Montreal – Delicious Food Chronicles from a New Yorker

Veggies and Fruits in Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal

I had a week’s worth of meat posts from the Jean-Talon Market in Montreal. It is only fair to show my readers the vibrancy of the colorful fruits and veggies from the same market. On my first trip to Jean-Talon a few years ago, I was so impressed by their fruits and vegetable that I bought a week’s worth of grocery and brought them back to NY. Included in my purchase is a five-pound bag of beets! I stored them in the garage through the winter and ate them. That was how good those veggies looked to me. Below is a sample of this October trip. #Jean-TalonMarket

This experience took place at

Marché Jean-Talon
7070 Avenue Henri Julien
Montréal, Québec H2S 3S3
Canada

Saucisson sec, Dried Sausages, from Montreal

Meat post number 3 of the week. These are the #sausages I brought back from Montreal, mostly would be considered as French styled sausages. These dried sausages or saucisson sec are so much better than their American counterparts in most of the gourmet markets in NY. Slice up some sausages and eat them with baguette! That’s almost a perfect meal.

To read the other meat posts from this week, click here for Post 1 Boucherie Al-Khair and Post 2 Sausages.

I love this brand of saucisson sec, directly from France. Get it in a straight shape or bent. 🙂

These are the new organic saucisson sec we are trying this time, made in Quebec. The green one is very unique: the company claims that this is a sausage for vegetable loving people; made with pork and alfalfa. The blue one is made with pork and blue cheese; tasted very cheesy and strong. The blue is definitely an acquired taste.

This is Quebec’s version of the French saucisson sec. Not as peppery and more earthy than the French ones. It was great!

YUM. YUM. YUM.

This experience took place at multiple shops in the Jean-Talon Market

7070 Avenue Henri Julien
Montréal, Québec H2S 3S3, Canada

Meat, Meat, and More Meat: Boucherie Al-Khair at Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal

This is part two of Butcher Al-Khair in the Jean-Talon Market in #Montreal. Part one was about teas, spices and cheese and today is all about meat! My favorite merguez sausage sandwich get the sausage from this butcher. Let’s examine all the various meat available at this wonderful place. All the #sausages are made on site and smell fresh.

We got there around 4pm and the showcase already looked empty. From left to right, there is Merguez made from beef (less spicy); Merguez made from beef (more spicy); lamb Merguez.

From left to right, chicken shish kabob with fine herbs, citrus and spinach; chicken shish kabob BBQ style with tandoori.

This one is simple: Italian sausage and chicken sausage.

From left to right: marinated beef chops; lamb chops; marinated lamb brochette; beef brochette; shawarma.

I wish I lived in Montreal and could shop here frequently. Highly recommended.

This experience took place at

Boucherie Al-Khair
300, Rue Jean Talon E, Montreal, H2R 1T1
+514-277-3778

Tea, Spice, and Cheese in Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal: Boucherie Al-Khair

I go to Boucherie Al-Khair in Montreal to stock up on the spices: the Ras el hanout, Harissa, and anything that is middle-eastern and I cannot pronounce. I also go to the same butcher shop for my favorite sausage in the world, the merguez. That will be in an upcoming post. I love the authenticity of this shop. The store is always busy, filled with shoppers. I always feel like a kid in the candy store when I go there.

An assortment of nuts and stable dry goods.

The harissa, the sardines from Morocco, and other stuff that I have not learned yet. Now I wish I understood Arabic.

Moroccan mint tea! One of my favorites.

Cheese – many are unfamiliar and unique to the cuisine.

This experience took place at

Boucherie Al-Khair
300, Rue Jean Talon E
Montreal, H2R 1T1
+514-277-3778

Hot Chocolate, Cafe Mocha, Cafe Latte, and Croissant – Essential Food Groups

The experience of a good cup of hot chocolate, cafe mocha or cafe latte is one that warms the body and nourishes the tired soul. If you add a croissant to the mix, then I am golden. It is my ideal breakfast. I am definitely biased. I like European hot chocolate that is made from chunks of dark chocolate. I like the European cafe mocha for the same reason. It has the actual chocolate in the drink. Cafe latte, on the other hand, gives you that nice cozy milky feeling that you had after playing in the snow and coming back into the house.

While I was in Montreal, I had two separate but equally excellent delicious experience with these essential food groups.

These are two large bowls of cafe latte and a small cup of hot chocolate from Boulangerie Première Moisson in Montreal

I like their tag line – “Truly Authentic!” Think about this: How many people do you know that are truly and authentically pursuing what they love and being who they are? How many people do you know that are just stuck in the conventional box of cultural norms and expectations? The transformation process to become truly authentic starts with your latte and croissants!!

This is the said croissant from Boulangerie Première Moisson. It was flaky, buttery and fine.

This is the best cup of cafe mocha for me after spending a day at the cafe for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I saw the young girl painstakingly shaved chocolate slivers into my drink.

These experiences took place at

Boulangerie Première Moisson and

CAFÉ DES BEAUX-ARTS

384 Sherbrooke Street West

Montreal, Canada

Le Nil Bleu Ethiopian Restaurant in Montreal – A Restaurant with an Identity Crisis

Le Nil Bleu, or the Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant in Montreal is a vegetarian friendly and swanky place, serving typical Ethiopian dishes. Located at the bottom of a boutique hotel, the restaurant has a hotel lobby feel – there are a lot of super white sofas used as dinning chairs, miscellaneously placed sculpture and palm trees that block the walkway. It was also difficult to see the food because the lighting was minimal and sometimes blue. I believe the restaurant suffered from an identify crisis. But we went for it anyway.

We ordered from the tasting menu with options of various appetizers. From the left to the right: filet mignon tartar, caramelized veggies with yellow lentils, zucchini with tomato salad in Alicha sauce. The presentation was nice. The three dishes tasted average.

For our main entrée, from six o’clock going clock wise, we have Yatakelt Watt, Doro Watt, Yemesser Watt, Yekik Alicha, the same tomato salad from the appetizer again and then the injera.

This is the honey wine that is supposed to be a dessert at the end of the meal. It was ok but nothing to get excited by.

Now thinking back, this was a very sub-optimal experience. They messed up on our order and gave us the wrong entrée. We had to wait for a long time when the restaurant was not full. The tomato salad showed up twice between the course and the waitress never communicated that to us. Their tasting menu was extremely confusing and we heard other tables asking the same questions as we did. A bit disappointed because I love Ethiopian food.

It was not good eating. Thumbs down. 😦

This experience took place at

Le Nil Bleu

3706 Rue Saint-Denis
Montréal, QC H2X 3L7, Canada
+1 514-285-4628

La Boite Huitres, The Oyster Box, at the Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal

La Boite Huitres, The Oyster Box, at the Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal is where we had a box of delicious oysters. Oysters are the candy of the sea and the sensation you get is indescribable. La Boite Huitres says that each oyster lover has his/her oyster G spot that can only be achieved when he/she meets the right #oyster.

I am still trying to figure out what type of oysters I am in love with. Right now, I am pretty indiscriminate. I like everything from both coasts, most of the time. But I am slowly finding out that I may prefer the salty, the seawater, the taste of the raw and not the creamy, such as the Kumamotos.

Here is the box of Explorer we had. We sat at the counter in a late October afternoon. It was cold and the oysters felt even colder. But we were so happy to try these oysters.

Kusshi from British Columbia is our favorite, clean and a little creamy.

Kelly Gigas from Ireland was fine, more grown up and stronger in taste.

Glacier Bay was clean and brought both the sweet and the salty.

Colville Bay was not terribly memorable, unfortunately.

Wellfleet oysters were meaty and reminded me of the Vikings.

Aftermath: We polished off a dozen of oysters in less than 10 mins. Highly recommended!!

This experience took place at

La Boite Huitres, The Oyster Box

Marché Jean-Talon
Montreal, Quebec H2S 2W1
+1 514-277-7575

Best Classic Crepe, Crepe Sucre, in Montreal

Simply the best sugar crepe in Montreal. 🙂

Simplement la meilleure crêpe au sucre de Montréal.

See a more comprehensive review of the creperie click here.

Voyez un point de vue plus compréhensif de la crêperie, cliquer si-dessus.

This crepe was made by crepe master Vartan at La Crepe 2Go.

Cette crêpe a été faite par le maitre des crêpes, Vartan, à la Crêpe 2Go.

La Crêpe 2go
2150 Rue de Bleury, Montréal, QC H3A, Canada
+1 514-987-6060

Merguez Sandwiches at the Jean-Talon Market in Montreal: Boucherie An-Nasr

I was introduced to the merguez sausages years ago in Marrakech. Merguez is a sausage made from a combination of lamb and beef, originated from North Africa and has since became very popular in France. The type that I really love is the Algerian merguez which is spicy and gives out a smoky mutton flavor. I have now put merguez on my last meal list.

Because Montreal is highly French, this is where I get my merguez fill. I found this sandwich place at the Jean-Talon Market place. Although it is called Boucherie An-Nasr, it is only a sandwich place as far as I can tell. I also figured out where they get their merguez links – that butcher shop will be featured in an upcoming post.

A good look at the sandwich: two links of merguez, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, onions and some of their special sauce in a baguette, panini style. The whole ensemble sings!

Here is another look at the sandwich plus the fries. The fries are nothing special but the merguez is truly the hero and worthy of a 6-hour-drive from NY to Montreal.

Here are the beautiful additions to the sandwich.

This sandwich shop also carries a variety of spices, jams, and tea with Arabic writing. I would very much like to try them all slowly, one by one.

I cannot stress how much love I have for this sausage. It is just me. 🙂 Please check out this little shop if you are ever in the area. The owners are rather nice – the last time I was there, I had a pleasant conversation/debate on whether Montreal is truly a bilingual city. The company is as good as their merguez sausage.

This experience took place at

Boucherie An-Nasr
250 Place du Marché-du-Nord
Montreal, QC H2S 1A1
Phone number (514) 278-2424

La Crêpe 2Go in Montreal, Canada – It’s All in the Batter; La Crêpe 2Go à Monréal, au Canada- Tout est dans la pâte

La Crêpe 2Go in Montreal, Canada, hands down, is the best crepe place in North America for me. When I think of Montreal, I think of the crepes in La Crêpe 2Go. Why is it good? It is about the batter. It is the freshness and thinness that are found in an authentic crepe. #crêpes

La Crêpe 2Go à Montréal, au Canada, pas de questions, c’est le meilleur restaurant à crêpes dans l’Amerique du Nord pour moi. Lorsque je pense à Montréal, je pense à La Crêpe 2Go. Pourquoi est- t- il si bon? C’est la pâte. C’est la fraîcheur et la finesse qui se trouvent dans les vrai crêpes. #crêpes

As support to my claim, I drive six hours from NY to Montreal for a breakfast at La Crepe 2Go twice a year, April and October. This is my devotion to the crepes here. Well, short of going to France for crepes.

La preuve, je conduit six heures de New York à Montréal pour un petit déjeuner à la Crêpe 2Go deux fois par ans, en Avril et en Octobre. Voilà ma dévotion aux crêpes ici. Bon, à part d’aller jusque’ en France pour les crêpes.

This is the crêpe master, Vartan, with his helper. He is the proud owner of the store, prepares the batter by hand every morning and makes all the crêpes.

Voici le grand maître des crêpes, Vartan, avec son assistant. Il est le fiere propriétaire du restaurant. Chaque matin, il prépare la pâte et fait tout les crêpes.

Crêpe with spinach, egg and cheese. Nothing fancy but extremely delicious and satisfying.

Crêpe avec œufs, épinards, et fromage. Rien de extraordinaire, mais extrêmement délicieux et satisfaisant.

This is the starter: egg, ham and cheese. You can see the thin ham through the crepe. The eggs were beaten, fluffed, and somehow thinned out. This is such a contrast to the breakfast crepe I had a couple weekends ago in Mt. Kisco, NY. That crepe was fat and looked like a burrito.

Cela est la ” starter” : œufs, jambon, et fromage. Vous pouvez voir le jambon dans la crêpe. Les œufs étaient battus, bouffés, et en quelque sorte, faite plus plat. C’est une grande différence à la crêpe que j’ai mangé il y a quelque semaines à Mt. Kisco, NY. La crêpe ressemblait à un burrito.

I just love this place. Highly highly recommended it. Two thumbs up!! If you are ever in Montreal, please visit Vartan’s creperie. You will not disappointed.

J’adore ce restaurant. Je le recommend en priorité à ceux qui peuvent y aller. Si vous êtes jamais en Montréal, allez visitez la crêperie à Vartan. Vous ne le regretterez pas!

The French translation credit goes to my eleven year old honey booboo. 🙂 La translation française est de mon enfant de onze ans.

This experience took place at

Cette expérience c’est passée à

La Crepe 2Go
2150 Rue de Bleury
Montréal, Québec
H3A 2K3

La Crêpe 2Go

2150 Rue de Bleiry

Montréal, Québec

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