Category Archives: $$ ($15-$50)

More than $15 per person, less than $50. Your definite mixed bag

Fried Oysters at the Oyster Shell – Oh My!


Confession – up until last night, the best fried oysters I’d ever had were in New Orleans – and I’ve spent years trying to find fried oysters like those – plump, juicy, slightly salty, and totally no fishy flavor.

My husband, knowing my desire to try some fried oysters here in Florida, carefully picked out the Oyster Shell because other reviewers really liked it – not because it won awards, not because it was well located, not because it was large, not because of the classy view – but because it had some of the most consistent good reviews of all the seafood restaurants in Fort Myers. And he picked a winner.

Don’t be surprised by the location. The Oyster Shell is a truly for locals only – there are probably no more than 6 tables – and only one chef and one waitress. But between them – they got the job done.

And the oysters at The Oyster Shell truly impressed me. Really some of the best I’ve ever ever had. So good I ate way too many of them – so reader alert – portions are huge – go small and consider sharing. Which explains why I not only had my oysters – I got a whole soft shell crab to myself. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Quick note about freshness – they were out of Grouper the night we ate there – why – because the chef wasn’t pleased with the quality the fisherman had brought him that day. So rather than serve fish below his standard – the waitress had to carefully explain to all the dinners that there was no Grouper. Impressive.

Also impressive – the pecan pie. It was delicious – a fabulous combination of light crust, sweet filling, and tons of pecans. Oh – I do so love a good pecan pie and this one didn’t disappoint.

Definitely a winner among so many losers here in Florida. Check it out.

Oyster Shell on Urbanspoon

Oyster Shell the on Foodio54

It’s about the view at the Captain’s Table – Charlotte Harbor Florida


Oh dear, I just can’t believe this – I’m beginning to think that every restaurant in Florida has won an award of some kind. They must give those things out like candy at Halloween. So the Captain’s Table had a wall – a total wall – full of awards. Most romantic dinner, best view, best this – best that. My problem – the only food item that seemed to be a ‘best’ was the breaded fish sandwich. That’s a tad scary, right? I mean – it’s a huge menu and you are giving prizes to the view?

But I have to give them kudos for it. It was truly outstanding. The restaurant is strangely located at the far end of a mall full of cute shops (called Fisherman’s Village) – with timeshare condo’s on the 2nd floor. You park in front, then walk the length of the ‘mall’ to get to the restaurant. Also a bit strange – the restaurant is on 2 levels – the upper level with the outdoor dining overlooking Charlotte Harbor is called the Captain’s Table on Charlotte Harbor. The restaurant on the lower level is Harpoon Harry’s – more of a bar than a restaurant.

We had lunch reservations – which was a very good thing because the majority of the restaurant was filled by large group of bankers having a buffet lunch and a talk. The good news – this didn’t seem to impact the service on the outdoor balcony where we were sitting.

My Grouper Sandwich was just ok. The fish portion was a good size, always a nice start. But I found it cut so thick that I just couldn’t get the fish and the roll into my mouth. So I ended up eating a plain grilled fish, no roll. To add insult to injury – the tomato was also sliced super thick, ending up tasteless. Really didn’t add anything to the sandwich – a shame because one would think that at least in Florida one could get yummy vegetables. One final complaint – The mandatory french fries were standard frozen chips – I passed on those. Just not worth the calories.

Bottom line – lots of awards, great view, but maybe someone ought to take a close look at what they are doing to the food. Definitely not up to the location.
 

Captain's Table Restaurant on Urbanspoon

The Captain's Table on Foodio54

El Gaucho Inca – Awesomely good – and they know it! (Fort Myers, Florida)


We ‘googled’ Best Seafood in Fort Myers – and the top restaurant according to Urbanspoon, Yelp – and Tripadvisor was a place called ‘El Gaucho Inca’. Interesting – the best restaurant isn’t a chain, it isn’t fancy, it isn’t expensive, it isn’t even well located. Sounds like my kind of place.

So we called to make reservations – and got told – we don’t take reservations after asking our name and phone number. Is that odd or what? But at least that meant we didn’t have to rush off the beach to get there. And given the distance from the beach (an over 35 minute drive) – that totally worked.

Location – it’s in a strip mall (no surprise there) – in what can be kindly called a residential area. Personally – I think it’s in the sticks – but you can call it what you want – this is not downtown. The current space is tiny – seating for just over 100 people – max. But the super friendly Peruvian waitress told us that they are moving in just 2 weeks to a larger location in the same strip mall – doubling their seating capacity to over 200.

Just a thought on this plan – can the chef keep up with twice as many diners? I’m thinking not without help from at least a couple of sous-chefs. Which will make for a different dining experience. Just a mutter there.

Our dinner was very very good. As other reviewers have said – the dipping sauce for the bread – a startling green – was positively yummy. We cleaned the bowl – and would have licked it if we’d been at home.

For appetizers we ordered the Conchitas a la Parmesan – it was amazingly good. Perfectly cooked Scallops served on the half shell with a three cheese melt on top. I ate every bite. I never eat every bit – just saying. My husband’s appetizer, while way too large – was equally delicious. It was the Ceviche del Inca – a trio of Ceviche – fish, shrimp and squid. He was offered a choice of spice level – and opted for medium. Plenty spicy for me I’ll tell you. I loved the fish ceviche – liked the shrimp version, and thought the squid was a tad on the chewy side. But the amount of flavor packed into each bowl was memorable. I really loved the two types of corn used as ‘decoration’. Surrounding the bowls were crispy corn nuts, and stuck on toothpicks were Latino corn nibblets that had been steamed. Definitely a winner – but reminder to self – next time just stick to the Fish Ceviche – less money and the better bet,

For main courses – I thought mine was far better than my husbands – and his was very good. When I was in Argentina several years ago – a butcher explained how they cut their meat – starting with a side of beef. I mention this because they use a completely different system, and the cutting changes the way the meat tastes. I ordered the ‘beef ribs’ after the waitress explained that the chef gets his meat flown in from Argentina. That meant that the cut would be the traditional one – and it was. And it was delicious. So unique.

My husband had the Pescado a lo Macho. At $16.99 – his one complaint was that the portion was too large. The poached fish was in a sauce very similar to that of butter chicken with lots of tomato and cream. There were mounds of shrimp and squid on top of the fish along with 3 delicious black mussels. For a starch, they added plain white rice. He ordered a side of pan-fried sweet plantains that were the best I’ve tasted in a long time.

For dessert we got the Peruvian Fruit cake – which other reviewers have loved, but I thought was overly sweet. I also ordered one of their Peruvian style cookies – which i adored. It was very similar to the Christmas Crescent Cookies our German friend used to make, a soft dough with a filling of dulce de leche and covered with powdered white sugar. A completely delicious way to end a very yummy meal.

El Gaucho Inca on Urbanspoon

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Stuck at the Dallas Airport – Want to know what to eat? Just ask the Montreal Madame!


I don’t know what it is about the Dallas Airport – I mean I live in Montreal – why should I so often find myself here?

But here I am – and food I crave.

I have my favorite spot – In Terminal D – home to all the international flights – including the ones to Canada – I happen to be pretty fond of Cool River Cafe. It’s in a corner of one of those islands of food and shops that makes terminal D so neat looking – right near gate D27. The food is simple, but a step above the normal fast food fare, and it has table cloths and service. Winner.

But now I have a new competitor – Cantina Laredo. This restaurant is part of a small chain of restaurants – located in crazy places like Las Vegas, London, and the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Franchises are available if you are interested.

Cantina Laredo is located right around the corner from Cool River, opposite Gate D24 – It’s self-described as modern mexican. I don’t see that – I mean it looks like pretty standard Mexican to me – but it is yummy. And filling. And a nice change from the french cuisine of Montreal.

My husband ordered their Queso Laredo, a cheese dipping dish made with taco meat that while a bit liquid for my taste – more of a soup than a dip – it was deliciously yummy. And the chips were delightful – light and fresh and crisp. I do wish that the salsa had come in more than one flavor though – I’m used to some of the mexican restaurants in Park City with their 5, 6 or up to 10 different kinds of salsa to enjoy. Just one option seems skimpy.

I had my standard fare – a plain quesadilla. But it was a nice one, clearly made to order, toasted on both sides, a bit crunchy, and delicious. Service was a tad lacking – I asked for no sour creme, but that instruction clearly didn’t make it to the kitchen. And the salsa served with the quesadilla was just chopped tomatoes. But even so – if you have to eat in an airport – this is not a bad option. Not a great choice – but not a bad one either. Cool River Cafe can rest easy – it is still my go to place.

Of course – if you can get out of the airport – go directly to the Hard 8 – Texas BBQ at its messy best.

Hard 8 is the Best BBQ ever – Bad news – it’s in Dallas Texas!


You arrive in a strange city – and you are hungry. How do you find a great place to eat? Frommers? Fodor? Insight? My problem with guides is simple – they are by default dated. The reviewer went there – liked it – left, reviewed it, than a year – or more – later, it got published.

Zaggat, Yelp and Urbanspoon – which are on-line restaurant review sites are much better – but somehow – I always forget to check before I leave – and then arrive without internet access.

My go-to solution – ask a local. And my 2 favorite places to find those locals are either at gas stations (hey – gas station attendant have to eat too), or at the car rental counter. Actually – I prefer to ask the guy giving me the car. More often than not – I get good advice. And this time – the advice was amazing.

We’d just arrived in Dallas, TX – and it was lunch time. BBQ sprang to mind. Our question was – best BBQ that is not a chain. We’d rented thru Enterprise (Hi back at you guys) and the efficient Enterprise agent thought for a second – then asked if we wanted fancy. When the answer was no – we just wanted awesome BBQ – he said – Hard 8. He even ‘text’d’ the address to my husband’s cell phone. Now that’s service.

We followed the GPS to what must easily be the best BBQ I’ve ever enjoyed. We knew we were in the right place when we saw that the line stretched out the door!

Hard 8 is in a huge building – about 40% of which is devoted to the BBQ pits, and the smokers. You stand in line until you get your turn in front of the open-pit and are faced with a simply mouth-watering display of BBQ offerings. Signs everywhere warn against ordering too much – but the free taste of bacon wrapped BBQ chicken with a jalapeno Pepper put us in the mood for food.

Everything is cut and sliced to order – so you want Brisket? The pit boss will gesture at the brisket – and chop until you stay stop. Ribs? How many do you think you can eat. The only things not sold by the pound beside the roasted and steamed whole corn on the cab – were the BBQ chicken (1/2 or whole) and the pork chop. Both looked completely yummy – but I wanted ribs.

Of the 3 of us – my grand-daughter took the prize for restraint, just ordering some slices of home spiced and home smoked Kielbasa. I got ribs, my husband got carried away and ordered a bit of almost everything, from brisket to a sirloin kebab. They weighed our choices – then pointed us into the restaurant itself to get drinks, dessert, and add-on’s like mac and cheese or sweet corn with jalapeno’s.

From there – it’s on into the dining room. Well – dining room is a bit generous. More of a cross between a bar and a barn – with a huge heated ‘patio’. Tables are ‘the share with your neighbor’ variety – and on each section are rolls and rolls of paper towels – which speak to the messy nature of eating proper Texas BBQ.

There’s a boiling pot of ‘all you can eat’ beans, more BBQ sauce in case you feel the need – and stacks and stacks of to-go boxes. Yup – we probably aren’t the first – or last – that order too much!

I totally adored my ribs – and ate 2 of them – plus all my grand-daughters Kielbasa. She ate the rest of my ribs – and then gobbled up her share of the brisket that my husband got.The Mac and Cheese wasn’t great – but what were we thinking to even order it. I can’t say I liked the Kebab at all – but again – what were we thinking to order it in the first place.

The creamed sweet corn with Jalapeno was not particularly spicy – but it was sweet. Not nearly at the same – you MUST eat this – level as the ribs, bacon wrapped chicken or the Brisket, but very interesting.

How good was the ‘Hard 8’ – well – my husband is planning on going back today. Yes – that good.

So – if you find yourself in Dallas – and craving a no frills BBQ pit dinner – Hard 8 has definitely got you covered.

Hard Eight BBQ on Urbanspoon

Hard 8 BBQ on Foodio54

Asha – Cozy Indian near La Cite – Student friendly, Decent Food


The problem was trying to find an open restaurant on Monday night in the Student ghetto area around McGill. We were going to the ‘Discovery Series’ at the MAI on Jeanne-Mance, and time was tight. Asha

We walked towards St. Laurent – nothing. We tried the Cite de Parc shopping center – fast food only. Then we started walking up and down Parc. We were getting desperate, and going hungry wasn’t a good option. Theatre on an empty stomach is the pits!

I spotted the electric ‘Open’ sign from across the street – and we jay-walked (sorry folks) across to see if it looked good. Interestingly, the propped open front door looked inviting – and we were really down to ‘now or never’. So we walked in.

The Restaurant Asha looks to have been in this location forever – long and thin, with – I’m not kidding – crystal chandlers evenly spaced throughout the space – its theme is red, red, red with a splash of white. Ok – clearly says ‘Indian’ to me.

We were so pressed for time – we did the unthinkable – and ordered a set meal for 2 for $40. It included Onion Bhaji, Mulligatawny soup, Butter Chicken, Spicy Chick peas, Beef and Spinach, Rice, and even desert. How wrong can you go?

The waiter rushed our order to the back, and then brought us our drinks (on draft Taj Mahal beer) and outstanding Papdum. I was truly impressed and inquired – yup – they were home-made. Maybe this is a stellar find? That would be cool.

Unfortunately, the rest of the meal was ok – but not great. Oh well. The Onion Bhaji were lacking in onion although the dipping sauce was pleasant, the spicy chick-peas weren’t very spicy, and the butter chicken was a disturbingly bright orange. But I guess you get what you deserve if you order set courses – clearly prepared long ahead and thankfully served quickly – they are never going to be at the level of things that require a bit more last-minute prep. Oh well. At least they might have asked if we wanted the food mild or spicy. I would have definitely asked for spicy.

Aside from the Papadum and the beer – there was one other highlight – I don’t generally care for Nan – tends to be greasy – but the Nan here was wonderful. Clearly the bread maker knows his stuff.

We made the theatre on time – and I might give the Restaurant Asha another chance. It was very reasonable for the quantity of food provided, and the location is quite convenient to the Mai Theatre and the Cinema du Parc – both places I frequent regularly. And they have table cloths. I like inexpensive restaurants with tablecloths.

And the beer was excellent.

Asha Indian on Urbanspoon

Restaurant Asha on Foodio54

Alex H – Tablecloths, BYOB, and pretty decent food. Not a bad choice at all


A friend recommended that we try Alex H – it’s located on Sherbrooke St. in NDG – and on the way from here to there – so it seemed like a good idea.

We found parking easily (a plus), and walked in at exactly 5:27 – maybe a tad early. They greeted us quite nicely, and told us that they were fully booked. When we explained that we’d be in and out by 6:45 – they relented and agreed to seat us. I have to say – by the time we left (at 6:45) – they were almost full. Which compared to the other restaurants nearby was clearly a point in their favor.

Alex H is not a new restaurant – new to me maybe – but not new on the scene. It’s been in the Sherbrooke street location since 2001 – and was on Monkland for 10 years before that. I mention this because it’s quite small. Maybe 30 tables tops, no bar scene, an open kitchen (sort-of), and just one toilet. There was evidence of a terrace come spring – but we were definitely out of season for that. But the wine red table-cloths, middle-of-the-road wine glasses, and a whiteboard with the menu made it feel extremely comfortable. I liked it. My partner was even more impressed.

The food was priced competitively for its location and class – Entree’s ranged from $21 to $27, and included soup or salad. Desserts were very reasonably priced – $3 got us a lovely – and enough to share – Apple Delight.

Service was very good, and very friendly. I ordered the fish of the day – turbot as it turns out – and while it was a bit rich for my diet conscious nature – the sauce was extremely yummy and I enjoyed every drop. My dining partner opted to try the Liver dish – and absolutely  loved it.

We weren’t prepared for the BYOB concept – but the pleasant waiter suggested either the SAQ 3 blocks to the left, or the Dep next door. We opted for the Dep – got a lovely bottle of a white German wine – and had enough left over to share with the next table.

So – pretty restaurant, BYOB keeps costs down, Food was on the good side, but clearly reservations on at Saturday night are essential.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Alex H on Urbanspoon

Alex H Restaurant on Foodio54

Kanda on Decarie – You’d think I’d know better


Some times I just amaze myself. What ever possessed me to agree to a meal at the Kanda on Decaire? I must have either been trying to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time – or feeling totally out of it. It was never going to be good – but I have to admit I was completely amazed how bad it actually was. And there were so many customers. Do we have no taste people?

We were 3 ladies – and we arrived early – just shy of 6:00. You’d think that would mean that we’d get decent service. You’d be wrong. I have never ever been so ignored in my life. Honestly – if we’d been in a private room with the door shut and a sign outside saying – don’t enter – they couldn’t have done a better job of pretending we didn’t exist. I’m going out on a limb here and suggest that no manager was on staff that night.

Getting anyone’s attention – and we were seated quite close to the entrance and the cash – required either madly waving – or literally getting up and intercepting a wait person on their way from one part of the restaurant to another. Terrible. Just Terrible.

But it’s not about the service – or in this case – lack of service – it’s supposed to be about the food. So – the food. Not all Kanda’s are created equal – I discovered this when I tried to order a-la-carte – and was told – we only have the all you can eat option. Oh dear, guess we’ll go that route then. The ‘buffet’ list was $23.99 per person – lower because it was a Wednesday night. The list was long, lacking in description, and divided curiously into sections called A kitchen, B kitchen, C kitchen. Portions were small – 2 pieces of Maki, 1 piece of Sushi – and the warnings about charging for not finishing very clear.

This makes it a challenge to order. Since I wasn’t sure what things were – I was afraid to order in case we didn’t like it and couldn’t finish. Which turns out to be the case for the absolutely horrible fried chicken dish. I think they might have been trying for a General Tao – which for a Japanese restaurant concept is wrong, wrong, wrong.

There were some ‘edible’ dishes. The Edamame was ok, and I rather liked some of the shrimp dishes we ordered. And the Koren ‘ribs’ were excellent. But in general the sushi was old, the rice was tasteless, the service was terrible, and the tea impossible to get. Most annoying – there was no way to know if food was coming or not. We literally couldn’t tell when anything we ordered would arrive. Maybe that’s what the A, B, and C kitchen indications were about – A – you’ll get it soon, C – don’t wait up!

I have eaten many times at the Kanda on Bishop Street – they do offer a-la-carte, and that’s fine. And since I order a-la-carte – they make my sushi to order – as it should be made. But I absolutely can not recommend the Kanda on Decarie. Sorry folks. This is a place to avoid.

Kanda on Urbanspoon

Bistro Merlot – Delicous – but such a terrible location…


Bistro Merlot 1The Bistro Merlot was recommended to me at the hairdressers – how’s that for a place to find new restaurants to try! But the gal was sure it was delicious, even if she wasn’t quite sure where it was – so I figured – I live on the West Island – a nice restaurant would be a wonderful find.

So we decided to check it out. We used our GPS to find the phone number – and called ahead to be sure they were open. Good thing – I’d have been seriously annoyed if I’d driven all the way out to their location and they were closed. (NB: It’s only open for Dinner – but then it is open every day. But I’d still recommend a call ahead – 1-514-620-2225)

They are way West of St. Charles and north of the Trans Canada Highway – in a completely residential neighborhood. Just in front is a gas station, and next door is a Dep. Just finding the front door was a challenge – I watched other guests walk the length of the tiny strip mall trying to find the front door. But it’s not for lack of trying – the Bistro does have a flashing OPEN sign next to the door – it just doesn’t have that – ‘I’m the entrance to a restaurant’ feel to it.

Clearly – I’m not a fan of where they have set up shop, but moving on and inside – let’s talk interior. This is quite lovely, nicely set tables, and open kitchen concept with 2 chef’s at the ready – and apparently they have listened to other reviewers and turned off the TV. It is so inappropriate at a restaurant as lovely as this one. But they really ought to go the next step and ditch the paper napkins. Nothing says low scale like cheap paper napkins. That said – it could be awhile – there was an open cupboard behind one of the tables, and a glance inside (the inside was visible from the entire dining room) showed stacks and stacks of cheap paper napkins. Oh well.

I couldn’t believe how varied the menu was. Upscale Pizza’s (most featuring goat cheese), Italian classics like Linguini Bella or Penne Mendocino, some yummy sounding burger creations like Brie and Prosciutto, Jambalaya (from New Orleans?),  and to round out the confusion,  Asian dishes like Thai Stir-fry and Korean Rice Bowl. I’m guessing that to make up for the location, they are working hard to give people a reason to come back. And it would work. I opted for the Pizza this time – maybe next time I’ll be in the mood for Szechuan or Korean.Bistro Merlot 2

My pizza, by the way – was huge and delicious – and beautiful. I loved the balsamic criss-cross. And it was awesomely good the next day re-heated. My partner had the Jalapeno and Bacon Soup in the Pastry Dome. It was quite yummy.

Will I go back – probably not. It’s not that the food isn’t good – it is. It’s not the price – they are very competitive – it’s the location. And it’s a very strange location. Definitely worth one trip – but maybe not worth another.

Bistro Merlot on Urbanspoon

Odaki – Lousy All you can eat Sushi in a Great Location


Unlike the Aikwawa – reviewed elsewhere in this Blog – the Odaki is centrally located on the Main. (For non-Montrealers who follow my Blog – that’s St. Laurent street. It’s called the ‘Main’ because when Montreal was younger – this was the dividing line between East (French) and West (English) Montreal. And all the immigrants would end up here. It’s a very cool street – worth a visit. But I digress)

The Odaki is on the ground floor – essentially right next door to Moishes Steakhouse. In fact – that’s why we ended up there – we wanted to go to Moishes – but with out reservations – it was a no.

So right off the bat they were in trouble. And totally not their fault either. We were looking for meal A – and getting meal B.

But naturally – the Odaki didn’t know that. They greeted us warmly, and sat us in the window seat, protected from the draft from the door by a folding rice paper screen. It was a relatively private spot – very nice. But it also put us a bit out of sight/out of mind. So service got slow as the restaurant got busy.

I ordered my normal – Spicy Tuna – deciding that for just one roll, there was no point going for the all you can eat special at $23. My partner decided to order a bit of this and a bit of that – to the point that we actually would have been better with the all you can eat. Oh well – next time I bring this partner – I’ll be better prepared for a mega meal.

Beside my spicy tuna – which was actually quite good – the rest of the courses and maki selections were a disappointment. The Udon noodles looked like a grey shapeless mush, the rolls were plopped down in front of us without explanation, and they were all pretty similar – and very bland. Oh well – what can you do when it’s choice B. It’s hard to find something good to say – service was at best ok, food wasn’t great, and it was expensive.

Oh well – now we know to make reservations at Moishes!

Odaki on Urbanspoon