Oh Canada! Montreal Bites

A quick trip to Montreal is just what I needed!

Montreal is like taking a mini trip to France.

The language spoken here is French, all signs in French too, but don't worry, most everyone speaks English beautifully.

I forgot how much I loved this city.

The food scene is AMAZING as is the history and architecture.
The weather is much cooler than NY in the summer (with zero humidity!) and the people are warm. :)

Hospitality is #1 here. Everyone makes you feel welcome.

Bienvenue!

It is an easy walking city, no car needed, and public transportation is excellent.

We took a walk up to the top of Mont Royal to see the best views of the city, and then rewarded ourselves with delicious lunches and dinners.

This is sort of an instagram recap, so sorry if I am repeating myself.

For our first evening, we had a fabulous French meal close to our hotel at Holder, a traditional French brasserie.
Filled with locals after work, speaking French. They serve better brasserie food than in France (in my opinion), onion soup, salads, oysters, moules frites......and service was as good as the food!

The duck confit and endive salad was fantastic. Highly recommend.

As was the rustic lunch we had at Marche di Villette.

I liked the place better years ago, when it was an authentic butcher shop selling charcuterie, the son took it over and turned it more into a restaurant, but it was still great.

The Croque Monsieur and Salade Nicoise were delicious and fresh.

We had a special dinner at Le Club Chasse et Peche, rated one of North America's best restaurants.

Everything on the menu is local from Quebec, serving the freshest Canadian fish and beef. Amazing wine list and amazing staff.

Loved it.


On to Little Italy for one of the best dinners I have ever eaten.
IMPASTO.

Ridiculous porchetta.....halibut crudo......spaghettoni with rabe pesto and guanciale.....burrata with caponata.
All so simple and amazing.

The place is super casual, more of an osteria type place with terrase seating (outdoor). Perfect for families.
Great Italian wines by the glass (Etna Bianco from Sicily....so yummy in the summer).

They own a GREAT Napoletana style pizzeria across the street called PIZZERIA GEMA, so if you can't get into IMPASTO, try there instead.


Montreal is also famous for their smoked meat (brisket and pastrami).....and their bagels! Even more so than NYC! They are smaller and not as fluffy as NY bagels.....you can find them in Montreal's Mile End neighborhood, filled with Jewish delis and great food. You can take a food tour of the neighborhood which is fantastic.

They even sell smoked meat sandwiches at the airport!

If you are looking for a great hotel in Old Montreal, try Hotel Gault.
It is a small 30 room boutique hotel in the best neighborhood.

The staff was wonderful, and the rooms were comfortable and modern.

Sit back and enjoy the photos........if you are planning a short trip and don't want to fly to Europe, then Quebec is your place.

And no, I did not try the poutine (just couldn't do it), but Henry did! ;)

Next stop Quebec City.

Merci Montreal!