To the Pointe

Michael W. offers quality dining away from the crowds

by SPANKY HOROWITZ

With a zero vacancy rate in the popular (but fading) Plateau and the still growing (but there's no more space) Mile-End district, it's sometimes hard to get a table at a good resto in the area. With this quandary in mind, I ventured south-west to the "new Plateau," Pointe St-Charles.

Directly across from Charlevoix metro is a restaurant that not only features great food with French, Italian and other influences, but is also a BYOW. With mid-to-high prices, I knew it would cost $20-30 per person, so I stopped at the dep across the street and sprang for a bottle of cheap Italian table wine, screw cap and all. Even restaurant critics drink screw-top wine, so don't feel bad. Our gentle-mannered waiter, as he pulled our non-vintage from its brown paper bag, even remarked, "Well, it's better than no wine at all."

Toasting the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, we sipped our wine and munched on warm baguette slathered in soft, garlic- and herb-flavoured butter--a nice touch. The menu is three pages short. Page one lets you know that all main courses are available in a table d'hôte formula only. This means you choose a salad (green or Caesar) and appetizer from page one, and then a main dish from page two. Simple and to the point. Lovely.

One member of our party was allergic to the sulfates in cheap red vino, so she ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino. We were overjoyed to see that the mineral water was not in one of those puny little bottles, but a decent 500 ml one. We were underjoyed to see that the price, not listed on the menu, was a whopping $7.50!

The Caesar salad was nice, with romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese and crisp garlicky croutons in a lemony vinaigrette. The green salad was green all right--consisting of romaine lettuce and some grated carrot. With the high availability and low prices of vegetables in Montreal during the summer, I'd have expected a little more than this. At least they could have used a different lettuce than the Caesar.

I usually avoid appetizers, because you pay $6-12 for something that costs $1 and tastes like $2, but these were definitely above par. The cream of spinach soup was sleek, subtle and full of spinachy goodness. The escargots à l'ail were marvellous. You actually felt as though you were really eating snails, which is a change from feeling like you're chewing on a rubber ball that tastes like garlic butter. The overall winner was the ceviche. A whole filet of sole was marinated in lemon juice, oils, fresh slices of orange and thyme to create what could have easily passed as a main course if you added side of veggies and/or a starch.

The osso bucco ($27) was very good. One could say that it was not as good as in a strictly Italian resto, but still it was very good. A large piece of meat from the calf's hind shank, rumoured to be the sweetest and most tender part, was braised in wine, broth and tomatoes at length and served under a thick vegetable root ragout. Very tender, very tasty.

The Poitrine Michael W. ($22) was a serious affair. A large boneless breast of chicken was stuffed with fontina cheese and sundried tomatoes and then topped with béchamel sauce and fresh pesto. I thought the accompaniments would overshadow the fowl, but the chicken taste actually crept through to add a complex layer to the international tapestry of flavours. If you're looking for a good meal and can't get a table in Mile-End, go south to Michael W.'s--you won't regret it.

Michael W.

Address: 2601 Centre street

Telephone: 931-0821

Hours: 5-10:30pm every evening

Best features: good food, bring your own wine

Vegetarian friendly: no (seafood)

Wheelchair access: yes

Alcohol: BYO

Credit cards: yes

Price: $21-40 per person, tax included, before drinks and tip

Rating: HHH out of HHHH