Happening Gourmand 2016

The 2016 edition of the "Winter Food Fest" otherwise known as the Happening Gourmand begins tomorrow and runs until February 7th in the Old Montreal part of the city. Select restaurants through the Old city will be serving up dishes for pre-set prices of $22, $25 and $29. This is not our first time covering this "Happening" and it won't be the last. We have discovered several new restaurants in Old Montreal because of Happening Gourmand.

Barack Obama's Executive Order on Guns

From my Medium.com blog.

It is an emotional issue that seems to be stalling in the American political system. In the meantime, gun violence is ravaging communities and politicians seem either oblivious or unmoved to do anything.

Will any law stop gun violence? Probably not, but it’s amazing that nothing has moved until today. The status quo was not good enough. I cannot take sides because I am not American but looking in from the outside the bickering on both sides must stop and people need to work together. If the elected cannot work together, then maybe the President, either Democrat or Republican should act on his/her own.

Barack Obama has done his bit, no matter how small it may be.

Seasoned Dreams

As we begin the new year I'd like to spotlight a new food spot that came on the scene in 2015. Montreal has not been known for very popular Caribbean outlets, in fact they seem to be a hidden gem within different neighbourhoods in the city.

Seasoned Dreams is a restaurant and catering company owned and operated by chef Jae-Anthony. Their style is Caribbean fusion giving us different tastes such as Jerk Pork Poutine, fresh salmon steak with rice and fries or how about the Jerk burger or Caribbean style mac and cheese. The styles are innovative and give a great change what you have ever thought a Caribbean restaurant would serve you. Don't call it Jamaican or Trini or Haitian because you will likely find a bit of the entire Caribbean in the menu at Seasoned Dreams.

 

Upon hearing about Seasoned Dreams several months back we just had to try it out and we were not disappointed. Since it was delivery there is not much I can tell you about their location although they did have their opening a couple months back. The goal of 2016 will be to make a trip to the actual location and eat there for the vibe of the place.

As for the food.....

Let's start with the mac and cheese. This was the dish I could not get enough of. If you like mac and cheese and you like seasoning then combining the two is something you will love. The flavour of the seasoned mac and cheese makes it irresistible and there is enough of a portion to keep you well fed for a long while. Be prepared however, if you are not a fan of spicy food then stay away from it. I would not recommend you ask that they not include the seasoning on the mac and cheese because that's the way it is. Ask if you really want to though.

The Jerk Chicken burger was and probably will always be a favourite. A juicy piece, sometimes 2 pieces of chicken in a bun made of what looks and tastes like fried dumplin with some coleslaw that just made the burger taste even better. This coming from a guy who does not usually eat coleslaw. I can definitely see this burger becoming a popular feature of the menu if it isn't already.

Lastly, if you are a seafood fan then the steak salmon (seasoned of course) was also a great choice we tried. The freshness of the steak accompanied by the rice and fries makes for a great meal for the seafood fan in you. Taste wise you definitely are going to be impressed as we are. Now we have to try the rest of the menu.

Seasoned Dreams does change their menu a bit so take a look and see what they have being featured before you order. You don't want to order something that is not on the menu.


Check out Seasoned Dreams on line.
Check out Seasoned Dreams on Instagram. 

Happy New Year from Urban Informed!

Merry Christmas from Urban Informed!

Eating at Taverne Gaspar for #MTLaTABLE

Last Sunday the Montreal restaurant event called MTLaTable was being observed by over 40 restaurants around the city. I managed to make a decision along with my partner in crime MBT and we decided to go to Taverne Gaspar in Old Montreal, a place where we had never been. 

The great thing about these events is that there are so many restaurants participating you always have the chance to eat at a place that you have never tried before. So on to Gaspar it was.

THE FOOD

Going with the MTLaTable menu I started out with the Caesar Prosciutto salad with parmesan shavings. If you are a fan of having salads before your meals then this salad is one you will enjoy. The prosciutto bits with the dressing and the parmesan cheese shavings makes for a great mix and you will not want to put the fork down. The salad was also great because it was not so big that it would fill me up before the main or dessert. I have had times when the actual appetizer was so much I could barely get through the main meal and by then I had no interest in dessert but this was different. It was just enough to get me ready for the main meal. 

Caesar salad with prosciutto and parmesan shavings

My main meal was a delicious hamburger but not any burger. A bacon cheeseburger with Jim Bean BBQ sauce, a deep fried onion ring and coleslaw all inside the burger. I should add it came with fries on the side. I am a burger fan and so even though I could get a burger at any time I just had to try this one out and it was wonderful. Another mix of tastes almost canceled out the onion ring. I think I could have eaten two of those things. As for MBT, she had the risotto and as she said, "it was great. Probably the best risotto I have had". 

Bacon cheeseburger with Jim Bean BBQ sauce, deep fried onion ring and coleslaw.

Lastly for dessert, I had the brownie with ice cream. A great dessert to finish off the evening. Who says no to chocolate anyway? 

ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere inside the restaurant was great. It was not too dark so you could actually see where you were walking. Some restaurants have a tendency to place their music loud, so loud that you can hardly carry a conversation. The best places play their music at a level where you can still talk to your dinner partner and at the end of the evening forget that there was music even playing. All that to say that I can't say if there was music playing. Now that's pretty good Gaspar! 

RATING

The entire evening out was rated a 4 out of 5. A definite must try restaurant especially with its great location in Old Montreal on De La Commune.  

For Taverne Gaspar's website, click here. 

#mtlatable

MTL a Table is back

The culinary event known as "Restaurant Week" (#MTLaTable) is set to return from October 29th to November 8th with a long list of restaurants offering $21, $31 and $41 set meals for Montreal die hard foodies. In addition this year some of the restaurants will also be offering $21 brunch menus.

Montreal restaurant week is a great way to get to know different restaurants in the city that you might not get a chance to experience on a regular basis. Several restaurants that I've discovered through MTLaTable include Vieux Port Steakhouse, Suite 701 and Mechant Boeuf. Every year is a new opportunity to discover another restaurant and take advantage of the different events such as culinary tours and wine tastings.

For more information on MTLaTable, check out the Tourism Montreal website.