Cattlemans Retro: A Delicious Revival of a Côte Saint-Luc Classic
Like many people who grew up in Côte Saint-Luc, I enjoyed many great pizza lunches and dinners from the Cattleman’s Restaurant at the Cavendish Mall (now Quartier Cavendish). The food court favorite was owned by Aaron Blutman. His two sons, Mark and Kenny, were always involved in the business and played key roles in driving the younger generation over there. As a teenager, Dan Vigderhaus worked at Cattleman’s, doing everything from making the food to organizing birthday parties and doing deliveries.
Last year Dan called me to say that he was going to build a ghost kitchen; a food preparation and cooking facility devoted to preparing delivery-only meals. They have no dining rooms, no counters, no tables, and no drive-thru. Customers place their orders online and the dishes are delivered using Uber Eats, DoorDash, and other third-party delivery platforms.
Q-ZN, as it is cleverly called, recently opened in the industrial sector of St. Laurent. When Dan and his partners, Jason Nishmas, Jason Martin and Steve Merling, were putting the concept together and approaching restaurants he began waxing nostalgic about Cattleman’s. Before you could say “pepperoni,” a plan was in place. He approached the owners of Quebec Pizzeria in Laval (order.quebecpizzeria.ca) and with the blessing of the Blutman family he gave them the Cattleman’s (now reborn without the apostrophe to please the language police and known as Cattemans Retro) pizza recipe. The Papa family from Quebec Pizzeria nailed it.
I recently dropped by to taste the pizza, a “Special Cattleman” all dressed with bacon and onions, and crispy fries. It was just as good as the days when noted Cattleman pizza chef Frank made it.
You can order from Cattlemans Retro via Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, DoorDash and at www.quebecpizzeria.ca. A minimum order of $10 before taxes is required. If you want to have your restaurant under the Q-ZN roof, go to www.q-zn.com for more details or e-mail info@q-zn.com.
