Restaurant Review #1 - Aux Vivres in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

I love to travel. I love different cultures, different people, and of course, different food! I was recently introduced to an absolutely fabulous vegan restaurant in the swanky Plateau area of Montreal, Aux Vivres. The decor is simple, clean and fresh looking. There is a separate take out area for those in need of something on the go. The service is extremely friendly (regardless of what people say about Quebecers in general), and the food - unreal. Everything is fresh and incredibly tasty. Prices are extremely reasonable - this place will not break your bank.

We started off with some corn bread and a special dipping sauce, as well as an array of dips and roasted peppers with pita (you can see the empty dish that used to be dipping sauces on the right side of the picture below). I have never been a huge fan of corn bread until now. It was a perfect mix of sweet and savoury, and I have no idea what was in the dipping sauce, but it seemed to go perfectly with the bread. The texture of the bread was just as expected from a corn bread - slightly crisp on the outside, and a melt in your mouth inside.

Now being a hummous snob, I usually never enjoy any hummous made from any restaurant or grocery store, but I have to say that these guys

made it right. Their mini antipasto dish also included baba ganouj (also very tasty), roasted red peppers and olives - yum!

For a main entree, Connie and I ordered a polenta dish that came with pureed black beans, salad, salsa verde and the red kind, guacamole and

scrambled tofu. Extremely filling, fabulous dish. The polenta was super crisp on the outside and had a slight chewiness on the inside, the beans were silky smooth, salsa and guac complemented the polenta really well, and the scrambled tofu was a nice added side for an extra protien kick.

Caroline got the BLT without the B! I usually dont enjoy wraps, but this one was yumalicious!

Instead of bacon, Aux Vivres has created dry, crisp, wafer thin coconut wedges as a substitute. I am guessing that it tastes nothing like bacon, but it is a great accompaniment to this wrap.

Finally, Nishma got the Dragon bowl. Isn't it pretty? Enough to feed two, with a silky smooth, aromatic peanut sauce slathered all over the brown rice underneath, and a little more on the

side for the veggies on top.

2.5 hours later, we waddled around, in and out of the funky shops in the Plateau area.

Aux Vivres

4631 St–Laurent (between Villeneuve and Mont-Royal)
514-842-3479