El Zaziummm

I knew the El Zaziummm way back in cegep, and haven't been back since (although, I was seized with episodes of deja vu of recently being there - so, man, my mind *already* on its decline). It was still at its old location, three or four addresses closer to Ave. Mont-Royal, quite smaller, but with the same trademark fancily-decorated dining room.

I missed the Beer Fest bout, but still caught up with the guys as they left the Trois Brasseurs, a micro-brewery chain from the north of France with a very aggressive expansion plan in Montreal/Quebec. I went there before on several occasions; their "Flamm" is what stands out from their food menu. It's basically a thin-crust pizza, but they call it "Flamm" and it's from Alsace, and I throw a guess that the original recipe is far from what Trois Brasseurs serves (despite all this, it isn't bad at all, when washed down with a very large tasty beer, and a typical resto-bar with plenty of flat-panel TVs).

One recognizes the El Zaziummm by its giant shark figure bursting out on Park Avenue. Indoors, many tables (as many as the old Zaz had) are in fact a shallow glass-covered compartments filled with sand, Latin American bills and random Spanish-language newspaper clippings. There's even a bathtub at one end of the room, which serves as a low table to rest your sangria or margarita upon (and formerly, ashtrays).