Montreal: Day 4

Last day in Montreal! Tant pis!

We began the day with a run in Parc La Fontaine, a cute little park with a pond and lots of ducks to look at. Getting to the park was kind of annoying because of all the construction going on, but the park was a great place to run.

Another sweaty day in Montreal!

After hitting the breakfast buffet (which was made better by the purchase the prior day of a small package of cream cheese from the Pharmaprix), we took our meat pies to Parc Jean-Drapeau (situated on a neighboring island in the St. Lawrence River) for a picnic. 

It was threatening to rain all morning, and it did end up raining toward the end of the picnic, but at least we got some good views. 

View of Old Montreal from Parc Jean-Drapeau

The pies were delicious, although as I said in an earlier post, the maple sugar tart was the best thing I probably ate on the whole trip. I carry a notebook with me, and I immediately took it out and began writing down all the recipes I wanted to try when I got home.

There were two things I considered doing on the island: La Biosphère and Musée Stewart. The former is an ecological and conservation museum, and the latter is an original British garrison from the early days of Quebec. We really only had time / money / energy for one or the other, so we decided to go to the Biosphère because it was mostly indoors (it was raining by that time) and seemed more unique.

The Biosphère's building is the former American pavilion from the 1967 exposition.

The museum had some great information about climate change and conservation. It's great to see the Canadian government's actions on this front, and depressing to think about my own (especially right now). 

Garden wall inside Biosphère

The museum's whole interior and construction was also interesting. As I noted in the earlier caption, the site was the American pavilion from the Montreal world exposition in 1967. It kind of reminds me of a transparent version of the Epcot "golf ball" in Orlando, and my mom said the same thing after she saw my pictures.

View from inside

We weren't sure what to do in the afternoon, since the rain derailed our plans to visit the botanic gardens. We decided to visit the underground mall, because it was indoors, weird, and had some chocolate shops to visit. I had heard a lot about it and was curious what it was like.

It was kind of hard to find; from the Peel shop, there aren't many signs or anything, you have to just keep trying exits until you find it. There are supposed to be "RÉSO" logos and signs, but I didn't see any.

As some internet reviews described, it is pretty much just an underground mall that is connected to various above-ground stores and Metro stops. There were some premium vendors, lots of food courts, and lots and lots of people. One chocolate shop's credit card machine was broken, but we found another that worked.

Afterward, it was still raining, so we visited Le Saint-Bock, a microbrasserie near our hotel that sells their own beers, as well as others.

Flight at Saint-Bock

My favorite beers were:

• Apple and plum cider by Cidrerie Milton
• Session mango wit by Saint-Bock
• Double black IPA called "Black Jesus" by Saint-Bock
• NEIPA by Boréale
• Berliner weisse with green tea & cardamom by Boréale
• Sour saison with apricot by Birranova, an Italian beer maker

We took a leisurely walk to our planned dinner venue, Schwartz's, which is a celebrated smoked meat sandwich deli. I was prepared for there to be huge lines, but it wasn't too bad.

Cute row houses on the way to Schwartz's

I think all the tourists were driven indoors by the rain, but we didn't mind. It was actually nice to have a break from the heat and sun, which we'd enjoyed but kind of melted in the rest of the trip. 

More murals

I know I haven't posted too many food photos, but this one is a must. The sandwich at Schwartz's was delicious, as were the customary fries and pickles.

MEAT

There was even an article on the wall next to our table about Anthony Bourdain's visit, which was sad to see. His belief in experiencing a culture and meeting people through food totally fits with how I travel and eat. It was sad to see him go.

Not that we were hungry, but across the street was a cute little ice cream shop, Ripples, that turned out to be a destination spot that happened to be dead at that moment. We walked right in and got the 6x chocolate. Dave paired with a mint chip, and I paired with maple walnut. SO GOOD. GO TO RIPPLES.

Final Thoughts

Montreal was an absolutely fantastic destination for food, outdoor activities, practicing your French, and viewing all kinds of art. We walked a ton every day and probably spent more time outside and got tanner than we did in April in Cuba. 

I haven't spoken much about the language, but I had an absolute blast practicing my French with the locals. When I had to switch to English - which they were always more than happy to do - most Montreal folks in the areas we went spoke perfect English. I'm sure that's not the case if you go to the countryside, but it is the case in the city of Montreal.

I had a sort of preconception about Quebecois as snobby or insular, and to some extent they may be insular just based on their language barrier from the rest of North America. But I never got any kind of snobbery; most Montrealers we spoke to were super friendly. Our food tour guide Caroline described the culture as French-speaking, but ultimately North American in mindset (meaning that people are welcoming, laugh easily, and are hearty folks).

Favorite dishes:

I got home and immediately bought Canadian maple syrup and downloaded some recipes for the wonderful desserts I sampled there. 

• Maple sugar tart
• Seafood of all varieties
• Smoked meat
• Bagels (ultimately I think I am a sesame St-Viateur gal)
• Maple walnut ice cream

Favorite restaurants:

• Olive et Gourmando
• Liverpool House
• Outdoor markets
• Neighborhood food tour (e.g. Local Montreal Food Tours)
• Drogheria Fine
• Schwartz's
• Kem Coba (ice cream)
• Ripples (ice cream)

Restaurants I am going to try next time:

• Au Pied de Cochon
• Larry's
• Dunn's

Please comment with your recommendations!

Beer recommendations: 

The beer was mixed, but I'd recommend trying the saisons. They are slightly sour and more balanced than the funky, dirty sock Brett saisons you get in the US. There were also a lot of reds available, but some were better than others. Go for the micro producers.

• Pub BreWskey
• Brasserie Dunham

Favorite sights:

• Basilique Notre-Dame
• Show at Place des Arts
• Outdoor festivals
• Biking on riverfront paths

Bref, go to Montreal. Maintenant!