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NOTRE-DAME-DE-GRÂCE — Sherbrooke Street West is home to a stylish new spot: Café Entre-Deux, which opened earlier this month. Tastet reports that designer Guillaume Lavallée is the mind behind the café’s sleek but cozy interior, an amalgam of chevron wood flooring, dark green marble counters and tabletops, and some lightly hued wooden seating. Food-wise, the offering is sandwich-centric with a nordic option, featuring shrimps and marinated celery; a grilled halloumi one dressed with an onion purée and tahini vinaigrette; and one called “Cold-Cut” with a stack of Polish ham, salami, Swiss cheese and other sandwich standbys. Helmed by Marc Flynn, Félix Poirier, and Alex Quintin, the new NDG café plans to double as an evening wine bar once it secures its alcohol license and coronavirus restrictions ease.
Entre-Deux is open Wednesday to Sunday, from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 5930 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 102.
DOWNTOWN — Starting May 21, guests staying at the Ritz-Carlton hotel will be able to order from an in-room dining menu devised in collaboration with David McMillan, chef-owner of iconic Montreal establishments Joe Beef, Liverpool House, and others. Ritz-Carlton shared the news on its Instagram account this morning (May 19), saying that McMillan partnered with the hotel’s executive chef, Johnny Porte, to deliver “his ultimate classics in the comfort of your room or while you lounge by the pool.” For mains, the menu features Cornish chicken with matzo gnocchis, Quebec lobster with spring veggies, or a crab cake with greens — all served with green beans and roasted almonds to share for two. Also listed are baked clams with pancetta, and a black pudding pâté en croûte, both as appetizers; and a 10-inch éclair for dessert.
The Ritz-Carlton is located at 1228 Sherbrooke Street West.
CITY-WIDE — The pandemic has spurred plenty of new pizza purveyors (see: Danny Pan Pizza, Segreta, Pizza Michigan, etc.) — but there’s likely only one that’s free. During the province’s second lockdown, Patrick Liu, a food scientist working in industrial food manufacturing, started making pizza for friends, until eventually concretizing these efforts into a charitable pop-up called Curfew Pizza.
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He now offers free Neapolitan-style pizzas on a lottery basis, meaning anyone can sign up on the Curfew Pizza website for a chance to be randomly selected as the recipient of one of the dozen (or occasionally up to 20) pies that Liu makes on a bi-weekly basis. Winners can choose between margherita or vegan marinara options, with a third flavour soon to be added to the menu. While the pizza is free, lottery winners are encouraged — though not obliged — to make a charitable donation, with all proceeds currently being split between Montreal day shelter Resilience Montreal and ANEB Quebec, a non-profit dedicated to helping Quebecers with eating disorders. The initiative has so far raised nearly $900 and has caught the attention of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who Liu says has agreed to match donations up to $2,000.
Sign up for the Curfew Pizza lottery here.
LA PETITE-PATRIE — The team behind east Plateau pizzeria Stella is expanding with a second location on Bélanger Street, corner Christophe-Colomb. Partners Nathalie Côté, Sara Belley, and Alessandro Bleve hope to begin slinging their Neapolitan-style pizzas at the second Stella this summer and tell Eater the menu will include a mix of familiar and new items. They’re taking over the location that previously belonged to Pizzarium, and before that, Bistro Napoli, both of which also concentrated on the Italian specialty and opened and shut in the span of less than two years.
Stella Pizzeria will open a second outpost at 1100 Bélanger Street in the summer of 2021.
LA PETITE-PATRIE — A new hybrid café and motorcycle repair shop swung open its doors on Jean-Talon East on Sunday (May 16). Idle Garage & Café is to be a gathering place for motorcycle enthusiasts but also a formidable pitstop for anyone looking to grab a coffee or snack in the area.
Idle Garage & Café is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 900 Jean-Talon East.