Lucille’s Oyster Dive opened its first location on Monkland Avenue in NDG back in 2009. For reasons I cannot properly explain, it took me 14 years to enjoy my first experience and wow was this ever a treat!
There are now five restaurant locations – NDG, Fairview Pointe-Claire, Dix30 in Brossard, Laval and Mont Tremblant. In addition, there is a summer pop-up at Atwater Market, three food trucks and a catering division. We decided to enjoy our first Lucille’s experience at Fairview.
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Each September I look forward to Le Burger Week (www.leburgerweek.com) for the opportunity to discover something new. Le Burger Week continues across Canada through September 14, with over 600 participating restaurants. That includes 31 in Montreal. Bravo to Thierry Rassam and Na’eem Adam, who came up with this brilliant concept 12 years ago, as well as La Poutine and La Pizza Weeks. The two Montreal businessmen have unveiled an interactive gamified experience that allows participants to rack up points (called YUMS) and redeem them for burgers throughout the event. For participants…
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As readers of my restaurant stories know very well, the Rôtisserie St-Hubert chain has always been high on my list of dining experiences. My “go-to” spot has long been on Côte des Neiges Road. But four years ago the land where the restaurant sat was repurposed for a residential high-rise building. St-Hubert had to conclude its lease, with a promise to return again at the same location.
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Who does not love a treat at Lafleur Restaurants? But how did this popular fast food chain begin? Who are the owners? What are the future plans?
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Lavender Grill and Lounge opened in the Byward Market in the summer of 2022, the vision of owner Reza Khakbaz.
Lavender, of course, is a light shade of purple or violet. It applies particularly to the color of the flower of the same name. Khakbaz and his team have certainly taken advantage of the connection, from the décor to the coloring of some of the drinks like my blackberry smash tea mocktail, a combination of blackberry and Earl Grey tea.
John Borsten is indeed the picture of success when it comes to Ottawa restaurateurs. Borsten is the visionary behind five Zak’s Diner locations, Zak’s Cantina, Grand Pizzeria, the Metropolitain Brasserie as well as the historic York on William (YOW) building, which encompasses Starling Restaurant & Bar and Apothecary Cocktail Lounge The latter are part of a multiple-dining concept featuring a rooftop terrace and street-level patio.
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When I first started visiting Ottawa on a semi-regular basis a few years ago, filing restaurant stories, a former colleague from The Suburban Newspaper Christopher Michaud reached out. The West Island Pierrefonds native was now in the nation’s capital and operating a supper club called Marzitelli and named after his Italian mother. On my most recent trip to Ottawa, I went to visit with Chris and take advantage of the ever-so-popular Marzitelli Sunday brunch. We sat on the beautiful rooftop terrace, overlooking hopping Elgin Street. Chris’s charming wife Fei helps…
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Last summer I made my first visit to the Métropolitain Brasserie in Ottawa, conveniently located next to the Byward Market at 700 Sussex. That is just steps away from Parliament Hill. Home to Ottawa’s largest oyster bar, the restaurant is open seven days a week, serving lunch, dinner and brunch on weekends.
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My friend Jack has been telling me about Al’s Diner in Ottawa for some time now, a popular spot on Clyde Street that serves breakfast and a whole lot of other menu items all day long. Now that is my kind of place, so it was indeed time to explore.
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I recently passed by, first to see the trendy new Café Alphabet Montréal. Eyeing Bernie Beigne across the street, a spot that I was told had the best donuts in the city, I ventured over afterward.
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