Favourite restaurants in Canadian cities that you've eaten in

I haven't found any threads about this. What are some favourite restaurants you've eaten in and what Canadian city was it in, cities that you've lived in or visited?

I'll start off with Schwartz's Delicatessen in Montreal, Quebec since I saw mention of it in another thread. I've eaten there and the smoked meat sandwiches they're famous for are to die for. It's a hole in the wall restaurant, not the greatest service, you'll be squished in between patrons rubbing elbows, but it's all worth it for the food. People line up around the corner to get in. Though they have a lean option, it's recommended to order the medium, it's much tastier.

 

You guys are killing me with Schwartz's! That looks scrumptious! Just when my craving was abating. I'm trying to remember a restaurant I ate at in Saskatchewan, it had a medieval atmosphere. We had steaks there and it was the best I've tasted to date. The beef came from Alberta. Beef was supposed to be the best from there.

 

pizza at the wipp on wolfe island in ontario

 

Great thread! It's guaranteed to add a few more inches to my waistline. Being from Montreal, I can't top Schwartz's. But I can always go for some Greek/Lebanese takeout, a great little one that's open all night for those late-night cravings is Boustan on Crescent, the shish kebabs and falafels with garlic potatoes are my addiction.

 

I wasn't blown away by Schwartz's. They've got big sandwiches, but you could probably get a better sandwich for cheaper by just going to a super market and buying a loaf of bread and a couple pounds of meat and some mustard.

Not that this is a bad place, but given that this place is famous, I expected a little more.

 

There's no way supermarket meat is going to come close to Schwartz's. There's no comparison, we're not even talking the same food group! I have heard a few people who didn't think it as good as most people do and it seems they all had the lean meat. I haven't ever tried the lean but maybe that was it? It's always recommended to have the medium. That little bit of fat marbled in the meat makes all the difference. Of course taste is subjective and you just may not like the spices they use.

I hadn't heard of WIPP. Adding it to my list if I ever travel that way. The Lebanese food looks good, Basil. I'm glad it's almost dinner. I'll have to only peek in here when it's time to eat!

 

I just remember getting a sandwich there looking much like the one in the picture, and I was like "meh". It was big, but I just wasn't impressed by it.

I don't know if it was lean meat or not.

 

To me it's not the size of their sandwich, it's the spices and the quality that I like. And of course waiting in line and working up an appetite smelling the savoury aroma. Maybe you didn't wait in line long enough!

 

Just getting away from the Schwartz's theme for a moment, it seems to cause some strong cravings. I'll talk a bit of BBQ chicken. I know some people like St-Hubert but for me Chalet BBQ is tops for juiciness and flavour, not to mention the tasty fries. I think there was a Rotisserie BBQ channel on TV showing the chickens being slowly roasted. :drool5: Talk about great advertisement! Good thing I didn't get the channel, I'd never leave the house.

 

Ok, ok, I'll lay off the Schwartz's. The obvious solution is to take a trip down and satisfy my craving. Maybe once the weather warms up. A rotisserie channel! Is that like the aquarium channel? Is there a Schwartz's channel? Darn, did it again!

There used to be a restaurant here, I'm not sure if it was an independent, called Normand's that had good BBQ chicken. It's not here anymore, so either they moved or closed down. I'll have to investigate that. You're probably right that Swiss Chalet has juicier chicken, but I prefer the St. Hubert sauce. I find the fries are relative. Often the Swiss Chalet fries are cold or overheated so many times, they're not worth eating.

 

Yes, the Rotisserie channel was kind of like the Aquarium channel. Um, except with chickens instead of fish. There's no Schwartz's channel, thank god. I don't think I've heard of Normand's.

I can't believe we haven't mentioned bagels yet! Montreal is the mecca for tasty old-fashioned bagels, they don't make 'em anywhere else like they do here. (well except maybe New York, I guess) Sesame seed, poppy seed, plenty of others, they're best when fresh from the bakery of course. I love the smell of bagels baking in the old wood ovens, Saint-Viateur Bagels is one of the best.

 

Bagels! How could we forget! Are you talking about the Montreal style bagels? I love them. Fairmount Bagel is on a par with St-Viateur and R.E.A.L. Bagel is very good. Most bagels across Canada are different and not near as good. Not to me, anyway, but then I grew up with Montreal bagels. The first time I had one of the other type, I thought "WTH? This is just bread shaped to look like a bagel!" lol

 

Since you mentioned bagels, I'm going to have to mention another Montreal specialty… poutine! I don't eat it often but thought I'd bring it up since it's Poutine Week starting Feb. 1st (yes, there really is such a thing). I've only had the traditional poutine, but there are apparently tons of different kinds now, even dessert poutine with sweet syrup instead of gravy over the fries and curds.

Here's a list of restaurants involved and the different poutine they're featuring. I like how they try to make some of them look healthy… fries, cheese and gravy, topped with greens! lol

http://www.mtlblog.com/2014/01/montreal-poutine-week-2014/

 

Poutine Week, I heard about that, ha! I'm no poutine aficionado but those pics look mouth-watering, the Reggae poutine is beautifully presented. And the dessert one sounds so tempting. One week to try all those poutines, it's quite a challenge!

You're right about Montreal-style bagels, sweet and delicious, you can't find them anywhere else. Those are all fabulous bagel bakeries. With all the different flavours, I can never buy less than a dozen. Well, a baker's dozen. There are some tasty breads too, like rye, pumpernickel and kimmel. Every time I watch Jimmy Kimmel's late show, I have a craving for some kimmel bread.

 

Kimmel bread! I haven't heard that in years. That is what my mother called rye bread. She's the only one I've heard call it that. The one she bought had caraway seeds in it and it was a denser bread than the rye bread you see in stores now. She used to get it from a local grocer. I'll have to ask her about it.

Have you had your poutine yet? We only have a week to hit all those restaurants! We can stuff ourselves all week, then sprint along with the athletes when the Olympics start, to burn off all the accumulated calories. That's going to be a lot of running. I'm going to stick to that poutine with the greens sprinkled on top.

 

Montreal has really solid food, great pizza to

 

For me it was in Labrador city... "Sizzler's Pool and Grill". Best steak ever, expensive menu but well worth it. It only cost me 40 some dollars but tasty, thick and tender steak but I noticed on the menu, a steak meal at 170$.... I never tried that one

 

Earls in west van is nice as is the Cactus club! with the million dollar piss corner LOL

 

King of Donair in Halifax, anyone?

 

I just don't want to hear about Halifax theses days.... I just got back home from there with a bad experience... oops sorry, off topic. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow. Cheers anyway!