Eating out in Montreal

I've been meaning to post about our food adventures here, but every time I open my laptop, it's as though my fingers would go into a void whenever I put them on the keyboard.  Years ago, I used to write poetry.  The words would flow so easily, as they came from the deepest, most intimate parts of my soul.  So writing a descriptive of food should be a piece of cake, right?

When I read food blogs, it seems the writers are pulling those words from deep within their souls; as if they have a personal love affair with their subject.  I imagine when you write about the same subject and since we all eat with our eyes first, you have to be able to convey that visualization to your readers; to make them think they are sitting right there with you, taking in the aromas, experiencing the same sultry textures and tastes. You take them with you on your culinary journey.

I am going to try my best to take you on our journey, so please bear with me as it may be a bumpy ride!  Make sure your seat belts are on and your tray tables are in their locked and upright positions.
Here it goes......

In my search of the city who boasts the claim of the most restaurants per capita, Montreal popped up to stake the claim, along with San Francisco, New York and other major cities. This is what I found on one website:

"The one Canadian city that can make a great claim to have the most restaurants per capita is Montreal in the province of Quebec. With just over 5,000 restaurants in the metro island area, is appears there are at least one restaurant on every street corner. With its diverse immigrant population and French majority, the city has every type of cuisine available from Lebanese to continental French to native Canadian. Some 3,720,000 Quebecois live in the metro area making Montreal the second largest French speaking city in the world. Giving it a restaurant per capita number of 744."

Below that, was this little tidbit of info:

"When you leave Austin you enter Texas so the saying goes. This funky city in central Texas has 1,088 eating places to enhance its reputation as Music City USA. That list includes 128 establishments in or around the University of Texas alone. Austin's burgeoning population is currently 690, 252 making their people to restaurant ratio 634."

With that, lets start with Mexican food or more to the point, the non-existence of it. There are Mexican restaurants, however, there are very few Hispanics here, so the food suffers a terrible mishap.  It's actually an injustice. It's like swallowing a bitter pill with no water to wash it down. There's a thin line between cooking and actually knowing how to cook; how to use spices and incorporate those into something with great flavor.  What we get is void of anything resembling great, much less, good tasting Mexican Food.  Don't even think about ordering a Margarita either.  When you visit and come upon a Mexican restaurant, keep walking.  You will be extremely disappointed. Do not stop/go; do not collect your 200.00.  Move along, nothing to see here.

With disappointment, comes success!  We have found some really great spots, with great food and atmosphere.  A few of them, we try to frequent as often as we can! Below are a few of our favorite spots!

Brit&Chips: http://www.britandchips.com/

We have eaten at some of the best fish-n-chips places in London and Dublin. This place ranks right up there and it is like being back across the pond.  Some of their fish includes Salmon in a Guinness batter, Haddock in a maple syrup batter and others. My favorite is the traditional Cod; the batter is light, not heavy and greasy and for me, it's the best!  Their chips are a nice size, non greasy and are great!  With a pint of one of their beers, this is the ultimate comfort food!

Nyks Pub: http://www.nyks.ca/

This is one of our favorite pubs to go to. It's close by, has a great atmosphere, awesome food and inviting staff.  When we walk in, the owner always asks if we would like our usual!  It's not that we go every night, week or month,  but I think it's more we don't look like the typical resident, so we're easy to remember.  That's what I tell myself, anyway!  They have a parsnip and leek soup that is out of this world!  It's creamy, light and just lip-smacking good!  It is like the comfort you get from being wrapped in your favorite blanket, watching your favorite movie, on a cold winter's day.  We have tried several items on the menu and have not been disappointed by a single thing!

Mechant Boeuf: http://www.mechantboeuf.com/

This is located in Vieux Montreal, which is within walking distance from our house and have been here a few times.  It boasts to having the best burger in Montreal, which I will admit, is pretty good. There's nothing like a hearty burger to satisfy even the most healthy appetite!  It's a great place to meet up with friends for some good food and excellent cocktails!  They also have a quirky DJ, who spins 80's music!  It's a foot tapping, finger snapping, make you want to get up and dance at times, place, while still having a laid back atmosphere.

Stash Cafe: http://www.stashcafe.com/

Another place within walking distance in Vieux Montreal, is Stash Cafe, who serve authentic Polish food.
Poland is on our list of places to visit and this restaurant has made us move that trip higher up on the list.  The view from the outside, of the ambiance on the inside, calls to you and lures you in.  It has that old world, rustic charm, which is both comforting and inviting. The ambiance is made even better by a piano player playing nice dinner conversation music.  The food is traditional, from Barszcz, the traditional Polish beet consomme, to Sznycel Mielony, breaded meat croquettes served with a creamy mushroom sauce and potatoes. It's warm, cozy and just all around, great food!

I hope I have done a good job taking you on this short, culinary journey. There are so many more to list, which I'll add later down the road.  Until then, I'll leave you with this quote:

"Just like becoming an expert in wine–you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford–you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simply or luxurious. Then you savor it, analyze it, and discuss it with your companions, and you compare it with other experiences.”
― Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Until next time.....

Winter is over.....or is it?

Since my last blog, the weather has been akin to raging waves on the sea, comparable to being a passenger on the SS Minnow, being tossed up, down and around.

We had days where we packed up and stored the winter coats, scarves, hats and gloves; then a few weeks later, we're getting it all out again.

We had a few bitterly cold days, where the blustery wind would blow right through to our core, no matter how many layers or how bundled up we were; where it looked as though it were snowing up instead of down. There were days when there wasn't a cloud in the sky and even with the sun, that huge sphere of hot gas, blaring upon our faces, it didn't warm us. 

We've also had days when we walked the city without the need of a jacket, where a slight, warm breeze sweeping between the buildings, wrapping around us, giving a glimpse of what's to come and soon we would have the weather we were accustomed to. 

What we didn't have, was a lot of snow.  The locals seemed surprised and disappointed at the "less than normal" winter. We've heard some say it was the warmest winter in 100 years; others have said 20. Regardless the time span, it was not the brutal, agonizing winter we were expecting or even prepared for.  It was cold, or rather, colder than what we are used to.  I also wouldn't go as far to say we were disappointed.

I was hoping it would have been more like taking off a band-aid....just rip it off and get it over with, the pain won't last long. Fortunately for us, Mother Nature controls which boo-boo's she puts band-aids on, and this winter wasn't one of them.  We may not fare so well next winter!

Maybe we brought some of the Texas heat with us; maybe we didn't. Whatever the reason, we're glad the "winter welcome wagon" lost a wheel, which slowed it's pace.

However, unlike the SS Minnow, we didn't take a 3 hour tour; we didn't end up on an uncharted, warm tropical island, and there aren't five other people with us to help ease the transition.

There's only the two of us.  That is enough to keep warm, when it's so very cold outside.  When Summer comes and it's hot, that's what my trusty hand held, portable misting fan is for.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and winter...a LOT of "firsts"

It's been a while since my last entry, but time really does slip away. I can't believe it's the middle of January, 2012!!!   We've had a lot of "firsts", living here and the adventure continues!

We finally settled in our home; Bill settled into his new job and the cats have finally given up hope of going back to Texas, anytime soon.   This cold weather is something they've never experienced and come to think of it, neither have we(spending time in Europe during Christmas, doesn't count!).

We reached the point of just going with the flow and accepting things are done differently here than what  we are used to, although we still get frustrated at times.  They aren't going to change and do things that actually make sense, so why keep fighting an uphill battle?  I've also met a few people that are amazed that I have what they view, as a positive attitude towards winter.  Again, why fight it?  The one 'person' you will never win against, ever, is Mother Nature.  So, "when in Rome....".


We decided to stay in Montreal during the Holidays and although we missed seeing and spending time with our family, we made the most of it.  I decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner and trying to find a Butterball Turkey, was a challenge to say the least!  It was more comparable to searching for Jimmy Hoffa, or finding Nemo!  Three days and 4 stores later, jackpot!  They don't sell turkeys here like they do in the States; a month before.  No, it's more like a week, maybe two, before the big day.  Next time, I may make soup or have cheese and crackers; it would have been easier and less stressful! All in all, it worked out!  

We had read and heard about how Montreal goes all out, decorating for the Holidays. Those of you who know me best, know how much I love to decorate for Christmas!  What we found or more to the point, didn't find, was less than desirable. Maybe they decorated in a part of the city we didn't venture to. Maybe they took it down the day after they put it up. We walked a good part of the city, searching for "it" and was disappointed at what we saw. Their idea and my idea of decorating, are definitely on opposite ends of the spectrum!  Again, different ways...

We didn't want a repeat of Thanksgiving, so decided to make Christmas, relaxing and stress free!  We have made some great new friends, and a few came over for a day of snacking, drinking and fun conversation!   New Year's Eve, we actually braved the weather and ventured to Old Montreal, where they had outdoor concerts, ice skating and fireworks!  We crossed the river to get a better view of the fireworks which went off at midnight, accompanied by a musical melange. It was so awesome, but so very COLD!!!!

We are getting out and experiencing the city, which is a lot more often than what we did living in Texas, and in the winter!!  One of the great things about living where we are; we're across the street from the metro and when it gets too cold , there's always a place nearby we can duck into, to get warm.

A few people have asked if I regret moving here; my answer is this: right now I don't regret it, but that's not to say I won't/can't change my mind. You never know how events will play out, as those determine how you may feel and react about a place, person, situation, etc...

When I'm older(say around 90), sitting around looking back on my life and the paths I've taken, while reflecting on this time, I don't want to say, "why didn't we", rather than "why did we".  Life is filled with too many of the "what if" questions.  I'm not much of a collector so I don't want to start collecting these questions at this point in my life. They tend to weigh heavy on the mind and take up too much space. Besides, my "No Vacancy" sign, is on!

The brunt of it is on my husband, as he's the one working(I'm still holding out hope for me!).  So the only thing I can do now, is give him LOTS of support and encouragement; lend an ear when he needs one; make this house a home and hope for the best possible outcome.  That's all we can do. It doesn't matter if you live your whole life in the same spot, or if you venture out of your comfort zone.  Whatever you do, where ever you go, get out there and take on the world! 

Start having a LOT of "firsts"!  You never know where the road will lead or who you will meet along the way. 

Stay tuned!

Settling In

It has been a while since I have updated. It's been a whirlwind past few weeks!  We made the final move from our temp housing to our new "digs", September 15th.  The cats still don't know if they are coming or going, but we hope they realize there will not be another car ride anytime soon!   We are all still in our adjustment period, but we know this will soon pass and we will finally, be settled.

I've never really been a fan of Ikea; actually, it hasn't been a store I ever thought about. Ikea is now our friend and slowly, becoming our enemy.  I love their concept of storage and have found some really great deals on some much needed storage pieces.  My Niece, shopped there a few times and told me how it all worked; write down what you want, go pick it out and check out. Simple, right?

So, off we go with our little blue and white inventory checklist and little pencil in hand, which they provide, to do our shopping.   We walked, and walked, and walked....it's a seemingly, never ending maze which seems to not make any sense at all.  When you see the little white dotted lines on the map, it all becomes clear, kind of like smeared mud on a window pane.

After 5 hours, yes, that's correct...5 hours and a full inventory list, we proceed down to the warehouse and check-out.  Out of the many items chosen to purchase, one was a chopping block with 4 drawers(pictures will be posted later of all our "wares").  A few items like that were "special", meaning a sales associate had to give us a print out to take to the checker and we didn't have to pull it from the warehouse.   Since we don't have a truck, we decided to get it delivered along with the other many other items on our list; then we proceeded to the delivery department.

We were thinking since they were in another area,  we just give them the little blue and white inventory list, they ring it up, we pay, they pull from the warehouse and deliver.  Yeah, that is SO NOT the way it works!  We had to go back, figure out where everything was; load it on these little carts; and take it all back to a cashier. By this time, they were now closed and did not want anyone going back in the warehouse area to get their items. We did manage to grab in a flash, with the help of an associate, the few meager items they did have in stock.  It reminded me of that game show, "Supermarket Sweep"!

We checked out, stood in line again for the delivery; paid for that SEPARATELY, then went home. Whew!  I'm tired all over again, just from typing that!

If you have never bought anything from Ikea, then you have no idea of the complex directions they have for the assembly.  There are no words; only pictures. If you don't arrange the pieces just like it shows in the booklet to get it ready to assemble, then you will find yourself staring intently at the "picture book" for a while.  I've found, when it gets to that point, just walk away, pour a glass of wine and kick back in a comfy chair.  Also, no matter how tightly you close your eyes and click your heels together, when you open your eyes you realize you are home and the items are still laying there, in pieces, all over the floor and not put together.  How much wine am I drinking?  Maybe not enough!

It will all get finished and soon, as we are having house guests in 2 weeks!!!

Off to pour a glass of wine and get in my comfy chair.  In the immortal words of Miss Scarlett O'Hara: "I won't think about this now, I'll think about it tomorrow".

We have our "stuff"!

Hallway Entrance

Clearing customs for our household items was quick, easy and painless.  The only thing they really wanted to know was, if we had any guns, knives, pepper spray (which I think is illegal?), explosives, plants, any type of soil, fruits and food.  I told them what food we brought and well, you already saw on my FB post how that conversation went!

Kitchen/Hallway

To the right are some "before" pictures. I'll post the "after" pictures, next time!

The delivery went about as smooth as possible. The movers were very nice and professional.  They put together our new couch(which is much smaller than the one we left behind) and Bill's new computer desk - all for the price of a cheap lunch!  Then they unpacked and put things in the rooms they were supposed to go in, all while I plugged in each section of my Christmas Tree(yeah, I brought it!)to make sure it worked, which it did!  After I tested it all, the movers even re-packed it back in its storage bag - which is a major pain!

Kitchen

There was only one casualty, and that was a 16x20 picture frame and the glass shattered. The frame thankfully, was still intact!  I was/am very pleased with this moving company, as we had a horrible experience with another company from way back, when we moved home to Texas from San Francisco!  I would definitely recommend them to anyone!

Living Room

Now, the hard part begins; where to put all of this "stuff".  We were very careful in our decisions of what to bring, as we knew the apartments here are much smaller than our condo in Austin.  We only brought about 1/3 of our things and are struggling where to put it.  Even though we have a corner unit, the apartment is not square; it has many strange, odd, angles.  One word of advice; if you are going to rent a place here "sight unseen", the pictures on the website are not what you will get...unless of course, you are getting the penthouse apartment!  We did tour this property when we were here in June, but we really don't remember it being this small.  Another lesson learned!

One thing we know to be a very true statement is; Ikea will soon become our best friend.  I'm sure they will love us for life after all of the things we are going to have to buy there, to store our "stuff" here!

We are paying extra for a parking space in the garage, and let me tell you...it's a challenge to get the car in the space.  I'll blog about that next time!

Here is a video I took of the end of a 'Flash Mob' ballet performance we saw from our balcony.  The La Joute Fountain below our unit is a gathering point for things like this.

Stay tuned next week, for more adventures!

Tropical Storm in Montreal...are you kidding me?

Today, it has been raining all day. Now, before you get yourselves all in a twist about the weather we are having here, know this; if Hurricane Irene wouldn't have hit the East Coast, we wouldn't be getting rain today, which I know most of you so desperately need!

After it caused mayhem along the coast, it seemed to turn Northwest and Montreal obviously, was part of the tour date. We are on the outer bands of the storm, but at times, we've had high winds and sideways rain.  We can't believe we moved from Texas, all the way up here, only to be getting remnants of a hurricane, turned tropical storm. Who knew?!

Yesterday, we went to the Jean Talon Market, which is much bigger than the Atwater Market.  There are SO many vendors, and you won't break the bank buying veggies and fruits.  Next time, we'll either take the Metro or get there early - as parking was a nightmare!

This next week will be a busy one. Bill starts work tomorrow and I'll be busy trying to navigate getting us set up with electricity, cable, clearing customs for our household goods and arranging delivery.  With any luck, we'll have our things delivered  this Thursday and I can start the process of making our new place, a home.

I still have to arrange the car inspection so we can get our car registered, and get Canadian car insurance.  We haven't changed over our cell phones either.  That is on Bill's to do list!

More later!

Finding our feet....

The past couple of days were sort of hectic, however, we managed to get a couple of things checked off the long list of things to be done.  

We applied for the Canadian Social Insurance Number, which is used like the Social Security Card in the US.   We also applied for National Health Insurance, which we found will take 3 months to "kick in". We know it will take a bit to get used to and to understand, the health care system they have here.

I've already had to make an appointment without the Health Insurance which we will have to pay out of pocket for;  the fee is $75.00 for them to open/start a file, then a $165.00 consultation fee, plus extra for any lab work, which they can't tell me right now, about how much that will be.  Wowza!
 
Kona and Kei-Ki seem to have settled down and relaxed a bit.  I think they are realizing that they won't be put in their carriers and going for a car ride anytime soon!  We have the windows open today, as there is a nice breeze, and they are thoroughly enjoying it!   We couldn't do that in Texas!

I didn't think to pack any light jackets or sweaters for the evenings here, which have been a bit nippy!  I was keeping tabs on the weather before we left and it didn't look like it was going to turn cooler. I was thinking 'oh, it's going to be warm"!  Lesson learned!

Off to research car insurance, and find a place to get Bill's hair cut!

Stay tuned