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Boca Iberica Wins With Tripe And Oil, Writes Critic

And Lesley Chesterman declares her salads of the year

Boca Iberica

Journal de Montréal critic Thierry Daraize hits up Boca Iberica, that Portuguese restaurant just off St-Laurent with the slick signage that sticks out amongst the various other more low-key Portuguese bistros in the area. It hasn’t seen a critic in a few years, and Daraize is mostly stoked on the Portuguese fare — he bestows compliments on the restaurant’s offerings of various olive oils to taste, as well as a tripe dish with borlotti beans, especially since badly-done tripe could be nightmarish. But sautéed pork with clams and potato is the plat du jour: “Mon Dieu, quel ­délice!” he writes. Not all is perfect though — a sweetbread entrée is a little too firm, but overall, it’s four stars.

The Gazette has shifted into “best of 2016” mode, and is unveiling critic Lesley Chesterman’s top picks in a number of categories, day-by-day. First up is the top salads of 2016 — grill fans Foxy get accolades for a winter salad of grilled cauliflower, celery leaves, shredded duck and parmesan, which Chesterman’s early two-and-a-half star review deemed “superb”. The second salad of note was at Le Boating Club, the summery Laval restaurant from the Philémon team — their autumn salad “excited” Chesterman in September in a two-and-a-half star review, with parsnip, pumpkin seeds, iceberg, arugula and a miso dressing.

Finally, Le Devoir’s Jean-Philippe Tastet drops by oyster shucker extraordinaire Daniel Notkin’s self-titled restaurant. He’s the last big critic to visit and is much more positive about Notkins than some past critics. It’s a good sign that the oysters (at a restaurant known for just that) extract pleasurable “ohs” and “ahs” from Tastet and co., but the menu excels beyond the shellfish realm. Tastet has two particularly rave-inducing plates — perfectly-grilled Icelandic char, and beef tartare with albacore tuna, roast pepper compote, parmesan, harissa, and a lightly cooked egg is in total harmony. The downside? Pedestrian desserts straddling the line of neither good nor bad so much that Tastet can’t really describe them. Four stars. [Le Devoir]

Le Boating Club

30 boulevard Curé-Labelle, Laval, QC (450) 937-3353 Visit Website

Boca Iberica

12 Rue Rachel Ouest, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, QC H2W 1G1 (514) 507-9996 Visit Website

Notkins, bar à huîtres

1101, rue Bleury, Montreal, QC H2Z 1W1 (514) 866-1101 Visit Website

Foxy

1638 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Le Sud-Ouest, QC H3J 1M1 (514) 925-7007 Visit Website