text: Aupres tries too hard to be all things at once and does not really hit the spot on either front as a consequence In Montreal it is a serious catering offencennThe same hard effort on the redeeming side is put in by the staff Their cheerfulness is second to none as is linguistic flexibility It feels French in its presentation and attitude positively The snags however are just around the corner nnThe state and ethos of the house can be gauged by what the house puts its name on such as house wine At Aupres the house wine is harsher than a mediocre convenience storebought tipple Cheap does not necessarily mean halfway to vinegar Oh dearnnBeing in a Frenchthemed restaurant on a French street in a French city may warrant eating some French dish I having had enough trendiness for one day at the Fashion Festival was instead craving the simplicity and gastronomical coarseness of a good burger It is also by common sense admission a dish almost impossible to get wrong by anyone who can cook the fancier items on the menunnDear oh dear Mystery will shroud the origin of the liquid under my burger bun dressing from the salad Burger patty juices Who knows Aside from the wet and oily bun bottom the burger was decent and may have earned a pass grade were it not for its teammate the salad nnFreshwashed greens are all the hype but these guys were maybe a little TOO fresh The water dripped more copious than the dressing making the accompaniment to my abused burger an insult to the catering industrynnSo what am I to make of Aupres de ma blonde A bunch of Europhile friends maybe students doing this for fun ganging together to string up a pretence of quality while cutting corners and lacking even the essential standard of care or pride in their delivery The fact it is instead from what I gather a professionally run place makes it all the more tragic It has three stars solely for the waitress smile and joie de vivre the only really French thing about the place