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.
Cavallaro St-Jean has been in business for 12 years. Matthew Blanchette and his business partner took over in late 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two knew they had a tough road ahead of them, but both were ready for the challenge. Cavallaro is your one-stop shopping for European products such as pasta, tomato sauce, cookies and rare to find products at your local grocery store, priding themselves in finding the perfect gastronomic experience of imported products. They also believe in selling the freshest local products for their clients.
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.
Bistro Amerigo may be a relatively small eatery, but during the pandemic lockdown the well-known West-End restaurant is doing large scale take-out and delivery. I last reported on Amerigo some two-and-a-half years ago and have returned numerous times with friends and family since then. The local “Garde Manger Italien” (or kitchen pantry) has maintained its flair for fine authentic dishes at reasonable prices, not far from home.
Foodies like myself sure do miss certain restaurants that have remained closed since the start of the pandemic. A case in point is Reuben’s Deli & Steakhouse (http://reubensdeli.com) on St. Catherine Street and Anton & James, which had a storefront on Stanley.
My wife Judy and I have been fans of ChuChai on St. Denis since it opened back in 1997. Indeed, I had been a regular at its predecessor eatery, Chao Phraya, which was around for nearly a decade before it transitioned into its present namesake.
In November 2019, the father and son team of Gary and Jonathan Makris became the exclusive owners. Gary has been there since day one while Jonathan began busing tables as a teenager. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Elounda closed its doors. “We were not a take-out and delivery type of place,” reasoned Jonathan.
Jay Ingber owner of Les 3 Maria and his two partners (Bobby Leftakis and Andrew Surowaniec) played softball and became enamored with Les 3 Maria, a Piri Piri Portuguese restaurant in Dollard des Ormeaux. They frequented the restaurant so often after their matches that just like the Gillette spokesperson, they liked the restaurant so much that “they bought the company.” Les 3 Maria began about six years ago. If you are wondering if three actual Marias were working there in the beginning, your assumption would be correct.
PizzaPita has been going strong in the Snowdon area for more than 30 years. With their recent move across Decarie Boulevard to the former Pizza Hut location in front of Decarie Square, at the corner of Decarie and Vezina, they have a prime spot to garner the attention of thousands of commuters, shoppers and locals each and every day. Hence they’ve rebranded PizzaPita to PizzaPita Prime.
Gabrielle café is a quaint compact gem. It is nestled on the outskirts of Old Montreal west and knocks at the doorstep of trendy Griffintown. The surrounding area is not what it was a few years ago. Many abandoned dilapidated buildings resided without city intervention for years. The rejuvenation of the area is a bonus for the café. Adorned by new condos and businesses, it is sure to be a great hub to feed hungry mouths on the move in the area.
It is not every day I get to walk the cobbled streets of Old Montréal. There is a magical sound as your footsteps echo through the time-preserved buildings. I had the pleasure of reviewing a new restaurant named after Quebec’s own enfant terrible, Émile Nelligan and fittingly called NELLi Café + Vin Nature. Émile came into prominence at the age of 16, emulating Paris’ Arthur Rimbaud with his prose. Émile wrote 170 poems, sonnets, rondels, songs and prose poems. The melancholy poet is highly regarded in Quebec culture. That is why you will see his name extolled all over the Québec landscape.
After months of hunkering down and planning out their steps, The Tzemopoulos family finally pushed the play button on the reopening of their trendy downtown Stanley Street Deville Dinerbar (www.devilledinerbar.com). As of this writing their sister property, the iconic Reuben’s Deli & Steakhouse will remain temporarily inactive for a while longer.
At the age of 40, Jonathan Dresner is quite the entrepreneur. After graduating from Concordia University with a business degree, he tried his luck at a number of jobs and eventually made the plunge into restaurants, operating some Quiznos franchises in Montreal and became part of a startup called Kupfert & Kim. He’s also a partner in the Hello 123, a plant-based restaurant and bar.
While its Old Montreal and St. Sauveur locations are now open for dining, Gibbys has implemented an already very popular takeout and curbside pickup format. Gibbys is following all required protective measures for patrons, staff and suppliers. All tables are socially distanced and all of the staff wear the required protective equipment. There are hand sanitizing stations throughout the restaurants and all areas are sanitized on a regular basis. In Old Montreal, a separate entrance has been created for clients coming in so that clients arriving and leaving are not crossing each other in the entrance.
For so many years now I have walked or driven by Sushi Shop locations, but never stepped inside to order. With our family focusing exclusively on take-out and delivery options during the COVID-19 pandemic, we agreed to finally give this place a whirl. Let’s just say they can count on us being regular customers from this day forward. What a pleasant surprise the entire experience was.
