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| - I don't live in Montreal, but had recently visited for a week. Before I had lived in France for a year, and have had French food all over France, and also here back home in San Francisco. I have to say Le Paris was my quintessential French culinary experience in Montreal.
Le Paris represents what Montreal is all about for me --- France without the pretentiousness. I say that for several reasons. First, the staff is very friendly and helpful. Unlike your typical rude and arrogant waitstaff in a Parisian restaurant, the staff here is willing to speak in English, and they are patient when it comes explaining things on the menu, and may even engage you in a conversation about the food or what not. Second, the prices are much more affordable than in France. A nice three course meal, which includes an entree (which in French means the appetizer), the plat principal (the main course), and dessert, can be had for around $25, which is unthinkable for Paris or San Francisco, for the kind of quality you get here.
The food is classic French, leaning more towards southern country cooking, with a focus on hearty and rich ingredients, like red meats and animal organs. Many of the dishes are stewed or braised in herbs and wine, which is typical of provincial cooking. Some of these classic dishes include Poule au Pot (chicken braised in broth sauce), Beef Bourguinon (beef stew in red wine sauce), which are all offered on the menu here.
I ate there twice during my visit. I had a number of things but I will describe the best dish that I had, which was Magret de Canard (duck breast). For those of you unfamilar with this dish, it is similar in some way to steak. The duck breast is either seared in a frying pan, or broiled in the oven, or often both, and then finished with a reduction sauce made from its juices and red wine. It's not as easy as it sounds, because the duck breast is leaner, and thus tougher than many cuts of steak, so if not prepared correctly, can come out tough, which was often the case in the couple other occassions when I had it (in restaurants in France mind you).
So I was met with a bit of trepidation when I saw the meat presented on my plat pre-cut, which means the chef had already sliced the meat into pieces, instead of presenting it as a whole breast with cut marks on the top, which is the customary way in France. My concern was that the meat had lost a lot of its natural juices by being pre-cut. But one bite into it had totally put me at ease. The meat was juicy and every bit as flavorful as it should had been, with that hint of gaminess that is the reason why you would order duck instead of beef. It was perfectly cooked --- medium rare with red juices running out as you slice the meat. The breast had a thin layer of fat on top, whch was charred to a slight crisp. This added some nice fatty flavor to the meat. It was excellent with a glass of argetine trapiche pinot noir. Le Paris did an excellent job in preparing this dish I would say.
The clientele tends to be older, and they look like they've been coming to the place for years. I find it sad that not more young people would enjoy such solid traditiaonal French fare. And they never seem too busy for you to be able to grab a table almost right away. I hope they get good business, because a great place like this deserves to stay in business for a long time.
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