Having gotten back into the swing of travel and wanting to make up for lost time, we quickly followed our trip to Seoul and Hawaii (part 1, part 2) with a long weekend in Montreal.
Wednesday
The “travel to airport and fly to Montreal” stage was completely uneventful. Once we checked into our hotel, we headed to our first of several hearty meals at Restaurant L’Orignal, which is known for its Quebecois classic comfort food in a welcoming environment. The folks working there were serious about their food and drink but not about themselves, which is the combination we always hope for. We were pretty hungry after the flight (and because it was 9:30pm) and ready to go all in on the meat: chicken liver pate, beef tartare , beef tagliatelle, and beef bavette, with a bottle of Treana 2017 Cabernet/Syrah and after dinner drinks (maple old fashioned, Lagavulin neat). After that we were ready for a good night’s sleep.
Thursday
We started the day by talking with our friend Doug and his family to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. Then we went in search of breakfast, ending up at Dandy for ricotta pancakes with apple bacon, fried chicken sandwich, and quite good coffee.
Suitably full, we walked back outside and went to the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History. It’s a really fascinating place because the archaeology is the site itself, where early Montreal was built. So it’s a mix of talking about the history and excavation and seeing it for yourself. Plus, Montreal (like many old cities) is built on itself, so the museum is multiple buildings, all connected by an underground network. At the end, we walked through an exhibition on the history of circuses.
We snacked on coffee and donuts at 49th Parallel, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. From there, it was a long-ish walk to dinner at Europea. Now, I’d been to Europea before as part of Doug’s bachelor party and it was a pretty amazing dinner. However, this was unfortunately not so great for multiple reasons. First and foremost, Virginia wasn’t feeling well. I wasn’t particularly helpful because at first I thought it was just that she wasn’t hungry, but then it turned worse pretty fast. Second, the food… wasn’t nearly as inventive and compelling as I’d remembered from last time. So after about half the tasting menu and a nice bottle of Chassagne-Montrachet, we actually left (a first for us to leave mid-menu) and headed back to the hotel so Virginia could lie down
Friday
Virginia felt better after sleeping. But she was still a bit shaky so I went out for donuts and coffee at 49th Parallel and brought them back to the hotel to enjoy there.
Having spent the previous day mostly in Old Town, we decided to take the train up to the Botanical Garden. Because it’s November, we stuck to touring the greenhouses, which are quite extensive. From there, we took the train to the Little Italy neighborhood and wandered through the Jean Talon market, somewhat sad we couldn’t purchase anything because we didn’t have a kitchen.
After window shopping down Rue Saint-Hubert, we met up with our friends April, Jeffrey, and Conrad for dinner. They had independently scheduled travel to Montreal the same weekend, so it was great to connect and experience Montreal together. They had chosen Montreal Plaza for dinner and it was such a good time. We had a semi-private table and were treated to sturgeon on crisps, tuna tartare with popcorn, sea urchin cream, chicken with fried bread, drumstick and salad, frozen cake, and more. After dinner we had a round or two at the Whisky Cafe before calling it a night.
Saturday
After all that fun, we needed a bit more sleep the next day. So we got a later start with breakfast at Eggspectation near the Place des Arts. From there, we walked to the McGill University campus, really just because we like college campuses and seeing how they develop over time.
We took a quick break for a hot beverage at Cacao 70 before returning to the hotel to get ready for the evening. First stop: drinks at Mechant Boeuf, a restaurant I’d visited before. But rather than eat there, we went on to Buvette Pestak, a wine bar in Old Town. Dinner was charcuterie, spinach and artichoke dip, scallops with cauliflower, ricotta gnocchi with mushrooms and truffles, with a 2019 Cabernet franc from Anjou. Delicious and a welcome break from the heavy dinners (don’t worry – we’ll be back!).
Sunday
After trying to return to Dandy for breakfast (and failing), we ended up at Tommy Cafe for bagel sandwiches and cafe americanos. We then followed our whimsy a bit and wandered through Centre PHI a gallery of art in many forms – visual, sculpture, augmented reality, soundscapes, and more.
From there, we focused on food. First, high tea at Bar a Beurre. Then, a much-anticipated dinner at Au Pied de Cochon, where we fully leaned into the “meat cooked over fire” concept. Sadly, my notes don’t contain specifics on what we ate. I remember we sat by the kitchen and had a nicely warmed table for dinner.
Monday
Travel day. Because it was 2021, we had to get COVID rapid tests done to get back into the USA. So we had made an appointment in advance and spent the morning making sure that was wrapped up. After that, it was time to get to the airport and head home.
record of m. 