Tag Archives: dna

A New Home for Derek Dammann and it’s Not DNA

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Lesley Chesterman has the story in Wednesday’s Gazette: Derek Dammann, one of Montreal’s best chefs and formerly the chef of DNA, will open his new restaurant on the Plateau in mid-September.

Maison Publique will be located in the old Yoyo space at 4720 Rue Marquette. The other interesting detail is that Jamie Oliver will be the investor behind the new venture. But, Chesterman notes, this isn’t the typical Chef No Show establishment: Dammann is in charge, will write the menus and will be on the premises.

This also isn’t DNA: “We’re doing an old-school, British-style tavern,” says Dammann, and Chesterman adds the new restaurant will have a bar, open kitchen, and next year, an outdoor terrasse.

I’m excited about this, and it’s yet another win for the Plateau Mont-Royal, where there are already so many great restaurants.

Montréal Holiday v7.0: 30 days away

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A month from today, we’ll be on our way to Montréal for 10 days in the city – our longest trip there. Here’s an update.

The restaurant plan: thus far, reservations are in place for Toque!, DNA, Les 400 Coups, and Bonaparte. I expect more reservations for Laloux (11/28 now made) and Au Pied de Cochon this weekend, with some “gap-filling” over the next couple weeks.

  • 12/17 Toque!
  • 12/18 DNA
  • 12/20 Laloux
  • 12/21 Les 400 Coups
  • 12/24 Bonaparte

Another note, while I’m here: Marie-Claude Lortie has an interesting review of DNA in La Presse. Push it through Google Translate if you need to, it’s worth reading.

I’ll leave late morning on 12/17 and should arrive mid-afternoon in Montréal. My friends, my now perennial holiday revelers in the city, arriving late Thursday.

Planning for Montréal at the Holidays, v 7.0: Dinner

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photo: braised veal with polenta, Restaurant DNA, 2010-12-22

With 92 days remaining before the annual Christmas trip to Montréal, here’s the dinner plan:

2010 Working Restaurant List

There are a number of other restaurant possibilities waiting in the wings, among them Mas, 3 Petit Bouchons, Brasserie t!, La Fabrique, le Saint-Gabriel.

The usual holiday placeholders are present: Otto and Bonaparte… both of which are perfectly good choices for dining on Christmas eve and Christmas night. Making a first time appearance: Le Chien Fumant and les 400 coups, the new restaurant opened by Marc-André Jetté and Patrice Demers.

This list will change over the coming three months, and as we navigate restaurant holiday schedules. But this is where we start.

Trip Countdown: Dinner List

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With less than 40 days remaining before this year’s trip to Montreal for the holidays, the dinner plans are starting to fall into place. First, a reset: Each year, we spend the Christmas holiday in Montreal, with a trip of 6-8 days. We’ve done this since 2004. We do it because it’s relaxing, a nice time to reconnect with friends who join us, and it’s become, over time, its own holiday tradition. We like to eat good food, and so a big part of our planning for the trip is actually planning where we’ll eat. Each year, we choose a mix of favorite restaurants, as well as a few new ones to try. This year, with 8 nights to fill and perhaps a 9th, here’s the plan:

There are long-time favorites like Toqué and Au Pied de Cochon; restaurants we tried last year and enjoyed, like DNA and Laloux; new restaurants on the list, like Trois Petit Bouchons and Newtown; and the Christmas Eve tradition, Bonaparte. In the case of Newtown, we’re following the chefs, Marc-André Jetté and Patrice Demers, from Laloux to their new venue.

I’ve written about this before, but one of the factors Chuck considers when he’s working on the plans is the style and type of restaurants on the list. He likes a mix of “signature experiences” and homier fare. Naturally, he wants all of it to be good. Now, he’s figuring out whether we’re too heavy on a certain style of bistro cooking – expressed differently at each restaurant, but still similar in style and concept. If that’s the case, I expect we’ll see a replacement of the dinner for Monday night – jumping into one of the ethnic traditions, perhaps. More to come.

2009 holiday plans, v. 1.0

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Well, with only(!) 110 days left before the next trip to Montreal, and our sixth holiday spent in the city, our restaurant plan is beginning to take shape. Readers of this blog know that food matters a lot to us, and on a vacation where the goal is to relax and do little or nothing, planning meals takes center stage.

Each year, we choose a mix of old favorites, as well as new restaurants to try, and for our 8 dinners this winter, here are the 10 restaurants that have made the first cut:

  • Laloux
  • Newtown
  • DNA
  • Le Club Chasse et Peche
  • Toque
  • Mas Cuisine
  • Au Pied de Cochon
  • Restaurant La Chronique
  • Bonaparte
  • Otto

Favorites:

Laloux is now helmed by Eric Gonzalez, and the initial reviews are good, as expected. We ate his food at Cube in 2006. We went to Laloux twice in 2008 and loved it.

Newtown is where you now find Marc-André Jetté and Patrice Demers, lately from Laloux. Their review in the Gazette in July was more guarded, but we were so impressed at Laloux that we’ll head to Newtown.

DNA is impressive; we had an excellent meal there in 2008, and our friends enjoyed it again in May of this year. Plus it’s kind of fun to sit in a space that looks like a Borg cube and watch the holiday fireworks over the Old Port.

Toque has had its ups and downs with reviewers, but we’ve had two excellent dinners here in 2007 and 2008, so we’ll return. The wine list is also quite good.

Au Pied de Cochon – well, what can we say that hasn’t been said? A dinner here is de rigeur.

New Entrants:

La Chronique has floated around the planning list for a couple years now, and I think this will be the year when we give the bistro a try.

Le Club Chasse et Peche is another restaurant that’s landed on our restaurant list at least twice, only to drop off. Not a statement about the quality of its food, but more the result of difficult choices. 

Mas Cuisine is run by the former chef from Bruinoise, which was a restaurant we loved in 2006, now just a memory. Brunoise is still fresh in our minds, so we’ll hope for a repeat at Mas Cuisine.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Night: These two days present their own challenges, since so many restaurants close for one or both days. Hotel/Auberge dining options are usually reliable, and while Bonaparte and the W Hotel’s Otto aren’t what I would call stunning, each is reliably good. And as I’ve said so many times here, Bonaparte is kind of special on Christmas Eve, with its traditional, beautifully cooked, French/Quebecois food.

I’ll say more as we get closer and start working the list against our calendar and each restaurant’s plans around the holidays.