Saturday, May 5, 2012

Montreal or Bust... (Day TWO)

So after a late night we got a somewhat slow start to our Saturday in Montreal and we had a lot of ground to cover !  I awoke early and after having a nice discussion with a local at the club the night before we decided the farmers market to hit up, should be Marche Jean Talon.  It was an easy trip via the Metro and the cost was like $3 for each of us and it took us within a block of the market and saved us a 7 mile walk and alot of time !

 
the market was bustlin with locals and everyone seemed to know one another...
 It was kind of split into three sections... but after talking with a few farmers and shop owners we found out that it grows into a market that is three times the size come summer... they even remove the walls and turn the whole place into and HUGE open air market.

 there was lots to look at an sample... it was hard to pull Cassi away from the fruit trays so we could explore the whole market !
 as we moved from the fruits and veggies segment we were greeted with loads of local honeys and maple syrups...
 maple syrup in a can... never seen that in the states !
 spattered throughout the market there was some wonderful egg stands that sold every kind of egg from quail to duck to chicken to ostrich !
 
 We did manage to grab some lovely little pickled quail eggs from this nice guy...
From there we decided we were pretty hungry after speeding out of the hotel without eating anything since dinner last night....
thats when we ran into this lovely worldly inspired pastry stand... everything was so delicate and made with love we had to grab a little sampler along with a couple of warm samosas that really hit the spot !
Everything was so tasty and spiced with some very exotic flavors that really made them sing more than any pastries we have eaten before.  We had some little sticky pistachio pastries and filbert puffs that were out of this world... the only thing I could compare the floral exotic flavors too was the holiday Greek loaf that Dean made back when Mother Oven bread was in business.  I remember him telling me about a ancient greek spice in that holiday bread called mistika that his grandmother had taught him about and I definitely got a wave of that in one of the pastries...mmmm Im getting hungry!
Speaking of spices there was a spice boutique that was out of this world as well...

so many spices in so many different forms... they also had a wall of oils and vinegars, spice grinders, mortars and pestles... and having everything in french, I was a little out of my element ! One thing we really thought was a great idea was they put together these little boxes of spices that complemented each other... regional spice kits,  kits specified towards certain foods; chicken, fish, teas etc....
 this was their curry kit... and right across the way from the spice place was a fresh pasta shop ! 
Piles and piles of fresh pastas, homemade sauces and a very friendly staff, we ended up picking up a few sheets of fresh porcini ravioli !
 then it was on to the meat shops... starting with this lovely little sandwich stand with two options
duck confit with onions or a classic smoked meat sandwich !  We didnt grab one but we did try a duck sample after she noticed a little drool coming out of my mouth !
 So much fresh meats of all types... lamb, duck, chicken, guinea hens, horse...
So much foie gras....
we had so much fun just checking out all the local goods !
and charcuterie !
 but the absolute highlight of the Marche Jean Talon had to be the discovery of Jardins Sauvages stand !  You see the first place we thought of when we started planning our trip to Montreal was this restaurant located 45 minutes north of the city called Jardin Sauvages. We first learned about this restaurant and its highly esteemed owner/forager Francois Brouillard by reading the book American Terrior by Rowan Jacobsen. The whole menu is based solely on what Francois can find in the nearby ecosystem... it does not get more local or sustainable than this place.  However with very limited time in Montreal we decided to hold off on taking the trek north and decided to choose a dinner location that was within the confines of the city... more on that later in the post.  So as we approached the stand and took notice of the piles of locally foraged offerings, we were very excited to be able to experience a small slice of what the to expect when we do make the trip up there for dinner some day!
 the stand was so quaint on the outskirts of the market... it had piles of foraged goodness; mushrooms, wild ginger, fiddleheads, day lilies, ramps, a completely foraged salad mix....







 along with these fresh tasty treats and an extremely helpful and kind shopkeeper, they also had a smorgasbord of pickled and jarred products made from the seasonal treasures they find. 
Pickled wild mushrooms, day lily buds, wild ginger root, mustards, jellies, oils, vinaigrettes... WOW, we were in heaven... NEW INGREDIENTS !!!
Milkweed flower syrup, Labordor Tea Syrup, Crystallized Wild Ginger Sugar


We chatted with them for quite a while and picked up alot of great stuff... they had also just sauteed up a mixture of wild leeks and mushrooms and gave us some samples of a few things we had never tried... needless to say with so many strange things making it into our cooler for the trip back to Maine we were a little nervous about the upcoming border crossing back into the states !
Next time we make the trip we will be sure to visit this market again as well as to make reservations for one of the prized dinners at Jardin Sauvages ! Stay Tuned ...

Anyway having explored the marche to the fullest and had a lil bite to eat we were ready to hit the pavement and explore the sites Montreal had to offer.  We had about a 5 mile walk back to our hotel and I had circled some choice destinations on the way... so off we went down Boulevard Saint-Laurent !


on our journey we encountered a couple nice galleries and some pretty dope street art...









 Wait thats a sign for records... nice lil shop, was able to grab a handful of reggae 45's to add to the crates ! As we marched forward we came upon a handful of lil boutiques and quickly realized we were in the part of town we wanted to be in.  After an couple hours of shopping and browsing we were up for a break and I had two spots within a block to do so at.  

First up was another quick bite at the famous Fairmount Bagel


It was a tiny little walk-in walk-out spot with bagels stacked from floor to ceiling.  They were super friendly and we picked up an extra dozen to bring home to our freezer in Maine.  
With a little more substance in our belly we headed just around the corner to visit one of my BIG destinations in the city Dieu de Ciel Brewery and Brewpub!





What a cozy lil place that started out empty but by the time we tasted our way through their 17 in house brews on tap the place was getting pretty packed.  Our waitress was very friendly and spoke enough English to get by... the beers were great !  You can find some of these gems in the states but with the amount on tap there was certainly quite a few I had never gotten my hands on and was in heaven trying them one after the next.  So many styes and flavors and their liberal use of creative ingredients including fruits and herbs made tasting through them a pure pleasure that ate away the afternoon fairly quickly.... so much so that we realized we need to boogie back to our hotel so we could get a few moments to shower, change and relax before our diner reservations that we had made through Open Table  at DNA !

Time for some DINNER...
 As I said we made reservations week or so before our trip after seeing a little about this restaurant on bizarre foods and by a recommendation from a friend who is a cook in Montreal.

We jumped right into the night by ordering a couple starters and a bottle of Canadian wine from Ravine Vineyard.  The first taste we got after a small foie gras amuse bouche was a lovely mouth watering pork belly with daikon... yum.  Our waitress was so friendly and the somellier was also very kind and informative.  She actually stopped in a moment after serving us our bottle of Red Coat and said she was excited that we ordered the charcuterie plate because it will pair perfectly with the wine we selected !  I like when the employees seem excited about the food they are serving and that was certainly the case here.  The service was above and beyond, we never had less than a half glass of water and never poured any of our wine it was all taken care of by the courteous staff !  

So next up was the charcuterie plate which we were told is a must when dining here and here is the reason why...
Its all made and cured in house by the head chef Derek Dammann. 
In fact we saw him quite few times scanning the room and walking around the dining room making sure everything was running smoothly.
So in comes our second dish...
 We experienced alot of "firsts" in Montreal and this was no exception... our first taste of speck, wild boar salami, head terrine, and more... served with an array of acidic pickled veggies and a can of bread sticks.  We took our time with this dish and it was amazing.  I really believe if we are going to eat an animal that no part should go to waste and this plate reassured us that we were doing the right thing, WOW !
After a lil break we shared a light pasta dish that was a simple yet delicious wild mushroom tagliatelle that was all house made and cooked el dente.... we forgot a picture of this one but it was earthy and dreamy.  A great break in the action before the main course.
 We finished with some simple yet delicious cuts prepared to perfection.  I took the plunge into the Canadian tradition and ordered the horse with apples, radish and juniper berries... and Cassi had the veal served with baby spring onions and braised spinach.
Wow what meal, no dessert for us in fact after this 2 and a half hour dinner we made our way back to our hotel to kick up our feet and call it a day ! And what a day it was...

 
Thanks DNA !





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