Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Restaurant Nightmare

posted by jsbertrand at 13h01

Last Monday I was in St-Sauveur for a Food show. The weather was great and we spent most of the afternoon walking around the two main touristic street shopping and stopping for a great coffee and much needed sun. I hate dining in very touristic spots because it seems that tourists are always stuck eating crap. Either it is the franchise restaurant which are, let's be honest, at best correct, or it is high volume big place that serve generic food. There is a few great places run by independent restaurateur but they are usually the minority. Quebec city, to my mind, is an exception considering that the restaurants in the Old town and in the Rem parts are fairly of a great quality.
I was sleeping over for the night so I had to eat supper in St-Sauveur or around the area. I took my restaurant guide and one address was recommended, Le Chat Botte, on Rue Principale. Obviously, it was close (What do you expect on a Monday in between season!) so we had to go somewhere else. I did what I usually do in that case: I asked the local to recommend me a restaurant.
That's how I ended up at Gio's, the best place for pasta in St-Sauveur???? Right away, when I sat down, I knew my experience would be disastrous. Nothing on the table, just cheap utensils and a cheap paper napkins. A run-down dining room with dust everywhere, holes in the wall and cheesy grape wine hanged since the 80' and never touch since. A way to large menu that shouts frozen and process food. I was back in a lousy 80' restaurant.
I figure I would start with a cesar salad, how can I go wrong in a so called Italian Restaurant? I ended up with Kraft dressing, store bought croutons and bacon bits and cheap Parmesan cheese. For the main, I took another classic of the American-Italian cuisine: veal Parmesan with a side of spaghetti marinara. The plate came and my veal was a deep fried pre-breaded scalopinni covert ed with bought tomato sauce(shame on you if an Italian restaurant doesn't do its own tomato sauce)and the same sauce soaked my spaghetti. The pasta were al-dente, the only satisfying part of the whole meal.
I'm going back to St-Sauveur this summer because the town looks great. Readers please where should I eat out? And for the people at Gio's, here is my Cesar mayonnaise recipe. Don't worry, it's easy!!!

In a blender, put two eggs, three garlic cloves, two table spoon of capers, a small can of anchovies( I love anchovies), a half a cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese(or Romano), the juice of two lemons, fresh ground pepper(no salt) and a half cup of Dijon mustard. Blend into a even paste. Incorporate three cups of olive oil(the proper term is emulsify) slowly so that there is no oil deposit. Finish with a cup of wine vinegar or WHITE balsamic if you can find some. Make your own croutons by baking a left over piece of baguette cut in cubes and soak with a little olive oil. Cut some crispy warm bacon and add it when you mix the dressing with the romaine leaves and more shave parmesan. The left over dressing is good for two weeks.