Rebecca: Well she definitely perfected it as the vegan bourbon-vanilla ice cream was amazing – better than coconut bliss! It was a bit weird to start the day with apple pie and ice cream, but I’m not complaining.

③ Mangeoire – Gastronomie de Rue

Myrite: This was by far my favourite stop of all. It was professionally run, with a young teenage waitress who seated guests at tables throughout the mile-end apartment. We were seated at the big central table with other guests. The atmosphere was cozy and convivial. It was even BYO and if it hadn’t been the early afternoon, we would have been happy to warm up there for a while. I liked the food so much that I came back a few hours later with my husband and got to have a few more bites of his sandwich, which he described as one of the best sandwiches he’s eaten all year. It reminded us of a place in Portland called Even Tide that made lobster rolls in steamed buns with modern toppings. Delicious!

The second sandwich “Le Sophie” was vegan. Quite a sizeable sandwich, this was a homemade naan bread coloured yellow with turmeric and stuffed with tofu and pea croquettes, lemon confit, pepperoncini and cilantro. The croquettes were soft, warm and flavorful. The sandwich was topped with a sauce which we were trying to decode. It tasted like it had a tahini base, but we were satisfied leaving some mysteries unsolved.

The other sandwiches we saw come out of the kitchen looked amazing, like

Lastly we ended our meal with a take on a Portugese Nata made by Emilie’s mother. She made two varieties, one was maple syrup and the other was meyer lemon. We ordered the lemon one which reminded us of lemon curd. Delicious!!

After we dined and couldn’t stop talking about how good each bite was, we asked our waitress if we could speak to the chef. That’s when we met Emilie Gauthier, who we found out used to own a food truck called “La Mangeoire” which also featured gourmet sandwiches from around the world. Since selling her food truck, she has been working on her new cookbook, “Histoire de Sandwichs, Gastronomie de Rue” coming out in the spring. She saw restaurant day as a way to promote her new cookbook and bring her community of friends together. Stay tuned – we hope to do an interview with Emilie about her Gaspesian roots and recipes.

④ Hygge Lunch

Myrite: This place was packed the first time we walked in. There was a 20 minute lineup, so we came back after visiting the Mangeoire restaurant. We were hoping to try the laks Smorrebrod (open danish sandwich on thin rye bread, served with smoked salmon, mustard, honey and dill, radish and chives) but they were sold out (people seemed to be enjoying the veggie version, served with a squash spread, with slices of beets and creme fraiche). So we got the Glogg and I ordered a cinnamon and cardamon brioche which was fresh, warm and not too sweet. Yummy! I loved the Glogg- which was a Danish-inspired mulled wine served with sliced blanched almonds and dried fruit inside. It was around 4pm by that time so we figured it was late enough to warm up with a boozy drink.

⑤ Soupe’issime et Cake’itude

Myrite: Nice patio at the back of this apartment, with covered terrace, tables and couches. We warmed up here for a while and got to try two soups. One was a butternut squash and apple soup with maple syrup that was pureed and creamy, and delicious. The other soup was an onion-guinness soup with potato and tarragon. This soup was less flavorful and we were thankful for the salt and pepper shakers on the table to spice it up. Some shredded aged cheddar would have made it a lot better. We also got a ‘cake salé’ of Roquefort cheese, pear and walnuts, but for all the flavourful-sounding ingredients it was underwhelming and not seasoned at all. I don’t think I had a bite filled with any of the apparent ingredients in it, but maybe Rebecca did? It would have been better toasted or served warm as well. All in all this was a great stop to warm up with some soup and they were also serving more mulled wine. Soups and mulled wine/ciders were apparent throughout the different stops we made, which was a great call considering what a cold day it was!

⑥ MangeManger

Myrite: We sat in the entrance of the building to eat our food because it was so cold outside, and chairs were set up indoors. The only thing that bothered me here was that prices weren’t listed at the vendors table, so I was surprised to learn that the Chili was $6. It had a quinoa-rice base, topped with the chili made from mix of beans and tomatoes, and topped with your choice of coriander or basil and sour cream or yogurt. When asked for more spice, the servers brought down from his apartment his special stash of Argentinian dried chilis! The menu here was a little all over the place with Chocolate mousse, borscht, chili, cupcakes and tiny homemade macarons and hot sake.

Myrite: I got to pass by the pumpkin party at Depanneur Cafe hosted by Stephanie Audet who was the former chef at Crudessence. The space was transformed and decorated halloween-style with pumpkins filled with candles. Someone was playing the piano and every seat was taken as the cafe was packed with people trying everything on the menu. By that point I was pretty stuffed and on my way to a night out where I knew more food would await me, so I took pictures of what everyone else was enjoying – pumpkin soup served in a pumpkin, pumpkin corn bread, and pumpkin rum punch. I took a pumpkin-spiced cupcake to go, because they looked delish! But they tasted like raw marzipan, and when I brought some later for my friends to try they joked that it had the consistency of play doh’ so I don’t think it was a big hit. If I had more of an appetite, I would have stayed to try the soup and cornbread!

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