Guy and Dodo Morali
Just because it is in a mall does not make it mall food and such is the case of Guy and Dodo Morali, the french restaurant located in the cours Mont-Royal.
Guy Morali, executive chef and wife Dominique (Dodo), maître d'hotel, calmly produce a casual homestead to assuage the novice foodie and equally enchant the crusty veteran gastronome. You will often see Dodo flitting around the room, folding napkins, chatting up customers or affixing her festive "toutous" in discreet dining corners.
Apparently a covert for international celebrities, we felt among the jet set as we always do Chez Guy and Dodo where everyone receives the same warm reception. Whether you allow Sharon Stone's choice of choucroute de poissons or Celine Dion's selection for the filet d'agneau en croute bias your preference is entirely up to the diner (in retrospect, perhaps the only reason my dining partner ordered beef instead of lamb).
To start, a Merlot Christian Moueix 2003 Bordeaux to ease the senses.
As an appetizer, the petits feuilletés aux escargots au Saint-Émilion, was marginally altered from our last order of snails at G & D's, if only in aesthetics. A respective dish of star ingredient-topped miniature puff pastry encircling a smallish bowl of simply sliced mushroom and escargot in wine sauce. A sample of Guy's classic style to whet the appetite.
Just as my lips became sufficiently numb from wine and heated conversation our mains were delivered in a plume of gourmet steam.
My companion's decision materialized into the butter tender beef Onglet with French shallots, a French cut of beef with a delectably potent flavour. He thought to have misunderstood the server when he promised to return with a side of fries but sure enough moments later crisp taters emerged from the kitchen. Steak frites alors!
[Wellington de saumon au beurre blanc]
My usual, the Wellington de saumon is the alleged front runner in that it has been ordered by the likes of Edouard Lock, Michele Richard and Pierre Marchad, Montreal's MTV-esque manager. This standard was again reinvented from my previous stopover and instead of a base of rich Quebec cheese I was rewarded with a drizzle of beurre blanc, a white butter sauce for boiled, baked or broiled fish and asparagus. I still cannot decide which version I am partial to.
With my lips barely buttered Dodo reemerged from the cavernous beyond,
"More beurre blanc."
"Yes, please!"
Dodo gallantly ladled more sauce onto my plate and I did not say "when". By now, my judgment was impaired by a spirited, fermented grape head.
Patting our bellies an hour later, we had room to discuss our next visit while sipping the last of the Merlot. On our to do list, the fish and seafood choucroute, filet mignon de boeuf tartare, assiette de fruits de mer, salmon tatare and two starters of trio des fumets "Sylvestre" and duck terrine with onion marmalade.
Compliments brought us two dark chocolate truffles and fortune cookie tuiles allowing us time to muse over our next dessert. The possibility of a mi-cuit au chocolat noir, mousse, profiterole or the highly enigmatic gourmet plate (a little nibble of all things sweet?) was proposed.
Whatever the future may bring, one irrefutable fact remains, good service, fine food and boozy winter long nights are awaiting us all at Guy and Dodo's.
1444 Metcalfe Street, (second entrance at 1455 Peel Street) Montreal, Quebec (514) 842-DODO
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