Dinner: Café Vasco da Gama
To start, I opted for two cod cakes (bacalhau). Cod cakes are a popular Portuguese starter. They are also a popular breakfast dish in Caribbean culture. If I go for Portuguese, I usually have the cod cakes since I love them but I am too lazy to make them at home. Although I enjoyed Vasco da Gama's cod cakes, I usually like them to taste a little more like salted cod. These were very inoffensive if you know what I mean. Nice presentation though.
For the main meal I chose a sandwich of lamb confit with caramelized onions and mint. The sandwiches come with a soup or a salad so I opted for the soup, which was a thick zucchini and apple purée. It sounded too good to pass up and the weather in Montreal was nippy today. The sandwich was very good, but the soup was excellent. I love a sandwich that combines sweet with salty. I didn't notice much of a mint taste, but I'd definitely order this sandwich again. The soup was absolutely delicious. I love a good, thick purée of vegetable soup - especially squash or sweet potato-based ones. The zucchini base works very well and I guess the apple takes some of the bitter taste out of the soup. The end result was a soothing taste that had some bite to it.
Next, they brought dessert. I selected the crème caramel in porto sauce. I have to confess
something to you. I have an aversion to jiggly food or food that is soft bubble-like. I don't like jello, tapioca or roe, for example. However, I always get tempted by things like flan/crème caramel. It just looks good. Sometimes my desire for crème caramel ends up with me gagging on a disgustingly jiggly piece of dessert flesh. Sometimes the crème caramel goes down smooth as though I were never afflicted with this strange, throat-closing aversion. Luckily, Vasco da Gama's crème caramel passed the throat test. The dessert went down like any self-respecting dessert should.
Well, we sat there in the café for a pretty long time chatting about life, love, music and politics while sipping on our respective earl grey teas - mine with raw sugar, hers with sugar and cream. No one bothered us, the atmosphere was pleasant, the patrons were polite and respectful and the decor was resplendent in all its Luso-fusion goodness.
Vasco da Gama caters. They'll do it for a minimum of six people. I think I may take advantage of that service one day as the prices aren't too steep.
All in all, a decent place. It's a place to stop in for about a half-hour, longer if you get bench seating. They serve alcohol, so a quick drink after work or a short conversation over espresso is a good bet. I say three and a half stars - good food, but the environment could be more inviting.
Love and Kisses,
Laurelle
Café Vasco da Gama, 1472 Peel (514) 286-2688
Met up with my good friend Depeche Mode this evening. DM went to a science fiction convention in Toronto this weekend and so I was anxious to hear all about it. Let's get that out of the way. She said that the sci fi convention was a snooze but that Toronto isn't as bad as it used to be. There's at least some good shopping around Queen/Kensington. Kidding, Torontonians! Someone's got to keep the feud going at a healthy pace.
Anyway, there are two related restaurants at which I have always meant to eat: Café Ferreira and Café Vasco da Gama. In case you were unable to pick it up, those are Portuguese restaurants. However, these ones are quite high end. Montreal isn't a bad place to get Portuguese food since there is a healthy Portuguese community here. On the other hand, run like the wind if someone suggests Mexican.
Tonight, we opted for Café Vasco da Gama since we wanted to keep our expenditures relatively low. Yeah, McDonald's would have been cheaper but...ughhh...I'm not finishing that sentence. I can't believe I even said that in jest. So, Café Ferreira isn't really a café. It is a restaurant that seems to cater to a young business crowd. Vasco da Gama, however, caters to the "I want a snack and I want it to both taste good and look good" crowd.
The first thing that I noticed about this place is the staff are very friendly. I like friendly staff. When I buy something, I like to have a mini conversation with the people who have sold me whatever it is that I have bought. It can't hurt to exchange a few pleasantries. It makes things nicer for everyone and lets you maintain the view that people are, in general, very nice.
We selected a couple of tables away from the window near the cash. O
utwardly, we did this absentmindedly but subconsciously I think we did that for two reasons: (1) we could see the food from our seats and (2) we would be away from people smoking in the street. The seating was nice, but a tad uncomfortable as the non-bench seating consisted of low plush stools. It was stylish but not very practical.
Vasco da Gama is like any café in that you've got to look at the display and choose your food. However, they will bring your selections to your table. The display case was filled with all kinds of portuguese-inspired sandwiches" chorizo, cochon de lait, tuna burgers and the like. They also had a tapas menu, which I definitely have to try the next time I am there. There are also desserts, appetizers and, well, let me just get right into what I ordered.
Met up with my good friend Depeche Mode this evening. DM went to a science fiction convention in Toronto this weekend and so I was anxious to hear all about it. Let's get that out of the way. She said that the sci fi convention was a snooze but that Toronto isn't as bad as it used to be. There's at least some good shopping around Queen/Kensington. Kidding, Torontonians! Someone's got to keep the feud going at a healthy pace.Anyway, there are two related restaurants at which I have always meant to eat: Café Ferreira and Café Vasco da Gama. In case you were unable to pick it up, those are Portuguese restaurants. However, these ones are quite high end. Montreal isn't a bad place to get Portuguese food since there is a healthy Portuguese community here. On the other hand, run like the wind if someone suggests Mexican.
Tonight, we opted for Café Vasco da Gama since we wanted to keep our expenditures relatively low. Yeah, McDonald's would have been cheaper but...ughhh...I'm not finishing that sentence. I can't believe I even said that in jest. So, Café Ferreira isn't really a café. It is a restaurant that seems to cater to a young business crowd. Vasco da Gama, however, caters to the "I want a snack and I want it to both taste good and look good" crowd.
The first thing that I noticed about this place is the staff are very friendly. I like friendly staff. When I buy something, I like to have a mini conversation with the people who have sold me whatever it is that I have bought. It can't hurt to exchange a few pleasantries. It makes things nicer for everyone and lets you maintain the view that people are, in general, very nice.
We selected a couple of tables away from the window near the cash. O
utwardly, we did this absentmindedly but subconsciously I think we did that for two reasons: (1) we could see the food from our seats and (2) we would be away from people smoking in the street. The seating was nice, but a tad uncomfortable as the non-bench seating consisted of low plush stools. It was stylish but not very practical.
To start, I opted for two cod cakes (bacalhau). Cod cakes are a popular Portuguese starter. They are also a popular breakfast dish in Caribbean culture. If I go for Portuguese, I usually have the cod cakes since I love them but I am too lazy to make them at home. Although I enjoyed Vasco da Gama's cod cakes, I usually like them to taste a little more like salted cod. These were very inoffensive if you know what I mean. Nice presentation though.
For the main meal I chose a sandwich of lamb confit with caramelized onions and mint. The sandwiches come with a soup or a salad so I opted for the soup, which was a thick zucchini and apple purée. It sounded too good to pass up and the weather in Montreal was nippy today. The sandwich was very good, but the soup was excellent. I love a sandwich that combines sweet with salty. I didn't notice much of a mint taste, but I'd definitely order this sandwich again. The soup was absolutely delicious. I love a good, thick purée of vegetable soup - especially squash or sweet potato-based ones. The zucchini base works very well and I guess the apple takes some of the bitter taste out of the soup. The end result was a soothing taste that had some bite to it.Next, they brought dessert. I selected the crème caramel in porto sauce. I have to confess
something to you. I have an aversion to jiggly food or food that is soft bubble-like. I don't like jello, tapioca or roe, for example. However, I always get tempted by things like flan/crème caramel. It just looks good. Sometimes my desire for crème caramel ends up with me gagging on a disgustingly jiggly piece of dessert flesh. Sometimes the crème caramel goes down smooth as though I were never afflicted with this strange, throat-closing aversion. Luckily, Vasco da Gama's crème caramel passed the throat test. The dessert went down like any self-respecting dessert should.Well, we sat there in the café for a pretty long time chatting about life, love, music and politics while sipping on our respective earl grey teas - mine with raw sugar, hers with sugar and cream. No one bothered us, the atmosphere was pleasant, the patrons were polite and respectful and the decor was resplendent in all its Luso-fusion goodness.
Vasco da Gama caters. They'll do it for a minimum of six people. I think I may take advantage of that service one day as the prices aren't too steep.
All in all, a decent place. It's a place to stop in for about a half-hour, longer if you get bench seating. They serve alcohol, so a quick drink after work or a short conversation over espresso is a good bet. I say three and a half stars - good food, but the environment could be more inviting.
Love and Kisses,
Laurelle
posted by Laurelle St. Laurent at 1:55 AM
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