| rev:text
| - was driving around hoping to find L'Express w/o the exact address on hand. ran into this part of St. Denis, which seemed rustling and bustling on a sat night. parked car and walked idly till we saw Continental Bistro. looked good; walked in.
was a bit taken aback (again) as we stood by the entrance for minutes without seeing anyone with intention to greet us. the place was happening but it was not like no one could spare the time to notice two standing patrons. but by the 4th day in montreal, i realized this laid-back attitude and the general lack of host/-ess may be a local custom. so instead of walking out like we did the other day at the other place, we stayed put and were glad we did.
bf chose outdoor seating, which was covered by a large canopy--and a decent amount of spider webs. the arachnids weren't making descent or anything, it just wasn't a pretty scene to look at while you eat. the wooden petitions on both ends allowed for privacy yet letting air breathe through; the street-facing side was open so we could people-watch while people watched us. interior decor is modern w/a bit of retro feel; the geographic maps on walls/floors bring an aviation/exploration sense to the design. bf said their lavatory facility was excellent, too. i would've paid a visit myself if he hadn't taken so long (lol).
service was great after sitting down; waiters were polite, attentive, and professional, if a bit "chaotic" in a sense that multiple people serve multiple tables instead of following a territorial system like in the US. we didn't mind either way as long as they had communication amongst themselves; certainly don't mind double servings of bread, either. haha.
food was of great quality, from drinks to dessert. not all of the dishes suited our taste exactly (ex. dessert was too sweet), but one could tell they were made with fresh ingredients, and tons of culinary experience and skills.
drinks: tanqueray + tonic ($6+) was good; cosmo was lovely w/its pinkish color and the sweetness in it, but the glass was a little smaller than a regular (american?) martini glass. well it cost about $7.75 instead of $12 so i guess you get what you pay for.
appetizer: beef carpaccio with manchego cheese (in a "pesto" sauce made with sorrel & parsley, sprinkled with sprouts), $10.50-- beef was fresh and sliced perfectly thin. the shaved manchego cheese was strong but added the right kick. "pesto" and sprouts added to both the flavor and the texture. it was fantastic.
for entree, i had the barley risotto w/mushroom and parmesean cheese ($19.95). bf had the leg of lamb in garlic sauce w/cous cous and ratatouille ($20.50).
the barley risotto is more "pearly" and "beady" than the italian grains that we're used to; it's rounder and a bit more "bouncy" in the mouth-- which contributed to the fun part of eating it. i don't know which kind of mushroom they used, but i'm sure it was the good kind--it was abundant in aroma and flavor. they also used a stronger (sharper? more aged?) parmesean cheese, which added tremendously to the richness of the dish, and the flavor. reminded me exactly of the flavor in the salad w/tuna chunks i made at home, in which i freely sprinkled some aged parmesean cheese. regrettably, the thing w/risotto is that it was so thick and rich, you can only eat so much. at the end i did finish the whole thing, but i had wished i could stop when i was about half done. so it might have been even better if it was in an appetizer portion--you get all the strong flavors in small dozes, w/o having to OD yourself.
bf's lamb was excellent as well; lamb was cooked till bones fall off, the sauce was flavorful. too bad i couldn't eat or comment too much on those bc my risotto was so overpowering. it looked really good and he liked it very much, though. ok, moving right onto dessert.
one of the 2 or 3 desserts of the day (around $7 each) was a baked apple tart sort of thing topped with vanilla ice-cream. when you hear "apple pie" or "apple tart" in montreal, do not expect the kind of apple pie we have in the States--the kind that's filled with mushy apple pieces bathed in its own hot, steaming gravy. the kinds here are on the drier, less sloppy side. the tart pastry was baked (exactly for 12 minutes, as the waiter emphasized) with the apple pieces on, then drizzled in syrup and topped with ice-cream. the apple pieces, while "dry" (i.e. no gravy attached) on the outside, was soft and super sweet inside. too bad this super sweetness didn't just come from within the apples themselves; seemed like they've been soaked in syrup for a good while. they even turned into the color of the said syrup! it tasted heavenly, just too sweet for our taste. now the vanilla ice-cream became the "wash" between bites.
total bill came to $80 before tips; within reasonable range with that kind of decor, location, service and food. only complaint: spider webs! there was a HUGE one right at the front door too! somebody do something!!!
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