This weekend’s Notable Weekender is focused on food. Not just any old food, but a weekend dedicated to over-indulgence, taste buds, good wine, and some of the most delicious dishes that the Montreal foodie scene has to offer. Here we go…
Start off Friday night with an early dinner at Liverpool House in St. Henri. Start off with a dozen East Coast oysters, followed by their weekly seasonal cavatelli (we don’t know what it will be this Friday, but more than likely it will rock your world). For mains, share their famous lobster spaghetti (with a full lobster inside) and an order of their renowned house-smoked ribs.
From there, head across the street to Burgundy Lion and take a dip into their scotch collection that is unlike any other in the city. If you feel like pushing the limits, order some scotch eggs on the side (hard boiled eggs wrapped in a sausage batter and deep fried). Once you’ve worked up a second wave of an appetite, head a few blocks north on Atwater to Moe’s, Montreal’s best neighborhood 24-hour diner. Always busy between the hours of 3 and 4am, this is where you will find the best poutine in the city. If poutine isn’t your thing, go for their famous steamy’s – steamed hot dogs in a soft bun with sour kraut, onions, ketchup, mustard and relish.
Saturday morning, start off the day with brunch at Beauty’s, Montreal’s landmark luncheonette. Here you can indulge in menu items like their Beauty’s Special, a Montreal Bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomatoes, onions and capers; their Mish Mash Omelet, jammed with hot dogs, salami, green peppers and cheddar cheese; or their famous triple decker sandwiches. For the health conscious, they also have a great selection of salads.
After brunch, walk off a few calories in the Mile End neighborhood, and when you are hungry again stop into Wilensky’s for a Wilensky’s Special, consisting of a salami sandwich between toasted thin bread, served with mustard, pickles and cherry cola (homemade of course). For dinner, head to L’Express for a classic French bistro meal. Start with the steak tartar served with frites, and and then indulge in their French poached salmon with chervil, wrapped up with an orange crème caramel for dessert.
Sunday, wake up and head for brunch at Le Gros Jambon, a diner-style all-day breakfast haunt in Old Montreal. For the savoury lovers, try their eggs Benedict served with herb hollandaise sauce; for the salt lovers, go for the fried chicken on waffles; and for the sweet lovers, go for their pancakes. Have a stroll around Old Montreal and end up in Chinatown for an early dinner at VIP to experience the best hot and sour soup and chow mein in town.
Photo courtesy Le Gros Jambon