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| - Walking along the streets of Montreal, I tell my brother that I want some nice quality French food. I'm dressed in my tourist gear, and he's dressed in his casual work attire... so we can't go into anywhere that is going to require someone to be ultra fancy. We're about to walk by Laloux when I say "what about this place?" -- their outside terrace drew me right in.
We speak with the hostess and since we do not have a reservation, we would only be able to sit outside, as that was all they had available at the moment... which is perfect because that's what we wanted anyway!
We were definitely underdressed for this establishment, but what I liked very much and respected, was that they did not treat us any differently because we were dressed casual. I've received improper treatment due to dress before, so kudos to Laloux.
I started with the salad - very good, with veggies that were slightly cooked but still firm and not overdone/soft. There were mushrooms, radishes, asparagus, onions, and a few other greens in the vinaigrette. I will say that I was a bit nervous when this arrived as the contents of the salad. I'm not a big fan of radishes, asparagus, or mushrooms.... but it was delicious and I ate it all.
The bread and butter was plentiful. My brother and I are not shy of carbs, so I think we went through 2.5 baskets of it, and had we wanted to continue eating it, they would have continued bringing out out. Fresh, warm bread with salted butter.
The main course that I chose was the duck in a dandelion honey glaze, served with fork mashed potatoes with berber spices, collard greens, and long pepper sauce. It was delicious beyond my expectations. I don't order duck very often... when given the chance I'd normally order some kind of steak, or veal, or lamb... but the duck was calling to me on the menu, and if I could get duck to taste like this everywhere, then I'd surely switch my preferences. Very well done, and the potatoes and greens were a nice compliment.
Lastly, we had the cheese plate. Since it was only $4 per cheese choice, we decided to get all 6 options and sample them all. They all sounded so good we couldn't just choose one or two! When the cheese plate arrived it was accompanied with pecans, almonds, and figs. The goat cheese coated with oak ashes was by far my favorite, with the organic raw milk cheese as the runner up.
The cheeses we were able to enjoy were:
Bleu d'Auveigne (blue cheese from France)
Goat Cheese from Ste-Maure coated with oak ashes
Comtomme - compton Estrie - raw milk cheese, organic
Reserve de la Perade - Ste Anne de la Perade Mauricie organic 5 months
Comte du Jura: France 18 months old
Sauvagine, St. Raymond de Portneuf, Quebec
I love that this was off the main hustle and bustle of Rue Saint Denis, and although it is a bit on the more expensive side, it's not outlandish prices, and it's worth every penny. I would come back here in a heart beat the next time I visit Montreal.
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