Where to go with picky eaters who don't know that they are - Montreal

[captain_vegetable]

Hi,

My husband and I will be celebrating a major milestone in our lives in about a month from now. We want to invite our immediate families out for a nice meal in Montreal. The problem is: they are all crazy. All of them. And Picky. And Crazy. Here's how (with level of concern rated from 1-10):

- My parents like classy looking places for nice meals. That seems to matter to them as much as the food. (level of concern - 2).
- My in-laws feel awkward in hyper fancy places. My mother-in-law does not like to eat Italian food at restaurants. My father-in-law does not like "Mexican food" or sushi. (level of concern - 2)
- My sister-in-law is insanely picky and kosher. She will not eat meat or seafood out of the house but will eat kosher fish. She does not like "Greek food" and will sometimes scoff at Indian because she does not like "curry". She gets upset if there are inadequate food choices for her. She claims not to be picky. (level of concern - 7)
- My sister-in-law's boyfriend is also picky and kosher. He will not eat meat or seafood out of the house but will eat kosher fish. His pickiness relates to different things than my sister-in-law. He hates Chinese food and does not like most vegetables to the point of being unwilling to try them. He is more easy going than my sister-in-law. (level of concern - 4)
- My husband's grandmother loves to complain, especially about food. She hates any spice (basic BBQ Sauce is too spicy) and claims that garlic makes her burp. She will decide that she hates a restaurant before walking through the door. She is not an adventurous eater. She complains when a restaurant is not classy but will also complain when the prices are too high (i.e. more than you would pay at the average Early Bird Special). She does not like loud places. Basically, wherever we go, she'll hate it. (level of concern - should be 0 but really is 6 because I don't want to deal with her kvetching the whole night, which she will do . . . loudly . . . ).
- My husband and I are happy adventurous eaters. I am a pescatarian (because of my love for shrimp that will live through the ages) but never have trouble finding something to eat. Given our choice of where to eat on an average night we would happily go to India Curry House or the Szechuan place on Guy (mmmm). We have a hot sauce collection. We travel for food and have never left any country saying "that food is crap" (and that includes Scotland). We are pretty much happy with anything. (level of concern - 0)

About the night:
- We are looking for some place special that doesn't feel like its trying too hard. We would be happy to pay $100 per person including food, one drink each (they won't want to drink more than that), tax and tip.
- Given the group, I'm thinking about going to a steakhouse, not overly pretentious French food, terroir food or some type of food that they never have tried so they can't really hate it yet.

I would be forever in your debt if you could help me decide where to go. I love our family, but they are all crazy.

THANK YOU!

[captain_vegetable]

I just remembered this thread and that I should post to let everyone know how the evening went.

Gibby's was a great success. We had a good time. Everyone ate. It was sufficiently fancy while not overdone for everyone. Nobody complained, and the night ended with alcoholic coffees set on fire.

They should change their motto (if they have one) to "Gibby's: your crazy family won't hate it!"

[TheSnowpea]

Heee! I love this bit "Nobody complained, and the night ended with alcoholic coffees set on fire."

Because, really, you can't go wrong with flaming coffees!!! :-)

[ahnuld]

wow, I can commiserate with you a lot. Im jewish but would rather eat scallops wrapped in bacon than anything, yet often have to deal with these types of restrictions as well.

I think you guys are stuck going to a steakhouse or a fish place, since the insane restrictions put on you guys. La sirene was a good recommendation, and I would also offer molivos on guy for a place thats nice but not too nice and offers decent food that fits most of those requests. Also grandma might be ok with it.

Gibbies is good, but not the best steaks for the price. Its in the old port and caters to tourists so that's no surprise, but you could certainly do worse. Personally id rather do moishes for basically the same cost though.

When you end up picking a place, id call the sister in law and tell her the choice is between your selection and pied du chochon, ask her to check out the menus and pick which one she likes best. May as well have some fun with it.

[captain_vegetable]

So we called Lemeac to make a reservation and they were unwilling to take a group on the night we wanted ... so we panicked.

My husband decided to reserve Gibby's because his sister and boyfriend (the ones described above) went recently and enjoyed it. It's been about 15 years since I went to Gibby's. To 12-year-old-me, it's really old and stuffy. I'm worried that it's not a good choice. Thoughts? Is the food any good?

Thanks!

[cherylmtl]

The food is fine - it's not great, but it's certainly more than okay. However, it's a pretty good solution to your picky eater problem - there is indeed something for all of them, and should work fine. The only time I go is when I am with out-of-town visiting family, at their request (my father loves it). While the meal at Lemeac would have been better (for you, at least), I have a feeling your group will be happier at Gibby's.

[montrealwaitress]

I have to agree with the Lemeac suggestion. Another plus is that every time I've been there, the service has been so great, there was no room to complain about anything.

I don't know how many of you there are, but another little gem to try out would be Tuck Shop in St. Henri. There is always fish on the menu (perhaps advise them of the kosher need if you make a reservation there as sometimes they put bacon in the fish dishes). There is usually a steak, the place is gorgeous, the service lovely and every time I go with my vegetarian husband, they are very accommodating.

[OliverB]

Sounds like you should probably just go somewhere like Tavern on The Square to appease everyone...

(and leave the sister-inlaw and boyfriend at home!)

[superbossmom]

Lemeac is rather loud, but other than that, I think it would be a good choice for your group, Tavern on the Green also.
The fact that you want to share a celebratory meal with them should be a good reason for all of them to be accomodating and pleasant I hope. !! keep us posted on your choice !!

[captain_vegetable]

Yup. I'll post when the Leftenant (yes, that was my husband, who was smart enough to pick a handle that ranks below me) and I pick a place. Lemeac is currently the favorite, although there have been many great suggestions.

Thanks!

[OliverB]

haha sounds like my sunday night family dinners... it almost always ends up being tasteless pan asian with emphasis on no garlic (uncle fakes allergies!), chili spices (grandmother wont eat anything stronger than water), seafood-fish-shellfish of any kind (cousins wont eat anything that swims, unless it bubba gumps popcorn shrimp), msg (okay, this one's validated), or flavour (all remaining siblings and relatives). we're usually left with fried gelatonous goopy meats, cardboard noodles and vegetables bathed in sickly sweet syrup. or pizza.

jewish peoples is the craziest.

[adido]

I don't think a steak house would work because there would be very few things that they would make well that didn't involve meat unless they would be happy with creamed spinach. What about hiring private chef or caterer for the night and host a meal with a planned menu that the chef cooks and someone servers? I'm sure you could find one willing to do it for $1000 which is what you were willing to spend on dinner. Maybe you can get an entire kosher fish cooked whole with some special preparation and various sides that would please most.

[mikjomom44]

Your post made my day - sounds like my family! Anyway I think Lemeac is a great choice. You could also try La Sirene, they have a private party area (nobody can hear the kvetching) and they have all kinds of fish and not overly spiced. Good luck and mazel-tov on your milestone.

[captain_vegetable]

Thanks! Every family is crazy, though. Funny enough, the person complaining about their crazy family is always somehow magically sane. Thanks on the mazal tov.

La Sirene is another good idea. Yummy octopus that I can use to gross out my sister-in-law. =)

[Plateaumaman]

Wow, I enjoyed reading your description of your family's eating needs, quite the puzzle. I'd suggest La Colombe because it is classy but not too fancy and the food is quite classic ie. not spicy but good. Plus it is byob. And the desserts are outstanding.

[humbert]

Poissonerie Rayan on cote des neiges could fit the bill, no meat there just seafood, and the garlic and olive oil shrimps and octopus are amazing by the way....but I think I saw them have some cream based soups...I predict complaints about the line ups, the loud and busy atmosphere none the less.

[Maximilien]

What about Ramsay's Laurier ? they take reservation for groups of 6 and more.
Whatt about Lemeac ? There's enough selection for everyone ?

Maybe another type of suggestion is to split your group into 2, 3 and go to different places that will fit everyones pickiness!! :-)

Max.

[captain_vegetable]

Maybe they could all go somewhere without us and we'll just pay . . . that would also make my life easier.

Lemeac actually sounds like a great option. I enjoy it there and I think it actually fits everyone's insanity perfectly. Great idea!

[Kat]

Yes, I feel for you. I have a crazy family too. My advice is that you could never find a place that will please everyone because some people really like the role of being impossible to please, even if they will never admit it (even to themselves). So, go somewhere that makes you happy and don't worry about them, it's pointless. That said, Lemeac is a great choice in that it is upscale, but not too upscale. I don't know if they have kosher fish, though?

[captain_vegetable]

It was fun to complain about them, either way . . .

Salmon is kosher, so while the pot au feu at Lemeac contains meat base and therefore is not kosher, the salmon tartare is a-ok.

[ios94]

This sounds like a case of, "you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't". Maybe try asking each group of picky eaters what type of place they would want to go to and come to a consensus. Just sounds like too many variables.

[prima]

Will your relatives who keep kosher be willing to eat in a non-kosher restaurant- (ie salmon that is theoretically or even certified kosher, than might have been cooked on the same grill that's been grilling pork chops?) My friends who are observant would only think of eating salmon at a kosher establishment.... which would cancel out Lemeac and any restaurants serving pork or shrimp, or both meat and dairy!

[captain_vegetable]

No, they'll eat at non-kosher restaurants without any issue.

I we went to a restaurant called "The piggy shellfish and dairy emporium" they'd eat the dairy there . . . even though the cheese has rennet (which makes it not kosher). Everyone has their line, I guess.

[prima]

I guess so- that should make your work a little easier. Good luck finding a restaurant that will work for all of you, or at least most of you. ;-)

Would Ferreira on Peel work? It can be loud, especially later at night, but if you went early, midweek or on a Sunday, it might be less loud. Plenty of fin fish that could theoretically be kosher, shrimp if you're craving them, classy but not too fancy surroundings, some conservative dishes as well as more interesting dishes, and not Greek, Chinese, Indian or Italian. Not sure if Portuguese grill is too close to Greek or Italian, flavour-wise. ;-)

Guess there's always Moishe's & Queue de Cheval if you're looking for steakhouses. Both serve salmon.

http://www.moishessteakhouse.com/eng/menu.php

http://www.queuedecheval.com/ress/pdf/carte/Q_carte_en.pdf

Was going to suggest Morty's, but according to its twitterstream, it closed (permanantly) earlier this week: http://twitter.com/#!/mortysmtl

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

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Ferreira Cafe
1446 Peel, Montreal, QC H3A 1S8, CA

La Queue de Cheval Steakhouse & Bar
1221 Rene Levesque Ouest, Montreal, QC H3G 1T1, CA

[hala]

So you are basically looking for a fancy but not too fancy Kosher place that has fish and shrimp on the menu, and does early bird specials?!!

[captain_vegetable]

I know. Easy, right?

[hala]

That's probably the only advantage of living far from my family. I don't have to deal with picky eaters (ie: my mom).