Dishcrawl is a genius plan hatched in California, and has recently expanded to Montreal courtesy of Dishcrawl Ambassador Jenny King. For a set price (usually around $60 per person) you get to experience four carefully curated Montreal restaurants each with a specially prepared tasting menu. Once your spot is reserved, you get an email with the first location where you will meet up with your taste-bud tour guide.

The other locations are kept secret until you’re at their door ready for another mini-meal. The Saint-Paul Dishcrawl I went on was an enormous success…

We started our evening at Chez L’Epicier, a restaurant from chef Laurent Godbout, which has carved itself a rightful place in the top tier of the Old Montreal food chain. They served a trio of tasting dishes: beef tartare on a homemade brioche bun, grilled cheese lollipop, and a Jerusalem artichoke soup shooter.

After we had our fill, we had to stay on schedule and crawl to our second secret location. Although we did less crawling and more of the patented “Montreal Penguin Shuffle” as it was 30 degrees below freezing.

Our second location turned out to be Brasero Hardi. Where upon arriving they already had a delectable cocktail awaiting our frozen fingers called “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” which was a dizzying mix of Chartreuse, Midori, lime, green tea syrup, egg white, and garnished with dried seaweed. Brasero Hardi, a relatively new player on the Saint-Paul food circuit, served us two dishes with our cocktail: Marinated spare beef ribs on top of lardon pork mashed potatoes and house smoked salmon on horseradish panna cotta.

Everyone still had space for the three slices of pizza we were served at our third location: Dolcetto & Co, which has a welcoming decor of nautical whimsy. We were left to salivate while waiting for our pizzas: one with foie gras and fig, a margharita with barrata, and one with sharp pear, gorgonzola and pine nuts.

Our forth and final restaurant was Old-Port hotspot Santos, where we got some Spanish tapas action of paella, salmon tartar and churros with chocolate for dessert! Our group of thirty strong left with our bellies full of new friendships, an expanded yet exhausted palate, and a love for the great foodie adventure now known as Dishcrawl.

The next Montreal Dishcrawl is again taking place in Old Montreal (with a new roster of restaurants) on February 26. You can follow Dishcrawl on Facebook or check their website for upcoming Dishcrawl dates.

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THE DETAILS

Chez L’Epicier, 311 Rue Saint Paul East, (514) 878-2232

Santos, 191 Rue Saint Paul West, (514) 849-8881

Brasero Hardi, 139 rue Saint-Paul West, (514) 507-4558

Dolcetto & Co, ‪151 Rue Saint Paul West, (514) 419-8522

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