Montreal — Spring 2016: Schwartz's

Of course, a trip to Montreal wouldn't be complete without a smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz's.

Smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz's
It's a classic (it's been around for over 80 years, making it the oldest deli in Canada), and it's the best and most famous smoked meat in the city (arguably in the world). They have the flavour, the fat, and the spice. It is a pile of heaven in between two rye bread holders, and it's the backbone of the Montreal food empire. If you like meat and you like sandwiches, this is all you need. And that, my friends, marked the perfect ending to our little weekend trip to Montreal. I am actually leaving for NYC tomorrow, so I won't be posting anything until next week, but you can be sure that I'll be back with a lot more food porn.

Schwartz's 3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent Montréal, QC H2W 1X9 (514) 842-4813

Montreal — Spring 2016: L'Avenue du Plateau

So on Monday morning, our goal was to go back to L'Avenue for brunch. I mean, surely, they won't be busy on a Monday, right? No. We were wrong. There was still a line-up. Granted, not as long as on Sunday, but still a good two storefronts down from the actual restaurant. My question is, where the fuck are these people coming from? Don't they have work? Or school? I know they aren't all tourists because aside from us and the Irish ladies behind us, everyone spoke French. Maybe everyone was playing hooky, but either way, we decided just to wait since we didn't make it in on Sunday (and honestly, it's not like we had anywhere better to be). And, hey, if that many locals are waiting in line for this place, it's gotta be good, right? We ended up waiting about 45 minutes for a table, which was shitty, but we also had to wait outside in the drizzling rain, which was shittier, but I gotta say, it was totally worth it. 
Sweet-Savoury-Crunchy Eggs Benedict at Restaurant L'Avenue
After perusing the menu for about ten minutes, I narrowed it down to the Eggs Benedicts, and finally decided to get the Sweet-Savoury-Crunchy option. And I have no regrets whatsoever. It consists of two poached eggs, Black Forest ham, and Swiss cheese on top of panko-crusted, maple syrup-brushed French toast, and then drizzled with hollandaise sauce. And it was so fucking good. It's like, all those things are great separately, but then you put them together, and magic happens. It's exactly as the name implies: the perfect combination of sweet, savoury, and crunchy. You get the best of all worlds. And holy shit, looks are deceiving, because I thought I'd still be hungry after that, but I was ready to burst out of my (very stretchy) leggings after the second piece. I couldn't even finish the potatoes. (And I always finish the potatoes!) Our server was kind of a dick, but I have to admit, this place lives up to all of its hype. Seriously. If you like brunch or you don't like brunch but need something to totally change your mind, you need to come here. 

L'Avenue du Plateau922 Avenue du Mont-Royal EMontréal, QC H2J 1X1(514) 523-8780

Montreal — Spring 2016: La Banquise

Hello! I am currently on vacation from work, and just came back from a weekend road trip to Montreal with my friends Chelsea and Corrado. As you might have guessed from the title of this post, our sole purpose for this trip was food. I've been to Montreal several times before so I didn't really feel the need to do the touristy stuff, and while there are plenty of shopping areas, the retail tax is higher in Quebec than it is here in Ontario, so we didn't feel the need to do any shopping, either. We did, however, walk almost everywhere (probably about 6 km total) so at least we got to see the city up close and could feel less guilty about eating so much.

"La T-Rex" Poutine from La Banquise
First things first: poutine. Toronto has gotten some decent poutine over the years, but even as a proud Torontonian, I have to agree that the poutine in Montreal can't be beat. Arguably one of the best and most popular restaurants for poutine in Montreal is La Banquise. We arrived in Montreal around 6:30pm on Saturday, checked into our Airbnb condo, and then walked the 2.6 km to La Banquise (you know, after being in a car for five hours, walking is pretty nice). So it was around 9:00pm by the time we got there. Of course, it was also Saturday. Rookie mistake: There was a line-up all the way down the sidewalk. But let me tell you, it was totally worth the 45 minute wait. Corrado got "La '3 Amigos'" (hot dog sausage, pork & beef sausage, and merguez sausage), Chelsea got "La Kamikaze" (merguez sausage, hot peppers, and tabasco), and I got "La T-Rex" (ground beef, pepperoni, bacon, and hot dog sausage). Each topped with real, fresh, massive cheese curds with the most satisfying chew, and smothered with thick, rich, flavourful gravy. Fries are substantial enough to hold its own against the heavy toppings and not to get super-soggy under all the gravy, but are still soft and mushy in the best way possible. (If you don't like your poutine with all the bells and whistles, don't worry; they have original and smoked meat versions as well.) Moreover, the servers are all pleasant and efficient, and the place is open 24 hours. If you like poutine, or you wanna try poutine for the first time, La Banquise is a must-visit. 

La Banquise994 Rue Rachel EMontréal, QC H2J 2J3(514) 525-2415

Montréal: Weekend in a Nutshell

The boys and I decided to go on a random road trip to Montréal since we all found ourselves having the same weekend free. It all started with talk about eating smoked meat sandwiches at Schwartz's, and then we were determined to make it happen. So, here's what happened:

Smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz's (fat-cut, of course)

333 Rue de la Commune Ouest (Old Montréal)

Walking down Rue de la Commune Ouest (Old Montréal)

Walking down Rue Saint Paul (Old Montréal)

Les Chuchoteuses by Rose-Aimée Bélanger on Rue Saint Paul (Old Montréal)

Walking down Rue Saint Paul (Old Montréal)

Italian sausage poutine from Montréal Poutine (Old Montréal)

Smoked meat pizza from Montréal Poutine (Old Montréal)

Random horse pulling a carriage (Old Montréal)

Street performer juggling two swords and a flaming baton while standing on a ladder made of sword blades

A street mime playing an accordion (also one of the scariest things I've ever seen)

Driving down Boulevard René Lévesque

Not pictured:

• Driving to Montréal in a crazy rain storm
• Way too many cups of coffee
• Way too many cigarettes
• The 3 km walk from our hotel to Schwartz's
• The 3 km walk from Schwartz's to our hotel
• Playing Cranium until 6:00am
• Being in awe of myself for guessing the word 'congregation' during the charades portion of Cranium

Needless to say, the weekend was way too short.

Schwartz's

3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent

Montréal, QC H2W 1X9

(514) 842-4813

Montréal Poutine

161 Rue Saint Paul Est

Montréal, QC H2Y 1G8

(514) 656-0935

Montréal: Day 2, Montreal Poutine

After dinner at Reuben's, we couldn't get enough of poutine and smoked meat sandwiches. We were determined to get more. So while exploring Old Montréal, we decided to stop by Montreal Poutine for lunch. And, of course, I ordered the poutine with smoked meat. I couldn't even tell you if I liked the one at Reuben's more or the one at Montreal Poutine. They were both ridiculously awesome. I am not yet a poutine connoisseur but if I'm to be picky, I liked the smoked meat and gravy more at Reuben's, but the fries and cheese curds more at Montreal Poutine. Either way, you'll be getting a massive portion of deliciousness. Shawn and Vito ordered the Italian sausage poutine, and Benton ordered the poutine with fried onions and mushrooms. I'm happy to report that the one I ordered, with just smoked meat, trumps the other two by far (at least, to my tastebuds).

Shawn and I also shared a smoked meat sandwich (though unnecessary because the poutines are filling as hell), and this is where I would say Reuben's wins with a landslide. Not that it wasn't good, but the one at Reuben's is just that much more epic. The one at Montreal Poutine is... underwhelming. And definitely not worth $9 on its own. Of course, Montreal Poutine's specialty is poutine, whereas Reuben's is sandwiches, so it's a little unfair. I will note, however, that Reuben's prices are more fair ($8.99 vs. $10 for poutine, $12.99 vs. $9 for sandwich - but Reuben's gives you triple the amount of meat and a side of fries with their sandwiches, whereas Montreal Poutine does not). In the end, both are delicious, but I would more likely return to Reuben's to eat than Montreal Poutine. But it's nice to stop by if you're craving poutine in Old Montréal.

Montréal: Day 1, Reuben's

We really wanted to get some authentic poutine and Montréal smoked meat while we were actually in Montréal, so Benton's friend recommended that we try Reuben's for dinner. We ordered the Chop-Chop Poutine to start, which is essentially poutine (fries, cheese curds, and the most awesome gravy made with actual meat drippings) topped with shaved mounds of their famous smoked meat. Guys, this is the best poutine I've ever tasted. For serious. We agreed: we'll never be able to order poutine in Toronto again, because it will always be inferior to ones from Montréal. I used to think people from Québec were just being arrogant, but, no, they're right: their poutine is far superior. (As it should be, since that's where poutine originated.) And whoever decided to add smoked meat on top of poutine is a genius.

The Original Smoked Meat Sandwich

The Signature Reuben Sandwich

Shawn and I decided to share the Original Smoked Meat Sandwich that made them famous (which is 10 ounces of delectable smoked meat in between two pieces of rye bread with mustard) and their signature Reuben Sandwich (which, of course, is smoked meat with melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing grilled between slices of dark rye bread). They're both quite different, but equally epic (I guess it depends on what you're in the mood for, since a Reuben is a "hot sandwich" and the original sandwich is technically not). I don't even know how to describe such insane deliciousness. That's when we decided that we also couldn't look at deli sandwiches in Toronto the same way again. They just won't be as good as the ones in Montréal. Do you see what they have done to us?