Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I want to be serious here for one moment, the child obesity rate in North America is rising quickly, and we must do something to stop it. My proposal, "If your fat, please do not make these cookies, as it will most likely result in massive weight gain, clogged arteries, diabetes and a heart attack". Alright now that the health and safety warning is out of the way, we can do what matters, eat and eat some more!

*This is not my recipe* This recipe comes from the website, http://www.beckybakes.net/2011/01/20/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/, hence it is becky's fault for killing some more fat kids.

Recipe is as follows: 


2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 pkg. Oreo cookies


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.  Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.  Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 2 dozen VERY LARGE cookies.

All I must say is YUM!!! These cookies are delicious, but beware, extremely fattening and heavy! I had two cookies and thought my stomach was going to explode, 2 really means 6!

F Bar

1485 Rue Jeanne-Mance

Montreal, QC H5B 1E4

(514) 289-4558

No need to introduce Carlos Ferreira, the owner of the famous Cafe Ferreira on Peel. Foodies alike know Cafe Ferreira, as it has held it's own for countless years in the busy downtown area. A portuguese restaurant where prices are high, very high, pleases everyone who has ever dined there. F bar is the "baby brother" restaurant; smaller and less expensive.

I'll start off by saying that the concept is genius, a restaurant on a sidewalk situated right off of St-Catherines. On Jeanne-Mance is situated Brasserie T( Toques "baby brother") and then right in back of it, F Bar. A long and narrow eatery made mostly of glass, amazes all pedestrians. My guests and I sat at the first table facing a large window onto the street. A really beautiful concept, I must say.

I was expecting a 7/10 restaurant, since I'm not a huge fan of seafood, and the menu here has a lot of fish. To start off, an exquisite piece of Mackerel, made with coco beans, sweet peppers/chorizo and almond milk (12). I must say that the mix of the fish and the 3 sauces truly attained perfection. Next, I tried the fried calamari in a corn crust with spicy lime mayo(9), which was good but not over the top. I also had a bite of the beef tartar w/ oysters, caramelized onions and arugula salad(14), and the tartar was spot on with the mixture of beef and spices.

For my main, I opted for something off the website menu, the veal sweet breads(25). OMG! That is all I must say, truly phenomenal, a rich fragrant taste and smell, I almost had tears falling down my cheeks. I gave a piece to each of my 5 dining companions and all agreed on the deliciousness of this item. This was a great way to start off the mains, let's continue on this pace. The Portuguese grilled cornish hen with tender calamari and lentils(22), was also splendid. The poultry was cooked beautifully and the grilled taste really hit spot on. My only comment would be the lentils... Did not do anything to accentuate the dish, actually maybe brought it down a little bit. The fresh cod, chickpeas, bread/parsley/garlic, salsify,onion and coriander(23) was a huge hit. The fish still retained it's moistness while achieving a balance between flavour and lightness.

For dessert, sadly I only had one! The dessert menu is spectacular; natas, fresh goat cheese cake, soft chocolate biscuit, coconut milk rice pudding.... All looked equally good in my eye, but decided to try an authentic dish, natas served lukewarm w/ caramel and cinnamon sauce, w/ a pear sorbet(9). A natas is: A pastel de nata (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɐʃˈtɛɫ dɨ ˈnatɐ]; plural: pastéis de nata), or pastel de Belém ([pɐʃˈtɛɫ dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ȷ̃]; plural: pastéis de Belém) is a Portuguese egg tart pastry. A truly amazing dessert, unfortunately very heavy and at that point in the meal, I was dying.

The wine menu here is mediocre, serving mostly Portuguese wines (understandable), but at very reasonable prices (39$+). I'm not sure if the wine was doing the talking by the end of the night, but this meal was heavenly in all aspects, I would love to return as I write this, only two days later! The prices here are in the right ballpark for a fun night out with friends or even the perfect place for a date. I will say that this meal overall was one of my better ones in Montreal; from the price, to the atmosphere, to the concept and of course the food.

Food:9/10

Atmosphere:9/10

Service:8/10

Location:10/10

Price:9.5/10

Overall:9/10

Garde Manger

408 Saint-François-Xavier,

 Montreal 

 (514) 678-5044

To start this off, I want to congratulate Mr. Hughes for winning the Food Network's

Iron Chef against superstar Bobby Flay! Chuck masterfully beat out Flay in a fierce

battle in kitchen stadium. The least favourite dish of all 5 was the lobster poutine.. Hmm...

It has been a long time coming, my feast I mean at this small yet hip

restaurant. Can I say, I got lost... About 5 times. I walked by 

Garde Manger so many times, because there is no sign outside of it!

This place is packed, reservations are a must, so book early.

Later on throughout the night, the music gets loud and it was old school

style. Great beats and tons of fun to dance and sing along to these

old tunes. I must say, for a very plain, no frills kind of place,

somehow the ambience makes you feel like 

your in the greatest spot in Montreal.

To start off, of course the lobster poutine. Can I say absolutely positively

delicious! The mixture of the gravy and lobster is a match made in heaven.

A cannot be missed dish, even at 21$, I think good value! I still am very

surprised that the judges really disliked this.. Next appetizer was the ricotta 

cream cheese filled ravioli with truffle oil(18). Another hit, but after that 

phenomenal poutine, it fell short. Next a confit de canard with onion rings(16), 

which was divine.

For the main course, I opted to start with the beef short rib, spatzle and a fried

jalapeno(35). Such a tender piece of beef, cooked to perfection with a nice 

spicy kick from the jalapeno. 

Then the magret de canard, foie gras, riopelle and latka (36). 

This dish did nothing to wow me, although it was

good, the foie gras was lost in the dish, full of sauce. 

Onto what I might call the best part of the night, a heart attack in a dish, 

AKA, deep fried mars bar with vanilla ice cream. The somewhat melted mars bar, 

chocolatey, gooey, carameley flavour was outstanding, of course very heavy,

so the vanilla ice cream balanced it out. The warm and fresh beignets lightly dusted

in powdered sugar were also to die for.

Reservation 6:30, 10:00, time to leave. A long, but wonderful evening ended

on a high note, 3 bottles of Yves Cuilleron(165) later, the whole table was full,

intoxicated and in a great mood. The prices are not cheap, I might even say they float

on the note of overpriced... but when the bill came

( although I jumped a couple feet from my seat), I was glad this night was the way it was.

Great atmosphere, great service, divine food, high prices,

I couldn't help but wonder if I would return. The answer is yes, but let me win the lottery first!

Food:9.5/10

Atmosphere:9.5/10

Service:9/10

Location:9/10

Price:7/10

Overall: 9/10

Restoprestige

www.restoprestige.com

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Riccardos

4055 SAINT-JEAN BLVD

DOLLARD-DES-ORMEAUX QC

H9G 2R4

514-620-3477

Fine dining is great and all, but some nights it just feels great to relax and stay close to home. A small and cozy restaurant with great food and a wonderful staff with such great prices,what's not to love. Riccardos restaurant situated in a small strip mall on st-jeans is serving up homemade italian cuisine, from his grandmothers recipes. This is a family owned restaurant that fits about 60 people, so reservations are recommended.

I have been to this place countless times and have enjoyed it every single one of them. I cannot go into huge detail into every dish on this menu because all I ever really get is there fantastic gnocchi rose with the veal parmesan(18). The gnocchi is one of the best in the city,a good blend between chewy and moist with a tasteful rose sauce. Another dish I recently tried was manicotti(13), a cheese and spinach filled pasta, another delectable hit! The fried calamari(10) is also a tasty fried dish on the menu. I've also been told that there desserts are great, notably the mille-feuilles(6), but you guys will have to let me know about that one.(Edit) I finally tried the Mille Feuilles and it is delicious, so moist, every piece melts in your mouth. A tasty graham cracker mixture with custard and whipped cream, what's not to love!

The list goes on, from pizza, to sandwiches, to every type of pasta with even more sauces that you can think of, this place is just so great that I would have to recommend it to everyone. This is not just a restaurant for an occasion but a place to eat lunch, supper, monday, tuesday, wednesday.. anytime your in the mood to grab a nice bite to eat at an affordable price.
Food:8.5/10

Atmosphere:8.5/10

Service:8.5/10

Location:7.5/10

Price:10/10

Overall:8.5/10

Kanda Sushi

987 Boulevard Saint-Jean,
Pointe-Claire QC, H9R 5M3
514.428.8989

Kanda Sushi, with currently six different locations, offers all you can eat sushi at a reasonable price. The selection is the best at dinner time, but unfortunately that is the most expensive time. With the prices during the week lunch menu around only 15$, the prices comes close to doubling on the weekend nights. 

My suggestions for this restaurants are the gyoza's (dumplings), chicken teriyaki, pizza sushi and udon noodles. In terms of sushi, the phoenix rolls, deep fried are a must. The seafood rolls, once again deep fried are delicious. Of course the standard california's and kamikaze's are also great. I do suggest going to Kanda and trying the whole menu!

Go enjoy an all you can eat extravaganza with all your friends, this place can provide some serious fun!

Food:7/10

Atmosphere:7/10

Service:8/10

Location:8/10

Price:8/10

Overall:7.5/10

Karma

4720 Boulevard Saint Jean

Montreal, Quebec H9H 4B2

(514) 620-1233

I was invited by the owner of Karma to try this Indian restaurant. I have driven by a million and one times and been intrigued by its immensity and beauty. I have always wanted to try it, yet there was always a place I wanted to go to more. Mistake!Yes it might be different from my everyday french bistro cuisine that I love, but variety is they key to life.

I was greeted by such warmth into this building, a friendliness that I have never received at any restaurant before. I must commend the designer of this restaurant, no expense was spared in giving it a true Indian feeling, while making it both new and hip. It sits around 150 people but looks much bigger than that, with a top floor and lights that change colors all night. I must say it is pure beauty, as is the beautiful bar with a great alcohol selection. I must also mention the breathtaking bathroom...can you use the word breathtaking to describe a bathroom? Well anyways, the sink pours into a long cubicle fitted with rocks instead of a normal basin.

Onto the food, the owner came and sat with us to describe what he was going to bring to us and the way Indians eat. To start, every table is brought a lentil type of pita with three different types of chutney, mango, mint and turmeric. The mango was nice and sweet, the turmeric was a nice amount of spice and the mint, well was a little strange for me.The next dish was a vegetable samosa with chick peas and it was absolutely delicious! The sauce used inside was so tasty and sweet and the dough was baked to perfection.

The next two dishes that came were the main courses, the butter chicken and a delicious spiced lamb. The butter chicken charcoal braised boneless chicken simmered in a butter, tomato and cream sauce...not much more to say but fantastic. I was literally spooning the sauce and eating it as a soup becayse it was so flavorful. The chicken was so tender that a spoon could have cut right through it. The spiced lamb was also so tender, but the sauce wasn't my favorite. The tasty juicy lamb  then made up for it. A delicious butter and garlic naan bread was just great- I kept dipping it in the butter chicken cream sauce. This all came with plain rice, but in reality I was way too full to eat much more then a few spoons of it.

For dessert, an absolutely fantastic Gulab Jamun, which is a very authentic popular Indian dessert. This is the first time I have ever eaten this, and it made me wonder why I haven't had Indian dessert before. This dish is made of a dough consisting mostly of milk solids in a sugar syrup usually flavored with cardamom seeds, saffron or rosewater. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...a perfect mix of dessert flavors.

The bill came to about 100$ with all these dishes, a glass of Chilean wine and a martini. I was given a special price for the meal as I was the owner's "guest", another friendly gesture on his part. In the end, I was sad to see that at 9:30 at night on a Friday, this place wasn't getting much busier. With great waiters, a gracious and friendly host that greets all his clients and thanks them at the end of the meal, I truly enjoyed being here and I am planning on going back, and soon. I want to get the word out there about this place because many like me, drive by everyday, wondering what lays in the world of delicious Indian cuisine at Karma's restaurant.

Food:8.5/10

Atmosphere:9/10

Service:8.5/10

Location:7.5/10

Price:9/10

Overall:8.5/10