Those of you who grew up in the Mile End might remember the old Nouveau Palais as the 70's era vintage diner that served up greasy casse-croute level food in the middle of the night to soak up whatever moonshine you were fed at your favorite watering hole. It was a typical Greek establishment - blonde French career waitress, shitty wine that burned your cortex within 5 minutes, and greasy, tasty voluminous food (ie. hot chicken sandwiches, burgers, frozen strips of gyro heated up and thrown on a defrosted pita, etc). Nothing wrong with the place, and where else are you going to go when you're trashed at 3 AM and starving? As a bonus, they had jukeboxes built into the tables, so you could hear some obscure ACDC or Zeppelin song while you were at it.\n\nWell, it's been taken over and revamped, and it's not obvious from the outside (or inside) until you see the menu - which, mind you, is deceptively simple until you pay close attention. I had a fried chicken sandwich, which sounds very ordinary, but was extremely extraordinary- juicy as all hell, thick, searing hot, spiced perfectly, and dressed to kill with razor-thin cucumber slices (I think) and maybe roquette bits in there. I ate it so fast I'm not even sure. The Macaroni and cheese was light and airy, and the aubergine hoagie was sensational. Wow! Talk about a Trojan Horse! In reverse, cuz, you know, the Greeks left and it looks like it's now owned by some hipsters, but hipsters that fry up a MEAN piece of chicken. And I hear there's hangar steak and some other meaty bits on the dinner menu.\n\nThe rest of the decor, which is completely unchanged from the old management, looks a bit tired and worn, but that may or may not be the point. The more I looked around, the more I realized this place was \"ugly\" cute, like a Boston Terrier. The service is laaaaid back but NOT lazy, just relaxed as if you're over at someone's house. It's so unpretentious, so cool, and so breezy, I'm going back for dinner next week.\n\nBig score for the Mile End, this place. Along with all these new spots in progress (Comptoir 21, Waverly Bar, Melina's Phyllo Bar, Rialto Restaurant, Zigoto reboot) things are looking up for old Parc Ave.
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