Last week it was bagels, and this week, Eater’s Dining on a Dime takes on another Montreal staple: Portuguese rotisserie chicken.
Braving a line out the door even on a rainy spring day, host Lucas Peterson tucks into a plate loaded with fries, salad, and a half chicken — less than one of the 600 to 1,000 chickens that Ma Poule Mouillée grills up on a daily basis. He also discovers the deliciously heavy intersection of Portuguese and Quebecois cuisines in the form of the restaurant’s poutine, loaded with chicken, chorizo, Sao Jorge cheese, and gravy with spicy sauce.
Owner Tony Alves has been in the Portuguese chicken game for 30 years, including the last five years running his own shop on Rachel Street. Long enough to develop a secret piri-piri sauce recipe that keeps the crowds coming back, but certainly not long enough for him to get bored with the bird business.
“Never tired [of chicken],” Alves says.
Dining on a Dime will release Montreal episodes weekly until late September — click here to watch episode one, where Lucas rolls, boils and bakes at St-Viateur Bagel.
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