so well over the years. Here is what I order: buttered chicken, sag lamb, vegetable biryani, and a curry of choice (they are all fabulous). The chicken is in a delicate sauce with small chunks of papaya and mango, which allow a subtle sweetness to come through. The lamb is tender and pairs well with the spinach and potato. The biryani, which my mother and I have been trying in vain to replicate for years, is lightly perfumed by cardamon and endowed with the freshest seasonal vegetables our city has to offer. (As a note, Ricardo’s biryani from his first cookbook, Ma Cuisine Week-End, comes the closest) For the curry, might I suggest asking your genteel host what he recommends; he’ll never lead you astray. Finally, for dessert, I enjoy the mangos in syrup…a healthy sugar hit that relaxes your palate after the heat of the mains.

The Last Word: Maison de Cari has it all: great appetizers, fresh main dishes, and truly distinguished service. It should come as no surprise that I award this Indian eatery a 4.5/5.