La Paryse

Spend enough time in this town and someone’s bound to ask if you’ve been to La Paryse yet. The restaurant has been around long enough to be classified in the “institution” eateries of Montreal, such as Schwartz’s, Moishe’s and so on and so forth. I’ve been told it was located just off St. Denis on Ontario, but no one ever told me in what direction, so when I decided to go there for lunch today I walked halfway into the village in the freezing rain before realizing I was hardly “just off” St. Denis anymore and turned around to trudge back.

I eventually found it (WEST of St. Denis, by the way) sharing a plot with a neighboring micro-brewery in an unassumingly modest location. I felt at home the minute we set foot inside, hung up my jacket and asked aimlessly over the counter if we should seat ourselves. “No! Wait,” I was told, as if I were the first and only to have asked, and waited patiently before being directed to a previously unnoticed back room.

La Paryse is about as tiny a restaurant you can run while still generating revenue. Its dining floorspace is no larger than what I believe to be the average apartment, though it features a slightly larger kitchen than one. This no doubt helps to make one feel at home. Despite the close quarters with other dining patrons, it is intimate rather than uncomfortable. Some students discuss their professors at the table next to us. A man sits alone quietly sipping his beer, his selection of micro-brews drummed up next door. A few families sit with their children, whom are quieted by scribbling with table-set crayons on their unbleached place mats.

I took the time to color in my outlined tomato with blue, purple and green while slurping on a wonderfully creamy vanilla milkshake. As a side note, I’m happy to say that lemonade is also offered, which I think should be a prerequisite of any restaurant serving fatty food. The menu offers burgers in several ways - even the veggie ones looking particularly satisfying, judging from plates passing throughout the room - as well as several sandwiches and fries with mayo or “sauce”.

The food arrived and I topped up my glass with the milkshake in reserve. I ordered the simple burger having no desire for such things as pickles, mushrooms and bacon, and felt quite happy about this as the mushrooms were our sole complaint. Shannon had ordered her burger with them and they were raw and sliced instead of sauteed, which is perhaps not bad, but unexpected.

The buns were slightly crusty, slightly chewy and slightly warm, but more than slightly good. Definitely an improvement from the pale sesame rolls offered at many establishments. My first bite of burger yielded mostly lettuce, mayo and tomato, though my second was well savored as a hint of pink juices ran down my hands and on to the plate. I’m never sure whether this should be alarming or not. If the meat is of good quality, it is almost preferable to get a pinkish center. As I’ve yet to have any gastro-intestinal problems, I reckon all is well.

We made the mistake of ordering the large fries, which our waiter afterward described as “just enough for two and a half” and of which we possibly ate half of that description. Still, forcefully devouring more was tempting, as they were deliciously fresh, peel-on, sliced and crispy. We added a pinch of salt for our tastes, but it’s safe to say La Paryse does frites well. We ate ours with mayo, but I can only assume “sauce” is gravy, and it looks as though they turn out a good looking poutine as well.

For two burgers, a milkshake enough for three and fries for the whole family, we paid $20. Unless you’re impossible to satisfy, it’s impossible not to be satisfied with lunch at La Paryse.