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| - Le Chien Fumant -can- be mind-blowing.
This is a small (let's not say tiny) restaurant at the corner of Gilford and De Lanaudière. They offer an early and late service; customers are the expected to only attend one of them to allow new patrons to come in. This can be off-putting for slow diners and people who like to talk a lot.
The strength of the establishment is its menu. The chefs of Le Chien Fumant make much of their ingredients in-house, and the dining menu--written by hand on a blackboard--is frequently refreshed according to the seasonal availability of fresh items. You would have to go every day of the week before you could possibly have the same dining experience twice.
The arrangement of the restaurant is fair and attractive, but can create some snags. During the winter, tables near the exit are subjected to cold air with some consistency, and all year long customers will have to deal with a somewhat cramped space and only one restroom.
This is a minor inconvenience if you dedicate yourself to the tasting experience, however. Meals are always exotic but accessible, and diners are invited to discuss their tastes and adventurous leanings with the staff and chefs to take smart decisions about what to put in their mouths.
Provided you are ready to trust the presentation, you will be rewarded with a fine foodie experience. The chefs of Le Chien Fumant have laid in front of me plates in which I recognized nothing edible, and plates in which I immediately identified everything I hate. In both cases it was stupidly delicious and eatable.
This is evidently not a cheap place. Le Chien Fumant bets on quality and all of their items are priced above casual dining averages. It's worth it to reserve and plan in advance so that you do not end up ordering the dish you can afford instead of the one you really want. The same can be said about the cocktail and wine list: very good, but somewhat pricey.
That being said, I can only give Le Chien Fumant a warm recommendation. It would be best to bring along a friend with foodie leanings to discuss the presentation and texture of meals, but regardless of background or tastes, Le Chien Fumant offers a decidedly above-par dining experience.
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