Maison Boulud, Montreal Quebec, CANADA II

Don't you just wish that you can hop on a plane and take off to the beautiful country of France? It's so hard sometimes with school or work or taking care of the kids, and you know you deserve a break once in a while. Just head up North to wonderful city of Montreal! Montreal is full of places to see, things to do and my favorite, restaurants to eat at. Montreal is one of my favorite places to go and you can never go wrong with some classic french food. Now I know what you're thinking. WHERE DO I EAT?!?! Well, let us help you with that. There's this one restaurant that stands out in my mind: Maison Boulud. 

This restaurant is so amazing I just had to come here twice. Maison Boulud opened about 18 months ago, by non other than Chef Daniel Boulud! Daniel Boulud was mostly well known around 1993 in the south of France, where he originated. He has opened about 14 other restaurants some in NY, Miami, Palm Beach, Singapore, Beijing and around the same time as Maison Boulud, he opened one in Toronto. "He is a very passionate man, very humble and great to work with" quotes Sommelier at Maison Boulud. Daniel Boulud has also received 3 missional stars.

Maison Boulud is connected to the Ritz Carlton on 1228 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal.

You can reach it at (514) 842-4224

When you arrive, you get treated to a nice  BUTTERNUT SQUASH CROQUET. It's filled with fresh butternut squash and a rich cheese, and a light cauliflower puree on a bed of rice. It was light and delicate and I could still taste the flavor even after I ate it. 

For the gluten free guests, you will have a nice GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN SOUP. It's savory sweet with just a touch of cream added, and it's balances well with everything. 

APPETIZERS: For appetizers, try the BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP. It comes with chestnut potatoes, butternut squash Gnocchi and nutmeg with sage. Just by looking at it you can see it scream flavor! The Gnocchi has a smooth texture and the squash just slips out of the pasta. The nutmeg and sage give it a nice edge to it, making it more unique than simple. If you're saving your stomach for the main courses or you're just not that hungry, then there is nothing wrong with going with a salad, but of course it's a French restaurant so you're bound to get an elegant one like the BEET SALAD. It is served with baby beets, fresh goat cheese and pistachio with a sherry vinegar dressing, with micro greens. The sweetness of the beet complimented well with the saltiness of the goat cheese and the tanginess of the dressing made every bite well balanced. If you're in a mood for fresh seafood go for the SARDINES. They are flown in from Portugal every Tuesday and Wednesday, which we were lucky to try. It was lined with grape and shaved radish. It was crispy, crunchy with no metallic taste unlike the usual sardines. 

MAIN COURSES:

If you're a pasta fan like I am, then have the EGG YOKE RAVIOLI.  It comes with Bufala Ricotta cheese, black truffles and chanterelle mushrooms. When you first bite into it, you get a warm mouthful of ricotta with pieces of walnuts. You finally get to the center where the egg yoke breaks and coats your ravioli, making it a genuine gastronomic dish. If you want a nice fish for dinner, then have the SALMON. It is candied with olive oil served with creamy cauliflower, Romanesco and Capers and Lemon. The salmon was heavy with a nice light touch with the cauliflower. If you want a heavy meat dish, then I suggest the VENISON. It's a red deer venison with a brown butter squash and berry juice.  It's topped with fresh juniper and Lardo. The meat was so tender and cooked to a perfect medium, and it's juices just burst with flavor. 

DESSERT: At Maison Boulud we had a chocolate caramel lava cake with 2 different kinds of ice creams. Similar style to the ravioli, the caramel flowed onto our spoon and gave the chocolate a nice delicate touch, complimented by the ice creams which smoothed out our palette.

ATTIRE: Maison Boulud is a very fancy and elegant restaurant, so for the men a nice shirt and some slacks would do. For the women a nice dress is fine with some minor jewelry.


SERVICE: *****
AMBIANCE: *****
FOOD: *****