This is what happens when you are a foodie and you have a few hours in Montreal to kill before hopping on a plane. You end up at Jean-Talon Market. Trust me, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time.

Naturally I bought so many goodies that I had to buy a bag!

In case you are wondering “What did I buy? ” a better question might be “what didn’t I buy”.

Here’s a list of what was in the above bag:

1. Bourgot: I know they are ugly but they are my favourite item to buy at Jean-Talon Market. I discovered that they are also called Whelks and are very abundant in the St. Lawrence River and Estuary.

These Whelks are ready-to-eat as they are sold in brine, which gives them a long shelf life as well as a tender and flavourful taste. Sadly I had to throw the brine away at the airport but they still made it through security.

2. Cult Yogurt – I bought two but one was confiscated at security. Go figure. I discovered this yogurt back in May and hope to see it on the shelves in Toronto one day soon. It’s creamy creamy creamy.

3. Olives stuffed with Orange Peel. Love this combo.

4. Nuts: One bag is Lemon/Pepper and the other back is smoked to perfection.

5. Cretons with Dates and Herbs: Not something you see in Toronto which is code for: “I had to buy it”.

6. Candied Orange: I have no idea what I’m going to do with this but I’m sure it will be a lovely garnish for something!

7. Salt with Herbs: I have a feeling I will be sprinkling this product on my eggs, in dressings, on fish etc. For $3.99 I figured it was a good buy!

As always, I adore this market for so many reasons. Hope you get a chance to visit Montreal in the near future and visit this market too!

For more information:

Website: Jean-Talon Market

Address:  7070 Avenue Henri Julien, Montréal, QC H2S 3S3

Happy Shopping!

 

Long Weekend: Montreal – Part 2

I hadn’t been to Montreal since 2014 so I was due for a visit. When it comes to food, this city is right up there with New York, Vegas and Chicago. (in my humble opinion)

Day 1:

How could we not stop at the epic Gibeau Orange Julep (7700 Boulevard Décarie) . It was the perfect way to say “Hello Montreal. We have arrived!”

Then we continued to Jean-Talon Market (7070 Avenue Henri Julien). I absolutely adore this market. It’s one of my favourites for so many reasons. I bought a new yogurt I had never seen, (which I hope we will see in Toronto one day) a cheese I had never tasted (Tahlia) goat cheese curds and a gorgeous mustard with black sesame seeds.

Sadly I found out that the butter I use to buy is no longer available. I use to buy this butter on every visit and was so sad to hear that they went out of business. Sniff.

Then we went to the Montreal Biodome (4777 Avenue Pierre-Coubertin) to see something other than food!! We encountered an oasis of beautiful birds, penguins and more. So glad we included this in our itinerary. This special space is accurately described as an indoor zoo, an aquarium and a botanical garden wrapped into one space!

Naturally a trip to Montreal wouldn’t be complete without visiting Au Pied Du Cochon. (536 Avenue Duluth E). We couldn’t get reservations but showed up at 5 pm and scored a table on their outdoor patio.

I already know what I’m ordering next time (I’m a planner – can you tell?) – this incredible looking hot chicken sandwich.

Day 2:

Woke up and headed directly to Patisserie Au Kouign Amann (322 Avenue du Mont-Royal E) for their incredible Kougin Amann which I was introduced to in 2012. (see blog post here). I’m almost grateful that I’ve never seen this pastry in Toronto!

Again, a trip to Montreal would not be complete without a trip to Schwartz’s Deli (3895 Boul St-Laurent).  The smoked meat sandwich I inhaled is the real deal.

After lunch, we walked thru Old Montreal and the Port. My new Keen shoes were a pleasure to wear as we walked and walked and walked.

Seriously, these Keen shoes saved me. By the way, if you haven’t seen this colour before it’s because this colour is one of their newest colours. #loveit

On both days we were wiped and never made it out of the hotel after 8 pm. Just. Too. Tired.

Day 3:

Went for breakfast with a childhood friend at Maison Christian Faure. (355 Place Royale).  This almond croissant is something else and the best part is that they are coming to Toronto in September.

Last stop before heading on to the highway was La Diperie. (68 Avenue De Pins E) OH MY. OH MY. OH MY. This soft serve ice cream shop has 30 different dips (turtle, cookie dough, milk banana, baileys, espresso, cheese cake etc) and a variety of toppings (pretzels, pistachios, almonds, coconut etc).
I decided to order Becky’s Fave from their menu – which was soft serve vanilla ice cream dipped into ginger dark chocolate and topped with pistachios.

As for our hotel: We stayed at the beautiful Loft Hotel which was located at 338 Terrace St. Denis. Our room was just stunning and complete with a FULL kitchen i.e. dishwasher, pots and pans, etc etc. I couldn’t have been happier with the space and the location. Would stay there again in a heart beat.

Hope you get a chance to visit Montreal one day soon!

Please click here to find out more about Montreal attractions, festivals, events and more.

Remember I mentioned that I went to three food shows in one week? Well, Rendez -Vous Quebec was the last one. This is a much smaller show than Grocery Innovations or CHFA but that’s just fine with me (and my waistline).

I’m sure this won’t surprise you, but I discovered a few interesting products at this show. In particular…these chocolates. These were NOT just your average chocolates. You want to know what they were filled with? Not what you were expecting!! Ready? (drum roll). ….Foie Gras!! Yes. ..Foie Gras oozed into your mouth when you bit into one of these logs. Seriously. Delicious.

I also enjoyed some amazing Quebec cheese. There is certainly no shortage of cheese makers in this province.

 I also stumbled across a new product from Smoke which I can’t wait try at home one day soon. I’ve been a fan of this company for years and something tells me I’m going to have a new salmon dish to serve. #happydance

One last item that caught my attention were these gorgeous looking Christmas ornaments that were made out of CHOCOLATE.  Stunning.

I left the show with the feeling that I need to visit Montreal sooner than later. This province really does produce some serious chocolate, beer, maple syrup, cheese, dairy products, bread and more!! I’ve blogged about my love for Jean Talon Market and Atwater Market before and I know I will be blogging about it again in the near future.

Many thanks to Bureau du Quebec for inviting me to Rendez -Vous Quebec!!

As you know, I went to Jean-Talon Market last week. One of the items, I picked up was Kale. It was $2.50 and half the size of my arm – so I couldn’t resist. I knew I wanted to make a salad with it and headed over to google to see if I could find an interesting recipe to check out.

I swear I selected this recipe because the blogger made me laugh out loud. I’m being honest. This is what made me chuckle:

“I know you need another kale salad recipe like you need another artisanal pickle, but I swear you’ll love this one. And even if you don’t, I have a mixing technique to offer that you can apply to the other 37 kale salads in your life.”

Here’s the Kale and Anchovy Salad recipe that I found on a blog called  Food52.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small garlic clove
2 anchovies 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 Meyer (or regular) lemon ( I used a regular lemon)
4 tablespoons olive oil 
1/4 small red onion, very thinly sliced 
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves  (forgot to buy fresh and ended up using dried thyme)
6 cups packed lacinato (dinosaur) kale

 

This past weekend I went to Montreal to visit a good friend and to visit Jean-Talon Market. I had NO other agenda. It also helped that I had a friend do the driving!! (thanks M)

The trip started off with a quick visit to Buster Rhinos in Whitby. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich (as always) but also had the opportunity to try their EPIC BBQ ribs. Why oh why have I never tried these ribs before? Will now be ordering both items. It will not be a discussion!

When I went to  Jean-Talon Market, I bought the following:

-Lime Basil Macaron: not sure I tasted the basil but was pretty happy with my macaron

-Bourgot:a member of the conch family and not easily found in Toronto

-Quebec Beer: was not easy to select from the massive selection but I did it. LOL. Bought a gluten free beer…go figger.

-Non Homogenized Cream : haven’t tried it yet but something tells me it’s going to be wicked. Can you see the numbers: 45%

I also picked up:

-a few new cheeses: La Tome A rudy, Mont Vully and a few more

-Australian Fingerlime : definitely hard to find this in Toronto

-Almond Croissants from Kouign-Aman :I’ve been here on my last trip but HAD to return to get my dose of these freakin’ amazing croissants.

-Pear and Coriander yogurt: sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Can you tell I like unusual flavour combinations?

The trip continued with yet a few more purchases:

–Cafe In : for a much needed cafe au lait!!

-Sorry can’t remember where the olives were from but they are stuffed with ORANGE PEEL. Never seen this in Toronto either

–Chez Louis: Purchased black garlic on my last trip and went back for another bulb. Can’t wait to roast this bulb and serve it to guests.

As you can tell, I had an amazing time wandering thru Jean-Talon Market. No shortage of goodies here!!

Please note: Also came home with four bagels from St. Viateur and a tub of butter from La Ferme de Patrimonie! Don’t get me started about this butter…it’s that good!

For More Information:

Buster Rhinos Southern BBQ: (for da best bbq) 2001 Thickson Road, Whitby, ON

Koenig Aman Bakery : (for the freakin’ amazing croissants) 322 Mont Royal Est, Montreal Quebec

Jean-Talon Market:

Les Delices De La Mer (for the bourgot)

Le Marche des Saveur  Du Quebec (for local Quebec beer , cheese,and other local goodies)

Fromagerie Hamel; Butter, Cream, Cheese

Chez Louis (for unusual produce)

Brulerie aux Quatre Vents (for the macarons)

Coffee: Cafe In

 

I’ve decided to write two blog posts about Montreal. The first blog post was “What I ate in Montreal” and now this blog post will be dedicated to “What I Bought in Montreal”. It wasn’t hard for me to whip out my Visa every few minutes while walking thru Jean Talon Market saying “I want this – I want that”.

Here’s a list of what I brought back to Toronto:

a) BLACK GARLIC: I’ve seen dried black garlic sold in packages in grocery stores but have never seen fresh black garlic. Have you? I will be roasting it this week and shmearing it on a toasted baguette. Will get back to what it tastes like. At $120/lb it better be freakin’ awesome. I think this ONE bulb cost a few dollars. P.S. I found the black garlic at Chez Louis, which is a well known fruit/veggie vendor at JTM. (Jean Talon Market)

b) BEER: There’s quite a few beers that are brewed in Quebec that aren’t available at the LCBO. Sad but true. Seeing as I’m all about “flavor”, I selected a few unusual beers: El Lapino, which is a Jalapeno Beer (you can actually see the jalepeno floating around in the bottle), La Carotte Du Lievre which is a Carrot Beer, and Spruce Beer (which isn’t alcholic).

Not a bad line up:

c) ETHIOPIAN BEBERE: Bought this spice at a popular store in JTM that called Olives & Epices. Not sure why I selected this spice but looks like I will be bringing out my mortar and pestle soon. All I know is that this 150 g pot is going to last me for years!! Infact there is an expiry date on it: 2016/08/07. HA.

d) BEURRE DE PATRIMONIE: Discovered this butter a few years ago, and now I can’t seem to visit Montreal without buying a tub or two. Ingredients: cream and sea salt (with no preserving agents). This is as pure as it get. I hear all their products are awesome but sadly haven’t had a chance to try their yogurts or their milk. One day..One day.

As you can tell, my trip to Jean Talon Market was a success!!

Jean Talon Market, 7070 Avenue Henri Julien, Montreal, Quebec 514 247 1588 (opened 7 days a week)