Saturday, November 19, 2011

Travel Memories: Montreal, Quebec (Travel Suggestions and Reviews!)

    So on a whim we decided to go to Montreal last weekend. I have probably been to Montreal 40+ times in my life, but that almost makes it more of a vacation! I don't NEED to do anything. I've done it all already! In turn that lead to visiting friends (from Coachella), drinking wine, eating deliciously rich food, and exploring stores, old favourites, and new notables. I took a few pictures of my trip to share.

 Crossing the bridge into Montreal

  Dinner for the first night was at Au Pied de Cochon. Also known as French food on steroids. Everything had foie gras on it. I'm not complaining! If you are in Montreal, you MUST go! You must also expect to gain 5 pounds from this meal alone.


St Hubert coleslaw. I pretty much lived on this stuff in undergrad. Every time I return to Montreal I make it a mission to find this chain restaurant (there are a ton of them, so it isn't that hard), and eat a lot of coleslaw. It's nice and tart, not too sweet! And it's unlimited with most meals. So basically I eat like 3 bowls. Classy.

 The SAQ (the Quebec liquor stores), have an IMPRESSIVE selection of bubbly. I wanted to buy it ALL!


 The Atwater Market (Marche Atwater) is another favourite stop in Montreal for me. It's an indoor/outdoor market, with lots of lovely fruits, veggies, jams, baked goods, Quebec cheeses and meats, and maple syrup. It's not big, but it's small (Vinyl Cafe reference anyone?) and cute (and is close to the metro/has free parking.) A must visit!

I also stayed at the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal. I got a pretty good price online through their website, especially considering I booked the day before I left. It was a nice hotel. Nothing too crazy, but a clean, quiet hotel, quite close to the metro, and the main streets. The downside? $24 a night for parking, and wireless internet is not included (really??)

Other restaurants I visited:
A great brunch  spot. 
$46 for brunch for two with a coffee and a tea including tax and tip.

A very popular spot, we lucked out showing up at 6pm (right when they opened). It's got a bit of a following thanks to Chuck Hughes who was the first Canadian to beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef, and also has his own Food Network Show. Chuck was in the house the night I was there (yes, he actually WORKS in his two restaurants), although I didn't see him. But then again I didn't go into the kitchen. The food was good. Really good. But not OMG-the-best-i've-ever-had. Which is too bad because it's been consistently getting 5 stars. Their homemade cocktails however, are probably worth the trip alone. Try the bourbon berry. YUM. 
(It is pricey though. We paid $220 for 4 cocktails, 6 oysters, 4 "sharing/tapas style" dishes, and one dessert.)

A nice wine bar. However they force you to order food, which they didn't tell us until after we had finished our bottle of wine, and had asked for the bill. Unimpressed. Still, a good place to go on a date, as I saw lots of couples around

Hope you enjoy my suggestions!

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