Monkland Ave

I’m still amazed at all the turnover on Monkland Ave. We stopped in at Le Calais Boutique Cadeaux since it is going out as of August 31. Everything is heavily discounted, but the pickings are pretty slim.

Le Calais

Lots of places are moving to new locations on the Ave or just starting out. Dix Mille Villages moved across the street recently to the space given up by the Cuisine Gourmet kitchen shop, which is now somewhat smaller. Yeh! frozen yogurt has opened, and caught a final heatwave now at the end of August. It is self-serve and has no interior seating, but they have fake grass rolled out in front with comfy looking beanbags – we’ll be making a visit soon to try it out. Ben and Jerry’s continues their dollar/scoop deal from 5-7pm and looks very busy. Le Maistre has added steak frites to their menu, and is still for sale.

One of the reasons we moved to Montreal was its reputation as a non-violent city good for kids. It has more than fulfilled on that promise, especially since we moved from a major US city known for its violence. We’ve felt incredibly safe here: we leave stuff out on our patio without any theft, we’ve accidentally left our bikes outside overnight unlocked, and I’ve never really felt unsafe even walking around late at night. But, then something like this stabbing at Villa-Maria metro happens, and we’re reminded we’re still in a big city.

Vino sold, so it should be staying put for a while. Now Le Maistre is up for sale (bonus Craigslist ad) if you’re looking to purchase a restaurant on Monkland.

I’d seen this at the Ben & Jerry’s on de Maisonneuve downtown, but apparently it is also at the Monkland location. from 5-7pm, you can get three scoops for three dollars. Quite the deal – hope it continues through the summer!

After closing for quite a while, open again, and not just tea, but cupcakes. I see there is a pie shop going in where Il Conte came and went after a very brief stint on Monkland.

Good news. The 2-for-1 afte 9pm Saturday is extended through the summer at Le Maistre. Remember that both people have to get the same meal except for drink and dessert, which isn’t clear from the description in front of the restaurant. Their menu has changed as well:

Redflagdeals has a garage sale locator for Montreal. If you’re having one, you can enter it for free. If you’re participating in a sale for a whole block, email us the details as well for a possible post here.

Starbucks has half price frappuccinos from 3-5pm starting today, running until May 16. One per customer. Courtesy RedFlagDeals.

Bring a reusable cup on April 15, and Starbucks will give you free coffee. Courtesy RedFlagDeals.

We went to Le Maistre’s 2-for-1 table de hote last night, and it was a spectacular deal. I would still go to Laloux or Bistro L’Entrepont for a really good meal in Montreal, but we’d also pay more than double what we paid last night. We had the Toast de chèvre and Bavette de boeuf. The beef was nothing spectacular, but the chèvre was really tasty. Crème brûlée was only so-so (a little thin, and didn’t taste freshly crispy on top); the dark chocolate dessert was better. If we get a chance to go again before it ends on April 30, we’ll definitely take advantage.

One thing to note: both people must order the exact same menu except for dessert, so make sure you both can agree on something for the appetizer and main course. This strikes me as odd, since my guess was that the purpose of the promotion is intended to get people to try the restaurant, in which case they would want you to sample a wider variety of dishes. That said, the place was packed, and everyone was obviously there for the 2-for1, so perhaps the greater simplicity of less variety makes it worthwhile for them.