Want something fun and different to do in February? Are you a wannabe restaurant connoisseur? Do you want to show off to a date your culinary vocab on an affordable budget? If you have been following the recent foodie movement on social media, then you’ve probably heard of Restaurant Day, a global and cultural food movement where amateur and professional cooks come out to showcase their cuisine by opening their own pop-up restaurant.
Photo courtesy of O Bec Sucré
Restaurant Day is the world’s biggest food carnival running in 72 countries. Montreal alone had more than 60 restaurants listed to cook last year in November, ranking 3rd in the top cities.
Photo courtesy of Restaurant Day on Facebook
Keep on the lookout during February, May, August and November, the months that restaurant day runs. Even better, because it’s not focused on profit but rather on raising awareness of different organizations, all the food is available at affordable prices. #StudentBudgetFTW
#SpoonTip: Keep up to date with their schedules through their website or their Facebook page.
Last year in November, three notable groups stood out:
1. i Pastai
Not only is it impressive that one of the team’s chefs is from Montreals top restaurant Toquè, but everything is homemade and their food totally lived up to expectations. Their freshly made pasta chef’s plate composed of pizzoccheri, some strozzapreti, mandilli di seta and a side of aubergines au parmesan. Who could have imagined being able to eat so many different types of pasta in one sitting?
Photo by Eleanor Wong
Their cider poached pear was the perfect sweet treat after all the pasta. i Pastai definitely lived up to expectations, and we’re looking forward to seeing them again in the upcoming Restaurant Day.
Photo courtesy of i Pastai
2. Djinn Sirops
This company is run by Boris Sem who graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and has an interest in mixology.
His hot apple cider mocktail creation with a toasted marshmallow and Chantilly vanilla cream garnish was super nice and tasty. Truly the drink to grab for a cold day. #LookAtAllDatFoam
Check out their Instagram.
Photo by Eleanor Wong
3. O’Bec sucré
Fleur Priou, the lovely lady in charge, has worked all over the map and satisfies your sugar cravings without overdoing it. For Restaurant Day November 2015, she made chocolates, a beautiful lemon meringue pie, chou praliné and baked pastries. Her homemade marshmallows were the best, and were the softest cloud-mallows I have ever tasted. They weren’t too sweet either; this lady knows how to control her sugar. If you want something that surprises you, try her raspberry jam; it has a nice sour kick that is great for jazzing toast and desserts.
Check out her pie and cream pastries below. She also makes customized cakes to order, check out her Facebook page for more.
Photo courtesy of O bec sucré
All in all, I would say Restaurant Day was an affordable and fun event to travel around Montreal and visit people who have a real passion for food. You can see how much effort they put into their cooking and the way they look on proudly as you enjoy it. I really loved meeting the people who worked behind the scenes in the kitchens to make it happen. It’s something that we often forget when we go out to eat, that there is genuine culture in the creation of food, not just pumping out dish after dish for profit.
Check out Restaurant Day MTL’s Instagram for more tasty food pictures from the locale.
Next Restaurant Day is February 21st. Don’t miss it by following their Facebook event page.