Mon Lapin, Mon poulet

For their initial pandemic pivot, sommelier Vanya Filipovic and chef Marc-Olivier Frappier turned Mon Lapin, their popular Little Italy restaurant and wine bar in Montreal, into a fried chicken take-away called Casgrain BBQ. Its sourdough-battered fried chicken, oyster-mushroom “popcorn” and other elevated fast-food offerings became so popular that the queue outside got its own Instagram handle. Then, to make room for the return of Mon Lapin, Casgrain BBQ moved into its own space a few blocks away on Saint-Denis Street. Mon Lapin got a renovation, expanded into the space next door and relaunched with a takeout menu that reflects a broader slice of Frappier’s skillset. Picture chicharrónes with whipped baccalà; a sandwich of an oversized gnocchi fritti filled with porchetta; and smoked duck-gizzard sausage with foie-gras-and-prune dip. All available, naturally, with Filipovic’s peerless selection of low-intervention wines.

—Marie-Claude Lortie