Back in 1966, Christos Kalogrias came to Canada, leaving his native Greek village of Arahova. He was only 26 years of age and had some family here. His first job was in manufacturing, earning 95 cents an hour. In order to build some savings, he relocated to Thompson, Manitoba to work in a nickel and mining company, returning to Montreal in 1971 with enough money to open his own restaurant on St. Viateur Street. In June, Arahova Souvlaki celebrated its 50th anniversary.
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The story goes as follows. Dominic “Dick” Potenza was born in West Virginia and grew up in Utica, New York. He became well known in the Rochester - Buffalo area during the ’40s as a head-waiter in the supper-club-type restaurants of the era. It was at one of these supper clubs that he met his future wife, jazz accordionist Ann Collecchia, who performed using the stage name of Ann Russell. Together, they envisioned a fast food restaurant that would serve an original-style hamburger with their own special sauce. After much thought, this original style hamburger took the form of a toasted bun containing a thin patty that would cook quickly. After they modified and combined two recipes that they brought with them from Rochester, Dick and Ann developed their famous hot sauce.
The appropriately dubbed Notre Boeuf De Grâce (https://www.notreboeufdegrace.ca) was an instant success and expansion happened quickly today there are nine locations (NDG, Downtown, St. Laurent, Pointe-Claire, Laval, Terrebonne, Le Village, Le Plateau and Saint-Jérôme) and one more in Blainville on the way later this summer.
My family has been frequenting the Firegrill Restaurant ( https://firegrill.com) for a few years now, enjoying some of the best steaks in town at their downtown Stanley Street and St. Laurent Sphèretech 14 (next to Cinemas Guzzo) locations.
One of the truly growing pizza chains in Quebec is Pizzéria No. 900 Napolitaine. There are now 25 locales across the province and if you are making a pickup you will not have long to wait as the pizzas are cooked in their special ovens in a remarkable 90 seconds. The oven is at 900 degrees Fahrenheit, hence the name of the chain.
The team at MtlRestoRap is in mourning following the sudden passing of our sales coordinator Mel Leitman, on Monday, March 22, 2021.
Mel joined MtlRestoRap in the fall of 2019. He was a perfect fit given his endless array of contacts in the restaurant industry. He was the beloved soulmate of Connie Dorfman; cherished father of Allison Dorfman (Rob), Heidi Dorfman (Jason), Rob Leitman (Harriet), Jeff Leitman (Mia), Tracy Leitman (Craig); treasured Zaidie of Alexa and Chloe Hamou; Brooklyn and Jax Toledano; Jenny and Madelaine Leitman; Elizabeth Leitman; Hudson, Cooper and Delaney Coulls; devoted Brother of Jack (Lily), Larry (Marie) and Patti Leitman; and brother-in-law of Marilyn and the late Perry Silverman; son of the late Ruth and the late Al Leitman and son-in-law of the late Ben and the late Sylvia Silverstein.
I have been a fan of Pasta Casareccia on Sherbrooke Street West in NDG for many years. The restaurant’s name is Italian for 'homemade pasta. What originally started out as making their own pasta, grew into distribution to many restaurants in the greater metropolitan area and availability of over 50 different kinds of pasta in their gourmet boutique for you to cook at home.
One of the things I have really missed since the pandemic started is a good early morning breakfast at some of my favorite restaurant spots. Well, since I have become quite accustomed to the take-out route I jumped at the offer to drop by Petinos in the Sainte-Dorothée District of Laval for a pickup before reporting to work.
With the family pretty much socially isolated from others since winter began, dinner take-out has become a fun and unifying family occasion. Additionally, our socially conscientious clan has become quite sensitive to the plight of local businesses and restaurants. We have made it a habit, during these quarantine times, to order-in from a variety of restaurants by proclaiming our Saturday nights as ‘Small Business Saturday’.