Wild, wild West Island

C.J.'s offers carnivorous delectation and great gumbo

by SPANKY HOROWITZ

Montreal ain't got too many middle-of-the-road grill rooms, which means if you want some quality carnivory priced below $100 but a little higher than $5, your choices are limited. One dude in the wild, wild West Island--yep, Pointe-Claire--has opened up a grill room fit for men and women with healthy appetites and a reasonable budget.

Pointe-Claire is actually a hot-bed of opportunity for small businesses, because it's against the law to open a franchise there. There are no McD's or Burger Kings or other big multinational mega-franchises monopolizing the wallets of the innocent townspeople. Hidden away under des Sources, where it intersects with Highway 20, is a little joint called C.J.'s that serves meat, lots of meat--with a few unique twists and turns.

The parking lot at C.J.'s is dotted with motorcycles. Not Kawasakis or Hondas, but bikes fit for meat-eaters: Harley Davidsons. The bar inside is actually a giant trophy case proudly displaying a vintage Triumph, which is not a Harley, but is made in the good ol' U.S. of A. We are greeted by C.J. himself, a solid-looking biker dude wearing a Hawaiian shirt. He brings us our bread and our Coors drafts and leaves us with the menus.

We start with the gumbo. Right off the bat I'm impressed because it's pretty hard to find gumbo, never mind good gumbo, in Montreal. A few of us had the "cup" for $5.50, but the only feature indicating that we were eating from cups was the handle jutting out of the substantial serving vessel. I'd like to start off by describing the broth, but referring to it as "broth" does it no justice at all. Thickened with fresh okra, flavoured with chicken stock, perfectly spiced and slightly tinted with tomato, this was a stew, not a broth. Loaded with shrimp, large chunks of chicken and slices of sausage, this is definitely Montreal's Number One Gumbo.

Then there were salads. A fresh array of vegetables, not exactly the variety expected in a biker-joint grill room, filled my plate, lightly coated in a simple oil and vinegar dressing. Do bikers eat endive? They do now.

If you ever have trouble deciding what to order, the mixed grill is for you. At $13, salad included, it's not for the light eater. This hearty plate consists of a grilled sirloin steak, a grilled liver steak, a sausage and a slice of Canadian back bacon, flanked by a heap of garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed mixed vegetables. The steak was cooked as I ordered it, medium rare, and the liver was surprisingly tender and gristle-free. The sausage was a small, yet densely packed, anise-flavoured smoky link and the back bacon, well, let's just say I demolished it. The veggies seemed fresh and well-seasoned, but the garlic mashed potatoes showed no sign of the aforementioned garlic. I guess you can't win 'em all.

One member of our party tried a special ($13), a salad tailor-made for the carnivore. A blackened steak was thinly sliced, mixed with grilled portobello mushrooms, laced with gorgonzola cheese, and then laid to rest over a bed of greens, which technically makes it a "salad." We actually brought along a vegetarian, who unfortunately could not find anything on the menu to satisfy his appetite. Upon hearing this, our gracious hosts whipped up a beautiful pasta plate, sans-meat, to satiate our happy guest. At C.J.'s, everybody goes home happy. :

Comments? foodspanky@hotmail.com

C.J.'s Restaurant

Address: 10 Donegani (under des Sources at the 20)

Phone: 630-0873

Hours: Tues-Fri 11:30am-2pm Tues-Sun 5pm-10:30pm, closed Mon

Best Features: great gumbo, steak, sausages, burgers, beer

Alcohol: yes

Vegetarian friendly: not really

Credit cards: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Price: $7-30 per person before drinks, tax and tip

Rating: HHH out of HHHH