Liverpool House - Montreal

Part of the now iconic Montreal food scene Joe Beef has sprouted a sibling...Liverpool House.  Located right beside Joe Beef in a humble yet rejuvenated area of downtown Montreal I can't help but think about how the more accessible Lee sprouted up beside Susur Lee's flagship on King West in Toronto....I had the pleasure of dining at Susur's mothership in Toronto and yes it was a wonderful, wonderful journey on taste and technique followed by an unexpected kitchen tour complete with Susur Lee lingering in the kitchen shadows intently monitoring our every move and comment - loved that.....their kitchen supported both concepts - but I digress....back to Montreal.

Getting a reservation at Joe Beef requires a better lead time than I could muster on this visit - likely 2-3 months out should get you in....Liverpool house was about 2 and 1/2 weeks.  Quaint and ecelectic in design it's easy to feel at home there....very knowledgable staff work hard to meet your whim and our server had an excellent knowledge of not only the food offerings that night but also the specialty cocktails for that evening - he meticulously walked us thru the entire chalk board of daily offerings - photo attached - some diners in the "front room" were taking ipad shots likely so they could share with their table-mates...chalkboard resonates fresh however ackward in execution and it would suck to have those two tables.

I had a beet salad starter with a nice glass of dry reisling that our server rustled up for me off the beaten path of regular by the glass wines.  A cod type chowder was also served with a dramatic puff pastry top...large starter that was more like a stew than chowder - dramatic yes...tasty yes!  My main was a whole sea bass ( headless) served on a delicious combo of lentil, some leeks with a few clams mixed in....the fish was delicious and cooked perfectly - the clams were not edible...rubber infidels that comfounded me after such a good experience.  We did ask our server to select a bottle of wine for us - not the best pairing and he did his best to soften it up for us - $70 bottle...he decanted and swished and swirled looking to create the silk purse....it got better.  My table mates both had a nicely seasoned/marinated flank steak...we had three side options that were interesting - mashed potato with red-wine gravy, all dressed brocoli (covered in almost an olive tempenade), wedge potatoes wonderfuly seasoned with a spicy aioli.

All in all - a solid experience - would like to try the mothership next door..do they share the same kitchen?.......perhaps by the time that happens and under the careful eye of the Quebec language police it might be Jacques Boeuf!??