La mort du Cornichon

Je le craignais depuis que j'y suis allé pour la première fois, mais enfin bref j'ai appris récemment de leur page Facebook (que je ne retrouve plus) que le restaurant Le Cornichon au coin Chambord et Mont-Royal allait fermer ses portes. J'imagine que son aventure est déjà terminée. Je l'avais presque prédit lorsque j'ai blogué à son sujet pour la première fois en février 2014. Ce n'était pas le meilleur restaurant de Montréal ou du Plateau, mais c'était honnête, son club sandwich était fort mangeable (voir la photo) et remplissait son homme (voir encore une fois la photo) et le personnel était toujours chaleureux. Surtout, c'était proche du repaire familial, alors quand on avait faim et qu'on n'avait pas le goût de faire à manger, c'était idéal. Ce qui est tragique, c'est que son successeur ne fera sans doute pas long feu non plus. Et j'espère juste que ce sera encore un bistro, pas un restaurant de sushis.

A club sandwich with a twist

As it is now a tradition on Vraie Fiction, a tradition that is irregularly observed, but still, I am plugging a restaurant and/or a pub and/or a dish in said restaurant/pub. This is the dish in question, basically a club sandwich, but with a twist: the bacon has been replaced by mango and avocado. Accompanied with chips and a green salad, to make it even (!) healthier. I ordered back in October, in Le Cornichon, a restaurant in the heart of the Plateau Mont-Royal, corner Chambord and Mont-Royal. Judging by the very few reviews on TripAdvisor and my own memory, it's a very young one.

Le Cornichon may not serve the most original or the best food in Montreal, or indeed on the Plateau, but it serves honest, quality food and when you are hungry, it is all that matters. The staff is young and very nice. I fear it may not live very long: like in other restaurants of Mont-Royal Avenue, especially on corners, I have seen the ones on the corner of Chambord disappear quickly. It was Les Prés when I first arrived in Montreal, then something else, then it changed to Le Cornichon (I think). At the 940, it was worse: they changed every other year or so, until it became a SAQ. But I digress. Le Cornichon is not the Montreal institution the Binerie Mont-Royal is, but I had a pleasant experience each time I ate there and, as I went there for my last two trips to my city, it must have done something to me. So, about this club sandwich. It tastes lovely, it is filling, when you are hungry it is just what you need (you got to love the portions of Montreal's meals), but you don't have the impression that you are eating junk food too much. A generous portion of salad and the avocado and mango can go a long way. If you think about it, most of what's on the plate is vegetarian. It is called "club des îles", freely translated it would be "island club sandwich". I don't know if it is an invention of the restaurant, you tell me if you have seen anything similar. If it is, then Le Cornichon is even original. Either way, try it.