I know, I know–I’ve been absent from the blogosphere way too much lately. I swear I’m aiming to correct that. The inevitability of life, some technical difficulties, oh, and an itty-bitty hurricane have gotten in the way of me keeping pace with my passion in the past few weeks, but I’m now determined to get back on course. I have to, I have so much to share with you. Let me begin with the story of a recent trip we took before all this craziness began….
Hudson Valley
Invited to attend a food and wine event at a vineyard in Millbrook, New York–an exciting story I hope to share in more detail at a later date–we thought it perfect timing for a visit to the bucolic villages of the Hudson River region. Mid-October, autumn leaves at their peak, I looked forward to the drive north. The plan was to check out the area for a couple of days, then continue on to Montréal to visit with family and get our fill of that burgeoning metropolis. Beautiful sights, lots of farmer’s markets, hip new restaurants–the journey promised to be a veritable foodie delight.
So here’s how it went down: after a spectacular party at the winery, we checked in to a charming bed & breakfast in Hyde Park, and set out to explore neighboring towns. Our first stop was an educational visit to the birthplace (and burial ground) of FDR. A lovely home steeped in history, our tour guide provided many interesting anecdotes. My favorite story was about the visit of King George VI and the Queen of England in 1939. In their honor, FDR decided to dispense with formality and throw an old-fashioned, American-style picnic, replete with hot dogs and soft drinks. It created quite a stir at the time: the headline of the New York Times read, “King Tries Hot Dog and Asks for More.” Perhaps he found it to be an improvement over English cuisine!
After the tour, we wound our way through a farmer’s market in Rhinebeck–always an exercise in frustration for me when I have no kitchen available to make use of the goodies for sale. Stands brimming with an abundance of fresh-from-the-orchard NY state apples, local honey, and ravishing root vegetables were all tempting and tantalizing.
A quick stop for lunch, a bit of antiquing, and then we indulged in an afternoon quaff at a popular beer and cheese market. Never saw so many varieties of beer; micro-breweries rule! We capped off the day with dinner at the swank new restaurant, Market St., in Rhinebeck, where we enjoyed expertly prepared small plates, crispy brick oven pizza, and a toothsome special of venison with potato gratin. This tangy blood orange cosmopolitan knocked my socks off.
On our way up to Canada, we spent a few hours in the booming, Hopper-esque town of Hudson, New York. Chock full of antique and design stores, this hamlet is a decorator’s dream. Intermixed among the shops are many charming cafés and eateries. We enjoyed lunch at one such place, Le Gamin Country, where the walls are lined with antique signage and tchotchkes, and the wise cracking waitresses serve up a variety of crepes and bistro salads with a side order of sass.
Montréal
Finally, we landed in Montréal. And for me, day one kicked off in the best way possible–by exploring the food shops and open markets around town. After filling our larder with local and French specialities at a nearby gourmet merchant in Outremont, we made our way to the indoor/outdoor marketplace, Marché Jean-Talon.
Stall after stall was filled with local vegetables, fruit and seasonal flowers. Our cousin ably guided us to some of the specialized indoor stores, where we loaded up on unusual condiments, dried chilies, international spices, and pickled veggies, until we couldn’t carry anymore.
That evening we had a spectacular meal at one of Montréal’s newest hotspots: Le Filet, a sister restaurant to the very hip and very popular, Le Club Chasse et Peche. It was only Tuesday night, but the place was hopping–we could hardly hear ourselves over the din. Despite the noise, the congenial service and exciting, innovative cuisine quickly won us over. The menu, which focuses on fish, is comprised of small plates all designed to be shared. We began with a delicate and delectable fluke crudo in a plum sauce with cucumber and wasabi. A stunning presentation.
Fragrant fish soup with fennel was brought to the table in a large bowl and then ladled into individual tea cups for each of us to enjoy,
followed by an amazingly prepared cod: indescribably crispy on the outside, ethereally moist on the inside, dressed with macadamia nuts, chorizo flakes and served on a bed of celery root pureé.
I know this last dish may not present well, but it was certainly the most interesting. An unusual merger of sweetbreads with chunks of lobster, butternut squash gnocchi and porcini mushrooms, it was creamy, briny and intense. The uncommon combination created a plate that was, hands-down, our table’s favorite. If you’re headed to Montréal, Le Filet should not to be missed.
Day two found us rediscovering the old part of the city, aka Vieux Montréal. Touristy shops are punctuated with trendy boutiques and many stylish cafés and restaurants.
Our cousin recommended we stop for lunch at Olive et Gourmando, a bakery and sandwich shop that was bustling on an otherwise sleepy street. Give the hostess your name, wait to be called, and then you’re assigned a table. Head to the window in the back to order a freshly prepared sandwich or salad specialty and, once seated, the servers bring your completed order. In other hands, this concept could be a disaster, but the well-trained, capable staff make this café a success. Fresh ingredients, creative combinations and scrumptious pastries make this café a destination.
A girl–this girl–can never visit too many food markets, so we were off to another one on the south side of town, Marché Atwater. This venue had more specialty markets: an amazing fishmonger, a cheese store that reeked to perfection, butcher shops with homemade sausages and delicacies, and stand after stand of beautiful produce.
Dinner this night was a collaboration of dishes cooked with our cousin at her home. Only she did most of the cooking. And what a cook she is–I consider her to be the family’s foremost expert in Moroccan cuisine. She prepared a Moroccan specialty that is one of my husband’s favorites: fragrant fish balls in a tangy tomato sauce.
As an accompaniment, using beautiful vegetables she had purchased that day, she composed a dish of meltingly delicious braised leeks.
My contribution to the meal was a roasted platter of fingerling potatoes and chanterelle mushrooms we had picked up in the market. It was quite an enjoyable feast!
Our third and final day in Montreal was beautifully sunny and warm, so we left the city confines and drove about 45 minutes east to Mont St. Hilaire for a hike. After meeting some friends and climbing what seemed like an interminable amount, we spread out a lovely picnic of cheeses, sandwiches, fruit and bread on flat rocks at the top of the peak. It was too windy to capture the picnic on film–we were too busy holding things down! But the View. Was. Breathtaking.
Back in town, for our final dinner we chose a hip little place in the Mile End district called Les Deux Singes de Montarvie (translation: The Two Monkeys of Montarvie). Interesting name, yes? Well, the food was even more so: an exquisitely creative take on French bistro cuisine, making use of unusual ingredients. The industrially cool dining room was cozy and dark (a little too dark for pictures) with an open kitchen in the back, and our waitress was charming and well-informed. For my starter, I chose the carpaccio of tuna Nicoise, which I would say was a deconstructed Salade Nicoise. Its components provided wonderful balance–every mouthful was a flavor explosion.
My hubby first enjoyed a richly delicious bowl of potato leek soup that was generously slathered with a rich porcini reduction…
…and then an entree of the house made lobster sausage. The sausage, decoratively plated alongside three succulent shrimp, was flavorful and perfectly seasoned.
My second course, a bavette of beef, was unusually but tantalizingly spicy and served with potato roti and an interesting spaghetti squash pureé. Another beautifully plated dish.
Don’t even ask about dessert: it was some amazing chocolate creme brûlée concoction that we pounced on and devoured in a heartbeat. By the end of the meal, we were all contentedly sated and determined to return to this wonderful restaurant–perhaps we’ll try the emu next time? The perfect ending to this unbelievable gastronomic journey…. Oh, Montréal, I will be back!
