Last weekend was our last shot to check out Igloofest here in Montreal, so my girls and I jumped on making this an opportunity to eat somewhere fabulous as well. Igloofest is an outdoor dancing festival held in Old Port, Montreal. They have many electro DJs spinning their beats while hundreds of bundled up Montrealers and out-of-towners dance the night away in their winter boots. We made sure to be there early, as the line ups build up around 8pm. After buying our tickets we made our way to one of our favorite fondue restaurants, Chez Suzette on St.Paul Est. in Vieux Montreal, Quebec. Let me start off by warning you now: Fondue is not for everyone. You have to be willing to spend at least 2 hours of your time blabbing with others and cooking your food in a communal pot. It is expected that you may lose your piece of meat, veggies, or bread once or twice in that boiling pot, but that’s part of the fun! So make sure that you surround yourself with people that you can tolerate and clear your schedule, as there is no rushing with raw foods. Upon entering Chez Suzette you will be a tad thrown off with the size of its interior. From the outside it looks like a small modest Creperie, however once you have entered its warm doors, you will notice that this small and modest resto expands to three floors. It adheres to both large dinner parties and to the romantic couple. After reviewing the menu, the girls and I chose to share the Fondue for 2 plus 1. The Fondue for two includes a traditional cheese fondue, oriental fondue with beef, and chicken with an assortment of veggies. Also included was a wonderful chocolate fondue served with seasonal fruits, crepes and marshmallows. The set price is 74.99 for two and any additional person pays half of this price. We placed our orders right away with only one modification (at a small fee); we ordered the sundried tomato and fine herbs cheese fondue rather than the traditional. Nothing tastes better with melted cheeses than the tang of freshly chopped sundried tomatoes and herbs splashed with wine. This cheesy communal pot was served to us with two baskets of bread and chopped apples with grapes. We were scrapping the bottom before we knew it and my jeans were feeling a little snug. My one complaint would be that the bread was a bit dry; I am not a fan of dry stale tasting bread and would have opted for more fruits for dipping. Our empty cheese crusted pot was quickly removed and replaced by an Oriental Fondue accompanied by one plate each of beef and chicken mixtures with fresh veggies and several dipping sauces. I managed to squeeze their secret “sauces” recipe out of one of waitresses and was surprised at how easy these are to make: 1 - plain sour cream, 2 - sour cream with Italian herbs and garlic, 3 - sour cream with curry powder (yellow), 4 - mayo with ketchup, and 5 - spicy chipotle splashed with Tabasco. I must say…everything does taste better with sour cream (sorry to those who are lactose intolerant, you are really missing out!). After an hour of patient cooking, we were ready to explode and regretting having ordered the Fondue for 2 plus 1….until our greedy little eyes caught a glimpse of the chocolate fondue. This dark decadent melted chocolate delight was presented to us surrounded by mounds of fresh strawberries, pineapples, bananas, rolled crepe chunks and marshmallows. I was holding my belly crying as I dipped one fruit after the next in this bitter-sweet mixture. My girls and I finally paid the bills and rolled our chubby buns out of there for a night of snow pant dancing!!!
PS. This restaurant also serves bottles of wine at SAQ prices plus $5! What a steal!
DOM’S CHOPPING BLOCK RATING:
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Quality: 3/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
73 % for the love of cheese fondue!
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| Sundried Tomato and Herb Cheese Fondue |
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| Oriental Fondue with Chicken, Beef and Veggies |
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