Our little weekend trip to Montreal turned out to be just what we needed: a fancy getaway amongst all the stress of pregnancy, the kitchen renovation, and work. We traveled with our pals Hilary and Tristan, and stayed at the swanky Place D’Armes Hotel.
On Friday night we hit up Au Pied de Cochon, which did not disappoint. I’ve wanted to eat there ever since seeing the episode of No Reservations where chef Martin Picard tries to kill Anthony Bourdain with dish after dish of rich meat (watch the clip on YouTube here). That’s a photo of our foie gras poutine above.
On Saturday, we slept in, had breakfast in bed (don’t you just love room service?) and then drove around the city. I’ve been to Montreal many times, but have never driven downtown. I found it an easy place to navigate, so we headed uptown to get some fresh Montreal bagels at St. Viateur for my brother-in-law, and then drove around Mont Royal park. The park was full of families out enjoying the sunny day – cross-country skiing and tobogganing through the fresh snow. Gorgeous.
Then we met up with Hilary and Tristan for some Montreal smoked meat at Schwartz’s Deli. After a nap back at the hotel (so much food, must sleep), the four of us headed to the Bell Centre for the Montreal Canadiens hockey game. They won the game, which made super-fans Ian and Tristan very happy. Hilary and I couldn’t really care less, but we had fun.
I would have loved to have another day in the city, but it was back in the car on Sunday morning for the drive back to Toronto. That’s what’s so great about Montreal… it’s only 5.5-6 hours by car, so it really is an easy weekend trip.
[pictured above: Place D’Armes Hotel, Tristan and Hilary in line outside Schwartz’s, foie gras poutine at Au Pied de Cochon, St Viateur Bagels, me at the lookout point in Mont Royal Park, Ian in Old Montreal, Schwartz’s Deli]