I was overwhelmed. Like the loose, winding and overly dramatic plot line of Cable Girls, the website for this year’s Montreal en Lumiere makes me want to close my computer and read a book. It’s just too much, from the growing hordes of restaurants inviting guest chefs and sommeliers from around to pop-up in their kitchens; to a gluten free and vegan patisserie class; to a Carnival celebration via a Village Caribbean restaurant (complete with conch fritters); to an Indigenous cooking class.
Every year this festival (which isn’t just a food festival) gets bigger. How are you possibly supposed to choose where to drop over $100 on dinner (without wine) when there are what feels like 100 options? There used to be maybe 30 choices (the creme de la creme of the Montreal fine dining scene) and a theme (e.g. Belgium), so you’d look up who was inviting Michelin Star Belgian chefs or offering some unique Belgian stew or something fancier than moules-frîtes and you’d make the splurge.
Now, I’m at a loss. There’s much, in fact, that I don’t think I’ll go to anything!
It’s the classic sales problem. Give a customer too many options and they’ll choose none of them.
So in the tradition of the smart investing, I’m going to pick completely randomly and tell you to go to those and your experience will be just as good if not better than if I (or you) had waded through the murky waters of the Montreal Highlights Festival website.
And I’ll select a few extra special ones if I happen to come across them. But remember, it’s the banks who always win. And if I were more into making money, I would have been a lawyer.
Top Picks for Restaurants at Montreal en Lumière 2020
Most Expensive
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Guest Chef: Christophe Bellanca
What you need to know: Bellanca heads several Robuchon restaurants in NY, Miami and Houston.
How much: $225 plus tax and tip for 7 courses (wine will cost extra)
Dates: Feb. 27-29
Less Expensive
Jérôme Ferrer
Guest Chef: Youssef Akiki
What you need to know: This chef from Beirut is planning a gourmet Lebanese evening, which is something we don’t see enough of in Montreal, especially when there might be some cool imported products involved, which makes all the difference.
How much: $115 for ten courses, plus tax and tip
Dates: Feb. 24-25
Joséphine
Guest Chef: Melissa Craig
What you need to know: Craig is from Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler, BC. That’s a big deal. Add to that the fact that she’s the only woman ever to win the Canadian National Apprentice Competition and Gold Medal Plates’ Canadian Culinary Championships. She’s 40 now and in her culinary prime.
How much: $95 or $150 with wine for six courses, plus tax and tip
Dates: Feb. 28-29
Still Less Expensive
Hélicoptère
Guest Chef: Cortney Burns
What you need to know: Burns is a female chef from Bar Tartine in San Francisco and nicknamed the “godmother of fermentation.”
How much: $65 plus tax and tip, or $120 with wine pairings plus tax and tip
Dates: Feb. 29 and Mar. 1 (two seatings each night)
Chez Chose
Guest chef: No guest chef
What you need to know: One of the dinners at Chez Chose is an all-smoked meal from Chef Marie-France Desrosiers’ home cold smoker using fresh and local ingredients. And the price is right.
How much: $55 for 4-courses, or $73 with beer pairings or $85 with wine pairings, plus taxes and tip.
Dates: Feb. 20
A Steal
Le Margaux
Guest chef: Léni Cruz Matute
What you need to know: This chef worked with Peruvian celebrity chef Gastón Acurio for more than 10 years and is the chef at Acurio’s Panchita in Santiago, Chile where the menu is one of Peruvian criollo classics like beef anticucho skewers, aji de gallina and duck it rice, peanut and pork carapulcra, suckling pig and baby goat stew.
How much and dates: There’s still space in the $55 dinner on Feb. 21, but for a lighter option, there’s a $28 lunch Feb. Feb. 26-28 (cross your fingers for ceviche).
Free!
As always, the Fête des Fromages d’Ici (Festival of Our Cheeses) is a great way to fill up on gorgeous Quebec cheeses for a grand total of $0. Yes, the cheese is available for purchase ansd the lines to sample are often long at lunchtime and afterwork, and all weekend long, but the options are stellar. And did I mention free?
Do your own research
Wow, I’m exhausted. And I only listed a handful of things at the festival. But I’m just going to tell you that there’s also Nuit Gourmande, which is where tons of restaurants are having special popup events like winter barbecues and raclette nights. And a bunch of stores are also having tastings. Keep your eyes peeled also for wine and Champagne tastings, plus the Mondial des Cidres (its own cider festival, which is not free like the cheese fest). There are happy hours and oyster tastings and culinary tours and round-table discussions and lots of outdoor fun and free events in the Place des Festivals.
So, happy hunting! I’m going to go have a nap and not think about food.
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