Montreal Day 2

Every city we go to I like to find the open markets.  First thing this morning we headed off to Jean-Talon Market where you can buy anything from fresh fruit, sausages, coffee, flowers, olives, cheeses, etc.  Stalls and stores.  A foodies mecca.

We sauntered in and found ourselves in front of Boucherie du Marche which is known for their sausages.  The line inside was 15 deep and there were 2 of them.  Outside, one of the owners were giving out tastes.  Deer/Pork sausage.  3 different types.  One was more incredible than the next.  Large pieces, full of flavor with lots of character.  Might have to figure out a way to ship it straight to our backyard barbecue. 

We kept moving through the market.  A variety of places that had pickled the seasonal food such as fiddle-heads.  A spot with dried cranberries dried with different flavors from maple to apple.  Cheese stores galore.  Lots of Moroccan foods too.  We bought a sweet from a Moroccan shop that looked interesting.  Sort of looked like a snaked pretzel that was covered with sesame seeds and honey.  Delicious. 

Afterward, we jumped into a cab and headed over to L'Express.  A bistro.  The food was fantastic.  We sat at the bar because we had not make reservations and that was fine with us.  I had an octopus lentil salad that was out of this world.  A round mixture of lentils with thin slices of octopus surrounding the lentils and then piled up on top.  Beautiful.  See the picture on the left.  We also tried the fiddle-heads (seasonal) that were sauteed in a brown butter sauce with mushrooms.  Sort of tastes like green beans.  Crostinis with chicken liver pate (chopped liver basically) and ratatouille on the others.  Each incredibly flavorful.  Fred had a croque-monsieur which was better than any I had ever had in Paris.  Our friend had the beef stuffed ravioli with mushrooms and sauce.  Someone else had an omelet which can come with cheese or none but I loved that the waitress  asked if she wanted the omelet soft, medium or hard.  I like mine soft and I hate it when eggs are hard. Very French.  All of this with a bottle of Sancerre and you can't go wrong for lunch.  I really liked the large jar of cornichons that every patron gets at their table too.  A real culinary treat.  Simple and delicious.

We walked a few shops over to Suite 88 Chocolatier.  My friend told me it was the Prada of Chocolate.  Everyone had a coffee and then we split a biscotti fondue.  Thick luxurious chocolate.  I also got a bunch of goodies to take home. 

We then began to walk and walk.  Made our way around the Mile End area of Montreal.  It is quite large but there is everything from bagel shops to clothing shops to furniture shops.  After exhausting all options, we took a cab over near McGill University to check out a shop, Mona Moore, which has exquisite shoes.  We also went up stairs to Les Createurs to see the clothes.  After all, what is a vacation without at least a few stores a day.  Just looked, no purchases. 

Nap time was coming and we made our way back to the hotel to gear up for the next event.