mmm-yoso!!!

Montreal - Patati Patata

It was our last morning in Montreal, our flight was at 3pm, though we had to check-out at 11am. We did need something to hold us over....so why not poutine? There were a few stops to make in the morning and Patati Patata Friterie de Lux....well, with a name like that and being a few blocks from where we were staying, it just made sense.

This tiny corner shop was quite charming as it really looked like an old school diner.

The Missus enjoyed the fresh squeezed orange juice and we both enjoyed our coffee.

We also ordered the Poutine Avec des Ouefs.....which seemed like something right down our alley, with easy over eggs (sorry to FOY Jessica).

So, the frites were crisp, but on the dry side, the cheese curds too mushy, the gravy quite salty....the eggs wonderful. This reminded us of the poutine we had in Vancouver. Not a bad thing, just not to our taste.

The service was great, we loved the vibe, but not the poutine. glad we got to try it though.

Patati Patata Friterie de Luxe
4177 St Laurent
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

We had use of one of the Sky Team lounges at Trudeau International Airport which was pretty quiet.

The food choices were fine for a snack to hold us over.

And we had bought some "goodies" to have at home.....

Though it was nothing like having it there....in Montreal.

I guess we'll just have to return.

Montreal - The Mont-Royal Street Festival and La Banquise

During our last evening in Montreal, I wanted something in particular....poutine! The Missus decided to humor me. And to make things even better, She decided we could catch the metro instead of walking all the way to our destination.

So, we got out at the Mont-Royal metro stop and wouldn't you know, there was a street festival taking place.

We couldn't help but really enjoy the chill and relaxing vibe of the street festival.

One of my favorite scenes on this trip was when the gentleman below heard the DJ put "his song" on and just dropped his bags and started......well, calling it dancing might be a stretch. But we just loved it.

We had such a good time that we actually went past the street we needed to turn on and walked all the way until the end of the street fair.

Not sure when it'll be this year....but this was a lot of fun.

Anyway, we turned on Avenue Papineau and backtracked until we came to a place I was looking forward to eating at. La Banquise.

During discussions about poutine in Montreal, this 24 hour-a-day "poutinerie" would always somehow be mentioned. La Banquise is one of those beloved institutions having been around for 50 years. They also have 30 plus variations of poutine on the menu....though there was only one I was after.

Even at this rather early hour for dinner, the place was humming. Though we had no wait, almost all the tables were taken. We were seated in the covered back area......topped by a bright red-orange tarp, it made all my photos come out rather reddish. So my apologies.

I started with another thing I wanted to try, a Bec Cola. Produced in Montreal with maple syrup being the primary sweetener....well, it was a "must try". This wasn't highly carbonated, with a typical, perhaps slightly bitterish at first taste....but with a definite maple syrup flavored finish. It was refreshing on quite a warm day.

As for my poutine? Well, I'd already had a rabbit poutine in Quebec City and on the previous night, it was an over-the-top foie gras poutine. Here, I just wanted a "classic".

This was by far, my favorite poutine of the trip. It wasn't salty, the cheese curds weren't tough, with a slight "squeak", the gravy had a decent tongue coating beefiness and there wasn't too much of it. The potatoes weren't particularly crunchy, but there was a definite sweetness and deep potato flavor to them. I mentioned this to Cathy who said that she believes the potatoes are grown in excellent soil and left in the ground longer to develop the sugars better.

The Missus, still swooning from the Smoked Meat sandwich at Schwartz's ordered the version with smoked meat.

This wasn't bad....but I'll take the classic version any day of the week.

We were amazed to have finished everything off....and didn't feel stuffed or gross......just totally satisfied.

La Banquise
994 Rue Rachel E
Montreal, Canada
Open 24 Hours

If you want to read more about La Banquise, you can do so here.

Of course the Missus insisted that we walk back to the apartment.

And it "just so happened" as we passed Au Pied de Cochon, we ran smack dab into a chocolate shop.

And the Missus was a happy camper.

Les Chocolats de Chloé
546 Avenue Duluth E
Montréal, Canada

The rest of the walk was uneventful....though I loved the name of this place.....

As we settled in for the night; I opened up the last beer in the fridge. Remember getting those brews by Unibroue on sale for $3.99CAD?

Even the Missus enjoyed this Belgian White Ale with Apple.

Life was indeed good......

Thanks for reading!

Montreal - Jean-Talon Market and Schwartz's Deli

I knew we needed some exercise after our zillion calorie meal at Au Pied de Cochon. So I had planned on hoofing it up to Jean Talon Market but it was drizzling so we decided to catch the metro instead. When we arrived the place was pretty much deserted.

It was pretty quiet and we weren't going to be doing any self-catering during our last evening in Montreal, so we just kind of wandered around.

Nothing caught our fancy, so we decided to head on back to Mount Royal area.

Jean-Talon Market
7070 Henri Julien Ave.
Montreal, QC H2S 3S3, Canada

It was a pretty good walk.

There are some pretty interesting buildings in the area, like this one.

I couldn't figure out what it was, so when we returned I looked up the address and it's named Musée des pompiers de Montréal. It's the firefighters museum; which is only open on Sundays from 130pm to 4pm.

It was still a bit early for our lunch destination, so we decided to grab a cup of coffee and relax. We found this very modern-hipsterish looking shop named Dispatch Coffee.

I got some espresso and they served it up right....with sparkling water.

Dispatch Coffee
4021 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1Y4, Canada

By this time our early lunch destination was ready for business.

I'd heard countless times that you "need" to go to Schwartz's when in Montreal. It's an iconic purveyor of Montreal smoked meat....don't be calling it pastrami in MTL. While similar in in terms of being seasoned, cured, and smoked, classic pastrami is made with beef navel, the front or "ventral" part of the beef plate. Montreal smoked meat like corned beef is made with the brisket. You can read more about the differences at a load of sites; some of them humorously opinionated. I was here to eat.

One quick thing about Schwartz's. You'll see the opening hours listed as 8am; you can get stuff next door to go at that time. But if you want "hot meat", you'll have to wait until 1030.

We got in right at 1030 and sat at the counter. The young man who served us was great; friendly, helpful, in that truly Canadian way.

The place filled up pretty quickly.

The young man pointed out that the "classic" Schwartz's combo was a Smoked Meat Medium Fat, Fries, Dill Pickle, and a Cherry Soda......we got fifty percent of that, the dill pickled, crisp, nicely balanced in flavor and the Smoked Meat Sandwich Medium Fat (9.75 CAD - about $7.40/US !!!). We watched with anxious anticipation as the meat for our sandwich was hand cut.

Man, this was good!

It's not very often that a place delivers on all the hype and expectations. Schwatrz's did this and more. From the surprisingly tender and moist texture, to the balanced seasoning, not too salty, but with more "umph" than most pastrami sandwiches I've had, the wonderful savory tones really shone. The bread was soft, but stood up well to the pastrami with the flavor of caraway, that malty-nutty-spiciness, bringing things together. The mustard added just enough acidic-pungency to cut any richness.

The Missus is still talking about this sandwich.

There was a line forming outside the deli as we left. I can see why.....

Schwartz’s Deli
3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, QC H2W 1X9, Canada

A while not everyone would agree, I'd say Schwartz's really delivered. We left, satisfied and not stuffed, just perfectly happy.

Montreal - Au Pied de Cochon

I decided to schedule one dinner on our return to Montreal. It came down to dinner at Joe Beef or Celebrity Chef and Madman Martin Picard's love letter to Montreal cuisine; Au Pied de Cochon. Since we were staying rather close to the Mont Royal area in Milton Parc, I thought Au Pied de Cochon made more sense.

The walk was a bit over a mile; about 25 minutes.

Our reservations were for 7pm. The place really has no sign, you just kinda figure you're there. And of course it was packed!

While the hostess seemed a bit detached, our Servers were so very friendly in the congenial Canadian way. Even stopping to chat about "stuff", specifically "Duck in a Can", in spite of being completely slammed.

The seating is a bit tight, we were seated near the bar. And it was tight squeeze for the staff.

As you can tell by the photo above. The whole area was blocked when the tableside salad was being made. The wheel of cheese brought on a cart.

The menu was a paean to foie gras and pork, with no less than 7 foie gras dishes on the single sheet menu.

It seemed like the locals were ordering steak and beefs dishes or pasta, while visitors were going for the crazy stuff.

And since we were visitors, it just felt right to hold to that course.

The Missus was focused on the foie here; but we only had one stomach each, so we'd have to choose well. We started with the Foie Gras Poutine ($24 CAD - about $18/US)

We just loved the poutine in Quebec, the potatoes seemed to have a more pronounced flavor and were sweeter, earthier. That young lady in Viti's Liquor in Vancouver was right; when I asked her where the best poutine was in Vancouver she told me "well sir, I personally think that you need to go to Montreal!" The gravy was on the lighter side.....totally against character for this place, but not overly salty, the fries were lovely crisp outside, soft and fluffy inside. The foie gras....well, was foie gras. Not the best quality, but with a good sweet-offal-ly richness, that just made this that much better. There weren't very many cheese curd; which were fine, but nothing special. We'd actually have better poutine the next night, but this was quite indulgent.

When it came to our main; I had thoughts of doing Duck in a Can, but in the end, we decided on the restaurant's namesake, the Pied de Cochon (Pig's Trotters), but not any Pied de Cochon, but one with, well, Foie Gras of course ($54 CAD - $41/US).

If you think this looks like a hot mess, you'd be right. The foie gras was over-cooked, the gravy was nice, but there was just too much of it. The cheese potatoes was just mostly gooey-gummy cheese and too salty. The pork trotters were roasted; then deep fried; but the result was a exterior that was too hard and an interior that was on the dry side. For some reason we didn't find as much lovely gelatinous goodness as we usually enjoy.

Perhaps we had just found the dish that was just too over-the-top for us to enjoy? The prices weren't too bad; about $100/US with beer and wine. The service was amazingly efficient and friendly for a place so busy.

Au Pied de Cochon
536 Avenue Duluth E
Montréal, QC H2L 1A9, Canada

It was good thing we were walking....I needed it after this calorie bomb dinner!

On the way back; we stopped by the local Provigo Grocery. While looking over the beer, I quickly noticed that all Unibroue beers were on sale for $3.99 CAD....that's like three bucks US! There was quite a selection of stuff we don't have here in the states. So, I bought two bottles. On this evening I had the Raftman, a smoked ale.

I really enjoy smoked beer when they are available. This being a Belgian style ale; it had that sweet-booziness, with a caramel nose, and an almost bourbon like smokiness. Being only 5.5ABV, it was really easy to drink as well.

It was a nice way to end the evening. We went to sleep early; we'd have a busy day ahead of us.

Thanks for reading! 

From Quebec City to Montreal

We finished up dinner at Le Lapin Saute and took another nice stroll around the Lower Town before heading back to our hotel room.

Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Victoires looked quite stunning at night.

Back at the room, while the Missus drew Herself a bath; I decided to relax and enjoy this last night in QC a bit. Based on what my phone told me, I'd earned it.

I did 53 floors? I really did earn it.

I slept like a baby.....

It was our last morning in Quebec City. We'd had a blast; from walking the streets of the Upper and Lower Town, to visiting the oldest existing grocery in North America, to having a wonderful lunch and getting to use my very limited Japanese, and of course, there's the "Red Door". While we felt like we did quite a bit, there was still much more to do. Seems like QC had become a favorite travel destination for us. While life is full of those "once in a lifetime places", like Easter Island, it's places like Quebec City that we return to.

We had time until check-out and our train wasn't leaving until 1pm, so we took one last walk.

For some reason, I really like this photo.

The horse drawn carriage leading the tour bus down the street.

We stopped for a croissant and espresso at Paillard.

On the way back to our room; the Missus saw another locale She had read about when trying to find out what the "Red Door" was all about.

According to the KorCan Blog, this is the "Christmas Shop" in the series. We stopped in at the little shop where it's Christmas every day. Very cute.

La Boutique de Noël de Québec
47 Rue De Buade
Quebec City, Canada

Speaking of the KDrama; SJP sent me this link to the Chateau Frontenac website; where they actually have something called the "Ultimate Golbin Experience". You can stay in the actual suite where Goblin was filmed....for only $1129 CAN a night! Sheesh....

And then strolled back down Côte de la Montagne, which is the oldest remaining street in the city.

It was once the only street which connected the Lower and Upper Towns of the city.

After a brief respite, we packed and went to check-out. We really enjoyed staying at the Auberge Saint-Antoine. The hotel was so comfortable, the staff and amenities wonderful. There's also a good bit of history here. The property was once both a wharf house and a cannon battery. When the hotel was being constructed, items dating back to the 17th century were being uncovered. So it became sort of a dual construction - archaeological site. Many of the items excavated can be found restored and on display in the hotel.

And then was what I could say was the "crowning moment", the "cherry on the top", that totally sold the Missus on the hotel. I went ahead and settled our bill at the counter. As we walked out the door; the desk clerk, a very nice gentleman, walked after us, calling to the Missus, "madam....madam". We stopped and turned around. He handed the Missus a bag of still warm cookies saying, "Madam, these cookies just came out of the kitchen and this is for you." You gotta love it! As we walked to the train station, the Missus looked at me and said, "we're definitely staying here again....." It's the small things that count.

We took the short walk to the train station and because we had Business Class tickets were able to use the lounge; which was really small, and rather tight. As we walked in and tried to find some seats, the Missus tapped me on the shoulder and said, "aren't you going to say hello to your new friends?" It was the group of Japanese women I translated the menu for at Le Saint-Armour. The were all smiling and waving. I waved back, laughing.

Our ride back to Montreal was uneventful.....other than listening to the woman with the drink cart trying to explain what the different cocktails were to the women..... This one, I had no idea about; so I hung back.

We got back to bustling Montreal. It seems the weather had cleared up and it was getting to be kind of warm. This time around, we stayed at an AirBnB in the Plateau Mont-Royal area. I wanted to stay in the area because....well, the food of course. There aren't many hotels, but I found what turned out to be a huge apartment on Avenue du Parc.

So, we were back in Montreal.....time to start eating!

Montreal - Mamie Clafoutis and VIA Rail to QC

While we had really enjoyed Montreal, the Missus was ready for our next stop; Quebec City. We'd be going by rail, which I really enjoy.

Since our train wouldn't be leaving until 1245 and we were literally 3 blocks from Gare Centrale, we decided to take a morning walk and grab some breakfast. The Missus decided on a place up Rue Saint Denis.

Of course we passed several churches on the way and really enjoyed walking up Saint Denis as it was full of semi-hipster, trendy, and plain funky businesses.

Hmmm....maybe Elvis does live?

Mamie Clafoutis is a bit of a walk up Saint Denis, which I read the street goes all the way to the North side of the island.

While the namesake of he place is the Clafouti; the Missus had read that the Pistachio Croissant here was very good. I saw a sign for a special Ficelle celebrating Montreal's 375 Anniversary (May 17, 2017) and while it was already the end of May, it was still being made and sold. So, I decided on that.

We both got some espresso for our caffeine fix. When our tray was ready, we headed upstairs to the comfortable lounge area.

The ficelle was ice cold, really chewy....I expected a bit more "crunch", but it was more hard. We really enjoyed the combination of flavors from the cornichons, mustard, and for the Missus, especially the smoked meat. This really set the stage for our return trip, where I'd been looking forward to getting some smoked meat.

The croissant was a bit drier than we prefer and lacked that touch of salt that would balance out the very sweet pistachio paste which was too sweet for me. Of course, I'm not much of a dessert person, but there didn't seem to be much pistachio flavor.

Still, the espresso was good and we enjoyed the vibe of the place. We'd notice that folks in this area seemed to speak much more French than on the west side.

Mamie Clafoutis
3660 Rue Saint-Denis
Montreal, Canada

We headed back to the hotel, going down Saint Laurent, then over to Rue Jeanne-Mance. It had started to drizzle. Even though we had umbrellas, it was also getting a bit windy. Luckily, just as it was getting particularly blustery, we reached the Complexe Desjardins. In Montreal, there's a 32 kilometer network of tunnels, passageways, shopping centers, and buildings called RESO, but it's most commonly known as the Underground City. The name evokes a bit of mystery......but for us; it looked basically like a bunch of malls which were, thankfully, interconnected.

I can imagine being able to move along downtown Montreal without being exposed to the elements must be a godsend during the dead of winter. For us wimpy San Diegans...well, we enjoyed being able to cross the street.

We got back to the hotel, freshened up, and checked out of the Courtyard. We headed over a couple of blocks to where I thought Gare Centrale was....because of all the construction, we had a difficult time finding the entrances, but finally made it.

Since we had business class tickets, we were able to use the VIA lounge in the train station. Nothing fancy, but comfortable enough....drinks and coffee provided.

Having easy access to the restrooms, a nice place to sit, and some coffee was worth paying a few bucks more. I got our fares during some kind of "special" where I paid like only $40 more for round trip tickets in business.

And while our train was not nearly as comfortable as riding the Shinkansen, it was fine.

One thing I did enjoy was the service, which was very friendly, and at times oddly funny. They also really pushed the booze! By the time the lunch cart got to us, they'd run out of everything but the vegetarian dish....shells stuffed with portabello mushroom. Which turned out to be perfectly fine.

Notice the white wine? So, I wasn't going to have any wine or drinks with lunch...but the really funny woman; with that wonderful French-Canadian accent told me, "you must...you must have some. It's from Wayne Gretzky Estates!" How could I turn that down? Wayne Gretzky Estates...... Yep this is Canada....and you don't mess with Wayne Gretzky......

Thanks for reading!

Montreal - Bouillon Bilk

The weather had turned rather gloomy and rainy when I awoke from my nap. I needed to run a few errands; get some cash, pick-up a few items from the drug store, so I decided to let the Missus nap while I headed out.

The rain wasn't too bad; mostly annoying drizzles and occasional gust of wind. I'm fairly certain that the locals would scoff at folks who grumbled about this weather after all; it ain't nothing compared to typical winters here.

I managed to get my stuff done....a quick trip to Calforex on Peel; even better than my bank's ATM foreign exchange rate. And a quick stop at Jean Coutu for some toothpaste...and a few snack of course.

I got to walk down the very commercial St Catherine Street with all the usual suspects....H&M, Puma, Guess, Zara.....

Though there always seems to be a church around the corner. I suddenly recalled a well known quote about Montreal by Mark Twain: "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window."

The Missus was starting to wake when I got back to the room. We just relaxed for a while; our dinner reservations weren't until 8pm, then headed out to dinner....the rain had paused for us it seemed. I'd made reservations at the rather trendy and hip Bouillon Bilk......the idea of sharing plates, with seasonal fare was just up the Missus's alley.

The restaurant, located in an old Electronic Repair and Retail Shop...indeed, the restaurant still has no "real" sign as it still says "Multi-Systems Electronique" on the banner. I guess when you're this popular, you really don't need a sign, right? We'd kinda enjoyed the "old" Izakaya Sakura before the sign went up in 2015.

We really enjoyed the service; efficient, not overly hovering, appropriate in the very "Canadian" way. When we mentioned how tables were moving, on a Monday no less, he mentioned that there were three distinct crowds...pre-theatre, the 730-8pm, and post theatre...and this was actually pretty nicely paced.

Bouillon Bilk offers a nice looking tasting menu; but we decided to order a la carte. We started with some cocktails; an Old Fashioned for the Missus, a Martini for me.

The bread arrived. Something both the Missus and I noticed; it seemed like serving cold bread (usually with fabulous butter) is the norm in these parts.

We started with the "Strawberries"; basically a strawberry salad.

As I mentioned in other posts; it seemed that the flavors of the fruit and vegetables practically shined. This was no exception; the sweet-tart of the strawberries; along with the crunch of the squash blossoms; the slight green-bitter of the greens, the nuttiness of the millet, you could taste it all. The romesco was a nice savory touch and the dab of crème fraiche would add another dimension when used for the berries. An excellent dish.

For us, the Hamachi was a total opposite.

Fennel and Yuzu Kosho really don't go together really well and the flavors in this dish really clashed. The excellent quality Hamachi was totally lost in a miasma of grapefruit, fennel, and yuzu kosho.

By far, the Missus's favorite dish of the night was the "Lobster". The Missus isn't a big fan of lobster....She thinks it's rather bland. But man, this was delici-yoso!!!

The lobster was nice and sweet, slightly briny, the texture tender, just perfect. The cucumber yogurt sauce was just enough in terms of the clean cucumber tones and slight, milky acidy. We could have just eaten those radishes by themselves; it was so crisp, slightly sweet, with a touch of pungency.

The Asparagus was the star of the Veal dish.

Man, the flavor of the asparagus which went so well with the bitterness of the greens......everything else just was in the background.

And of course; we had to get the "Duck".

We really, really, loved the Parsnip Puree; which went so well with the foie gras; the coffee flavors paired nicely with the duck breast. Kind of two dishes in one.

Out last was the Lamb and Pappardelle. This one didn't live up to its potential.

The pasta was undercooked and the braised lamb was very salty. So salty you really couldn't taste much else.

The Missus went with a dessert She saw everyone getting and loved it.

I went with a very nice Vermouth. A wonderful way to end a meal.

Bouillon Bilk is one of those places that seems to take chances......and when things work out they are really memorable in the delicious kind of way. When things don't seem to work out; it's just the opposite. At least none of the dishes were boring. The prices weren't too bad considering the exchange rate; coming out to something like about $120 U.S. without tip. In terms of quality of ingredients totally worth it. Though I think the Missus would select BB's sister restaurant Cadet if/when we return.

Bouillon Bilk
1595 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Canada

Montreal - Notre-Dame Basilica, Vieux - Montreal, Maison Christian Faure, and Atwater Market

After arriving and getting into Montreal rather late the previous evening. Both the Missus and I had a long (for us) and deep sleep. After waking and taking care of a few things we were ready to go. There was rain in the forecast, so we decided to head on out. Our location was very convenient for checking out Old Montreal.

There's an interesting vibe to Montreal, artsy and trendy, yet down to earth, international and diverse, it does indeed feel like "somewhere else", but the people are friendly and not stuffy.

And just after our first evening! Things that were going through my head as we strolled past Place Jean-Paul Riopelle, which is named after the Artist. The fountain is one of his works named "La Joute" (The Joust), which was once located at Olympic Park, but was moved here when this park was created. It actually runs over Autoroute 720.

There was really only one place that I really needed to see in Montreal; everything else on my list was food. I'd made dinner reservations for five of the six nights we were in Quebec.

I just wanted to see this:

The interior of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal ("Notre-Dame Basilica"). It is indeed as beautiful as the photos I've seen. At this time of the day not too crowded either. From the intricate wood carving to the 24 carat gold stars in the ceiling it is quite a site. You can find a nice concise history here. 

Of course many famous events have taken place here; from the funeral of Pierre Trudeau to the wedding of Celine Dion. Here's one interesting fact I got from one of my favorite Websites (and books) Atlas Obscura. There's only one person buried in the crypt under the basilica. It's the American who designed this version of the church; James O'Donnell. According to Atlas Obscura, O'Donnell wished to be buried in his most renowned work. The problem being, well, he was not Catholic. On his deathbed, he converted, and thus, became the only soul buried in the crypt....which he designed.

The square in front of the Basilica is Place d'Armes; surrounded by some pretty impressive structures like the Banque de Montreal Building.

At two corners of the building at 500 Place d'Armes are two interesting statues. Each is facing away from one another, but the pooches in their arms know better.

We then headed down Notre Dame Street passing the Palais de Justice and the Vieux (Old) Palais de Justice, now the Service des Finances building, then the Hotel de Ville (City Hall).

Things didn't seem very busy on this morning; perhaps because it was quite overcast and it was supposed to rain. We headed further down the street and took a right on Rue Bonsecours. Right down the street is pretty looking church; the Chapelle de Notre Dame de Bonsecours. This is known as the "Sailor's Church" because this is where seamen came to give thanks for being saved at sea. It was still rather early in the day and the church wasn't open yet.

Taking a right at the church, you run into a building you can't miss; the dome of the Marche Bonsecours. Opened in 1847; this was home to the Parliament of Canada in 1849, it was the Montreal City Hall from 1852 - 1878. It also served as the city's main market for over a century. It closed as market in 1963 and I read that it was scheduled to be demolished. But, as you can clearly see, that, thankfully didn't happen.

The iconic structure now houses various shops and restaurants. Again, we passed before the place opened, but it was nice a quiet. More on the history of the Marché Bonsecours here. Walking pass, you enter the popular cobblestone streets of Old Montreal.

We decided to stop for a caffeine fix and something small to eat at the highly recommended Maison Christian Faure.

Christian Faure is the recipient of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in Baking a very prestigious title. This shop was right of Place Royale and seemed perfect for a short stop.

The place however, in spite of the best intentions of the staff was a hot mess....I watched customers sitting around waiting for espresso...we were seated and left stranded without menus for 10 minutes....after flagging down the harried young man and placing our order, we then waited 30 minutes for a croissant, espresso, and iced espresso. Customers were just getting up and asking for their checks. The poor Server apologized telling us it was his first day....but where was his support?

The croissant was not my our liking; as it was too chewy, lacking in the flakiness or the light buttery flavor we look for. It was also a bit dry as well.

The espresso were fine.

We felt bad for the staff....and the customers.

Maison Christian Faure
355 Place Royale
Montreal, Canada

Upon leaving, the weather seemed to be holding out. The Missus decided that She wanted to visit Atwater Market....and She wanted to walk there! So we did.

So we headed down Rue Notre Dame....I got to show Her other places I had on my "list" that we wouldn't have time to check out like Joe Beef and Liverpool House. We took a turn at Atwater Avenue and......

The place wasn't very busy on this morning and it was too early for the food stands.

There were the usual suspects....a location of Premiere Moisson, etc. But nothing caught the Missus's attention.

As we turned and made our way out, we decided to check out this cheese shop.

The shop carried all types of produce, the Missus got some Kombucha, and then we headed to the cheese counter where we met the nicest, friendliest gentleman who chatted with us about our preferences in cheese. We monetuioned enjoying strong and pungent washed rind cheese and he explained that Quebec really doesn't specialize in that type of cheese, but made a recommendation; a L'Origine de Charlevoix from Laiterie Charlevoix and one he gave us a sample of, which was fantastic; a Tomme de Grosse Île from Fromagerie Île-aux-Grues.

That Tomme de Grosse Île was really good; semi-soft, mildly grassy and sweet, slight acidity and butteriness, with mild salt. Very complex flavors, none of which over-powered the other.

Even better than the cheese was how gracious the gentleman at La Fromagerie Atwater was. We'd gladly return.

La Fromagerie Atwater
134 Avenue Atwater
Montreal, Canada

As we left Atwater Market, it began to drizzle. We ducked into the Lionel-Groulx station and still having that 24 hours metro pass, caught the Green Line back to Place-des-Arts which was two blocks from our hotel.

It was time to relax, enjoy some cheese, and take a nice nap.

Thanks for reading! 

Montreal - (Finally) Getting There and a Late Night Dinner at Cadet

I had taken a couple days off during the Memorial Day week. We'd planned a couple of trips in fits and starts. One of the basic limiting factors for us was that we both had $200 credit that we needed to use from the Great Delta Debacle of 2016 that left us stranded in Seattle overnight. In the end, the Missus's only request was; "I want to feel like I'm on a real vacation.....I don't want it to be like I'm in the US". So, in the end, Montreal and Quebec City sounded like the place.

Getting there, on the other hand was interesting. We used our credit to upgrade to Delta One, which came with lounge access.....in regards to bells and whistles, Delta's lounges aren't great, but they allow you space (most of the time) and a rather low stress environment....a decent place to grab some coffee and sparkling water.

Our flight left at 640am, pretty early in the morning. Breakfast was served on the flight....which was pretty good for airline food...maybe the best airline breakfast we've ever had.

We originally had a two hour lay over in Minneapolis; but by the time we disembarked, I received a message from Delta telling me there was a delay of an hour. Luckily, we had access to the lounge; which was rather dated, but comfortable.

By the time we got settled in, another message from Delta, this time an additional 30minute delay. I'd end up getting two more emails; for a total of a two-hours-and-change in delays. And while the food in this lounge isn't great; some soup, quinoa salad, and some cheese keeps those hunger pangs at bay.

To add insult to injury, the window over-looked our flight's gate. So, it was easy enough to see when the plane was(n't) arriving. Finally, we saw an actual aircraft rolling to the gate.

So, with evidence that there actually was an aircraft for our flight, we headed off to the gate. Meanwhile, I modified our 945pm dinner reservations; first to 1030, then to 1045....then I just gave up because I really didn't know if we'd actually make it. Back at the gate, we were delayed even longer, another 45 minutes because the flight crew and the gate staff could not agree on the correct security protocol......like they don't actually fly this route daily? And then of course, there's the D-Bag passenger....who kept asking for delay compensation, making sarcastic comments....he kept taking photos of the gate crew as they worked to get us out. He kept telling the gate staff out loud about the "Tweets" he was sending out...sheeesh...really? When we got into the queue, he boarded with Premier and First Class, saying out loud "I don't give a f@(k what seat I'm in, I'm boarding now!" Of course, when they handed out the snack boxes he took two. We had dinner plans; so we weren't going to be wasting calories. Oh, and he made the bad move of standing behind the Missus and kept pushing her with his bag, until She turned around and told him to "back off"! I turned around expecting some lip, but he just kind of shrunk away.

In the end we did make it to Montreal. The 747 Express Bus from the airport is a breeze. Get the ticket from the machine; it's a $10, 24 hour pass which allows you free access to buses and the metro as well. I had planned on staying close to the stop on our initial stay; at the Courtyard which less than a block from the Jeanne-Mance stop. I had left over CA$, enough to cover dinner in case we had problems with credit cards, so I didn't need to hit the ATM or currency exchange.

And after checking in, it was a short walk to this little restaurant, cum wine bar, like it's sister restaurant Bouillon Bilk (which would be tomorrow night's dinner) the place had no signage. This is Cadet.

We'd arrived just 5 minutes late; the Hostess was super nice and we ended up requesting to sit at the bar. Being a Sunday night, the place was fairly quiet. We loved our bartender, a sweet and very nice young lady. The Missus started with....well, I forgot what cocktail. I got an Old Fashioned.

It took thirteen hours; but we had made it....... We started to relax and let the whole day fade away.

We loved the set-up, under-stated, yet fairly sleek, and the menu; made up of small plates to share, with modern, fresh ingredients. The Missus was in Her element as there seemed to be a good selection of vegetable based dishes.

We started with the "Watercress". Basically a watercress salad, which was perfectly dressed with a nice, not too salty, blue cheese based dressing.

This was excellent. The watercress crisp and almost refreshing, the usual bitterness toned down, allowing for a mild sweetness to come through. What seemed to be preserved lemon and rind and delicious endives made up the rest of the salad. The watercress though, was the star.

The Veal Terrine was very nice.

The terrine was matched nicely with the not too sweet compote, which took the edge off. The texture was surprisingly creamy and the pickled vegetables added the acid and crunch, providing a nice contrast to things.

I actual chose Cadet because of a photo of a single dish I saw......it turned out to be the Missus's favorite dish of the night. An interesting combination of Broccoli, Labneh, and Spaetzle.

What sounds like a strange combination went so well together; the creamy, slightly salty labneh; the wonderfully toothsome sautéed spaetzle, broccoli, the crunchy sunchokes. Fanastic textures and you could taste every item in the dish....no ingredient overwhelmed the other.

The Oyster Mushrooms were decent, if not great.

I actually enjoyed the arugula the most; the flavors of vegetables here seems to "pop". The Caciotta, a mild, I believe Tuscan style cheese, went well with the greens, though I didn't care for it combined with the earthy flavors of the very meaty mushrooms.

The dish the Missus and I enjoyed the least was the Veal Skirt Steak.

We both loved the chorizo and the sauce, while on the mild side, had a decent tangy-bright flavor to it; the veal skirt was pretty tough and brought nothing to this dish. Strangely, both the Missus and I thought the cilantro tasted really good......as in the citrusy-anise flavors seemed amplified...perhaps the flight did something to our tastebuds?

The Missus had Her dessert.

I had a 12 year old Calvados as a disgestif.

This was a wonderful way to start this trip. We enjoyed the service, the price for everything was under $100 CA - think about $74-75 US! A bargain to us. We'd gladly return.

Cadet
1431 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Canada
Hours
Mon - Fri 1130am - 230pm, 430pm - 1am
Sat - Sun 430pm - 1am

We'd finally made it to Montreal. In spite of the upcoming forecasts of rain, I was sure we'd make the best of it.

Where in the World Were We?

In spite of being quite busy and rather short in the vacation time category, the Missus and I managed to sneak away for a few days. We went to a place that had been on my "list" for a while and opportunity just seemed right for this trip.

It was a fantastic time......

Our first stop was in a wonderful city, multicultural, friendly, artistic, and just plain fun.

Our second stop was a beautiful and picturesque city....full of history.

And this mysterious "red door"...........

And then of course; there was the real reason....the food of course!

While the upscale/fine dining was indeed fantastic.

It was the local specialties that really blew us away.

Hearty comfort food at its best.

While it was rainy most of the time.....we were really here to relax; though we still managed to put in about ten miles a day walking.

There's a live and let live attitude here......which was a great escape from the angry, sometimes hate-filled, rhetoric that has been brewing recently.

After all, when your song comes on....you have to be like this guy, who dropped his grocery bags, and let loose.

"Some days you gotta dance
Live it up when you get the chance
Cause when the world doesn't make no sense
And you're feeling just a little too tense
Gotta loosen up those chains and dance"

Anyway, it's time for me to scoot and catch up on my rest.

Thanks for reading!