Resto Review: Scarolies

Sorry that it has been a while.  I was not feeling my muse, but now I am back!  Hubby was in the mood for Italian food after his adventure, so he decided on Scarolies in the West Island on St-John's blvd.

It is usually one of go-to places for Italian food.  The food is good and the prices are reasonable.  We went early enough that we were seated right away.  If you go after 6:30pm be prepared to wait for a half hour or more.  Or, do like me and go somewhere else to eat.  I do not wait in line to eat, Never!  I dislike it intensely.  There are plenty of other restaurants out there.

 Once you are seated, the waiter brings you a warm loaf of bread and preps the olive oil & balsamic dip right in front of you.  I have trouble ignoring warm bread, so of course I dug into it.  It was so good!  Hubby decided to order off the table d'hote for a change.  He usually does not as his appetite is not as big as mine.  He had the tomato & bocconcini appetizer.  It was very good, but then again it is very hard to mess that dish up.  His main course was the angel hair pasta with lobster tails and asparagus.  He dove right in to that and loved it.  He finished off the lobster but left half the pasta.  The plates are huge.  Since, he took the balance home and ate it for breakfast the next day, I can only assume that he liked it a lot.

I decided to have the rotolo milanese and no appetizer.  The rotolo is rolled pasta with ricotta and spinach with a rosee sauce.  I love stuffed pasta!  I usually order that when I go to an Italian restaurant.  I quite enjoyed it, especially when I cup up the basil leaves that they garnished the plate with and added it to the pasta.  The filling was missing a little bit of zip and the basil provided it nicely.  The plate comes with two rotoloa and I only one of them as I had eaten almost half a loaf of bread and I wanted dessert.

The dessert menu consists of the waiter bringing you a plate with all the desserts that they offer.  I like that, because I get to see the quality of the dessert.  You eat first with your eyes, and then with your mouth.  If it is not pretty, you will not be tempted to eat it.  I was tempted by all the offerings on the plate.  I chose the Red Velvet cake.  It is a new offering of theirs and I highly recommend it.  The cake was a little nutty but light, the icing was flavourful and denser than the cake, which for me is perfect balance.  It is garnished with a piece of kiwi and orange and whipped cream.  Hubby and I shared the dessert as we usually do.  I feel less guilty and he gets the 2 to 3 bites that he needs to cleanse his pallet.  It is a win-win situation for us.

I ate my rotolo for lunch the next day.  Because it had a cream based sauce, I warmed it up in the oven.  I have learned from experience that you must NEVER microwave a cream based sauce, as it will clump up and be gritty.  Always warm it up in the oven, it will dry out a little, but it will remain edible. 

Back to the rotolo, it was very good the next day warmed up, I just wish that there was a little but more sauce.  My fault for eating most of it the night before :)

Here is the website for those who want to take a look:  http://www.scarolies.com/home-e.html

Until next time!

Resto Review: Les 3 Brasseurs

After a matinee movie, my husband and I enjoy going out for dinner.  On this night, we decided to to go Les 3 Brasseurs, as it was walking distance to the movie theater and we would not have to move the car.  Walking after a meal is a good idea!

I ordered the Flammekueche with goat cheese, tomatoes, onions, oil & herbs.  It is a very thin pizza.  I liked it.  The crust was really thin and crunchy.  The toppings were a good mix of flavours in just the right amount.  I was satisfied without feeling too full.  I still had room for dessert :)

Hubby ordered the Roast beef sandwich that came with a side order of fries.  The plate arrives, and surprise, surprise, there was no mound of fries on it.  This is a rare event in a restaurant.  There was actually a reasonable amount of fries on the plate and not a sumo-sized amount.  The sandwich was good and properly seasoned.

And, for dessert we shared the House specialty which is a coffee or espresso a small slice of cheesecake and a small cup of chocolate mousse.  Hubby had the espresso and we shared the desserts.  This is an excellent idea for dessert.  We tried two desserts without having to stuff ourselves to the bursting point.

Here is their website if you want to check them out:  http://les3brasseurs.ca/eng/index.php

Until next time!

Resto Review: Five Guys

I love hamburgers.  And, for me it is all about the meat.  It does not need to be huge, but it needs to be flavorful and I need to taste the beef.  I actually like raw mincemeat.  I know that it is not good for you, but I am going to go of something, so I may as well enjoy!  I like my hamburgers to be rare or medium rare.  Restaurants cannot serve it that way, so I get them medium (but at home, they are rare).

The burgers at Five Guys are delicious.  They are properly seasoned and taste like beef.  I have not had the all-dressed burger, as I like my burgers simple.  I put mayo, tomato, lettuce and pickles on the cheeseburger.  In this one instance, bacon is not needed on the burger. 

The fries are ordered on the side.  They are deep-fired in peanut oil (people with allergies beware), and the skins are left on.  They are very generous with their order of fries.  The fries are great with some malt vinegar and salt.

Here is the Five Guys website if you want to check them out:  http://fiveguys.ca/en

Until next time!