Adventures in Canada

All right, this is long, long overdue...

I went to Canada in August on a weekend road trip this year. It was a great trip filled with food and fun in Montreal and Ottawa. It was a really fantastic trip with my friend Endira.

We drove up to Montreal on a Friday morning and just ate lots of homemade treats and McDonald's for quick, cheap road trip food.  We made sandwiches with chicken, tomatoes, and this wonderful jalapeno cheese spread and then we got fries and ice cream from McDonald's for a snack. Yes, we are super healthy. :)

Once we got to Montreal, we were able to try lots of good food.
We settled into the hotel, took a quick nap (I was pooped after the long drive) and then went to downtown Montreal to begin our explorations.
It was gorgeous, somehow a mix of old world Europe and of new world New York City all at once. I really loved the general atmosphere but I think if I were there for more than a few days I would be completely lost since the main language spoken is French. I don't speak any French, although after my brief stint in Montreal, I was sorely tempted to learn. Maybe one day.
That first night we wandered around and saw numerous restaurants full of people. We chose at random and I don't even remember the name of the restaurant but it was quite good and very close to the contemporary art museum.  The fixed menu was simple but quite tasty with a refreshingly light salad with lettuce, walnuts and a hint of lemon and that was followed by a perfectly medium rare steak in a mustardy gravy with a healthy portion of french fries. We shared a small bottle of wine and had a really tasty meal. It was on the expensive side so we decided to skip dessert. Next time in Montreal, I'll try to find it again so I can say what it was called. It was really good, but I almost wish we had spent a little more time exploring before settling on a restaurant.
Afterwards, as we were wandering around we realized that there were literally hundreds of cool looking restaurants in the area.
Initially we thought that we would search for dessert but we were too full since the portions had been so large so instead we just walked through the city and saw some absolutely gorgeous sites and some of the night life in action. There was a street fair and concert blocking off an entire street and other streets were dedicated to bars and clubs. We didn't go inside any other locale but it was still a lot of fun wandering through the people. The city had such a high energy and I really enjoyed it.

The next morning we got up early and started our adventuring after some muffins from home. We
parked down by the water and then walked around. I literally wanted to try everything I saw but we decided to have poutine for lunch, a Canadian specialty. We did a little bit of research and found one restaurant that is famous in Montreal for its extensive list of Poutines.

What is Poutine? I had never heard of poutine until the first time I went to Canada last year but I didn't get to try it that trip. Poutine is fresh, crispy french fries served covered in gravy and cheese curds (yes, those miraculous bits of cheese that I talked about in my Wisconsin Blog). To me Poutine sounds a bit like NJ disco fries except with squeeky cheese curd bits. The restaurant we found had 30 kinds of Poutine. I would never have guessed that there were so many varieties!
So that's where we went once we rented our bikes.  The restaurant is called La Banquise and it was
by the big park in Montreal (I should really know the name of it, but I can't remember right now).
From the pier, it took us about an hour or so to bike there.  I'm really glad we decided to rent the bikes because it let us cover a lot more ground and see so much more of the city. Plus we had a blast peddling through the city.
We got to the restaurant a little before noon which

turned out to be a really good thing because by the time we were done eating there was a line out the door. When we got there, there was no wait and we got to sit outside in their couryard are. It was a great little area with natural light, fresh air and shade from the hot sun.
We decided to order one traditional poutine La Classique and then to also try one of their unique poutine dishes. We decided to try La Danse becaus it had chicken, onions and bacon plus the original components of a poutine. I will say it was a little challenging for us to decipher the menu since it was all in French but we managed, and our waitresses were really helpful as well.  I think next time, I would definitely try one of the spicy poutines that involved jalapenos.

There were two sizes of the Poutine dishes, regular and large. I am quite pleased that we decided to order the regular size since they turned out to be pretty large on their own. There was more than enough for the two of us to share. If we had gotten main courses (hot dogs, hamburgers) we probably could have shared one large helping or even a regular sized portion.
So how was poutine?
The traditional, classic here was delicious. The fries were crisp and perfectly cooked while the gravy was rich with a hint of sweetness that really balanced the salt of the fries and cheese.  I also really enjoyed the cheese curds which added some great flavor as well as a nice textural component. Crisp fries, some gravy soaked fries filled with delicious flavor and the chewiness of the cheese curds.  I really enjoyed the combination.
La Danse was also great. I loved the slightly different gravy because it was more like Thanksgiving gravy thanks to the chicken and onions. The chicken itself wasa great addition

because it felt more like a complete meal with a feeling protein. I also really loved the flavor the bacon added... I mean, you can't ever go wrong with bacon... I liked the onion as well but at a certain point I started picking them out because the flavor was becoming overwhelming.
I also decided to try both of the poutinges with tobasco because I absolutely love my spice. It added just enough kick. Next time jalapenos are on the menu for me.  If I ever get back to Montreal I'm going to La Banquise again, especially since it's open 24 hrs.

Here I am enjoying my poutine and tobasco too!

Afterwards, we took a nice long walk through the park nearby and we relaxed in the sun digesting our yummy lunch.
Eventually we continued on our bicycle adventure (I highly recommend renting the bikes because, it's a cheap way to see the entire city) until we happened upon a street decorated with hundreds of pink balloons. I think we had just missed a walk/run for breast cancer.
We discovered that the area was kind of the Grenwich village of Montreal. It was a really fun area with lots of fun shops and bars.
Eventually we sat down and relaxed with a delicious pitcher of Sangria. It was a wonderful refreshing red sangria filled with fruits and berries. It was really light and crisp and honestly Endira and I just enjoed sitting at the outdoor patio starring at our waiter who happened to be pretty gorgeous (probably gay) and very friendly.
After that we slowly made our way back to my car on bike and stopped for some more sites but sadly no more food.  That poutine kept us fill till around 8 something when we were already in the car on the way to Ottawa.
I had so much fun in Montreal and I would love to go back again for more exploration with more French knowledge and also with more general knowledge of the city.  Before going to Montreal, I literally knew nothing about the city except that French is one of its main languages.

That evening we headed over to Ottawa where we stayed with my brother's girlfriend's family. They were so wonderful and I was so excited to get to see them again.  They are absolutely amazing and when we arrived at around 11pm Rebekah's father made us wonderful wraps with all sorts of healthy ingredients like fresh tomatoes from the garden. Then after munching on our snack it was time for bed so we could prepare for another day of adventure.

The next morning after a light breakfast we drove off to downtown Ottawa for a walking marathon. We saw all the main attractions and then finally sat down for lunch at a cute Mexican place on the main food and bar drag. We probably should have chosen a more typical Canadian food, but we were in the mood for something spicy so we got the special. We each got small steak burritos (which weren't that small and baby coronitas for £10 each. Although the burritos were “small” they were still pretty large. The steak was cooked well and the other ingredients, rice, sour cream, guacamole, beans and cheese were balanced very nicely. Also the restaurant had a nice, quiet atmosphere at lunch and our waitress was really nice and friendly.

Then we took another walk and watched some street performers before heading off to find another Canadian specialty: Beaver Tails.

No, they are not actually BEAVER.

Beaver tails are a Canadian dessert made of batter fried into a long column that is reminiscent of a beaver’s tail. It is tried and then sprinkled with a layer of sugar and served with a fresh wedge of lemon. That is the traditional kind but there are lots of different variations that have chocolate, nutella and maple butter as toppings.

I tried the classic because I wanted something a little “lighter”.  It’s fried dough so, it’s never going to be super light, however, it was utterly delicious. It was crisp with a nice amount of sweetness. It wasn’t cloyingly sweet and I loved that little bit of lemon juice because it really added a wonderful tang and sense of light, freshness.

Endira ordered a beaver tail with maple butter and it came drizzled with chocolate sauce as well. I tried a bite and it was amazing. The maple butter was rich and creamy. It was so amazing that I then had to go and buy a jar of maple butter from a nearby open air artisan market. I also loved the combination of maple butter with that hint of chocolate. The flavors really melded together well and still somehow managed to avoid being overtly sweet.

Maple butter and Maple syrup at a local market

Afterwards we went back to the house for a relaxing dinner with amazing company. I really enjoyed the homemade cooking . It was so healthy and fresh with lots of different options.  Sadly, I didn’t think to take any pictures so I can’t remember exactly what I ate after all this time has passed. But I know that it was superb.

Sadly, the next morning called an end to our adventures and we had to head back to the tri-state area. I can't wait to explore more of Canada. It would be amazing to try more specialties and fun restaurants! 

Endira and I in Ottawa :D