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Super hip French diner Foiegwa opened this summer at the border between Saint Henri and Little Burgundy, complete with its adjacent "back alley bar" Atwater Cocktail Club. Initial reviews, and all of the accompanying Instagrams, were promising. Last week, professional critic Lesley Chesterman wrote about her experience in Montreal Gazette.
She explained the concept:
The Americanized French diner concept extends to the menu, though it really is more French than American, with stereotypical dishes like garlic snails, onion soup, Dover sole meunière and entrecôte frites. The listing for frog’s legs with fries and ranch dressing made me smile (how’s that for American/French fusion?), though I wondered whether these “cuisses de grenouilles” were sustainable, like the fish and seafood dishes listed on the menu.
And then she went to work on the menu, which she admired for “quality of ingredients and the clean plating,” though she siad it’s not “perfect” yet. So what is perfect? The namesake foie gras at Foiegwa.
And as for the foie gras: perfect. Served seared, the liver was golden-crusted on the outside, pudding-like on the inside and placed atop a round of fig brioche and a spoonful of tomato jam. At $25, the foie runs a bit steep, but it’s worth it.
Another new restaurant Moleskin came under the scrutiny of Marie-Clause Lortie for La Presse. Visiting the new (ish) restaurant is like moving through multiple concepts. Moleskine's first floor serves a more casual, simple, and seasonal menu, as well as coffee, and wines on tap. On the second floor, there’s a more complete, and refined menu, replete with a huge wood fired pizza oven. Lortie gave her picks for best navigating the layout. An omelette with chanterelles can’t be missed and a suckling pig with clams was a success The salads didn’t fare as well, but in the end Lortie said she would go back, and already has.