This summer was a great time to escape the heat and travel north for a Canadian vacation.
It has been many years since I visited Canada and I’ve always wanted to see the French-speaking, eastern province of Quebec. I decided to plan a trip to two of its main cities: Montreal and Quebec City.
My husband and I started with the large and cosmopolitan city of Montreal. It has more than 5,000 restaurants — it’s a number on par per capita with New York City! — so I was excited to see something new.
We stayed in the old town section of Montreal and walked to all kinds of restaurants. There were amazing Greek, Lebanese, Italian and, of course, French cuisines. I was in culinary heaven!
We also roamed around farmers markets and even saw a terrific Cirque du Soleil performance. (The acrobatic company was founded in this province.)
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
This is a “Montreal-style” bagel from one of the famous St-Viateur Bagel shops in Montreal.
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
It was fun shopping in Chinatown, taking a history tour and even trying the famous “Montreal bagels.” These bagels are different than the ones found in New York City and at the delicious Main Street Bagels in Grand Junction.
They are slightly smaller and have a larger hole. They are boiled in honey-sweetened water, have eggs in their dough, and are baked in a wood-fired oven. These bagels are wildly popular and the place we visited, the historic St-Viateur Bagels, told me they make 6,000 bagels a day during the week and 14,000 on both Saturday and Sunday.
After several days traversing Montreal, we rented a car and drove a leisurely three hours to the town of Quebec City. Along the way we stopped at a cheese shop —there actually were official signs along the highway letting you know the exits to take for the “fromagerie.”
I love meandering and exploring on a summer day and if it involves local cheese, that’s even better!
Although we don’t speak much French, we did fine on the whole trip. Certainly, the farther out into the countryside we traveled, the less English was spoken, but it really was no problem and added a lovely charm to our trip.
Quebec City is quite beautiful, but also packed with tourists, which is never my favorite scene. Luckily, our hotel was just outside of the old town area and we were able to walk everywhere.
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
We sampled some traditional poutine (French fries and cheese curds covered in gravy) during a food tour in Quebec City.
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
During a food tour, I tried poutine for the first time. This hearty and indulgent dish features French fries and cheese curds covered in gravy. With the challenging winters they have in this part of the world, I can see why something that rich would have become popular to eat.
The next day we drove to a little island called Île d’Orléans just 20 minutes away. It has a good growing ecosystem where much of the fruits and vegetables used in the province are produced.
We lucked out, and it was strawberry season. These juicy little berries were absolute perfection! Road stands were everywhere selling them, and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch along the water.
After a few days, we headed back to Montreal for one last evening before flying home. Since we had a morning flight, we stayed at an airport hotel. This is something I like to do to lessen stress and eliminate the need for a long drive during rush hour.
As we were trying to decide where to go for dinner that night, I received a message from acclaimed Denver chef, Johnny Curiel, recommending I dine at one of the restaurants by chef Juan Lopez Luna and to tell Luna “hi” from Curiel.
When I looked Luna up, I learned that this chef is very well-known and one of his restaurants recently was recognized as one of the 50 best restaurants in all of North America. (Curiel also is on this list.)
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
It was strawberry season when we visited Quebec. So much fresh deliciousness!
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
Wow! Needless to say, that meant there was no last minute reservation available to this multiple, award-winning restaurant.
My husband insisted that we should still swing by and at least try to say hi. I was sure it would be a waste of time and didn’t want to spend our last night hungry and driving around.
But I agreed to try and we drove to a cute residential neighborhood in Montreal where the two restaurants, Alma and Bar Luz, are located. I went into Alma and, somewhat embarrassed, asked the host if there was any availability. He was kind, but assured me there was not.
I then introduced myself as a food writer from Colorado and asked if I could leave a note for chef Luna. He looked a bit skeptical about me, but gave me a piece of paper for my note saying “hi” from Curiel. The host also told me to check next door at the other restaurant (Bar Luz) in case something was available.
Luckily, a table had just opened up and we sat down to enjoy our last evening in Montreal. Within minutes, a smiling and gracious chef Luna came outside and introduced himself!
We talked about chef Curiel and their friendship, the connection with their Mexican histories, and their love for creating dishes celebrating those complex foods and traditions. He then went back to the kitchen to keep cooking.
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
This is one of the many visually stunning and delectable dishes we ate at Bar Luz in Montreal.
CHRISTINE GALLAGHER/Special to the Sentinel
Shortly thereafter, in addition to the fantastic dishes we had ordered, we received a stunning scallop creation plated on a homemade nixtamalized tortilla topped with fresh herbs and caviar: the chef’s gift to us. Amazing!
As my husband and I finished dinner and reminisced about our fascinating and multicultural visit to this part of Canada, the chef reappeared and asked if he could join us and share in some mezcal together.
Well, if you ever have a talented chef ask you that question, be sure to say YES!!!
My husband looked at me with a twinkle in his eye as he knew I was thrilled by the whole evening and that I love mezcal and talking to chefs.
Needless to say, it was the perfect ending to a lovely trip.
Email Christine Gallagher at allthingsfoodchristine@gmail.com.
