Getting my meat on in Montreal: Bofinger

Before I left for Montreal, I received this sweet Facebook message from my friend Theo. Theo used to have an awesome but rarely updated blog called Living with Women which he kept when he roomed with three girls in Montreal, but he has since moved out and is now living alone in a basement suite (they have those in Montreal?) During our lunch I tried to convince him to start a new blog called "Living Alone", then the idea evolved into a concept called "Eating Alone" wherein the blog would just contain photos of him eating. Alone. It's a good idea, you guys should convince him to do it!

Anyway...


I have no idea why Bofinger hasn't made its way to this blog, as I've been a fan since my first whiff of their sweet barbecue sauce when I first stepped into their NDG location almost two years ago. Although my plate might be a little deceiving because of all the vegetables I managed to load up on, I can assure you that this southern barbecue is all about the meat.

At first, Bofinger seems like a pretty weird place - the dining area is nice, mostly made up of booths with sleek black leather couches with solid, stone tables. But aside from the formal looking dining area, the atmosphere is decidedly casual - you go up to the counter to order (if it's busy they'll take your name and shout it out for the world to hear when your order's ready), you pour your own drink from a dispenser into a disposable cup, and then you are greeted by a full roll of paper towel once you get your food to the table.


While Bofinger also does ribs (pork or beef) and chicken (breast, legs and wings), I've always gone for the sandwiches because they are such a good deal - for $8.99 you get a sandwich with your choice of housemade BBQ sauce that you can load up with whatever toppings you choose, a free drink with unlimited refills, and your choice of side (I always choose a green salad or coleslaw due to the guilt of eating so much meat, but they also have potato salad, fries, mac & cheese, beans, and bean salad.) I love both the pulled pork and beef brisket equally - the meat is always tender and flavourful and there's always lots of it so it's not hiding under the mountain of toppings. I've also tried their Poboy, which is pulled pork, gravy, cheese and fries, but was completely overwhelmed by the amount of fries that was in my sandwich (and the fact that I couldn't add any vegetable toppings) so I don't think I will be ordering it again.

This time, although the guy behind the counter was trying to push us to try a rib & chicken combo, I noticed something "new" on the menu that I hadn't tried before - a smoked sausage sandwich. (I say "new" because the downtown menu is slightly different from the NDG/DDO menus in terms of items offered and price.) I tried to assess whether the sandwich had actual sausage or a sausage pattie (like a Sausage McMuffin) by asking the guy what the sandwich was like, and he simply replied, "You'll like it if you like sausage." Err... ok.

I topped my sandwich with a mix of cooked onion and green pepper, mushrooms, tomato and cucumber and asked for some mustard on the side. I clearly did not see him get me my mustard because the next thing I know, he was filling a cup with Caesar dressing! What?! Caesar dressing ≠ mustard! The guy definitely saw the confused look on my face and got me a cup of "Greek dressing" as well, and that's when I finally saw the mustard hiding in the back. Oops.

Theo got the pulled pork sandwich, and was enticed by the guy's slick marketing skills ("It's great with Frank's Hot Sauce!") and got the mac & cheese.


The sandwich (as usual) was way too big, making it difficult to grab on to and eat, and wasn't helped by the fact that my sausages (I think there was 1½ of them in there) kept slipping out and were hard to bite off as opposed to little pieces of shredded meat like their other sandwiches. I was a little disappointed that the sausages just turned out to be bratwursts (Yeah, I'm a sausage snob), the Alabama sauce wasn't as spicy as they made it seem, and the mustard was too horseradishy for my taste. I wouldn't say the sandwich was bad, but I think I'll go back to my staples of pulled pork or brisket next time (or maybe spring for some ribs and/or chicken.)

Theo seemed to enjoy his pulled pork sandwich, but was a little disappointed by the mac & cheese, because he was hoping for a higher-quality cheese... I think it's just cuz the guy forgot to get him his Frank's Hot Sauce.

All in all, Bofinger is a casual, fun, gluttonous place to go for lunch (or supper) and although this meal was a bit of a miss, I'll definitely be going back.

Bofinger
Downtown location:
1250 Rue University
Montreal QC H3B 3B8
(514) 750-9095

NDG location:
5667 Rue Sherbrooke O
Montreal QC H4A 1W6
(514) 315-5056

DDO location:
3339-G Blvd des Sources
Dollard-des-Ormeaux QC H9B 1Z8
(514) 685-3444