First Restaurant Review

Okay, by no means am I suggesting I'm in any qualified to give restaurant reviews, but hey, in a sense we're all qualified because we all eat and we know what we like. After two years of opening up a culinary journey for myself, I've travelled from coast to coast and sampled from some incredible restaurants.

Before I begin review entries (positive ones only here), I'll start by naming my top 3 EVER. I can't say these are in any particular order, so I'll just go from west to east.

BRAD'S TOP 3 FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS IN CANADA

BON ROUGE RESTAURANT AND BISTRO (Victoria, BC)

I can't remember a time when I visited a city, and actually went to the same restaurant a second time because it was so good and I was utterly convinced that nothing else would ever measure up. Victoria is known for great restaurants, and all my dining experiences there were good, but this one absolutely blew my mind from start to finish.

This is a Parisian-inspired bistro with an incredible seasonal menu.

I saw a number of different plates, but my menu on night 1 was a crispy duck confit leg served on a white bean stew with red wine jus and fig jam. Night 2 was smoked blackened cod topped with figs, cherries and butter and served over mushroom risotto.

This was one of those dining experiences where I actually became high from the food - like some blissful euphoric daze of heavenly eating. Given that we had gone a second night in a row and sent so many compliments to the kitchen, the owner and executive chef actually came out to meet us. We chatted and he told us his culinary journey from his upbringing to his training to his aspirations for the restaurant.

If you find yourself in Victoria, GO HERE.
http://www.bonrouge.ca/


PIZ'ZA-ZA (Gatineau, QC)

Where has this pizza been all my life?! And who says pizza can't be a fancy candle-lit dinner with an incredible wine selection?

This is one of the National Capital Region's best-kept secrets. Constantly full, impossible to get a table more than 15 minutes after it opens, and an absolutely incredible ambiance. And did I mention the best pizza that I've ever had anywhere? I would be so bold as to say you've never had pizza until you've had this... unless you've had it from an authentic pizzeria in Italy. The crust is amazing, and what's truly special is that none of the pizzas are conventional. My favourite is the Paysanne with fresh tomato sauce, prosciutto, mushrooms, dried figs, and provolone. But they're all amazing and they have an over-the-top delicious selection of salads and desserts and the wine selection is one of the best in the region... even surpassing the more stuffy fancy restaurants in the region.

http://www.pizzaza.ca/restaurants/wine_cellars.php


GARDE-MANGER (Montreal, QC)

If you can find it, and if you can get a reservation (call six weeks in advance), you're set for one of the most amazing dining experiences Montreal has to offer.

This is the restaurant of renowned celebrity chef Chuck Hughes - you can check out his TV show, "Chuck's Day Off" on Food Network. This restaurant is cool, trendy, hip and absolutely stupendous in its rustic ambiance and stellar unique and truly originally delicious food.

No signage, no website, no ads, no paper menu. You just have to find it... that weird little pink lit box in the Old Port, where when you open up the little door you find a loud bustling restaurant full of people.

I started my first experience off with the lobster bisque poutine... yes, in the city known world-wide for its amazing poutine, this, one of Chuck Hughes' signature dishes, is a crispy bed of perfect fries topped with fresh cheese curds, chunks of lobster meat, and smothered with gravy... aka lobster bisque. I followed this up with tastings of blackened cod on perogies with carrot purée and bacon scallops with a crab salad exploding out of the shell of a crispy potato... did I forget to mention these were the best scallops I've ever tasted in my life?! And then of course I finished it off with Chuck's signature deep-fried Mars bar with ice cream - which lasted, I don't know, about 8 seconds.

This place is an adventure. If you live in Montreal or plan on going, call a good month or more in advance, and enjoy this spectacular culinary bliss.

http://www.pagesjaunes.ca/bus/Quebec/Montreal/Restaurant-Garde-Manger-Inc/2820256.html?adid=&tabSelect=&dymList=&origWhat=true&how=onlyonefound