Montreal in Three Meals — Coasting Toward Blue

I love food. I love photography. And I love, love, love when I can combine those two loves (and I’m working on adding food illustration to the mix, but I have a long way to go with that one!). As I was going through my photos from our 36 hours exploring Montreal, I found the photos I took of what we ate made for a nice collection: Montreal in Three Meals.

Just around the corner from our hotel, Hotel Gault, was Valliere Bistro. We glanced at the menu before heading out for a walk through Old Montreal, and we decided to make our return to this bistro for dinner. Wow, we’re so glad we did! First, I have to mention how much I loved the interior of the restaurant—it felt so open and filled with light, and throughout the restaurant were plants—everywhere! From tall potted plants to large tabletop plants to hanging plants in macrame holders, they were everywhere. While I do not have anything remotely akin to a green thumb (I struggle with bamboo and succulents!!), I certainly appreciate and admire the aesthetic. But the food—damn, it was sooo good.

G and I started with the mushroom toast because the menu’s description sounded delicious: Sautéed mushrooms, cream, marinated shallot petals, country bread. The verdict? Amazing. G followed up with the mac and cheese that featured, according to the menu, a three cheese sauce, chili crumble . He added bacon because, um, it’s bacon. And bacon is delicious. I ordered the mussels and frites; I love mussels and will rarely turn away the choice of that winning combo. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Along with dinner, we enjoyed two nonalcoholic beers, a Partake IPA for me and a Carlsberg for G. And can I just say I love having the choice of flat (tap) and sparkling water?

You know a place is going to be great when there’s already a line of folks waiting both inside and outside within a half-hour of its opening. Good is quite the understatement for Olive + Gourmando, a cozy breakfast/lunch cafe just minutes from our hotel. While I usually opt for smoothies or yogurt at home in the mornings, I was all about the carbs here—and I have absolutely no regrets! After all, the carbs powered me through the nearly 15K steps I took throughout the day, so I can’t complain! G ordered a chai latte (so photo-perfect), while I ordered a less than photogenic but excellent drip coffee, black. We each had a morning bun, quite possibly my favorite pastry of all time. I had never had a morning bun until San Francisco, when one of these from Faletti’s and a coffee from Peet’s or a Diet Coke (this was back in my Diet Coke-addicted days) fueled my morning walk to campus for classes. Ever since those days, I am ever on the lookout for morning buns. And these absolutely did not disappoint, with their flaky dough, cinnamon-dusted doughy middles, and sugary tops. I also ordered the cinnamon raisin toast with came with a side of jam and a pat of butter, while G had a “sconewich,” a biscuit filled with ham, cheddar, and peach jam. Our breakfast was absolutely worth the 20-minute crowded wait; in fact, it was so good G made a quick run for takeout before checking out and heading home the next day. If you want to get a sense of the picture-perfect offerings, check them out on Instagram! I will probably be ordering the cookbook soon just so I can drool over—I mean study—the food photography!

After a day spent walking nearly 18,000 steps, we were famished (plus, we never managed to eat lunch!). We made our way to No. 900 Pizzeria, another just-around-the-corner-from-the-hotel restaurant. Narrow with limited seating, the restaurant was (lucky for us!) empty when we arrived shortly after opening and was full by the time we finished. Now before I get into the food, let me admit that I’m a pizza snob. My grandmother and great-aunt, who both lived next door to us growing up, owned a pizza shop. So, growing up, we always had homemade pizza. Today, my mom carries on the tradition. It’s rare when we order pizza, but when we do, we have pretty high standards. I’m a fan of thin crust pizza—no deep dish for me—and I actually prefer white pizzas to pizzas with sauce. For me, the perfect crust should either be super thin and crispy OR thinnish, doughy, and chewy. Now that that’s out of the way, I can say with confidence that I loved these pizzas. We ordered two white pizzas to split: the pancetta & fig, which featured goat cheese, and arugala topped with balsamic vinegar; and the porcini pizza, which included roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, fontina, fior di latte, ricotta, and truffle salt. Again, amazing. With two nonalcoholic Peronis to accompany our waters (flat for G and sparking for me), we were absolutely satisfied—and full. But not full enough that we passed up a dessert of two cannoli to share!