Montréal is famous for bagels, smoked meat and that mix of French fries, gravy and cheese curds known as poutine. There are countless tourtières, plenty of foie gras and an abundance of blueberry and maple desserts. And yet the restaurant dish Montréalers can’t seem to get enough of is rotisserie chicken. Their love of melting (usually overcooked) chicken flesh trapped in crisp bronzed skin, served with brown sauce and a heap of fries, is so widespread that you can get it delivered even in the remotest of neighborhoods. And at the new Rôtisserie Georgette, its influence is even making its way to Gotham foodie-dom.
The Georgette behind the Upper East Side restaurant is Daniel Boulud’s former head of communications, Georgette Farkas, who accompanied Boulud to Montréal when the chef opened his Maison Boulud at the new Ritz-Carlton hotel there (from $376) in 2012.
“The plans for my restaurant were already underway,” said Farkas, “and when I mentioned that I was hoping to open a rotisserie restaurant, everyone started talking about the city’s chicken scene.”
Montréal’s chicken rotisseries are a long-standing tradition that range from family eateries, to neighborhood joints, to a restaurant helmed by a star chef. The first, the now defunct Rôtisserie Laurier, dated back to 1936. Though wildly popular, the restaurant was sagging by the mid-’90s, before being taken over by star chef Gordon Ramsay in 2011.
Soon the Laurier was winning raves and plans were brewing for a country-wide chain. That is, until Ramsay was unceremoniously dumped a mere six months later. The restaurant still thrived without its star, yet soon after was sold and closed last April.
Montréalers have strong opinions on which rotisserie bastes the best bird. The restaurants are casual and usually packed. The St-Hubert chain is the most far-ranging, and dates back to 1951, when customers welcomed an innovation new to Canada: free delivery. Today, you can spot St-Hubert’s compact yellow delivery cars whizzing throughout the city.
However, West Enders prefer to flock to two old-world favorites: Côte St-Luc Bar-B-Q and Chalet Bar-B-Q. Since 1953, Côte St-Luc Bar-B-Q (whole chicken $17.15, 5403 Côte-St-Luc Rd.; 514-488-4011) has been selling its charcoal-grilled chicken to the tune of 2,800 birds a week. An area landmark, Chalet Bar-B-Q (whole chicken $17.15, 5456 Sherbrooke St .W.) was opened in 1944 and the chickens are still spit-roasted in the original charcoal ovens, cooking 300 to 600 chickens a day, and serving 6,000 customers weekly. The dining rooms are low-lit and grim, but the chicken is outstanding and the fries are crisp and tender.
Eastern Montréal, meanwhile, favors Portuguese rotisseries like Coco Rico, Romados and the latest hot spot, Ma Poule Mouillée. Another Farkas fave, Coco Rico (whole chicken $11.90, 3907 St Laurent Blvd.; 514-849-5554) is located on Montréal’s most iconic street, St-Lawrence Boulevard. Coco Rico specializes in Portuguese grilled chicken, which is brushed with a spicy, piri piri-based sauce and served with potato wedges roasted in the drippings. It’s also cheap. A full chicken goes for $11.90.
And then there’s Romados (whole chicken $13, 115 Rachel St. E.; 514-849-1803). Newly installed since a fire decimated the original last January, this 16-year-old rotisserie is located in the heart of Montréal’s Portuguese neighborhood in the Plateau Mont-Royal. Romados is as famous for its traditional natas tarts as its grilled chicken, which is butterflied, seasoned, clamped into roasting baskets and slow-roasted over burning charcoal. The half-chicken will set you back $9.75.
These two restaurants primarily serve a grab-and-go clientele, whereas the new Ma Poule Mouillé (whole chicken $13, 969 Rachel St. E.) is a rotisserie where you’ll want to hang out while munching on your drumstick. Owner Tony Alves’ family-run rotisserie has a younger, hipper feel to it, and the chicken is as spicy and succulent. He even serves a Portuguese poutine: a heaping plate of fries topped with cheese curds, chorizo São Jorge cheese and, of course, rotisserie chicken.
Alves’ chicken is a kind of eating that truly inspires — even gourmets like Farkas.
“After my Montréal tasting tour,” said Farkas, “I learned that rotisserie chicken is so simple, but you have to do it right. These restaurants gave me the confidence to do it with simplicity.”