Down to earth

Provisions’ sandwiches and salads marry
haute-cuisine taste with low-key execution

by A.J. KINIK

It wasn’t much more than 18 months ago, amidst much wailing and gnashing of teeth, that Montreal’s pundits and restaurateurs alike tried to make sense of a sudden downturn in the city’s culinary fortunes.

As you’ll recall, there’d been a number of high-profile closures within a fairly short span of time, and many wondered out loud (and in print) what had happened to Montreal’s fine-dining clientele and whether haute cuisine was still a viable proposition here.

Well, you can safely say that Montreal’s fine-dining restaurant community has responded with a move towards low-profile (or at least lower-profile) dining. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, this has meant trading in glitz and glamour and elaborate tasting menus for something a little more straightforward and honest, something a little less precious.

And, for the most part, I’d say Montreal has benefited. I mean, who are we kidding? “It” restaurants don’t have six-month waiting lists here, and, frankly, a lot of gourmands flock to Montreal precisely because things are so low-key.

Now, Sherbrooke’s chic Brontë is not one of the restaurants that got caught in the shake-up, but when two former Brontë chefs left to start their own restaurant, they didn’t try to replicate Brontë’s high profile. No Golden Mile address, no glitz, no umlauten, just a humble space on a block of the Lower Main known for its South Asian deps and electronics stores, and a simple name: Provisions. Hell, they don’t even have a sign (yet).

And if all that weren’t enough, they’ve totally skipped dinner (except for special functions), they’re closed on weekends (ditto), and they’ve embraced that most down-to-earth and populist of meals: the sandwich.

“Ho-hum,” right? Wrong. In all likelihood, these are not your mama’s sammies. Take, for instance, the chicken sandwich.

Sounds simple enough, and, yeah, I know, your mom makes a great roast chicken sandwich, and so do a handful of Portuguese rotisseries across town.

The thing is, Provisions’ chicken sandwich ($7.95) isn’t made with roasted chicken, it’s made with confited chicken legs and adorned with a thin piece of crackling (yes!) to really seal the deal, giving the sandwich that added touch of texture and flavour. Then they dress it with oven-dried tomatoes (i.e. not sun-dried), their house mayonnaise, crisp lettuce and, finally—the crowning touch—it’s served on a beautiful homemade focaccia loaf (every single one of their breads is homemade). See what I mean?

Just as good, if not better, was the BBQ pork shoulder sandwich ($7.95). This sandwich isn’t going to win any BBQ contests anytime soon, it’s way too unorthodox, but I predict that it’s going to be winning a few hearts and minds.

Get this: several succulent slices of roasted pork shoulder, a balsamic vinegar glaze, oven-dried tomatoes, lettuce and confited orange zest, served on a fresh, tasty pain de sal roll, aka a “Filipino roll.” The pork was outstanding, but it was the roll and the orange zest—who knew?—that really pushed things up a notch.

Not to be outdone was the lamb sausage sandwich ($8.95) made with a spicy, homemade merguez-style sausage, wrapped in a grilled spring onion flatbread, smothered with eggplant spread, and adorned with grilled zucchini slices and roasted red bell pepper slivers. The spring onion element of the flatbread was perhaps a little too subtle to draw attention to, but otherwise the bread was phenomenal, and Provisions’ sausage gives even the very best Middle Eastern sandwich specialists a run for their money.

Salads are the other major attraction at Provisions, and they don’t hold back. Their house mixed green salad comes with daikon and a beet-juice-based vinaigrette, while their new-fangled cole slaw ($6.95) features thinly sliced fennel and grapefruit supremes, along with the requisite cabbage.

The best of the lot, however, is a warm green bean salad ($7.95) that comes topped with two poached eggs, a spicy but delicate mustard-togarashi dressing, and some crisp lardons. If this is low-profile, sign me up.

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