Montréal En Lumière takes place February 16 to March 5, 2023, under the theme Discover the best of Montreal in winter! While some 40 Montréal restaurants and venues will be welcoming international and local chefs and producers, I wish to commend the team at the Marriott Château Champlain for giving the media an advance preview of the special menu at the still relatively new and very swank Lloyd Restaurant.
Read MoreAuthor: Mike Cohen
Pizza Salvatoré revels in the success of an extraordinary expansion plan
Pizza has always been one of my favorite dishes, so when I was driving along Sources Blvd. in Dollard des Ormeaux recently and spotted a storefront at Centennial Plaza with the name “Salvatore,” I was naturally curious. Was this a new take-out place?
Upon some quick research, I was surprised to learn that this is a growing chain in Quebec, with 61 Pizza Salvatoré franchises and counting. Thus far there are a handful of locations in and near the Greater Montreal area, including Dollard, St. Leonard, Laval, Repentigny, Terrebonne and Mascouche, as well as the South Shore. They have expanded to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with Ontario (London) next on their radar screen.
Read MoreThe growing Saint Houblon restaurant group noted for its beer, pub fare, and weekend brunch
I have been curious about Saint Houblon for several years now, often passing by their Côte des Neiges area location. When I saw them listed on MTLàTABLE a few months back there was no question this was high on my list.
Read MoreRock’n Deli chain continues to grow and featuring Halal certified smoked meat
In 1992 Vicky Arghiriu and Ihab Kolta were a newly married couple working for competing companies, Bell Mobility and Rogers. That did not sit well with their superiors and they were let go. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Family members encouraged them to start their own business. So, when they learned that a small restaurant called Deli Connaisseur at Alexis Nihon Plaza was for sale they took the leap into an entirely new venture.
Read MoreLa Molisana in Ahuntsic has been serving diners for 40 years
La Molisana is renowned for its fine Italian cuisine. This includes homemade pasta, veal, seafood and authentic pizza baked in their splendid wood oven. 40 years later the restaurant thrives.
Read MoreRestaurant Calzone has been serving West Islanders for a quarter of a century now
Next spring, Restaurant Calzone will celebrate 25 years of successful operations in Kirkland. This is a family-run business, with Tony Spinelli, his son Mike and son-in-law Shayne Fuller at the helm.
Read MoreWellington Bagel Sandwicherie has arrived in Verdun on the “coolest street” in the
world
I dropped by the new Wellington Bagel Sandwicherie recently. Chef Derek Curzi and his team offer the best gourmet sandwiches on the block, such as mouthwatering porchetta, Montreal smoked meat, the famous Wellington beef, crispy chicken cutlet, tender juicy chicken parmigiana, their iconic Chicago all-beef hot dog, freshly baked in-house pastries and always hot out of the oven bagels.
Read MoreCopper Branch continues to gain notice as empowering the health and lives of customers
“Copper Branch is the largest vegan restaurant brand in the world, and we are happy to welcome it into the Foodtastic Family,” said Peter Mammas, President, and CEO of Foodtastic. “We look forward to working with all our new franchisees and emerging through this pandemic with a revitalized leader in the plant-powered restaurant space. This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of acquiring quality Canadian brands with growth potential.”
Read MoreIn the wake of the discontinuation of Liberté cream cheese, Dizz’s Bagel and Deli to the rescue
With news that General Mills will no longer be able to continue making Liberté cream cheese, bagel lovers, in particular, have gone into a bit of panic. Founded by the Kaporovsky family in 1936, Liberté — initially known as Liberty Dairy Products — was created in a building on the corner of St-Urbain and Duluth Streets in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, as reported by CBC. From there, the Kaporovskys sold kosher dairy products such as cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream to the Jewish community living in the area, according to Romanow. The company was…
Read MoreMike Cohen drops by Resto-Broskis on Jean-Talon
I do not know how many times in the past year I drove by the sign on Jean Talon, just past Decarie, pointing potential customers into the parking lot and then the entrance of Resto Broskis. From there I went to the website and followed them on Facebook. Then finally, towards the end of June, I made an executive decision to go for lunch.
Read More