Dining in Montreal … I love French food

Despite the bad attitudes that I encountered on my last visit to Montreal, the food was excellent.

My first night in Montreal, I stayed in Downtown, I visited Chez Alexandre, a French Bistro on 1454 Peel St. and the food was incredible.  The foie gras is among the best that I ever have had.  Sorry PETA.  Along with the excellent food, the atmosphere is familiar like an upscale neighborhood restaurant without the pretense.  The house wine is good and pairs well with the duck.  Like many restaurants in Europe and Montreal, Chez Alexandre offers inside and outside dining and sometimes blends the two by opening it’s large sliding French doors to the outside.  Highly recommended for good food and atmosphere; service, however, is only average.

Le Grill Bistro is located in Old Montreal at 183 Saint-Paul St, near Jacques-Cartier Square.  This restaurant offers inside and patio dining, as well as live music … the musicians want a tip.  The inside seating is small and unimpressive, but the food more than compensate for this shortcoming and the live music minimizes the stodgy fill of the inside dining.  The menu is quite extensive and the chef is not afraid to experiment and jazz up traditional dishes.  Unlike other dining experiences in Montreal, Le Grill seems to understand the importance of service.  Highly recommended for the food and the service.  Just remember, this restaurant is in Old Montreal and there’s a premium for eating in this area.

Bistro L’Arqmate is another excellent French restaurant in downtown Montreal.  In fact, it is at 1410 Peel St, a few block from Chez Alexandre.  While the food here is good, not as good as Chez Alexandre, the dining experience is somewhat eclectic and modern.  There are three levels at this bistro and I believe the best seating is on the third level where you can look down onto the bar and other patrons.  Here too, the house wine is a fine selection.  The French know their wines.  Good food, but better atmosphere.  Service needs a lot of work.

In spite of bad attitudes, rudeness, sarcasm, and perhaps some French nationalism, the food and wine was a treat!

Montreal, Quebec … why the attitude?

We visited Montreal almost 10 years ago and must say that we had a wonderful time.  We visited the Old Port and many of the old churches.  Learned about the history of the city and visited the old world’s fair site.  As I said, we had a wonderful time.

Fast forward 10 years, the city is still a beautiful blend of old and new.  The Botanical Gardens are still worth a visit.  The food is as delicious as ever.  What’s different this time?  Bad attitude!

I understand that Montreal is in Quebec and that Quebec is in Canada and that this part of Canada is supposed to be bilingual, i.e., French and English.  Someone forgot to tell the residents of Montreal that they are supposed to be bilingual.  My French is minimal at best.  I can communicate uni-directionally.  It’s much harder for me to understand what others are saying.

So, as I always try to do when I travel to a non-English speaking country, which Canada is not, I try to speak the local language, at least some.  But, this was not good enough for Montreal.  And, when I spoke English, that was not good enough either.  Overall, there was a very unfriendly and unwelcoming feel to the city.  Much different than my previous visit, and I am not hypersensitive.

Service was typically not good, despite eating in nice places.  No one seemed to want to speak English even though the city is supposed to bilingual.  Public transportation workers, restaurant servers, and hotel staff were quite matter-of-fact about my business and often seemed bothered … not just with me, but with everyone. 

Why the attitude?  Is this the result of the effort to succede from Canada?

Wearing shoes … so old school

Thanks Britney Spears!  Well, we can’t blame this one Britney, but people stop going to the bathroom without wearing shoes!

The first time that I notice this bathroom and bare foot phenomenon I was flying from Zurich to Washington, DC and I saw this young attractive woman go to the lavatory without shoes and I thought that is disgusting!  And, it is!  Do you know what drops on a bathroom floor?  I do, and I am not excited about walking in public restrooms with my shoes, no less, barefoot.

So, this past weekend I was in Chicago and the city was having a blues festival.  There were rows and rows of portable toilets!  Amazingly, a young man walks into the toilet without shoes.  Wow!  Admittedly, I am a little hypersensitive about germs, but walking into a public restroom without shoes is begging for trouble!  It seems to be a young person phenomenon too!

Please, wear your shoes to the toilet!  If not for health concern, because it drives me crazy and may push me over the edge!

Always get a second opinion

I just recently returned from my Memorial Day travel and have to say that that was one of the better traveling experiences I have had … not because of where I went, but because there weren’t that many people traveling … at least through Cincinnati and Washington Dulles and Raleigh.

So what am I complaining about this time?  I decided to arrive at the airport early since I live about 80 miles from Cincinnati’s airport and I thought that I would go to one of the airport lounges and work … there are just so many distractions at home.  I had already checked-in and thought that I would just head off to the club, which is in a different terminal with a different security.  In other words, there’s no way to get from one terminal to another once going through security.  So, I asked the United check-in personnel [mistake number one] if I could enter any terminal with my ticket.  I told her I wanted to go the Delta club … she said empathically, no, absolutely not, can’t be done, don’t even try.  Okay!

Despite her confidence in answering my question.  I was not confident, probably not satisfied, with her answer, so I asked a TSA agent.  He said, you can absolutely go to any terminal you like as long as you have a valid ticket for the airport.  So, off I go, trouble free.  TSA, did ask me, hey, you know you are at the wrong terminal, and I replied, yes, I just want to visit the Delta club, and the agent said okay.  FYI, the Delta club in Concourse A is closed on Saturdays, fortunately the club in Concourse B is open.  I had the club practically to myself!

Last word, always get a second opinion.

Where did all the hippies go?

I just recently returned from a trip to Colorado Springs, CO.  When I first started planning the trip, I thought, “how exciting, I’m going to CO.”  Then as I started planning my trip, I started wondering, “what is there to do in Colorado Spring?”  Of course, there is the natural beauty of the area, i.e., mountains!

Well, my buyer’s remorse about going to Colorado Springs was unfounded.  There a lot to do and more to see.  Colorado Springs is not Denver and the town is not really worth exploring, but the area is.

So, where did we go …

 

• You can not visit without going to the Garden of the Gods.  If the weather permits, definitely hike!
• Then there is there is the Royal Gorge scenic train ride in Canon City … opt for the lunch in the vista dome. 

• Manitou Springs is a cute small town at the base of Pikes Peak.  It’s mostly shops, many interesting one, but worth the stop.



• Needless to say, you have to take the cog railway to Pikes Peak, regardless of whether you are a hiker or not.  You should at least take the railway either up or down … there are only a couple of cog railways left.

Unless you are a hiker or skier, you don’t need to spend a lot of time in Colorado Springs.

So, where did all the hippies go … I think they are in Colorado Springs.

Head south for the holidays!

Maybe I am getting old, but the past several years I have wanted to travel south during winter breaks and holidays.  One of my most relaxing trips was spending a week in Cozumel to celebrate New Years 2006.

We stayed at the Occidental Grand Cozumel, an all inclusive resort on the beach away from town … not walking distance even for walker like us.  The property was absolutely gorgeous and service was outstanding.  The food in the open/regular dining room was okay, but there were two reservation only restaurants.  We were only able to get reservation at one of the restaurant and this food was delicious.  You are entitled to eat at the reservation restaurants a couple of nights during your stay.

In addition to the beautiful scenery and excellent service, the resort provides plenty of entertainment.  One night there was an art demonstration and another night there was a fire show.  There were also plenty to do during the day too.

The resort has a tour office, exchanged money, and even accepted my tequila (locally known as “to kill you”) … enough to open a liquor store.

I can’t wait to visit for another holiday.

Hawaii for the holidays

If you have been to Hawaii during Thanksgiving or Christmas, you will understand that it is quite an experience, especially if you are from the United States’ east coast or south.

We arrived Thanksgiving day and had a non-traditional dinner that is no turkey, no stuffing, and no cranberry sauce or relish.  That was okay, we’ve done that before.  [See our holiday tag].  What seemed so unusual for us was the Christmas decoration on palm trees and the 80 degree weather, at least on Honolulu, Oahu.  I’m sorry, but Santa in shorts looks funny.

Interestingly, Hawai’i (The Big Island) wasn’t decorated like Honolulu, Oahu.