One of the great things about weekends in Montreal is that you’re not far from the countryside if you want to take a day trip to get away from the concrete jungle. Fall is harvest time and for an inexpensive wholesome type of outing, a pleasant way to spend the day is in the fields picking apples or other crops. About 40 minutes north of Montreal in the Saint-Joseph-du-Lac region, there are plenty of apple orchards to choose from and especially interesting for this city slicker was the Centre d’interprétation
de la courge du Québec where you can pick your own squash and of course, pumpkin for Hallowe’en. You select a wheelbarrow at the entrance to the fields and off you go. The selection of squash is astounding for someone who is not familiar with squash. Who knew there were so many kinds! If in doubt, the staff are very knowledgeable about their courges. I learned that the decorative squash are not for eating as they can be powerful laxatives. So the next time, you want to get back at someone, you can cook up a pot of your special squash soup…

Apple picking and wine tasting after the jump…
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Last weekend, I said to spouse, “I want to have a real Thanksgiving this year.” He looked at me quizzically and said, “We don’t do that here.” As if I couldn’t have figured that out over the past seven years. I said that I missed that (clearly anglo) tradition and would it be alright if I invited his folks over for dinner Monday. He reiterated the fact that Quebecers don’t really celebrate the day. Then I asked him, “Give me one reason why you would refuse a turkey dinner? I’ll make everything.” And he acquiesced. After all, I’m doing all the work. I said, “Will this be your first Thanksgiving truly celebrated in Quebec?” And he said, indeed it would be. I’m sure Quebecers are full of thanks too, so I’m a little confused as to why the holiday never caught on here. (Or is it more commonly celebrated than I’m led to believe?)

No matter, the markets had everything on sale this week to prepare for the feast. I got a nice big bird for $1.50 a pound, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, yams and everything for the secret family recipe: green bean casserole. Then I get to eat turkey sandwiches for lunch all week. Youpi!

Celebrating or not, I wish all of you a gratitude filled day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone! I’m in town visiting for a few days from Los Angeles and am on the hunt for good Vegan places I should check out while here. Thanks to the Google I found veganmontreal.com which has a pretty good list of places to eat but the thing about lists is you don’t really get a feel for what is really good and what is so-so. Has anyone been to any of these places and have any thoughts on them? What about anything that didn’t make it to the list? Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Whenever I walk around the city, I like to look up, around, and try to pick out interesting features of buildings or signs. Something that I find to be kind of cute and funny is the big bean perched atop the sign for “La Binerie”. Located in the Plateau, La Binerie is a Montreal landmark establishment dedicated to the baked bean. I’m not sure how long the bean has been up there, since this sign replaced the older one, but it got me to wondering, what other city holds the humble bean to such high standing? How curious that we have a restaurant renowned for its baked beans. I remember growing up eating fèves au lard with maple syrup, runny eggs and sausages and loving it. Would I have enjoyed this concoction as much had I grown up elsewhere? I certainly would have been less gassy…

Today I went for lunch at one of my new faves. Yuan, located at 400 Sherbrooke East, corner of St-Denis, bills itself as “Cuisine Créative Végétarienne” and it lives up to the description. Run by a Taiwanese couple, this all vegetarian asian resto features some really interesting fare. What I like about the food at Yuan is that even if you’re not normally a vegetarian, everything tastes just as good as “regular” food, so that you really don’t feel like you’re missing out on meat at all. I would be hard pressed to actually identify what some of the mock meats are made of but they are so tasty it’s crazy and to me, they’re the standouts that make me keep going back. What I like is that the mock meats actually have a meaty chewy texture to them which is not the case for most of the simulated meats I’ve tried from your typical supermarket.
Although they have service à la carte, the buffet is a real steal at $6.99 on weekdays and $9.99 on weekends. Unlike some vegetarian dishes which although wholesome, can be somewhat bland and too “granola” at times, many of the offerings at Yuan are intense with flavour as asian food should be. They have a good selection of hot stir frys, soups, salads and assorted other pickings like maki rolls or tempura sweet potato slices but you really can’t go wrong trying a bit of everything. However, the one caveat would be that the variety of dishes seems to fluctuate week to week. Having gone on several different occasions, it seems that some days feature more variety in dishes than others. For instance, the mock General Tao chicken which I loved a few weeks ago was sadly not available today. Nevertheless, I still managed to stuff myself and squeeze in some dessert. Not bad for an all veggie outing!

More about the décor after the jump…

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I got up to many exciting things this weekend in our fine city. Held again at the Windsor station, the International Beer Fest, Mondial de la Bière was packed to full capacity. If you don’t mind huge crowds and the occasional jostling of one’s beer mug by unaware and rowdy beer enthusiasts, the beer fest is for you. I hope they think of either extending the length of the event by a couple days next year or at least having it in a venue that can house more bodies more comfortably. The line-up to get in went halfway around the block, but it moved swiftly enough. My friends and I proceeded to sample the wonderful variety of beers, pausing to enjoy a boar-meat hamburger or bison and venison brochettes.

Sunday afternoon was spent ambling along Notre Dame, nursing a small hangover in the neighbourhood of Little Burgundy. I stopped by Itsy Bitsy, a relatively new shop dedicated to gorgeous little cupcakes. They also sell homemade gelato in exciting flavours like macha green tea and spicy ginger-chocolate, fruit sorbets and cute little household pieces. The staff is friendly, the store design is lovely, my only complaint is with regards to the sickly sweet smell of pure sugar that hangs about in the air. Barring that, it’s a nice place to pop in and indulge a sweet tooth.

In celebrity spottings, I have yet to have any Brad Pitt sightings, but I did swoon appropriately as Justin Trudeau passed me by on Ste. Catherine street not long after I left the beerfest.

I haven’t had much to write about lately because I’ve been in a funk with some personal matters. However, I guess the upside to things would be that when in woe, food is always a comforting companion. So with that in mind, I’ve been putting some junk in the trunk and I thought I would share my latest food obsession. Cheskie’s bakery on the corner of Bernard and Parc was voted second best bakery in the annual Montreal Mirror Best of Montreal poll. I have to admit that I’ve only been to this Jewish bakery a handful of times. But I think I’m going to make it my mission to eventually try every baked good they make because frankly, everything looks so sinfully good when you walk in there. It’s a treat to walk up Parc on a Sunday afternoon and stop at Cheskie’s for a little sweet somethin’. Don’t however, attempt to do this on a Saturday because you’ll find it closed for Shabbat. So today, I got this. (I am clueless when it comes to photography and lighting so the coloring in the picture doesn’t really do it justice. Just imagine it to be more yellow and the topping less grey.) The girl behind the counter said it was cheesecake but I have to say, I don’t think it was cheesecake. It was good but not cheesecake. I can report that it was definitely moist and cakey and very rich. The sprinkling of icing sugar was divine and the milky topping with a hint of chocolate was a nice touch. Mmmm. (FYI - Cost: $2.)

On the cold and rainy early evening that was Sunday, a friend and I nipped into a favoured haunt of mine, Barraca on Mont-Royal. I have been a few times to this unpretentious rum bar, but this was the first time I decided to try the tapas menu. I was duly impressed. We had escargots in a compote of tomatoes, figs, sage, cider and melted chevre, as well as the xeres-scented chicken cassoulet nestled in an artichoke puree served with orange and rosemary. This went rather well with a glass of 12 year Appleton rum, I must say.

Last night was gastronomically spent at a restaurant a friend and I stumbled upon called Robin des Bois. A charming non-profit establishment, they put forth an interesting concept of a restaurant where all the proceeds, after covering the cost of food and cook goes directly to local charities. The waiters all work on a volunteer basis and the food is quite delicious.

The “daal” lentil soup with coriander and a dollop of sour cream was excellent, and my “noix” of venison over swiss chard in spiced orange oil and accompanied by a purée of parsnip and tarragon butter melted in the mouth. The prices are very reasonable, the wine list is small but significant, and the staff are friendly, relaxed and unpretentious. Give back to the community by having a wonderful meal! Definitely recommended.

Robin des Bois - le resto bienfaiteur: 4403, boul. boul. Saint-Laurent (corner Marie-Anne) 514.288.1010

This just in, one of my favourite, favourite restaurants in this city has announced its closing in today’s Gazette. I am not happy about this.