Don't come to Tasca expecting Festival en Lumiere gourmet flash (bone marrow this, fois gras that). Instead the week-long $12.95 three-course lunch special is the best deal in town and features succulent grilled calamari, clams with sausage, and a generous cup of chocolate mousse.

I've been meaning to try French restaurant La Porte during Festival en Lumiere for years and this year I finally made it. I went in wondering if Montreal really needed another French restaurant six years ago when La Porte opened, and came out convinced that it most definitely did.

The First Date Series takes a look at restaurants in Montreal where you might want to go -- or might not want to go -- on a first date. Upon a recommendation some time ago (thanks Greg!), I finally dragged a date to BU, and decided it's a top first date destination.

There's nothing worse than being stranded on an excruciating first date with no escape plan on the horizon. Mile End wine bar BU solves this problem -- You can take a date to BU and order a glass of wine, share one Italian tapas-style dish, and call it quits right then and there. Or, if you haven't been fully turned off in the first 25 minutes, carry on, and see if they can hold your enthusiasm for the duration of another glass and a few more bites to eat.

Interviewing chefs is definitely one of my favourite things to do. Here's the interview I did (transcribed in English, streamable in French) with all you need to know about guest chef for Montreal's Festival en Lumière 2012, Nicolas Darnauguilhem, who's helming La Fabrique Restaurant from Feb. 20-22. We talk about how to share an open kitchen, the economics of organics, blind faith in unknown menus, and, most importantly, good manners.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Through the nose... it warms the air. Breathe in. Breathe out. Now, what do you smell? Me, I smell chicken. In my neighbourhood, I always smell chicken.

It's not always exactly what I'd like to inhale, but there it is. It's in my face so I might as well suck it up. The smells, the sounds, the constant sensory input...it's part of living in the Plateau - and a fantastic one at that. That's what I think, at least.

I feel as though my design skills have gone downhill since last year's festival, so this year I'm going to stick to words (written and spoken) to walk you through the best lunches, dinners, snacks, drinks, and chocolate of the Montreal Festival en Lumiere for all budgets and tastes.