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| - Aupres tries too hard to be all things at once and doesn't really hit the spot on either front as a consequence. In Montreal, it is a serious catering offence.
The same hard effort, on the redeeming side, is put in by the staff. Their cheerfulness is second to none, as is linguistic flexibility. It feels French in its presentation and attitude (positively). The snags, however, are just around the corner.
The state and ethos of the "house" can be gauged by what the house puts its name on, such as house wine. At Aupres, the house wine is harsher than a mediocre convenience store-bought tipple. Cheap doesn't necessarily mean halfway to vinegar. Oh dear.
Being in a French-themed restaurant, on a French street in a French city may warrant eating some French dish. I, having had enough trendiness for one day at the Fashion Festival, was instead craving the simplicity and gastronomical coarseness of a good burger. It is also, by common sense admission, a dish almost impossible to get wrong by anyone who can cook the fancier items on the menu.
Dear, oh dear. Mystery will shroud the origin of the liquid under my burger bun (dressing from the salad? Burger patty juices? Who knows). Aside from the wet and oily bun bottom the burger was decent and may have earned a pass grade, were it not for its team-mate: the salad.
Fresh-washed greens are all the hype, but these guys were maybe a little TOO fresh. The water dripped more copious than the dressing, making the accompaniment to my abused burger an insult to the catering industry.
So what am I to make of Aupres de ma blonde? A bunch of Europhile friends, maybe students doing this for fun, ganging together to string up a pretence of quality while cutting corners, and lacking even the essential standard of care, or pride, in their delivery. The fact it's instead, from what I gather, a professionally run place makes it all the more tragic. It has three stars solely for the waitress' smile and joie de vivre: the only really French thing about the place.
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