Dinner now available at Chez Meme!

A few weeks ago, I took my parents to Chez Meme for lunch for the very first time. I know their French Onion Soups are amazing, and there sandwiches are just the best, having been there last year. 
 Since these are their two most solid items, I decided to get the French Onion Soup and the Jambon sandwich. I like the little extra mustard they give you on the side, and the crusty bread is perfect to soak up the melting brie. I had heard that they were now opening for dinner (Tues-Sat) so we made plans for a revisit. 

My stepdad decided to follow my lead from lunch and ordered the French Onion Soup to start. I can't help but notice that the lunchtime one was cheesier and even a slight bit fuller. The flavours were the same, so I'm guessing that the broth was the same as lunch but the topping of bread and cheese were done by different people.

But what we were really there for was the Parmentier, only available for dinner. Every table had one of these cute little red pots loaded with various meats and topped with a layer of creamy mashed potatoes. This is the Morue with cod and a garlic potato topping. I found the dish a tad too fishy for me, probably because that was all that was in there. I think the addition of some vegetables to break up the flavours a bit. Nonetheless, the dish was a success since my mom polished off the whole thing, which she rarely does when we dine out.

The other parmentier we had was the Pepe, which was a mixture of braised beef, mushrooms and some caramelized onions, all topped with the creamy smooth mashed potatoes. The filling had good flavours and the meat was braised to a tender juiciness. The mushrooms gave the dish an earthy flavour, and the caramelized onions helped to sweeten everything. 

As we ate the dish, you can see how densely packed the little container really is. Normally, with these types of pie, as you eat through the filling, you are left with lots of liquid but that's not the case here. It's exactly as described, just meat and potatoes. Serving this in a container helped to keep the meal nice and hot, so you could really take your time to enjoy every mouthful.
And to lighten things up a bit, I decided to get the Salade de Campagne, with cucumbers, ham, swiss cheese, tomatoes and egg. The ham was sliced into ribbons and was nice and salty. The greens were plentiful and perfectly bite sized. I like the swiss cheese because it gave the dish a mild touch of sharpness. The eggs were freshly cooked, and I always notice this, because I really don't like eggs in salads where they got a greyish tinge to them from being cooked earlier in the day.   

And one more indulgence for my mom, Pommes Frites! We had no intention of ordering this until another table did, and it came right past us. They just looked so good, golden and they smelled good too. Just a touch of salt really is all you need. We managed to polish off every last one between the three of us.

Take Note:

• Call ahead for reservations
• Wine list is very reasonably priced
• Some baguettes and tartines are also available at dinner time. 

Chez Meme - a hidden gem in Burnaby

Chez Meme is a really well-hidden gem. I know people who live/work in the area that don't even know about it. The awning isn't splashy, just a beige covering with Baguette Bistro in red. It's easy to miss. It's located between Gilmore and MacDonald Ave. There, no way you'll miss it now. 

All sandwiches come with either their Soup of the Day (usually a vegetable-only soup) or a Green Salad. On the day we went, the soup being offered was the carrot or squash soup, neither of which are my favourite. However, they also offer you the option of upgrading to a French Onion Soup. I love FOS so the upgrade was a no-brainer. The soup was nicely done, with a rich broth and tons of caramelized onions! I also liked the gruyere mozzarella topping but felt that it could have sat under the broiler for just a touch longer. 

We paired the French Onion soup with their Bourguignon, a boneless beef short rib, caramelized onions and horseradish sub. First off, these baguettes are huge. I could barely finish my half of this one, in fact, I didn't. I think I only tackled a quarter of it, wanting to save room for my Jarret sandwich (more on that later). The Short Rib was meltingly soft with the fat slow-cooked into the meat. It was super tender. And the bread, just crusty enough on the outside, and moist enough on the inside so that the juices from the short rib actually gets absorbed by the bread. 

For our other sandwich side, we went with the Basic Salad with a homemade creamy balsamic dressing. Nothing spectacular about the salad, but at least it was fresh, leafy and quite plentiful. Good complement to the sandwich. 

The other  sandwich we ordered was the Jarret, made with slow cooked lamb shank, roasted garlic jam and grainy mustard. This was meatier than that short rib one, but I don't know why? The lamb shank held together  better than the very tender short rib, so the meaty mouth feel advantage went to the lamb. Honestly though, both sandwiches were amazing and I'll definitely be back to try brunch (omelettes!) soon. Service is excellent too. We had one half sandwich leftover, and got it packed to go. Unfortunately, we were five blocks away when we realized we had left it there. We called an they remembered us, and said they stowed it in the fridge for us. How nice! Usually, most places just toss anything that is left behind. I guess they knew we would be back for it, that's how good it was! Beware, they are only open for breakfast and lunch, so don't be heading that way for dinner. And weekends? Well, call ahead because they are only open every other Saturday, and not at all on Sundays. So given this very limited opening range, it was hard for me to give this place a try. In fact, it wasn't until I had to work from home after my car accident that I even got a chance to be in the area when it was open!