Do you ever do things that in one way or another doesn’t make sense, but you do it anyways and don’t regret a second of it? I highly encourage those of you who are not culinary adventurous, to take small steps out of your comfort zone. Don’t pass judgment on something you’ve deemed gross before trying it. French fries with cheese covered in gravy sounded gross at one point, right? You didn’t know you liked poutine until you tried it, so try EVERYTHING!
That being said…
I read about this place on the northern part of the Main called the Meat Market. This places celebrates all that is meat. Celebrate, not in the sense of strippers, balloons, and midgets kind of way, but the showcase of simple yet complex tastes of different cuts of meat accented with homemade sauces and rubs (non-sensual, as I found out). So I went to check it out.
We started with a handful of appetizers that seemed really interesting and tantalizing.
Lentil cakes with green onions served with a spicy aioli. A twist on a falafel, anything deep fried and then served with mayo is ALWAYS good. As all of you may know, I’m an advocate of waiting for searing hot deep fried foods to cool down before singeing off a layer of skin from the inside of your mouth… and I only remember that I represent this school of thought a first degree burn later.
Next were mini tartelettes de champignons. My only comment with this was, their size. Being the size of a looney, its taste gets lost within itself due to the simple fact that there isn’t enough of itself to provide enough of any of the flavorful ingredients (mushrooms, prosciutto, goat cheese and fried leaks). It was however served in a tangy red pepper jelly.
I was alone on this dish, the “Assiette du chasseur”, as my dining companions shuddered at the thought of eating a flightless-bird other than a chicken. A spread of dried and smoked bison and ostrich meat, served with liver pâté on mixed greens with toast, with a side of their homemade onion marmalade.
I was surprised that being dry-cured, the bison wasn’t as gamey and robust as I thought it would have been. The ostrich was light as was the liver pâté which contrasted the tart onion marmalade. Toast was grilled and the “mixed greens”, merely an afterthought.
For mains, my dining companions both ordered the same thing - a testament to their vanillaness, but not to their discredit, they did come out to eat (haha). This was the combo of their special marinaded and prepared brochettes. Comprised of a mix of chicken, pork and beef, each was accompanied by a complimenting dipping sauce.
Their dishes came with a side of a choice of salad or fries… and the only obvious choice is “BOTH”… and what goes better with fries than MAYO, respect.
I had the lamb shank. Ok, this is where this post gets serious. With a cornucopia of menu items from ribs to specialty sandwiches to an Italian sausage burger, the “chef’s special recipe” lamb shank spoke to me. Braised until it was falling off the bone, the meat was hearty and flavorful. Smothered with a sweet reduction, the lamb shank was sided with market root vegetables caramelized to perfection, and sat on a bed of skin-on mashed potatoes.
I was excited that the marrow didn’t melt out of the bone, so I picked it out as fast as a booger on class picture day, and ate it… except I didn’t eat the booger, you know what I mean. The server asked how I was enjoying my meal, I told her “it’s frigging delicious and I feel compelled to slap who ever was in charge of it”, to which she laughed and appreciated the enthusiasm.
Nominated in various categories in the Mirror’s “Best of Montreal” editions, it’s obvious that Montrealers know what they’re talking about. This place is calling me back to try the myriad of delectable burgers and sandwiches, as judging from what we ordered, my guess is that everything else is as delicious as they sound on the menu. It should also be noted that MeatMarket has vegetarian options (imagine that) and their house products are bottled and are for sale.
Restaurant Café MeatMarket
4415 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
514.223.2292
http://www.meatmarketfood.com/
