Ta, Montreal

We had read about Ta, an Australian pie place that had opened up last summer. Situated on the edge of Parc Jeanne-Mance (near the big Parc Mont Royal), it was a perfect spot to pop in for lunch as we walked up toward Outremont and Mile End from our home base in the Plateau neighborhood.

Not sure if the name Ta is an acronym for Toutiere Australienne, or because it's an Aussie slang way of saying thank you. At any rate, the place was simple, satisfying, and good. They have a variety of pies with traditional (i.e. steak and kidney) and not so traditional (i.e. lamb roganjosh, Thai green curry) fillings.

I opted for the vegetable curry, topped with sweet potato. 1000yregg went Down Under all the way with the "Ned Kelly" (named after the infamous Irish-Australian hero) -- which I think was beef, bacon, egg, and cheese -- done as a "stack" with mashed potatoes, mushy peas, and gravy. I had mine with some HP brown sauce and chutney, though there were an assortment of other condiments to choose from -- everything from traditional ketchup to sriracha.

I knew I wanted to try the Afghan cookie for dessert when I read about it on their website -- a dark Belgian cocoa and cornflake cookie, covered with bittersweet chocolate. It was amazing - really great dark chocolate, and the cornflakes gave it such a great chewy-crunchy texture -- David Chang would have approved.

1000yregg opted for the Lamington, an Australian specialty which is like a petit four, dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut. Interestingly, while we had thought it was chocolate frosting, the cake is actually soaked in chocolate on the outer layer.

They had the story of the Lamington posted on the wall of the restaurant -- how the cake was name for Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland, even though he actually hated the dessert and called it "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits." (though Wikipedia has varying accounts of its origins).

We could only finish 1/2 our desserts, but they were too good to leave behind, so we got a to-go baggie, making for a perfect accompaniment for a mid-afternoon ice coffee break later in the day. If I lived close to this place, I could see myself becoming a regular -- trying all the different flavors, buying frozen pies to take home, and of course, stopping in for those great cookies!

Ta (Tourtiere Australienne)
4520 Parc Avenue
H2V4E3, Montreal, QC
(514) 277 7437