It is the largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris, and it's in Canada. Andrew Sun enjoys its gastronomic and other attractions.
It will be at least 10:30 pm before we can get a table. It is a Thursday night, no less. That was the word from the concierge when we asked him to book us into Montreal's renowned eatery Au Pied de Cochon. Chef Martin Picard's staunchly Quebecois diner is either still the city's favorite place for comfort food or Montreal's reputation as a late night party town is as true as ever. A weekend in Quebec's energetic hub of play and pleasure was bound to include little sleep - bars open every night until 3 am - so eating a little late is no big deal. Canada's second largest city, and the biggest French-speaking metropolis after Paris, has always lived by its free-spirited, hedonistic ways. Occasionally, there's an economic price to pay (its 1976 Olympic debt was finally cleared in 2006) but it is a beautiful liberalism the denizens wear like an old tie-dyed shirt.
In winter, the winds blowing off the St. Lawrence River can rattle the bones, but this is summer so the city is spirited and lively.
Planning our trip, the first thing we noted was the crazy number of festivals happening on a July weekend. There's the Just-For-Laughs comedy fest, a month-long fireworks competition, Fantasia Film Festival screenings, the acrobatic-themed Montral Compltement Cirque, the multi-genre performing arts Zoofest, dragon boat races in the water and a Pink Carnival in conjunction with a Jean Paul Gaultier couture retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts.
One afternoon, I even saw a parade of undead zombies presumably heading to a Goth party.
Luckily, our downtown hotel Chez Swann is just off the main strip Rue Sainte-Catherine and within walking distance to almost everything.
Opened less than a year, the hip little inn only has 23 rooms. Designed more like an art gallery with eccentric furnishings by American Mary Moegenburg, tree trunks serve as bedside tables and room rugs resemble patches of grass.
Sometimes form overrides function but Chez Swann's room rate is reasonable and the place is full of character.
Plus, the staff managed to score us a late reservation at one of the city's most popular joints.
Au Pied de Cochon (or PDC to locals) means the pig's foot and its unapologetic menu is laden with variety meats. Located in a section of Plateau Mont-Royal where old warehouses have been transformed into shops and restaurants, PDC is noisy and raucous at all hours, serving up tasty bison tongue, duck in a can and an entire pig's head (for two).
The signature dish is the poutine foie gras. Traditionally a blue-collar ration, poutine consists of french fries and cheese curds slathered in rich gravy. Adding foie gras to it is as much a middle finger against posh nosh as calorie counting.
Even more sinful is the plogue champlain. A true Quebec creation, a mound of potato, cheese, foie gras and back bacon is covered with a maple syrup sauce. Even lumberjacks might not want to eat here everyday but it was one of my most memorable meals in years.
The next day, we get our city bearing walking down Rue Sainte-Catherine, past department stores and fast food shops down to Old Montreal. There's apparently a huge network of underground malls along the way but since it's summer, we would rather be outside.
Old Montreal is lined with historic buildings including the Gothic Notre-Dame Basilica. The acoustics inside are so good, Luciano Pavoratti performed there several times. The cobblestone roads are also rumored to be an inspiration for Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong as developer Allan Zeman was once a Montreal native.
After scouting out heritage, we turn from something old to something new, jumping into the city's Metro train system to the Parc Jean-Drapeau, the island park.
The lush greenery is a nice city respite, and you get to appreciate a couple of holdover sites from the 1967 world Expo. The Biosphere is a geodesic dome now used as an environment museum, while the beehive block of residences called Habitat 67 designed by famed architect Moshe Safdie is as futuristic today as 40 years ago.
Feeling peckish, we return downtown for an al fresco dinner at the popular Brasserie T! Opened by respected local chef Normand Laprise, it's a glass box adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The outside tables are ideal for people-watching on the open public square called Place des Festivals. Foodwise, it's another casual, meat-heavy menu with a contemporary French slant. Charcuterie, chicken liver mousse and steak frites is what you'll want with a good glass of wine.
Little did we realize this weekend would take on such a decidedly gastronomic focus. You can't go to Montreal without indulging in bagels and smoked meats. Hunting these delicacies offered an excuse to troll along the artsy, urbane neighborhood along Saint Laurent Boulevard.
The Fairmount Bagel Bakery is open 24 hours cranking out chewy, slightly sweet bread and loyal patrons are here at all times to receive the offerings. Housed in the same modest red-brick two-story house since 1949, the bagels are boiled, then baked in a wood-fired oven. The family that runs it has been making bagels since 1919.
Further along Saint Laurent, there's Schwartz's, an institution for Montreal smoked meats since 1928. Expect a line waiting to get into the deli at all hours.
If you can't spare the time, a recently opened take-out counter next door lets you take away a sandwich, or some vacuumed sealed brisket. It is so beloved that a local librettist has written a musical about them.
A detour over to the Latin Quarter on lower Saint-Denis Street, in the Ville-Marie district, reveals Montreal's real appeal.
Sidewalk cafes designed for lingering, quaint boutiques without hard sell staffers, and working-class Francophones share the sidewalk with artsy university types. No one seems in a hurry to go anywhere (except at night to a club or bar).
You don't generally find such a relaxed attitude in such a big city. Maybe that's why Montreal lost ground economically to Toronto. However, it's no contest in terms of which Canadian city has the most joie de vivre.
You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.
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