Reservoir: the neighborhood watering hole

Since my move to Montreal's Plateau neighborhood last summer, I've spent many evenings down the street at Reservoir. On a student budget, it's a bit of an expensive pick, but the homemade microbrews and savory snacks more than make up for its price. The bar is great for summer evenings when the second floor balcony opens, but in the winter, the first floor is super cozy.

I ventured in for a pint of hefeweizen just the other night. A piping hot glass of calamari and lime mayo accompanied my beer, and to be honest, after I finished the calamari, I wanted to order more snacks.

Reservoir is also open for brunch of Sundays. My last morning visit consisted of a perfectly concocted allonge, poached eggs on top of wild atlantic lox, and sweet biscuits topped with blueberry jam.

This bar is a foodie's dream come true. I'm going back tomorrow.

Reservoir
9 Duluth Est
Montreal, Quebec
514-849-7779

A Twist on Huevos Rancheros

Sunday mornings have become a time for the housemates of 4080 to get together for a meal and some coffee. Last week, Cosmin, the computer-science housemate was in the mood for quesadillas, and I was in the mood for eggs. So we brainstormed and came up with a perfect breakfast recipe. It's an avocado and mozzerella quesdilla, topped with a sunny-side-up fried egg and a black bean tomato and garlic puree. Lime juice, hot sauce, or ketchup are optional.

Serves 4
4 small tortillas
2 cups of shredded cheddar
1 giant and perfectly ripe avocado
8 eggs
1/2 can black beans
1 medium tomato
3 cloves of garlic
tabasco!

In a food processor, combine the garlic, tomato, and black beans until they are pureed. Heat them on low until the mixture is warm. You don't want it to cook... Otherwise the garlic will lose its potency.

In a lightly buttered pan, heat both sides of each tortilla. Then add the cheese and avocado, fold the tortilla over and cook on medium until the cheese melts. Repeat for each tortilla.

In a separate frying pan, cook the eggs sunny-side up. I like them runny, but they're your eggs, so cook them however you like.

Put the eggs on top of the quesadilla, and top the eggs with the black bean puree. You can always add tabasco (my personal fave!), ketchup, or lime juice.

SOOOOO tasty. I promise. The two dudes I currently live with were in awe of the flavor explosion that occurred after the first bite.

Enjoy!

Wintery French Onion Soup

I'm super cold and lazy as of late, so I've reintroduced myself to soups for the season. This particular french onion soup recipe is easy and absolutely delicious. The key is not allowing the onions to burn and simmering the broth for at least 45 minutes. It's perfectly complemented by a toasted slice of olive bread and melted gruyere.

4 large yellow onions, sliced lengthwise
4 (or more!) gloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups beef broth (this can be substituted by vegetable broth, however, stay away from chicken broth. trust me!)
some salt and pepper

Cook the onions and garlic in butter and olive oil on medium-high heat until they start to brown. Make sure they first become translucent and soft though, because if they brown too quickly, you'll have burnt soup. And please please please do not substitute the butter. Here's the deal: butter adds intense flavor, especially to french dishes. In the end, you'll only be consuming 1/4 tablespoon of butter, so just enjoy the taste of the butter and don't feel guilty about it.

When you feel the onions are at the perfect texture and color, add the broth. I recommend allowing the soup to simmer for 45 minutes (at least!), before turning the heat down. The longer the soup cooks, the more intense the flavor of the onions will be. This is lovely.

If by the end of cooktime, your soup feel too thin/liquid, you can add a teaspoon of flour. Please make sure to sift the flour in slowly though, as it's imperative to avoid flour clumps.

Serve hot with some toasted bread and cheese.

Delicious!