Anticipation for Beaver Sheppard’s new soul food restaurant has been bubbling since he left Depanneur Le Pick Up exactly one year ago. (This was the spread I made for his teary going-away party.) Dinette Triple Crown — a reference to thoroughbred racing — serves its own triple crown of soul-food classics: fried chicken, brisket, and pulled pork. They’ve been open for a few weeks and it’s every bit as good as I knew it would be. (Though there’s a bit of an exhausting debate over the neo-bbq trend in Montreal over at Chowhound).
On my first official visit, my parents and I couldn’t decide what to order, so Beaver insisted that he would prepare an order featuring a little bit of every single item on the menu. It was an incredible feast. My mom loved the roasted sweet potatoes, green goddess salad, and stewed black eyed peas; my dad loved the crisp fried chicken and skillet-crisp cornbread; I adored the fatty brisket, vinegary barbecue sauce, coleslaw, and stewed swiss chard. (Though I’ve been back and it’s now stewed kale — and even better and more savory than I remembered).
I’m so thrilled for Beaver and his new baby. I imagine that it’s every serious chef’s dream to open their own place someday, and this place has Beaver’s idiosyncratic marks all over it. And finally: they serve picnic baskets to go (there are some beautiful images of an afternoon picnic over at Lake Jane), complete with tablecloth. Classy!
I may have just swooned. I LOVE BBQ! And all those dishes look amazing. Definitely a must-visit next time I’m in Montreal.
yes– you’ll love it! another reason to come back and visit. : )