LES TROIS MARIA (PORTUGUESE) ★★★★
- Genna Gaudio
- May 29, 2017
- 3 min read
4886 Sources Blvd, Dollard-Des Ormeaux, QC H8Y 3C7
514-683-1333
http://www.les3maria.com/
When I first found this restaurant in DDO, I had no idea that I would be eating some of the most amazing food I've ever tasted. According to Historica Canada, the Portuguese people were one of the first Europeans to set foot on our grounds. Portuguese explorers Diago de Tieve, Joao Vaz Corte-Real, Joao Fernandes and Pedro de Barcelona saw the eastern coast of Canada between the years 1452 and 1493.
MENU
Les Trois Maria's menu has an incredible selection of authentic Portuguese dishes. Firstly, chicken is seen as one of the main dishes in Portuguese culture. They offer chicken breasts, whole chickens, and chicken sandwiches, so they clearly are following the tradition. They also offer plenty of different kinds of sandwiches including pork, chourico, and chicken. There is also plenty of seafood as well as a lot of grilled meats. All of these, I'm sure, can be found in Portuguese homes everywhere.
*All of the meals that we ordered came with salad and potatoes.*
MEAL #1 Chourico Sandwich
The salad was made with Romaine lettuce, red onions, green peppers, carrot shavings, tomatoes and cucumber slices. The dressing on top seemed to be a sort of vinaigrette or vinegar dressing.
The potatoes were very crunchy on the outside while the inside still remained soft which is something you can't really find in potatoes unless they are fried in a pan. They were seasoned with salt and pepper and they didn't seem to need much else because we could dip them in the Peri Peri sauce.
The chourico sandwich is simply that, slices of chorico in bread. Chourico is a type of sausage found in many South American cultures. The sausage was cut up into pieces and placed on the fluffy bun which seems to be made of the same dough as the bread we had gotten before the meal. It was not too spicy. In my opinion, a little bit more meat could've been added to the sandwich but the simplicity of it was also very different and very intriguing to me
MEAL #2 Grilled Half Chicken
The half chicken ...yup... just half of a chicken grilled to perfection. As simple as that! I'm guessing seasoned with a little bit of salt-and-pepper but nothing else really and then placed on the grill and cooked perfectly. The meat was very tender and melted in your mouth. It didn't even seem to need a sauce although it did taste very good paired with the Peri Peri sauce. The spiciness of the Peri Peri sauce added something a little bit different to the entire meal, which is why I think they added the sauce onto the table. This way you could make it as spicy as you like.
MEAL #3 Chicken Sandwich
Lastly was the chicken sandwich. This was the meal that caught my eye and the one that I ordered for myself. Again, it was paired with the salad and the fries and the same bun that came with the chourico sandwich. Unlike the chorizo sandwich though, it had other stuff than just the meat and sauce. It came with lettuce and tomatoes. The chicken itself was the same as the half chicken, and once again melted in your mouth. The acidity of the tomatoes balanced perfectly with the slight spiciness of the meat. It was perfection! This was the first time I had a Portuguese sandwich and I can't wait to have it again!
DESSERT Natas
These custard tarts are called Natas. The ones served to us consisted of a warm flaky crust filled with a sweet custard. All of this seemed to be toasted, possibly with a torch in order to create the darker caramelized custard on the top of the tarts. These. Were. INCREDIBLE!!! They are very filling though so one per person is plenty. The crust didn't have much flavor but the sweet custard made up for it. It balanced everything out perfectly and created a wonderful dessert. The restaurant also offered rice pudding or caramel cream.
OVERALL
This restaurant was a great start to my journey, and already shows one of the many cultures that reside in the West Island. From the items I had off of the menu, they have perfected their grilled meats, especially chicken. This is important to me because chicken is one of the main dishes in Portuguese culture. I highly recommend everyone check this out if you're looking for a little taste of Portugal in the West Island.
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