Portuguese, please

Galo in TMR offers delicious grilled
goods spiked with port

by MATHILDE RABBAT

According to a community newsletter, the Town of Mount Royal is already gearing up to celebrate its centennial in 2012. Way back in the day, however, the town, harbouring strong ties to the railway, was a farming community that sprouted the famed green-fleshed Montreal nutmeg melon.

The melon is no longer as easy to find, but the railway remains, along with the original two main streets that slice through the town. One of these diagonal boulevards, Graham, now provides a home for Galo, a Portuguese grillerie, and one of only a handful of restos in the centre of the town.

I happened upon this little gem by chance, as I would expect is the case for most outsiders. It wouldn’t be long before I was salivating at the prospect of enjoying what the menu bills as, “An uncompromising comfort food experience.”

Seafood lovers can choose from selections incorporating salmon, squid, shrimp and sardines. Except for the salmon, all figure in the fish and seafood platter for two, which proved to be a good bet, priced at a reasonable $26. The order is doubled to provide a shrimp skewer duo, a couple of squid and as many large sardines. From a culinary standpoint, I can’t think of anything more Portuguese than port and grilled creatures from the sea.

The bistro ingeniously combines both, as the seafood takes a dip in a port marinade before its jaunt to the grill. And it’s not just any old grill, like the gas barbecues you’ve got perched out back. They like to kick it old school on a charcoal grelha, no less.

No complaints with the seafood platter—the porto and garlic-spiked grilled shrimp proved satisfying, marinated just right, so that the flavour of the shrimp, not merely the texture, was still detectable. The same can be said for the squid. As for the well-executed sardines, be prepared to de-bone them yourself, since they are slapped on the grill whole, head and all.

Other than fish and seafood, simple meat selections include chouriçô, pork steak and the ever popular chicken, but exclude beef altogether. Most of those seem to be poultry related, if the sectioned chicken line-up on the grelha in the open kitchen is any indication. That too, I’m told, receives the scrumptious porto marinade.

Several dishes, like the aforementioned seafood platter, come complete with salad and fries. Slightly crispy, golden, homemade fries, fashioned on the premises, definitely did not disappoint. The same did not hold true for the salad. Not because of the ingredients, which were harmless and wholesome enough (a tomato wedge, white onion rings, curly lettuce and black olives), but from a freshness point of view, wilted lettuce snuck its way into the bowl.

The seafood takes care of the omega three portion of your diet, but what about the Food Guide’s fruit and veggies category? Unless you agree that fries count as a vegetable, the menu only addresses veggies in the form of a grilled tomato side dish ($4).

The interesting thing here is not so much that it’s stuffed with chopped grilled peppers and onions, but that the tomato lid is then topped with goat cheese. By the time it’s cooked, the cheese is nice and crispy which makes the tomato harder to crack, but worth the effort.

Finally, may I suggest that you skip the disagreeable tap water in favour of a thoroughly enjoyable, full-bodied glass of Cruz porto?

The modern, stylish decor smacks of a decorator’s touch, without the corresponding over-inflated prices. Certain inexperienced staff members could use a few pointers on how to polish the service. Details like checking with customers clearly still noshing on their dishes if they are done before removing plates, and wiping down tables between punters, do not go unnoticed and would enhance the “comfort food experience,” no doubt.

The staff seemed to be rushed off their feet, hustling and bustling to prepare a slew of orders to be savoured in locations other than the eatery, as take-away accounts for a large chunk of the business.

Kudos to the eatery for being environmentally conscious enough to use napkins made of non-bleached materials and for choosing to wrap up their take-out orders with enviro-friendly, recyclable and compostable items.