Grill it

Summer classics are a go at new
Old Montreal establishment BBQ

by JOANNA FOX

This summer, I finally bought myself a small Webber barbecue for my tiny apartment balcony. So excited to pump up the gas, I decided to try jerk chicken to kick my barbecue season into gear. Being a relative novice, I didn’t realize two things: first, spices burn pretty fast and create a hell of a lot of smoke, and second, if there are windows that lead into your building and are open directly in front of your barbecue, you better make sure they’re closed.

Needless to say, you really don’t make friends with jerk chicken. Although Montreal city firemen are really hot, evacuating your entire building in the middle of a thunderstorm is not. So, when a friend suggested I try a new Old Montreal restaurant called BBQ, I was relieved to leave it to the professionals and give my neighbours a night off.

Alexandre Gosselin is the chef behind BBQ and has quite the profile. From working at Leméac to opening le Local and Bar & Boeuf, BBQ is his newest endeavour. With an open kitchen visible as soon as you walk in the door, the room is typical Old Montreal: cozy, beautiful stone, ceiling beams and a wall of windows overlooking St-Paul. Spread over two rooms, there is a small bar at the entrance and a row of seats right in front of the kitchen to really get in on the action. The adjoining room has plush benches along two walls and bigger tables in the centre for groups.

The menu has an American style feel, with a slightly more gourmet/Québécois twist. One perk is the beer list. With over 30 beers from 14 countries, there is something to please any aficionado. We started off with three appetizers: an heirloom tomato salad, a charcuterie plate and Arctic char escabeche (all $10). The tomato salad was a summer dream, made up of small, sweet, yellow and red tomatoes mixed with edamame beans, pine nuts, olive oil, micro basil and served with a Buffalo mozzarella foam. I’m not much of a foam kind of gal, but this dish worked beautifully. Adding just the right amount of richness, the foam was perched on the side and perfect to dip into with every bite. The edamame and pine nuts added crunch, and the peppery basil and olive oil tied it all together.

The in-house charcuterie plate, made up of cured duck, Rose de Lyon sausage, chorizo, proscuitto and a chicken terrine, was equally impressive. The highlights were the chorizo, which tasted like Lester’s grilled salami in a deliciously familiar way, the lean prosciutto and the chicken terrine, topped with a small chopped egg salad that made you think of childhood chicken salad sandwiches. The escabeche, a technique that involves letting the fish sit in vinegar and/or citrus juice to let it cook, was not good. I love Arctic char, and escabeche, served cold is a great way to enjoy fish, but this one tasted fishy, which it shouldn’t.

For mains, American-style heaping portions, we got two standards: fried Cornish hen ($19) and baby back ribs ($26). Cornish hen is basically a smaller chicken, and this was bone and boneless pieces, tenderized in buttermilk, battered and fried. Served with a slightly spicy mayo, the chicken was good, but not great. Although the meat itself was moist, the batter was bland and unless you dipped it, it felt like a waste of calories. The ribs were equally juicy and the barbecue sauce had a distinct flavour that lent itself to a peppy Worcestershire that worked really well. Although satisfying, there was nothing that made these ribs stand out. Both meals were served with a refreshing, creamy yet vinegary coleslaw and fries that would have been awesome if they were crispier, and a mixed salad with way-too-salty balsamic vinaigrette.

I would definitely try BBQ again. Sometimes this kind of food is exactly what hits the spot in the summer (beer and ribs anyone?). And though it wasn’t perfect, there were enough positive aspects and interesting dishes, like the rib burger, to bring me back. As a side order, you can also get a six-pack of beer for the kitchen staff for $12. That’s pretty cool.