AFTER HOURS APPETITES

Prominent Montreal chefs give us
the lowdown on late-night eats

by JOANNA FOX
photos by WILL LEW

Sometimes I wish Montreal were a city with more restaurant balls, or at least less restaurant by-laws. I’d like to see a taco truck that shows up at 1:37 a.m. in an empty parking lot near Jean-Talon, only on Friday nights. Or a 24-hour bistro that is off a dirty alleyway in Chinatown where you have to go through a meat locker filled with whole hogs hanging from the ceiling to get in. Or a moving restaurant that only serves food in abandoned lofts after midnight, with fold-out card tables and two hot plates.

Alas, friends, this is not L.A., New York or Berlin. But it is Montreal! A city with tons of places to eat, plenty of variety and really good late-night options. There still are some little-known dives out there, a few that will remain unnamed, but many that I recently discovered while speaking with some of Montreal’s best chefs. Who better to ask but these guys, who for years have been trawling the streets of this city after a long night of work in various states of sobriety, searching for a decent, or not-so-decent, meal? Where do these men and women head to for their late-night eats, and more importantly, what do they eat there? A small handful of chefs were kind enough to oblige us in their gourmand destinations for the wee hours.

Chuck Hughes, Garde-Manger

Chuck Hughes, of Garde-Manger in Old Montreal (408 St-François-Xavier), has been in the food industry since he was a teenager. From working at a butcher shop at the Atwater Market (“Butchers are the best! Someone’s always missing a finger!”) to busing tables at Globe, Hughes has had his fair share of experiences with late-night eats.

Hughes likes to categorize his places. “It all depends what you’re looking for. The Main (3864 St-Laurent) is the best place to pick up. I once went there to get a chop liver sandwich and this girl was staring at me. She came up to me and asked me if I wanted to have sex. I hadn’t even taken a bite!”

He also swears by the Main’s take-out special: “One pound of smoked meat, one pound of chopped liver, one pound of potato salad, one pound of coleslaw, a loaf of bread and a pickle, for $14.95. It’s the best deal in town!”

Then there is Chinatown, “Always good if you’re with a bunch of cooks.” Hughes’ holy trinity is New Dynasty (1110 Clark), VIP (1077 Clark) and Beijing (92 de la Gauchetière W.). “One of those three you can get ‘cold tea’”—in other words, illicit booze—“but I’m not gonna tell you which one!” At New Dynasty, Hughes recommends asking for the garlic steamed oysters. They’re not on the menu, but he swears by them. “The best thing is the Chinese menu on the wall. Just ask Richard to hook you up, that’s dope.” As for VIP, go for the soft shell crab, whereas Beijing is just the all-around classic.

“Now if the waitresses are coming out with you, that’s another story because waitresses always have cars. Cooks never have cars, but the girls do and that’s when you can really cover ground.”

Hughes’ picks? Picasso’s on St-Jacques [Ed.’s note: currently closed, possibly re-opening] followed by Amazons downstairs. “You eat, and then downstairs is the best place in the city for stripper fights! It’s real classy stuff!” Another place that’s good if you’re going out with the waitresses is le Club Sandwich (1578 Ste-Catherine E.) in the Village. “It’s a really good place to go but only if you’re partying. So good and open late-night.”

Hughes’ final suggestion? “When you hook up with a girl and you want to be the man, look no further than St-Viateur Bagel (263 St-Viateur W.) for my loverboy special—something salty for the night, and something sweet for the morning.”

COLD TEA COMFORT FOOD:
Garlic steamed oysters at New Dynasty

The chefs of Joe Beef and Liverpool House

Another Montreal chef who is no stranger to late nights is Dave McMillan from the Joe Beef (2491 Notre-Dame W.) family. McMillan worked in some of the best restaurants in this city until he created his own niche down in Little Burgundy. Dave’s favourite place to go is a Montreal staple, l’Express.

Serving food and alcohol until 2 a.m., l’Express (3927 St-Denis) has long been a hospitality go-to for a proper meal after a long night. “I’ve probably spent over $100,000 there, and I always order the same thing—celery root remoulade, kidneys well done and potatoes,” he says. “Swear to God, I’ve never eaten anything else.”

McMillan likes l’Express because the food is quality, it’s a classic bistro atmosphere and, unique to this particular spot, “Their wine list is light years ahead of anyone else in Montreal. It’s next level.”

McMillan and his sommelier, Ryan Gray, claim that l’Express is where they learned to drink wine. “When you’re young, and your only expenses are your apartment, it’s a great place to spend money on good wine—all my first bottles were drunk at l’Express,” recalls McMillan.

Gray also divulges another little-known secret about l’Express. “La Carte Parallel. You have to ask for it, but it’s their alternate wine list. Absolutely amazing.”

GO TO MOE’S, DAD’S, CHIEN FUMANT AND L’EXPRESS:
Fred Morin and Emma Cardarelli

Just as with Hughes, another spot in McMillan’s repertoire is Chinatown’s New Dynasty. He’s been going there on and off for years and they know him pretty well. “I once got them to make me turtle soup!” His picks are the beef rib, the Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, the egg and corn or crab and corn soup, the chicken and jellyfish salad, salt-and-pepper lobster and the “Vancouver” crab.

Other places in their hood are Restaurant AA (3702 Notre-Dame W.) for hamburgers, fries, hot dogs and pogos, Boustan (2020 Crescent) because “Boustan is epic,” and the “hot and garlic” sandwich at Kojax (various locations). “When you eat it, it feels like you have fur on your tongue, it’s fucking disgusting! Your room will smell like garlic for a week!”

McMillan’s business partner, Fred Morin, also has his picks. “Moe’s near the old Forum (2214 de Maisonneuve W.) is great. I go there to witness how weak my griddle skills are.” Morin is also a fan of New System BBQ (3419 Notre-Dame W.). “Get the crispy honey chicken because the box it comes in is awesome, real old school.”

He also recommends Dad’s Bagels in NDG (5732 Sherbrooke W.). “When you go to a club and you’re too ambitious and take out too much at the ATM machine, you go to Dad’s and spend the rest of your cash on food—tandoori legs next to samosas, next to empanadas next to bagels. Classic!”

DEEP-FRIED DELICACIES: Chez Claudette’s regular poutine and
New System’s BBQ crispy honey chicken

Emma Cardarelli, the chef de cuisine at Liverpool House (2501 Notre-Dame W.), has been working in the kitchens of some of Montreal’s top restaurants for 10 years now. From Biche and Globe to l’Epicier and a one-year stint at the Green House, a Michelin star restaurant in London, Cardarelli doesn’t mess around when it comes to eating after work.

“I like to go to le Chien Fumant (4710 de Lanaudière), not only because it serves food until 2 a.m., but it’s a good atmosphere and serves great cocktails. Go for the fried rabbit done KFC-style, the crab cake BLT, or they usually do some kind of seafood salad that’s always fresh and good.”

Like McMillan, l’Express is another place Cardarelli frequents, where she also always orders the same. “I get the ravioli, I think it’s calves’ brains, with a mushroom veal jus sauce and a side of fries to dip in. I’ve been eating that dish since I was 16!”

TINY TASTES OF TOKYO: Zenya’s butter fish in Ponzu sauce

Mark Dufort, l’Orignal

At l’Orignal (479 St-Alexis), sous-chef Mark Dufort has his own opinion. Mark has been working in kitchens in Montreal and Toronto for over 12 years now. When asked how the cities compare, Dufort says that Montreal wins. “In Toronto, there’s a lot of different options, but because Toronto is so big, it’s a lot harder to get from one end of the city to another. Montreal’s serious advantage is its proximity.”

Although he works in Old Montreal, he says he flees that part of town as soon as he’s done working. “It’s really hard when you finish at like 1 or 1:30. Sometimes I go to Rapido or Fameux delicatessen (4494 and 4500 St-Denis, respectively). Fameux is nice because it’s one of those places that hasn’t changed since the 1960s—it’s still exactly the same. You can’t go wrong with a burger there.”

If he gets done early enough, Dufort loves heading to Zenya (486 Ste-Catherine W.). “Even though their kitchen closes at about 11, Zenya is great. It’s one of the only places in the city that has Japanese-style tapas and you can never go wrong with the marinated miso cod. I like to eat small, hot dishes there, not sushi.”

And when he’s out with a group? Mark ends up at Chez Claudette (351 Laurier E.), recently mentioned in The New Yorker as one of Montreal’s top spots for poutine. “It’s a great ambiance and it’s supposed to be open 24 hours, even though I know sometimes they close early. Not as many people know about it, so it’s a good mix of characters and the guys behind the cash are really quirky.”

When Dufort heads there, he goes for the Supreme Burger with a poutine. “Their poutines are the shit, especially with a side of their spicy mayo.”

For Dufort, the real dilemma in Montreal’s late-night eating scene is that he feels like all the food available is made for drunk people attempting to sober up (with the exception of l’Express, le Chien Fumant and Leméac). “There should be healthier late-night options. I feel that a lot of chefs don’t really take that good care of themselves. I know I didn’t, but I’m trying to now. You don’t always have a chance to eat during a 12-hour shift and you’re always on your feet. It’s really hard.”

From greasy spoons and holes-in-the-walls to more sophisticated tastes, there really are options out there for the after-midnight meal. I’m not saying Montreal’s perfect, and we could desperately use a late-night taco, so I’m just going to keep on hoping to find that phantom truck. Perhaps Marc-Andre Leclerc of McKiernan’s puts it best when he says, “Cooks don’t usually give a fuck what they eat after work, and if they’re drunk, they go to Chinatown.”