La Paryse Montreal

Posted By Jennifer Ho Jan 15 2012 · 0 comments · Dining Out

Regular (Tomato, Pickles, Mushrooms, Onion, Lettuce, Mayo and Mustard) With Bacon

We’ve all had those nights. You know, the ones where you crave greasy fast food (cue the thought bubbles filled with cheesy, gravy-soaked poutine, thick burgers and steamy hot dogs) so bad that almost nothing can come between you eating it (think Harold & Kumar and their epic search for that perfect White Castle burger). This hunger is often magnified after having a few drinks at a place like the Distillerie, one of the city’s most popular bars. Guess where La Paryse is located? Right next door – which couldn’t be more perfect. At the ready to feed the inebriated masses coming in from nearby St. Denis or just next door, La Paryse is as busy at 5 pm as it is at 11 pm.

We stopped by around 8 ish and waited about fifteen minutes to be seated. You’re mildly entertained by the press clippings framed on the wall, the cute vintage style metal fixings by the door imprinted with the stylistic font of soda companies in the 60s and by the way the staff moves in such a small space. It really is an art. The dimensions of the place bring to mind a refurbished apartment space for three – we sat in the cozy back room.

We started off with a vanilla milkshake which was served in two parts, one in a glass and the other in the metal container in which is was mixed – more than what I expected which is nice. We each had a burger – one regular which comes with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, pickles, lettuce and strong mustard and one regular with bacon. Both I and my dining companion found the bun and the toppings to be significantly greater in proportion to the patty, completely overwhelming the meat component. Don’t get me wrong, the toppings chosen were great paired with one another. I was just ready to bite into a juicy piece of meat along with the extras. Instead, we were left with a thin patties that hid behind the physically bigger toppings – I literally had two to three bites of bread and toppings until I actually got a piece of the meat in my mouth, so that was sort of disappointing. I was hoping for a bigger and more bold approach that would hit you from the first bite to the last. Rumors that this place serves the best burgers in town have been haunting me so I would be willing to go back and try the burgers again – this is no big deal as the prices here are very reasonable. The fries were perfect – we ate them by alternating the dipping sauces given to us, choosing among mayo, vinegar and ketchup.

But then again, if you’re drunk, almost anything tastes good amiright?