Feburary 25, 2006

Saturday February 25 9:00 to 10:00am: Special Live Edition of the Saturday Morning Dinner Hour: Eating Your Way Through Montreal

When I talk to people who have gone to Montreal and ask them how they have liked it, there are two distinct reactions that I get:

Wow! What a fantastic city. I just love going there.
I just don't get what all of the excitement is. It's a city...big deal.

Having been to the city a couple of times on business my husband Ray and I were in the later camp. So when our friends Linda and Larry Faillace offered to show us the Montreal they love, we thought we should give the city another try. After all, it is the closest large city to the Mad River Valley and an easier drive than going to Boston.

Well, I am happy to report that the two day trip that we took to Montreal this past week, is just the first of many. I can't wait to go back and revisit the amazing markets, cheese shops and sausage stores and to discover new ones.

When I have gone to Montreal in the past, it has been on business so my visit was confined primarily to the business district with the big hotels and the convention center. What I learned this past week is that you need to get into the neighborhoods to experience authentic old world charm.

If you have just a couple of days in Montreal, which is a great way to get your feet wet the first time, all you need to know is one street, Saint-Laurent. Saint-Laurent starts at the at the Old Port in Old Montreal. This area is very nice, but definitely a tourist area so you are going to be paying tourist prices and experiencing the city as a tourist. The areas that I especially liked were the neighborhoods where people live and work - I felt that they were much more authentic.

Going north on Saint-Laurent from Old Montreal next you will come to Chinatown (Quartier Chinois). Many of the restaurants there are open until midnight which is great if you lose track of time over some wine, cheese and great conversation. Eating in Chinatown reminded me that there is more to Chinese food than greasy deep-fried chicken and a thick, goopy sauce.

You can walk between Old Montreal and Chinatown, but then you will need a car to travel further up Saint-Laurent through the various neighborhoods. You can take the Metro, but you will miss a lot of the sites along the way. Your ultimate goal is Little Italy, but between Chinatown and there, you will want to make some stops.

One area I highly recommend stopping is near Schwartz's, a deli famous for their smoked meats. We didn't eat at Schwartz's, but stole a few whiffs of their amazing smoked beef as we walked by.