Beer-Drinking Habs Fans Don't Really Care For Molson — and Other News

THE WORLD OF HOCKEY — Here’s some holiday-season corporate schadenfreude to enjoy: it’s well known that beer giant Geoff Molson and his family own the Montreal Canadiens, and they’re the same family that founded Montreal’s Molson Brewery. (They’re now major stakeholders in the newer mega brewing company Molson-Coors.) Molson Canadian is even the official beer of the Habs until 2020, and features prominently (and at inflated prices) at the Bell Centre. But Habs supporters might not be picking up what Molson is putting down: a survey of thousands of hockey fans from product reviews site Influenster suggests that Budweiser is actually the preferred beer of Habs fans. The survey provided a solid list of beers to choose between, but wasn’t exhaustive, and only female fans were asked, as women are the majority of Influenster’s members. But in any case, it’s still mildly amusing.

(For the record — Winnipeg Jets fans also preferred Budweiser, and Oilers fans like Bud Light. No team’s fans picked Molson as their favourite.)

Influenster

VILLAGE — Le Mousso, one of the local restaurant world’s biggest hits of 2015, looks to be expanding this winter. Chef-owner Antonin Mousseau-Rivard posted a somewhat oblique Facebook update showing a construction zone in the former La Réserve du Comptoir space on Amherst, which was Le Mousso’s neighbour until it closed earlier this year. It seems more likely that Mousseau-Rivard is simply expanding the dining room rather than opening a new project, but Eater is reaching out for details.

ALL OVER QUEBEC — Quebec has a brand new series of culinary awards, Les Lauriers de la Gastronomie Québécoise. It’s a non-profit that will award 15 prizes annually, including chef, restaurant, newcomer, pastry chef, and sommelier of the year; some awards are also for producers, not just the hospitality industry. Most winners will be decided by a small jury in tandem with a large brigade of culinary professionals — the inaugural award ceremony (which will cover all of 2017) will happen next April.

MONTREAL — Looking for a last-minute gift for beloved eater? A new, locally-made app named Treater is now on the scene, offering open-ended gift cards that can be used at a host of Montreal restaurants, both fine dining (Damas, H4C Place St-Henri, Lili Co.) and casual (Marusan, Patrice Pâtissier). Details are on Treater’s website.

MONTREAL — Winter culinary festival Montréal en Lumière announced its programming recently, and this year’s featured region is Quebec’s Côte-Nord (so, Tadoussac, Sept-Îles, and surrounds). Expect foresty, boreal flavours, and likely some seafood, although the number of events focused on the region is pretty small so far.

ALL OVER QUEBEC — Burger chain Harvey’s is expanding its presence in the province, with chickeny parent company St-Hubert envisioning around 45 new locations for Harvey’s around Quebec.

CITÉ-DU-MULTIMÉDIA — Charming William Street breakfast and lunch spot Mélisse is now an all-purpose restaurant, adding dinner service to its offerings some six months after opening. The menu has a bistro feel, with ribs, a calamari salad, boudin tartine, and more, served Wednesday through Saturday evenings.

ALL OVER — A hefty list of local chefs are encouraging Quebecers to buy local products this holiday season, including Marc-André Jetté (Hoogan et Beaufort), Graziella Batista (Graziella), Antonin Mousseau-Rivard (Le Mousso) — read their full statement over here.

PLATEAU — Finally, club-staurant Buonanotte has had a double makeover: renovations have added more pastel colours in place of the more party-vibe colouring that used to dominate, alongside banquettes, for more of a convivial feel (take a look below). There’s also a new chef: Joseph Alexandre Awad is now in charge, and while the menu remains Italian, the revamped menu will focus on dishes that allow a smaller number of ingredients to shine.

Raphael Mitchell/Buonanotte

Raphael Mitchell

Raphael Mitchell

• Molson Canadian Announces Five-Year Deal as Official Beer Sponsor of the Montreal Canadiens [HockeyPub]
• Côte-Nord Goes South [Montréal en Lumière]
• St-Hubert Group set to expand the Harvey's brand throughout Quebec [CNW]
• Two Promising All-Purpose Restaurants Have Landed in Cité-du-Multimédia [EMTL]
• Local Chefs Make an Appeal to Quebecers [Chef514]