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NDG — Here’s a very specific business concept: newly arrived on Queen Mary Road is Solomos, a part-fishmonger, part-comptoir that is focused almost entirely on salmon (particularly smoked salmon). It’s selling bulk smoked salmon (including a pastrami-like option and a hot-smoked peppered one), but for those looking to get something prepared to eat, there are salmon tartares and a selection of bagel and lox sandwiches — or the “lox box” if you need breakfast or a snack for six to eight people.
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PLATEAU — A new pan-African restaurant has settled into the former Arepera space on Duluth Street. Ô Baobab focuses on cuisines from central Africa (Congo, Cameroon), over to the west (Senegal). The menu is wide ranging, from Senegalese yassa (a tangy, spicy chicken dish) to Cameroonian ndole, a meaty peanut stew, as well as spiced grilled chicken and pork options, mostly at modest, $15 to $20 prices.
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MILE END — A new Antillean option is available on Parc, with Amalgame Cuisine now open in the former Place Western location near St-Joseph. Expect griot, barbecue and jerk chickens, crispy accras, and pulled pork on plantain patties, to name just a few items.
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DOWNTOWN — New resto SLK RD (that’s “Silk Road” if you buy some vowels) has arrived on Peel Street — with ties to the Houston Avenue restaurant brand, it’s from some of the people behind now-closed Old Montreal restaurant Mercuri (minus chef Joe Mercuri himself). It’s billed as drawing inspiration from Silk Road trade routes (China westward all the way to the edge of Europe), but we’re not sure where menu items like ”poke nachos” fit into that historic trade route. In any case, it’s very, uh, international. And the inside looks neat.
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VERDUN — Vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free bakery Audacieuse Vanille has found a permanent home, opening on Wellington and Hickson in Verdun — expect cookies, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and more.
ST-HENRI — Speaking of sweet treats, Montréal-Ouest cupcake maker Emma’s Boutique Gourmande has expanded, bringing its elaborately-frosted cakes and doughnuts as well as fully-loaded milkshakes to the former Chez Fred location on Notre-Dame W, just near Atwater.
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ST-LEONARD — Apparently owned by Vincenzo Guzzo of Guzzo Cinemas’ fame is this newcomer for the east — Giulietta is focused on Neapolitan-style pizzas, so expect lots of bubbly, thinner crusts with a selection of mostly classic red and white toppings.
TMR/VILLE-ST-LAURENT — Peruvian sandwich spot Sandouchon (one of few notable places worth eating in the downtown Montreal mall labyrinth) has doubly branched out, adding two new locations for its beefy lomo saltado sandwiches, duck hearts, and more — one in the Rockland Centre, and another in Place-Vertu.
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DOWNTOWN — Rather Québécois Outremont bistro Les Enfants Terribles is trying out something a little different downtown — it has a new cantine on Sherbrooke West in the former Chinoiseries & Dumplings, which was part-owned by Enfants Terribles’ Francine Brûlé. On offer is a pared-down and more casual version of the mini-chain’s other menus — some burgers and poutines, a pâté de campagne, and a few meatier dishes including ribs and duck confit.
SHAUGHNESSY VILLAGE — “Asian Tapas Bar” (in its own words) Bistro 18 has opened on Sainte-Catherine near Guy. It’s self-describing as “Asian-American” but with options like karaage, teriyaki, takoyaki, and eggy omurice, it’s leaning somewhat heavily into Japanese food.