Grumman 78 Food Court @ Faubourg

[Mr.Big]

Nice to have a different tasty option at this food court when the lineup at Bangkok gets too long...

Menu currently offers a variety of 4-5 tacos, along with a few side dishes and beverages. Taco pricing varies between 4-7$, which if I recall, is slightly cheaper than the truck ones, but they were also a bit smaller (but just as tasty!)

Lunch is on the pricey side once you put it all together. We were two, each had a Banh Mi taco (pork belly with sweet oyster sauce and traditional banh mi toppings...a tad sweet but very good), tomatoes and cornbread croutons salad (nice mix), Chilaquiles (tortillas in tomato sauce with arugula , pecorino shavings and meatballs that were a bit dry, but the dish a great accompaniment overall), two sip sac drinks, (served in a bag! nice!) one jugo verde (a bit too spinachy) and a refreshing hibiscus tea. Altogether ~30$, which is ok at a resto but because we were in a food court, felt a bit on the pricey side.

Short lineups, service brisk...they are located to the right once you come up the escalators (the Dollarama is in between Grumman and Bangkok). Definitely a great addition to the downtown food scene.

[westaust]

Went twice to their new stand at Faubourg, and overall i find it better than at the truck.

First time: Turkey with Pepper sauce taco (pulled turkey, mashed potato and pepper sauce) really good one, different than the turkey dinner one, and filling, and the Spicy-Dynamite Salmon Salad, name says it all, kinda like the filling of dynamite sushis, with big chunks of salmon, really good, fresh and the portion size was good.

Second time (today) Jerk chicken taco (jerk chicken, rice and some white sauce) not a fan of it at all, none of the spicyness usually found in jerk chicken, and the white sauce (something along the lines of yogourt and cucumber) removed the little flavor the chicken had. Feta Pimenton, their vegetarian classic, and it seemed the taco was more full than it is usually at the truck (at the truck, they sometimes put 2 tacos in the same paper container, whereas this one was taking the whole space) and the fried chicken, wow that was really good, hot, juicy with the honey on top, reminded me of my mom's recipe when i was younger. Potato salad underneath was good, not too "mayo-ey"

It's not cheap (turkey, chicken and pimenton taco are all 4$, fried chicken is also 4$ and salmon salad was 8$) but well worth it imo, (i'd rather spend 12$ there than 10$ at thai express) and will surely go back again.

[OliverB]

I had te turkey with pepper sauce yesterday and thought it sucked. I also had the chilaquile and apart from hemeatballs, it was sickening and tasted like soggy Doritos... I tossed it in the trash. Hate to be so down on the Mntreal foodscene as of late, but if Grumman is the benchmark for street food in this city, it's a pretty grim looking state. I realize that they are not trying to be an authentic taqueria, but these really have nothing to do with tacos of any origin at all, and they are really not very good, and pretty overpriced imo. I won't ever be back.

[harry in montreal]

I had the pork and lamb tacos this week. Delicious!

DON'T order the meatball nachos to go! They don't travel very well. Meatballs good but chips in the poubelle

[SnackHappy]

Aren't they meatball chilaquiles? There's kind of a difference texture-wise.

[harry in montreal]

Mystery meat-balls. Very good n juicy. Even take out.

[SnackHappy]

Yes but I was talking about the tortilla part. Chilaquiles are leftover bits of tortilla soaked in sauce. It's normal that they be soggy.

[OliverB]

^ Not normal that they taste like disgusting four-day old doritos left to stew on the passenger seat of someone's overheated smelly nissan. They are not good. Not with a few wasted pieces of arugula and cheese sprinkled on top, and not enough to justify a couple of "okay" meatballs at almost $10. I dumped the entire thing in the trash.

I suppose Grumman could acceptably pass for Faubourg food court fare, but anyone who's been to the opposite coast would never put this stuff in their mouth. They just really don't do anything very good.

[Maximilien]

How long are the lines at lunch time (12:30-ish) ?

Thanks.

[TheSnowpea]

Went yesterday a few ticks after noon. The lineup was not bad AND they are fast at dishing up. Know what you want and be ready to order.

I had the beef ancho taco topped with guacamole, with the cornbread and tomato salad and the green juice. It was taste and while not huge, the portions were enough for me.

My quibble would be the juice, which is served in a plastic bag with a thin straw, was too chunky for the straw and, as we say in French, "ça pognait dans le coude"... and there was no graceful way of drinking it out of the bag sans straw...

[kpzoo]

Tried Grumman 78 yesterday with a couple of friends.

Overall verdict: I'll be back.

Although chicken legs are my least favourite part of the bird, I really enjoyed the substantial-sized fried drumstick - very tender meat with a tasty crispy coating. The potato salad was excellent, speckled with nice bits of dill pickle. A great deal at $4 for the combo.

I also enjoyed the tomato-cornbread-crouton salad. Don't know where they get their tomatoes, but they're the best out-of-season tomatoes I've tasted in a long time. The dressing was delicious too.

Both dishes were enough to fill me right up and I wasn't tempted to order anything else.

The horchata-in-a-bag - although a little on the sweet side - had that perfect rice-pudding-as-a-drink taste that you either love or hate. It was also a huge portion (2 cups?).

Photos below include my friends' pimenton & feta taco, papas Grumman, jugo verde, and chilaquiles - the latter being a massive dish of meatballs topped with tortilla chips in sauce and salad that was so big my friend couldn't even finish.

[Fritzy]

Everybody is talking about the fillings. What are their tortillas like? ( It is so long since I had a really good wheat tortillas that I am starting to forget what a really good freshly made tortillas tastes like...)

[SnackHappy]

AFAIK they don't use wheat tortillas. They use corn tortillas and they're pretty generic.

If you want a fresh wheat tortilla in Montreal, you'll have to make it yourself. That's what I do.

[captain_vegetable]

Just wondering what others are thinking - with the opening of a permanent location for Grumman, is the food truck dream in Montreal dead (again)?

[catroast]

if i recall from the cjad interview with leslie chesterman, they plan to continue food truck operations

[OliverB]

Ate at Grumman last week and had a delicious chicken mole taco and a not so hot bacon something or other that the chick behind the counter recommended. Also had that milk drink in a bag which I found totally gross... it's a bag of milk with cinammon and a straw poking out. Sickeningly sweet and gross. The chicken taco was really great and messy though!

[catroast]

I had the mole last week as well and I found it bland and tasted mostly of corn. I also tried the Bahn mi taco. The pork was way too mushy and the assembled unit didn't really 'pop' I make way better pulled pork and pickled vegetables at home. I found it pricey and disappointing. The service was also very slow. it shouldn't take long to assemble two tacos. i've had faster service at yuki and they make the freaking noodles from scratch. I likely won't return because $4 is too pricey for a tiny taco. If they were $3 I would return. the ingredients and preparation do not warrant a premium fee. let's not kid ourselves for $8 you get a light snack.

[Ghostquatre]

By milk drink you mean the horchata? Man I was hoping they'd do that right

[jay_81k]

haha I agree about that horchata drink, its nasty! Its not that they do it bad, its just a bad drink, not for everyone..

[liquidrawhide]

+1 That the food at Grumman is tasty.

+1 That the food at Grumman is pricey.

Totally agree with catroast that $8 is buying you a snack, here, rather than a meal. Granted, the preparation and quality of ingredients is certainly above-par compared to most generic food court fare, but the quantity/cost ratio is definitely low.

When you consider that $5.95 gets you a massive, amazing kebab or Tikka sandwich on Naan at Poulet Tikka just steps in one direction and $7.95-$8.95 gets you a very filling, delicious Thai dish at Bangkok just steps in the other, you need to be in the mood for a minor splurge if you want to get filled up on Grumman's offerings at lunch.

[catroast]

I don't agree that the ingredients are noticeably better than any other place. I would agree that they practice much better hygiene and food safety practices than some of the other places.

Speaking of the Faubourg, the lebanese place, Samir deserves kudos for recently stepping up their game. They have great salads and good hummus. Samir is the new mr Boustan - very very friendly and the food is good --- I had Boustan yesterday and Samir today. Samir for the win.

[hungryann]

Does Samir toast their pita sandwiches like Boustan? Have you noticed if there has been a significant change in the food since the original owner of Boustan sold the place last year?

[catroast]

They do not toast the pitas on a grill - they press them like most other places. I haven't had Samir's pita recently, but I'd bet that Boustan is still the winner in that domain. I had a chicken plate at Boustan yesterday. I didn't notice anything appreciably different. The food was - OK. I thought there was too much tahini in the hummus. Samir has excellent salads which I prefer over rice/microwaved potatoes.

[kpzoo]

Are you saying that a $4 taco and $4 tomato/cornbread salad, say, would not be enough to fill someone up for a meal unless they had a very tiny appetite? Guess I'll find out next week when I'm slated to visit!

p.s. I'm personally more freaked out by the $7 price tag for a pastry over at Olivier Potier but I still need to try them out too. ;-)

[Fintastic]

I'd say that its a reasonable lunch, though on the small side. I've easily put away 4 Grumman tacos at once (with crab salad on top) without much effort, and I'm not so big.

[kpzoo]

OK, interesting - thanks. Guess I'll just have to see for myself. This'll be my first Grumman 78 taco.

[catroast]

I wouldn't discourage you from trying it, but I hope that they come to their senses! I've gone to the Faubourg a few days in a row and the lineup for Grumman at lunch was always small compared to the other places.

[ios94]

4 Tacos for $20 (possibly more), hard to justify. I had the Ancho beef taco when they were outdoors in Feb during Mtl Lumiere for $6 and the beef included was minimal. Does anyone know where they source their meat from? Is it locally sourced, is that why they charged premium prices. I would think this would be advertised if that was the case.

[SnackHappy]

I reckon the problem is that they're probably using a fine-dining pricing structure for a food truck. They're not going for volume, so they charge what you would expect to pay for the same dish at a mid-range sit down restaurant, except that they are serving this stuff outside to people who eat it standing up or in a food court. To me that makes little sense, but there's a market for everything, and especially for things as supertrendy as food truck tacos.

[ios94]

Yup, your theory sounds bang on to me.

[marblebag]

Bangkok stopped being delicious 2 years ago. Now it's just a thai express.

[blork]

FWIW, I think the pimenton/feta is the best taco, at least of the ones I've tried. Second place is the Banh mi. The Turkey Dinner one I had was kind of disgusting; a bit of roasted turkey with a congealed gravy and some other heavy stuff. Nothing tangy or acidic to balance the heavyness. Bleh.

[chilipepper]

Dropped by for banh mi taco tonight and noticed no lineup at Bangkok compared to long one for Grumman - funny...

[Erica2125]

Any idea what kind their hours are? I can't find anything on their website and am wondering if they are keeping regular hours yet.

[carolilas]

I, too, would be very interested to know their opening hours as I'd like to try one of their tacos next Sunday...

[C70]

tweet Hilary http://twitter.com/#!/grumman78

[kpzoo]

I saw them say "11:30-7:30 depending how busy we are" on their Facebook page last week, but like C70 says it's probably best to tweet them directly regarding the specific day you want to go as it sounds like they're still working out their hours.

[BLM]

Normally they're closed Sunday & Mondays(although their opening day was Sunday April 1st).

[marblebag]

I didn't like the banh mi taco last year from the truck but they said they changed the recipe.

I tried the lamb curry taco (good but too soggy for the single tortilla) and sweet potato fries with garlic sauce. I had to ask for salt as the fries were too sweet.

I spent 6 years in California eating from taco trucks so I too miss the regular fare but I don't think it's what they want to do.

It's not food court food but the rent is cheaper there so why not. Yuki Ramen is a better deal but not the same food.

[chilipepper]

Do they take debit/credit?

[causeimhungry]

They take everything except Amex.

[captain_vegetable]

+1 for liking it. I went today for lunch with my DH. I had 2 feta-chili tacos and cornbread. DH had a banh mi and the Chilaquiles.

The feta-chili tacos were delicious! They were spicy but not too spicy and had the crunch of radishes, the salty yummy of the feta and were even better with a squeeze of lime. Plus, they were messy. I truly believe that the messier the food, the tastier the food.

The cornbread was very good too. The cornbread was more of a crouton. Don't expect it to be soft. But there was a lot of liquid from the ripe tomatoes and the marinade and sauce, so the fact that it was a crouton kept the cornbread from becoming a mushy mess. There was a nice amount of acidity to the dish. The only complaint I have is that, as you get to the bottom of the dish, where it is wetter, it got a little too salty for me.

My DH enjoyed his banh mi taco. He said that was better than the Chilaquiles. I didn't try either, so I really can't comment on them.

My DH thought that at $12 per person, it was expensive for a food court. I thought that I have paid a lot more for much lower quality food elsewhere so, IMHO, the price is worth it, especially bearing in mind that, while Grumman is located in a food court, it is not what I would call 'typical food court' food.

[catroast]

10 years ago, people would have said that $12 for a food truck meal was expensive. Now you can find multi-course gourmet meals served from food trucks at a premium. Satay brothers also charge a moderate-hefty price when employing a food stall analogy --- but i'm there! Given where foodie culture is headed in Montreal, I am sure that priced as-is, Grumman will do fine.

[AlexCV]

I went and enjoyed it. We tried the lamb curry (wife's favorite), the turkey dinner and the pork stick.

Enjoyed all of them but I really wish they had more normal tacos too. Something with carne asada.

[C70]

Yes! A fish taco would be nice too- is there one?

[Ghostquatre]

I wish they had normal tacos at normal prices...

[causeimhungry]

I had the banh mi taco today for 4$ and it was so loaded with fresh ingredients, I ended up ordering two more. A junior whopper at Burger King costs as much, so I'm not really sure what you would consider a "normal price". I also tried the fried chicken (on a bed of potato salad), the tomatoes and cornbread, and the papas grumman and they were all equally as good as the tacos. I found the food-court location to be tastier than the times I had tried it from the truck. I will definitely be back for more, I was really impressed.

[kpzoo]

Thanks for the pics! That tomato-cornbread salad looks awesome. And thanks to westaust & jay_81k above for the scoop on the turkey taco. Both are on my to-try list now.

[catroast]

first, a whopper jr is 2.29. having finally tried Grumman, I no longer agree that $4 is a fair price. It's a bit excessive.

[Ghostquatre]

hyperboles eh. it sure is easy to make a mini taco look loaded. A regular banh mi will cost you 2.75$ have more fillings and more bread. The filling is so cheap, and I doubt Grumman's fillings is way of much better quality than the shops in chinatown.

I'm really tempted to try the fried chicken though. I hope it's not just a drumstick over potato salad

[catroast]

even though they store their cooked chicken in a plastic shopping bag, chicken tikka's naan sandwich is still the best deal at the faubourg --- and it is delicious, provided they make the naan fresh and not pull one out of the other shopping bag.

[hungryann]

I tried that sandwich once at the end of the day and the ingredients seemed stale and the whole sandwich was dry. If ever i'mthere around lunchtime, I will give it another go. The best Indian sandwich I 've had is at ShahiPalace in the WI; it's out of the way for most city dwellers though.

[catroast]

what's the sandwich at Shahi Palace like? The lunch rush is the best time for the chicken sandwich at Tikka and I promise that it is very good.

[hungryann]

Same principle: naan bread, tandoori chicken or seeks kebab, salad veggies and some creamy sauce. Highly recommended because the ingredients are all fresh. I'll give Chicken tikka another chance.

[catroast]

excellent. i'll give it a try next time i visited my family

[AlexCV]

I don't mind the prices, 4$ for decent ingredients in a taco shell isn't that bad, I just wish they had more traditional taco as well.

I do intend on going back when I'm in the neighborhood.

[kpzoo]

Thanks for the report!

Has anyone tried the "turkey dinner" taco? What's in it and is it good?

[westaust]

If it's anything like the one i once tried at their truck, it was turkey, stuffing, cranberry, basically a thanksgiving meal in a taco

[jay_81k]

Ya I tried the turkey dinner taco yesterday. It was good, could have been better slightly but still enjoyed it. And yes, turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. The Banh Mi Taco was really good.

[Chocolatesa]

Awesome! I live a few blocks away from there so I'll have to try it sometime :)