A Week of Food Heaven in Montréal and Québec City

So...before I write anything further I have to admit that I failed miserably when it came to taking pictures of our trip. This is because of two main reasons: (1) our camera isn't the greatest; and (2) we were having too much fun soaking up the scenery that we often forgot to take it out. So, apologies ahead of time for the lack of good pics but I still want to share our great food finds from this past week.

Montréal:

The first 2 days we attended the Osheaga music fest so our eating was mainly limited to late dinners. But on the 3rd day the chow fest really got started. A few highlights included:

- a fabulous BYO experience at Le Bleu Raisin : This place is the real deal. The atmosphere is wonderful and the service was excellent. The prices are very affordable because you can bring your own wine. Though they offered an intriguing tasting menu we decided to go a la carte and share our own tastes. Our feast included appetizers of ostrich tartare (yes, ostrich) with a raw egg in the middle and escargots with wild mushrooms. For entrees Quinn had a wonderful venison dish with a sweet potato puree while I had lamb with a corn polenta and blue cheese tart. We shared the chocolate gateau and maple cheesecake for dessert. This place would have been much more expensive in Boston!

- We also enjoyed some great craft beer made on site at Dieu Du Ciel brewery in the Mile End neighborhood. This is supposedly one of the best microbreweries in N. America and it didn't disappoint. Also, our beers were huge and only $5. Mine was flavored with hibiscus and Quinn's was a belgian style.

- A visit to Montréal should include a stop at the St. Viateur bagel shop. These wonderfully warm and light bagels won't leave you feeling weighed down and keep you asking for more.

- We also enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Jean Talon Market (picture below). This was a foodie heaven. So much beautiful produce and wonderful little cheese and meat shops. It seriously made me consider braving the Montréal winters to move there. We shared an awesome sausage sandwich infused with swiss cheese and some amazing ice cream at Les Havres des Glaces. This will be a place I will definitely return to when I get another chance to visit Montréal.




- The afternoon we left Montréal to drive to Québec was pouring rain but we stopped into another great market and shared a pie and salad which you can see below.




Québec City:

We only stayed 2 days in Québec City and it was pretty rainy but we made the best of it taking in the light show for the city's 400th anniversary and going to the museum to see the art on exhibit from the Louvre.

Some foodie highlights included: An awesome lunch at Chez Temporel. It's a little café tucked away on a side street but we lingered there for a couple of hours over a huge croque monsieur, quiche, cappuccino, and a chocolate croissant. The atmosphere is very casual and artsy.

We also hit up another brewery called L'Inox which served a great cheese plate and sausage sandwich again (we couldn't get enough).

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I want to thank Bryan and Peter for their great tips before we left. Though we didn't end up trying some of their faves we have them on the list for next time. There just wasn't enough time to take in all of the great things about these cities!

A couple other pics are below including a rainbow that made it's way through the sky at Osheaga!