Menu du Jour ~ Ta Tourtière Australienne

I must confess I've never been a fan of la tourtière, the classic Québec meat pie. Even in my meat-eating days, it was too meaty and greasy for my tastes, no offense to Québec grandmothers. My partner harbored even greater ill will against the tourtière, literally, since he'd had a very ill childhood experience involving tourtière and licorice. On the other hand, I love pie, and good dough combined with savory fillings, so Ta, the relatively new casual restaurant specializing in "tourtière Australienne," captured my interest, especially after reading several favorable reviews of the place.


Ta is run by a husband and wife team, the husband, Don, hailing from New Zealand, and his wife, Mélanie, Québécoise. So combining a Québec classic with Australian touches makes a lot of sense. And--with low prices and pies perfectly sized for breakfast, lunch, or a snack--visiting Ta makes a lot of sense for anyone craving a delicious hit of comfort food. They have a small seating area and outdoor terrace (where one can watch a corner of the park and the Avenue du Parc traffic zip by), or you can take a bunch of pies home for easy reheating.


Meat-eaters have a great selection to choose from. Non-meat-eaters like myself have a limited selection (hint for menu expansion), but we tried all 3 non-meat pies--smoked mackerel, spinach, and potato (great with ketchup); curried vegetable and sweet potato; spinach, mushroom, tomato, and ricotta--and they were all winners. Well-seasoned, excellent dough, not too big, not too small. Really hit the spot on a cool, gray spring day. They also have an interesting selection of desserts, including "Anzac biscuits" and "Afghans," both of which were new to my sweet tooth.


I hope they do well, because I want to keep going back.


Ta Tourtiére Australienne
4520 avenue du Parc
(514)277-PIES (7437)