Monday, August 13, 2012

Lunchtime trifecta

There is no doubt in my mind that Vancouver has the best restaurants in Canada.  I say that because Vancouver restaurants offer fascinating, delectable, beautiful food that you'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in Canada.

If Vancouver is number one, then Montreal is a very, very, very close second.

One of the aspects of Montreal's food scene that makes it so special, are the many small chef-owned restaurants that offer amazing food. Vancouver has a similar food scene in that way.
Triple Crown Dinette, is a tiny little restaurant.  Open all of eight weeks now, no tables, no chairs, just a homey little counter place with mismatched stools and a wonderful open kitchen.  Some (perhaps all?) of the entrepreneurial twenty or thirty-somethings who operate this tiny morsel of foodie heaven, are relatively new Montrealers, originally from Victoria on Canada's west coast and the US south (Kentucky, or Tennessee, I think, I should have been taking notes).
Googling the restaurant (that only has a Facebook page, not its own website) immediately yields the restaurant review I caught in the weekend paper, a Yelp! entry, and this foodie blogger's review as well as a number of other references.

Here's a map if you want to get to this gem:

View 6704 Rue Clark in a larger map
The recipes come from the chef's southern roots, specifically from his grandmother.  It's all good mouth watering food and southern hospitality rolled into one very satisfying experience.

How do you not have fried chicken with mashed potatoes, cream gravy, and a tall glass of lemonade?
The fried chicken was tender, juicy and tasty, perfectly cooked and seasoned, with a light impossibly crisp deep brown flaky crust that crunches then melts in your mouth.  The cream gravy was spicey but perfectly so, not too hot. Take a bite-size morsel of chicken on your fork, dab on some potato and gravy, and boy-oh-boy you have a scrumptious bit of food that cannot possibly be improved upon.  Easily one of the very best servings of southern fried chicken I have ever had.

The lemonade was the perfect beverage for this meal.  Made from freshly-squeezed lemons, not cloyingly sweet as lemonade often is, but perfectly tart, and just sweet enough to marry with the other flavours to make this a perfect lunch.

Add to that some fine, homey hospitality, and it's a tiny slice of food bliss.
Parking is little Italy is a pain, but not if you arrive on a Vespa. I parked mine on the sidewalk across the street where it fit perfectly between the trees without obstructing the way for pedestrians. Oh so appropriate in little Italy.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

David:

I gather that all of us should start sending funds so that you can continue with these food reviews. Either that or you should send airfare so we could sample these delights along with you

It won't be long now, only about a week . . . you should email me your schedule, and I'll try to squeeze you into my social calendar

bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube


Trobairitz said...

That looks like a perfect example of southern fried chicken. I am glad you enjoyed it. It is always nice to find tasty little niche restaurants that serve great food.

Dar said...

Mmmmmm! It looks so yummy! So one of the owners is from Victoria? I thnk I need to go rummage through the fridge.

Martha said...

I just saw this post! That looks like really, really good fried chicken. I would enjoy being there very much!

David Masse said...

Bob, as you can see I've been too busy to look after the basic courtesy of replting to blog comments in a timely manner. I really missed seeing you and fellow bloggers in August. No big deal though, Susan and I will be making it to Vancouver at least twice a year, so there will opportunities to make up for it.

Trobairitz, it was really good. There's another little restaurant in the city that is also suppose to have awesome homestyle fried chicken. I see if I can try that too.

Dar, I'd encourage you and motorcycle man to come here and open a restaurant too, but I'm dreading the election results here on Tuesday. There won't be any good outcomes, at least not for me. So stay away until we see how it shakes out.

Martha, no matter what the outcome in the election, this will always be a great place to visit.

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