A Thousand Miles From The Place I Was Born

Don’t let the title fool you – I don’t know a single word of French, I totally googled that. It means “What a romantic city!” Or so Google Translation says.

CCB and I spent a quick Easter weekend in Montreal which began and ended with six-hour car rides in a sweet sub-compact courtesy of the folks at Alamo. You know what I’m talkin’ about – stiff knees, numb hineys, flipping through the channels on the radio almost constantly to find a radio station that will come in. Which leads me to my next comment. Hey, GM, wanna know why your stock has tanked and no one will buy your cars? It might have a little bit to do with the fact that your seats are about as comfortable as a marble bench, but with lots less leg room. Just sayin’.

So we made it to Montreal at nearly midnight, checked in to our amazingly beautiful room at the Hotel Vogue and immediately climbed into the big cozy bed and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the fluffy pillows. See? Like I told you, TOTALLY romantic!

CCB and I are die-hard foodies, so first on the agenda was searching out amazing restaurants in the city. For brunch on Saturday, we found a delightful little place in Old Montreal for brunch, Restaurant Holder, where I was tempted by the Seared Apple French Toast with Caramel and Rum Sauce, but nevertheless chose to go with the special of the day. It was an omelet with homemade sausage and grilled vegetables with a gratin dauphinois and fresh fruit on the side. Delicious, and I didn’t feel guilty after eating it, so I’d say it was the right choice. CCB chose Eggs Benedict on a croissant and said it was amazing.

Dinner on Saturday was at La Brasserie Brunoise, where I had the duck confit and was proud of the fact that I did not lick my fingers or the plate. Willpower FTW! We went for the dessert, and I chose the chocolate beignets with caramel sauce which made my eyes roll back in my head. CCB had the vanilla panna cotta with a passion fruit and basil sauce. I tasted it and while I have always been skeptical about basil in sweet dishes, it was incredible and surprising all at the same time.

Our Easter Sunday brunch, however, was the highlight of our whole weekend. CCB found a review on Chow that had wonderful things to say about a small little patisserie by the name of Les Bouchees Gourmandes in the Outrement section of Montreal, so we decided to check it out. I have never experienced anything like it. It is owned by a lovely French Provincial couple – the husband stayed in the back and cooked while we were greeted by his lovely wife. She fussed over us like a grandmother, bringing us plate after plate of delightful treats. We started with croissants and the best homemade caramel sauce I have ever tasted, then the courses followed. First, fresh fruit (which we also dipped in the caramel sauce), then shrimp in Pernod cream sauce, then a trio of salads (a beet salad, a rice and herb salad, and a celery root remoulade), then roast quail stuffed with homemade sausage, then an omelet which was insanely fluffy and cheesy, followed by strawberry tartlets for dessert. Oh my! I cannot tell you how marvelous it was to sit there in this tiny patisserie on a lazy Sunday morning, reading the paper and chatting with CCB, and having course after delicious course lovingly prepared for you. It was heaven, I’m telling you. In fact, the next time I make it back to Toronto, CCB is going to have to drive me back to Montreal just so we can go there again. I don’t know if he knew that, but now he does!

We spent much of the rest of the time shopping and walking around the city. I love looking at interesting architectural details, and Montreal did not disappoint. Everywhere I turned, there was something to catch my eye.

We stumbled upon the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal, and because I absolutely love visiting breathtaking cathedrals, I asked CCB if we could go in. From the outside, it looked very much like a typical cathedral.

And the interior was just as gorgeous as I imagined. One of the more incredible pieces was this enormous spiral staircase leading to a pulpit. I pointed it out to CCB who nodded solemnly and said, “You know, they carved this entire cathedral from one solid block of wood.” It took me about 10 seconds to realize he was joking, his delivery was so dead-on. Dork.

The weird thing about Notre Dame, however, was the entirely commercial atmosphere. I have visited cathedrals in the past and it’s always been solemn and reverent… people lighting candles and praying and generally respecting the environment. But our introduction to Notre Dame was standing in line to buy a ticket (um, ok, we’re fine with that), and then walking in to the main cathedral. We began talking in whispers and were interrupted by a shout behind us from the woman at the ticket window. “That will be five dollars!” she bellowed to the poor customers in line. CCB and I glanced at each other and snickered. So much for the ambience. As we sat in the cathedral, we noticed that all the visitors seemed to be as quiet as we were, but the employees were calling out to each other and speaking in normal tones. It was surprising, to say the least. I guess when you spend every day there, it just becomes your job and loses all it’s novelty. But the real kicker was as we were leaving the cathedral. We saw this sign:

“Et La Lumiere Fut” means “Let There Be Light”, in case you were wondering. A holy laser light show, people! At night, they apparently rock out to the golden sounds of Pink Floyd. Or “Jesus is Just Alright” by the Doobie Brothers. Or maybe “Rock Me Sexy Jesus”.

In any event, Montreal had plenty of things to capture my attention. I don’t speak French, but the people were charmed by my boorish English anyway. And I learned a little bit. Like “Arret” means “Stop” and “Rue” means “Street”.

But the very best part of being in Montreal? Being there with this guy.