4/5 for suwu. suwu has been the talk of the town for a while now, especially after being voted #10 best new restaurant 2014 by cult mtl. this plateau drinking establishment boasts a decidedly "gangsta" attitude (sort of), which is funny, but also something that can't exactly be taken seriously. they offer an incredibly good cinq à sept - a very important aspect of the city's culture. simply put, a 5-à-7 is happy hour à la montréal. during these hours suwu offers a completely half price drink menu, which means that kicking your evening off right is easy.
i arrived right at cinq and briefly entered the restaurant. i quickly took in all of the beautiful wood finishes, noted that the people who i was meeting had not arrived yet, and went back out to the terrace. (in montreal, a patio is called a "terrace." if you refer to it as a "patio" you'll expose yourself as not from around these parts.) the terrace was lovely for a warm summer evening with whimsical string lights draped about, an outdoor bar, and even some couch-type seating. i sat at a round table and waited for the rest of my party to arrive. no better way to occupy my time than to peruse the cocktail list! this resulted in me ordering a thug passion (hendrick's, raspberry vodka, midori, watermelon, lime, cucumber - $12.00 regularly, $6.00 for 5-à-7) after asking the super friendly server which drinks were the most fruity. (i'm a girl, what do you want?) i loved how juicy with watermelon this drink was. it tasted totally boozy, but also very summery and refreshing because cucumber and watermelon can do no other.
i also decided that a snack was in order until we got to the portion of the night that involved "real eating" and ordered up the popcorn (bbq - $5.00). i love that so many restaurants are putting fun and creative popcorn offerings on their menus these days! the portion size was huge at this place, making the dish perfect for sharing and ideal for mid-booze munches. the bbq flavour packed a powerful and spicy punch! there was nothing shy about the seasoning, but it wasn't only painful heat because it tasted spicily delicious.
by this point, i was ready for drink #2, which also means that my recollection of everything that followed might be slightly hazy. time for a big booty ho (cachaca, cointreau, abricot brandy, banana, orange, pineapple - $12.00 regularly, $6.00 for 5-à-7), ordered mainly for its name alone. alright, not only for the name, for the fruitiness as well. i didn't notice the flavour of alcohol as much in this one (for obvious reasons) but i did notice the tropical fruit salad that seemed to be taking place in my glass. and i liked that.
it was now time to start getting some real food into my system and there were plenty of enticing options. i had seen a past menu online that showed a lobster roll as a choice, but no such luck on this visit. my group decided to begin by sharing the homemade pogos (maple mustard - $10.00). this wood block came with five pogos protruding from it and there were four of us, so it was almost an even split between everyone. these were delicious! i loved that it was just a small taste of the classic deep fried breaded dog on a stick. the maple mustard was more interesting than the usual plain mustard or ketchup and you could see that they were taking familiar foods and elevating them to something with a little bit more panache.
i watched the beer battered fish tacos (market fresh atlantic cod, cilantro sour cream, pickled veggies - $14.00) go by and get delivered to other tables and they looked really good, so i got me some of those! the fish was battered just the way that i like it, to a golden perfection. the tender white fish remained juicy, encased inside. i really loved how the pickled vegetables added a whole different flavour dimension that you wouldn't normally expect in a taco. while this was really good, i couldn't help agree with my co-diners that something seemed to be missing. something to bring these tacos over the edge.
well, the best was saved to last. i had been seeing pictures of the grilled cheese mac 'n' cheese (homemade ketchup - $8.00) posted all over the place, and this was the main dish that i had come excited to try. this type of sandwich had already found a safe place in my heart after i had spent a fair amount of time eating and loving molly's eats gourmet food truck's mac melt (mac & cheese with bacon and slow roasted pork stuffed in a grilled cheese sandwich) back in edmonton. so i was pleasantly surprised (and a little bit sad) when this one was even better. no meat in this version, just ooey, gooey, perfect mac 'n cheese, oozing out of everywhere. i loved that there was some serious cheddar business going on and that it had a job to do. a serious job. the ketchup that came with the sandwich was also excellent and so much better than the bottled kind. i'm not sure that combining two different comfort foods into one epic dish has ever worked out so well. i will return again and again for this magic between bread.
the food was so much fun at suwu. so were the cheap drinks. i want their lobster roll to come back, and i also want to try their sweet chili calamari. someone should suggest that they try putting some pulled pork into their grilled cheese mac 'n' cheese. (okay, me.) apparently they even do breakfast! i'll be back suwu, i'll be back.