Tourtiére Australienne (Ta), Montreal

You know the rumors about Australians serving better meat pies than us? Well, we haven’t done too much research on the subject, but there’s only one place we’ve found those notions to be true: Tourtière Australienne, which fortunately happens to be an authority on the subject. Head chef and owner Don Hudson, with his wife Melanie Des Lauriers, are behind Montreal’s salute to Down Under culture. Tourtière Australienne – or Ta, meaning thank you in Aussie, and doubling as an acronym for the name – happily doles out its the titular specialty meat pies with wild abandon.

Growing up in Australia and New Zealand, Hudson has many years of experience with Aussie and Kiwi cuisine, which he applies to all the house-made pies. While typical Western meat pies are gooey ground beef based things, Ta ‘s rendition are substantially juicier and more savoury. Offered in varieties from Steak and Cheese and Butter Chicken to Lamb Roganjosh and Chili Con Carne, the little house has covered all bases. Best bets are the Smoked Fish with Spinach and Potato, and the vegetarian options like Curried Vegetable and Spinach Tomato, Mushroom and Ricotta. Ta also taps into that “local fresh ingredient” thing.

And then, there are dessert pies. However, the desserts stretch the pastry genre a bit, while maintaining the Aussie-Kiwi authenticity. The dessert roundup includes the likes of Apple and Blueberry turnovers, Chocolate and Vanilla Pavlovas, Lemingtons (individually and as a cake), Anzac Biscuits, Custard Squares, Scones and Afghans. Have an espresso to package the whole pie meal up. It’s an Australian house, so you know to expect Vegemite on the card. Tim Tams and other Aussie treats can be bought there, too (prediction: sales on Tim Tams will double once Mt. Royal’s Tam-Tam Jam heats up).

4520 Avenue Du Parc, Montreal, QC
514-277-PIES (7437)
Wed-Sun 10am-8pm
Cuisine – Global
Area – Mont-Royal
Price – $$ (Affordable)

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