We were in Montreal last weekend.
Here's a map to give you some perspective of where we went.
Our hotel was near the airport in the middle. Oka is on the far left. The restaurant was in the east end of Montreal. Ste. Anne de Bellevue is across the lake from Oka. Family is in Pierrefonds and La Prairie. John went to the hockey arenas in Dorval and St. Laurent.
Our Sunday drive took us along the river from Ste. Anne to Lachine.
Saturday we had time on our own and decided to go to Hudson for breakfast. As we were driving there we saw a sign for the Willow Inn where we used to go when we lived in Montreal some 25 years ago.
Hudson is a rarity in Quebec, most of the signs in town are bilingual.
French has been the only official language in Quebec since 1974, when the Liberal government of Robert Bourassa enacted the The Official Language Act (better-known as "Bill 22").
It's a pretty little town. We stopped at the Willow Inn but they don't do breakfast on Saturdays.
So we found a small diner and ate there.
From there we decided to take the ferry to Oka, known for their cheeses made by the Trappist monks.
I'll be featuring this church on Sunday.
We decide to drive to the monastery.
It is now a hotel and ecotourism centre.
Curds.
John's daughter had made reservations at a unique restaurant called Zero8. Since three of the six for dinner must have gluten free food this was a great find.
Zero8 offers an environment entirely free from the 8 common allergens, gluten, peanuts, nuts, eggs, seafood, soy, mustard and sesame.
Steaks and hamburgers were the main choices of our table although the guys would have liked mustard on their burgers!
John was excited that they had a gluten free red beer available. We later found it at a grocery store and stocked up before heading home.
Sunday morning we headed to St. Anne de Bellevue for breakfast.
Breakfast at a small cafe with a delightful server/owner.
We took the scenic route back along the St. Lawrence River.
Along the river.
A glimpse of St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal. I'll share some other photos in later posts.
On to La Prairie for a family dinner.
Monday we headed to Casselman, near Ottawa to visit an elderly aunt and uncle of John's.
Rather than backtrack to the major highway we took the slower route by Ottawa and then down to Peterborough and then home. It's slow as the speed limit drops as we pass through many small towns.
Bought some corn while gassing up. $8 for a dozen!! And I didn't even get a baker's dozen!
Priced so high due to the lack of rain for this season's crop. My BFF paid $12 in Niagara!!!
Tuesday my BFF and I caught up over lunch, smoked meat sandwiches at The Overdraught.
Wednesday is John's weekly golf and I just poke around only going out to pick up a couple of things for dinner.
Thursday was the monthly coffee club that I co-host.
John and I then head out to the Ex - Canadian National Exhibition. We haven't been in almost 25 years.
Taking the streetcar from Bathurst was a very slow ride. It would have been smarter to take the shuttle to Union Station and take the streetcar from there. But there are some sights along the way.
"Shalak Attack" is a Canadian-Chilean visual artist dedicated to painting, muralism, spray paint urban art, and canvas art. For over a decade, she has manifested her artistic expression on urban walls across the world.
Commissioned by condo developer Malibu Investments Inc. and approved by the City of Toronto, the four-metre-high sculpture is of two soldiers — one standing and one fallen was created by Douglas Coupland, a Vancouver based artist and author.
The standing soldier is painted gold and depicts a member of the 1813 Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The other is painted silver and depicts an American soldier from the 16th U.S. Infantry Regiment.
The monument is meant to be a scene from April 27, 1813, when U.S. troops overran Fort York, burned it and then left.
First stop was lunch at the Food Building! What a choice!! This is also where they had The Bug Bistro and unfortunately my photo did not turn out but you can read about it here along with some other totally weird menu choices in case I just gave you a real hankering for crickets.
A “doughnut cheeseburger” has been on the menu of wacky exhibition snacks at the CNE since 2011.
It is made with two Krispy Kreme donuts, a juicy/lean ground "smash-style" burger patty, American cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, egg and bacon.
The burger, made by Epic Burgers and Waffles, is guaranteed to expand your taste buds — and your waistline. An extra $2 will top off your sandwich with a fried egg and bacon.
But the urge to splurge comes with a price: the classic version, without the egg and bacon, rings in at a whopping 1,500 calories. In comparison, a double Big Mac, with four patties, counts 700 calories and KFC’s infamous Double Down sandwich has a mere 540 calories.
I had a lobster roll and John tried the garlic snow crab fries.
Click here for lots more food photos and more at the "Ex".
Friday was shopping day for company coming to dinner. We went to the Market. Looking really pretty on a warm summer day.
A stop at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) unlike most places we can only buy alcohol in a province controlled environment. However, look at the assortment of ciders (gluten free)!
Then to the Cheese Boutique for gluten free pate!
We weren't sure what we were getting for dessert so we were thrilled to see that they had TWO cabinets of gluten free desserts!
Some of what we bought.
Our friends brought this.
Not a lot of reading this week. Finished Every Last One and Started Val McDermid's Beneath the Bleeding.
DINNER
Saturday - Montreal restaurant Zero8
Sunday - Montreal family steak stir fry
Monday - corn on the cob fresh bread
Tuesday - salmon, baked potato, corn
Wednesday - curry chicken rice naan bread
Thursday - leftover curry
Friday - friends for dinner - Jack Daniel's grilled steak with mushroom garlic quinoa, broccolini and salad
I haven't been to MOntreal in a long time. Sounds like you had a good time. That restaurant is brilliant, but I too would have missed the mustard. And I didn't know that was a major allergen. I have a peanut allergy, so that restaurant would have been great for me too.
ReplyDeleteI could however live without a doughnut burger! OMG, those sandwiches. Yikes! But the ciders and the compotes and the gluten-free desserts all look terrific.
I'll be looking forward to your church photos tomorrow.
I'd love to go to Montreal one day. The lobster roll and cheeses look great.
ReplyDeleteAs always, I love traveling with you. Great restaurants, I could also live without the doughnut burger thigh 😉 The liquor store is different than what we are used to here but similar to where I grew up in Pennsylvania. Jackie, I had not heard of Val McDermid but I am interested in checking that out. As soon as our library opens again. They are shut down because of the hurricane we had. Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an amazing trip...and such delicious food! I have never been to Quebec but would really love to go. My cousins just went for the first time in August.
ReplyDeleteI have, however, visited Toronto many times because I grew up in Rochester, NY, just across the lake. My family used to go there often, and we loved the city and all of its unique neighborhoods! I haven;t been there since I was a teen, so I would love to visit again.
Thanks for the tasty tour!
Sue
Book By Book
I've never been to Quebec, but I may go a couple of years down the road. I'm not a fan of seafood, but I've always wanted to try lobster.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
What a lovely trip! Quebec is on my bucket list (maybe next year? I'd like to take the Adirondack Express at least one way...). I'm especially impressed by the cider selection in that store!
ReplyDeleteThat was quite a trip! I've been to the Oratory once... and that's been years. The route down Highway Seven's quite scenic, particularly as fall goes along. You wouldn't have been that far away from the Pakenham bridge, which is worth seeing.
ReplyDelete