San Jose Hockey Now
Thank You, Readers + Sheng Eats His Way Through Montreal
SOMEWHERE OVER THE US — I’m on the way back home from Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto — it was a successful road trip!
But before we get to that — thank you again, those of you who contributed to my travel Tip Jar.
Just so you know where your money is going: Transportation between San Francisco to Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal and back to San Francisco cost about $500. My AirBNBs in the three Canadian cities came out to $350 for five nights. And Ubers, in total, was about $300.
Since last week, I’ve received over $1,100 in my Tip Jar — I’m blown away by that. Thank you. Every dollar you contribute goes to my travel for San Jose Sharks games, and between your contributions, and National Hockey Now’s, I still have some money to work with.
As I have in past seasons too, I will spend my own money on traveling too — that’s how much I believe in providing you the best San Jose Sharks coverage possible.
But want to help out? It’s very much appreciated:
I promise you, your money is in responsible hands — Mushu guarantees it:
Sheng Eats His Way Through Canada
It was a successful road trip for the San Jose Sharks — and my stomach.
In Montreal, I met up with hockey tactics guru Jack Han at Ma Poule Mouillée — the Tomas Hertl of Montreal Portuguese chicken joints, according to Jack.
Over dinner, we hashed out details of our podcast interview — over poutine is where Jack first revealed his admiration for Jake Middleton’s game — and the $5 off SHENG5 coupon code for his Hockey Tactics 2021 book. We’ll also be giving away a copy of his new book to a lucky SJHN subscriber this week.
As for the Tomas Hertl of Portuguese chicken places, I will compare it more to another San Jose Sharks star, Timo Meier. I ordered the Portuguese chicken poutine, and it was delectable at times — the charcoal-roasted chicken, marinated with Chef Tony Alves’s spicy sauce is tender with every bite, and I loved the softer-than-usual São Jorge cheese curds — but in some of the bites, I found the chicken a bit too salty. Also, the chorizo sausage, in my mind, was not necessary. In short, it was an inconsistent dish but with some superstar bites.
The next day, I checked out Montreal smoked meat institution Schwartz’s Deli, which Jack compared unfavorably to Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
I’ll confess, I didn’t even finish the poutine. It was a more typical poutine dish, I suppose — the cheese curds were firmer, and it was simply curds, gravy, and fries — but if this is a normal poutine, then I must not be a poutine fan? I will say, Schwartz’s fries are crispy and potatoey — they’re well-made fries.
I also got upsold on Cott Black Cherry soda, a local brand, so I was told — I’m a when in Rome, eat as the Romans do type of guy — hence my visit to Schwartz’s, despite Jack’s protests. It was a solid soda and pairing it with a smoked meat sandwich is apparently another Montreal tradition.
But it was the smoked meat — get the fatty — that carried the team. Every bite was moist and packed with flavor. I’m pretty simple with my meats — high quality, moist, a little sauce, or in this case, mustard — and I’m good to go.
Schwartz’s also smokes chicken, turkey, and liver. But the brisket is where they’ve made their name: They marinate raw Alberta beef brisket for 10 days with a secret spice blend, smoke the brisket for eight hours, then steam it for three hours before it hits your plate.
So while Schwartz’s poutine was a little Martin Jones, their smoked meat sandwich was the Hertl of my Montreal food tour.
I capped my Montreal institutions with the infamous Montreal Canadiens press box hot dog.
Now talk about overrated: It’s a decent hot dog on a toasted slice of bread. I’m not saying it’s bad; I just can’t believe there was an article devoted to it.
Next, Ottawa. Or Kanata, where the Senators play. That’s where I stayed, about 20 minutes away from downtown Ottawa.
That was a mistake, at least for my tummy.
I asked my Uber driver Elmar where to eat in Ottawa — not just Kanata — and the Montreal native answered, “I’d rather cook. So not to be disappointed.”
I ate McDonald’s everyday of my stay in Kanata.
Autumn in Kanata was gorgeous, at least.
Finally, Toronto.
The sports writer life isn’t always glamorous: My Ottawa to Toronto flight landed at 8 am, my AirBNB didn’t open until 1 pm, so I took a long nap by the baggage carousels.
It was a back-to-back for the San Jose Sharks, time was short, so I didn’t get to try anything ballyhooed or go back to old favorite Banh Mi Boyz.
However — props to the Toronto Maple Leafs — in lieu of a cafeteria-style media meal this year, they’re giving a $25 concessions certificate to each media member this year. So here was a chance for me to try the best of Scotiabank Arena!
After a hurried search, I decided on Aloette — sister restaurant of fine-dining establishment Alo.
Image from Michael Eats blog
I started with a slice of their signature Lemon Meringue Pie, featuring a lemon curd center, graham cracker crust, and lime meringue.
I have to say, it was too sweet for my liking: A salty crust and the citrus flavors didn’t quite coordinate with the overpowering sweetness.
It’s probably my fault for going solo on this very generous-sized slice. In small doses, the sweetness would hit the spot. It’s probably something you share at a restaurant with a date.
Aloette’s shrimp roll, in contrast, was more balanced: It’s shrimp with jalapeno, cilantro, avocado, and purple cabbage in a milk bun.
I wouldn’t have minded more shrimp, but it was a welcome respite from the typical fast food press box fare.
The morning of my departure, I decided to try something in my neighborhood. I was staying around Corso Italia, a middle-class Italian, Latin-American, and Portuguese enclave. While waiting for the results of the COVID rapid test required for my re-entry into the United States, I opted for La Morena, Yelp reviews, seven.
I usually rely heavily on Yelp reviews when trying out restaurants in unfamiliar cities — I know that the crowd-sourced reviews aren’t necessarily reliable, but like I said, I like to try what the people are eating in their city, or at least, what they’re talking about. So gambling on a seven-review Yelp place isn’t my norm.
I was pleasantly surprised — it also worth noting, La Morena has clearly become a neighborhood favorite, judging by its brisk business.
I tried the fritada — 24-hour marinated pork — and an Argentine beef empanada and a queso empanada. This is over two meals, mind you.
Interestingly, La Morena featured empanadas representing a swath of South American countries — Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia, to name a few.
The fritada was flavorful, some parts dry, some parts moist. The yuca, potatoes, and sweet plantains were all perfect.
The Argentine empanada — beef, olives, and sliced egg — didn’t quite pop for me. It could be personal preference — I asked them what their most popular empanada was, and that’s what they suggested. One thing that did pop: Their housemade mustard and carrot hot sauce, which made everything better.
Their queso empanada, however, that I saved for dinner on my flight — excellent. Even six hours after I initially bought it, the empanada shell retained much of it firmness. Even cold, it was fried cheesy goodness. I can only imagine how good it would’ve been hot out of the display case.
If you’re in Toronto, I wouldn’t tell you to go out of your way to La Morena — but if you’re in the area, you’re in for a good meal.
I’m now back home in San Francisco, gearing up for the finale of road trip in Nashville. I wrote most of this in the air, I hope you don’t mind this fatigue-fueled diversion from the typical San Jose Sharks fare at San Jose Hockey Now!
