Laloux

In the Montreal Gazette, Lesley Chesterman visits and finds much to praise in the cooking of Eric Gonzalez and pastry chef Michelle Marek. First the setting, which hasn’t changed a bit and that makes her happy (and us, too). Next, the food and wine, both of which meet her high expectations.

We saw Gonzalez in action in 2006 at Cube, just before it closed, and we’re pleased that he continues to dazzle.

If you’re thinking about restaurant choices for your next trip to Montreal, or you’ve been to Laloux in the past and want to make sure its reputation is untarnished, this review should help you arrive at a decision.

Newtown

Next, Chesterman’s review of Newtown, under Marc André Jetté and Patrice Demers, both recently departed from Laloux. Chesterman’s visits occurred only about 6 weeks into their tenure there, and the results are mixed. With Jetté, her issue seems to be with execution rather than vision, and she has quibbles with Demers’ approach to portion sizes for desserts.

Her biggest problem seems to be with the venue, which despite a few touchups here and there is still basically the same space it was in 2001. Time for a change, and Chesterman suggests it’s worth considering a name change – something we thought might happen back when the Chef Musical Chairs got underway.

Our Plans

We ate at Laloux twice on our last trip. It was a brilliant dining experience both times. We plan to return, to discover firsthand what Gonzalez and Marek are up to. And despite the less stellar beginning for Newtown, we’ll be there in a few months, too, because Jetté and Demers are remarkably talented and we expect them to be into the swing of things, and producing great meals.

Mari-Claude Lortie of La Presse blogs that Éric Gonzalez will be the new chef at Laloux, replacing Marc André Jetté, who has departed for Newtown with Patrice Demers, as we’ve already noted.

We’re familiar with Gonzalez from his time at Cube until late 2006 (we ate there the final night); he went to XO at the Hotel St James after that.

In the meantime, over at Newtown, Lortie reports that there’s no decision yet on changing the name of the restaurant, but it will be closed for about a week for some redecorating. It re-opens on May 26th with Jetté and Demers at the helm.

Cube was open for private parties and events a few months after closing, while its former chef, Eric Gonzalez, left for XO, the concept at the St James Hotel, a few blocks away.

Now, a new restaurant is on the way – Vauvert. My information about Vauvert, so far, is limited to the French language page posted at the old Cube web site. One learns little from the description beyond the desire to offer Montreal diners something different, something that respects the tradition of Cube, a menu that is accessible, etc.

Chef Pascal LeBlond is a Cube veteran. To quote the web site:

Il a reinvente des classiques de la cuisine Francaise Meridionale en leur donnant une tournure resolument Quebecoise.

We’ll keep an eye on it, and check it out in September if it’s up and running by then. In the meantime, we’ll watch the Vauvert web site; at present, it’s closed to public access.

To that end, a couple notes from Chowhound:

The old Les Chevres space looks to morph into Le Joli Moulin, opening soon and specializing in steaks and seafood. This may well be an existing restaurant finding a new location.

Eric Gonzalez left Cube after it closed on December 23rd (we were there for the final night, quite coincidentally) is now at XO in the Hotel St. James.

We set aside about 90 minutes and walked through The Museum of Contemporary Art. The space isn’t very large, and there were two special exhibitions, so we didn’t see much of the permanent collection, but we enjoyed the experience, nonetheless. Admission is C$8 for adults and C$4 for students. It’s located on St. Catherine in the Place des Arts, and you can reach it easily on the Metro or the Underground City.

We also spent a few hours roaming Rue St. Catherine, doing some low-level shopping (I’m trying to hold off until the sales of Boxing Day) and general hanging out. Tonight on the news, there were conflicting reports about whether this was the biggest shopping day of the year or whether Friday was. Both days, it seemed like a madhouse on St. Catherine by late afternoon. For shopping or people-watching, it was a good time.

After a little recovery back at the auberge, we walked to Cube in the Hotel St. Paul. Cube has been on our list for a visit twice before and we dropped it both times. This time, we thought we should give it a try and we weren’t disappointed. It was an excellent meal. I would describe it in greater detail, but to do so is somewhat pointless because Cube is closing. We couldn’t find room for dessert, and we asked our server if Cube would be open over the holidays. Our server told us they’re closing tonight and will reopen as a new “concept” in a few months. The website says Cube will book private events until March 15, 2007 and “the dining room will be closed for renovations.” I know that Cube has caused mixed reaction among Montreal foodies over the past 6 years, but our one experience there surpassed our expectations. We hope the next iteration will be as good as, or better than, Cube. But Cube is no more.