4088 Saint-Denis
514-843-4194

Having lived in Montreal for four years during University, it’s a wonder how few restaurants I actually tried while there. Perhaps it was a lack of funds or dietary imagination. Perhaps it was just an unwillingness to go anywhere beyond the comfortable confines of the anglicized areas I frequented. In fact, it seems like I�ve discovered just as much or more about Montreal in the several visits I�ve made since my graduation than I did during those four years. My most recent trip was no exception having stumbled upon a Thai vegetarian restaurant (something I surely would have rejected in my younger days) in the Upper Plateau (ditto.)

Deciding to go veggie for the entire weekend trip was not nearly as difficult as one may suppose. Sure, avoiding Schwartz�s can be a challenge to even the most Atkins friendly person, but what with the constant lineup of salivating carnivorous tourists, it can really turn off an ex-Montrealer. It also helps traveling with two vegetarians who flinch at the very sight of the slabs of delicious smoked meat hanging from the meat-hooks in the famous restaurant�s windows while deriding the virtues of those responsible for putting them there. I digress though, as this review is not about meat or radical vegetarianism but about a delicious restaurant named Chuch which just happens to serve purely vegetarian food.

Chuch is directly connected to another restaurant named Chu Chai, which from my understanding serves exactly the same dishes at the same reasonable prices. The only differences between the restaurants are the d�cor (Chu Chai is more posh) and that Chuch has a take out counter with day old food (blech) and allows its customers to bring their own wine. I must mention, the bring your own wine phenomenon in Montreal is truly fantastic and I do hope that Ontario soon follows suit.

Chuch�s menu is quite extensive with about fifteen different appetizers and about ten different styled dishes each of vegetarian chicken, shrimp, fish and purely vegetables. I shared my meal with Mark and my friend David and for our appetizers we started off with a fried seaweed and basil dish as well as fresh spring rolls. The rolls were your typical fresh ones of the spring variety; the sauces that were served along with it offered a hint of what was to come. The seaweed was dipped in something that made it taste slightly sweet which went perfectly with the crispy texture of both components of the dish. Our main course consisted of a red curry (fake) chicken dish and a (fake) shrimp dish in a peanut sauce. While the spice was surely lacking in both dishes and the phony shrimp couldn�t fool an alien being, I was impressed by the aromatic flavours of each one. It was one of the better vegetarian meals I�ve had in a restaurant, though admittedly I haven�t had that many. With a side order of steamed rice and another fried sweet green of spinach I came away satisfied both in the taste buds and in the stomach.

I may not ever become a full out vegetarian, though if I am able to subsist on food like this, it appears it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as I perceive! At the very least, Chuch has revealed to me more of Montreal than I previously knew existed.