As a follow-up to my last post, I wanted to dig deeper into the big food scene during my short visit to Montréal.  Our first night in the city we ended up in a craft beer house that also had late-night snacks. Because we got in so late, the city didn’t have the late-night dining options we are so spoiled with here in NYC. Of the limited menu available to us at 11:00 p.m., we decided to go with some olives to snack on while waiting for our “traditional” flat bread. I, of course, assumed it would be the traditional cheese but instead came a giant flatbread covered in big chunks of Canadian bacon. Turns out it’s smart to try to understand what the ingredients are before ordering, as “lardon” simply means bacon. Thankfully, my boyfriend LOVES bacon, and he was happy to help out with the order mishap while I ordered a vegetarian flatbread.  After that little misunderstanding, I was careful about the meaning of French words.

The next day we went to Eggspectations Café in the old city. I ordered a Bloody Caesar at the bar while we waited for our table. A Bloody Caesar is just a different variation of, you guessed it, the Bloody Mary. Instead of tomato juice, Clamato is used, and it’s simply amazing. Some friends turn their nose up when they hear clam broth is in their drink; but if you don’t try, you’ll never understand how incredible the taste is — I do tend to be a Bloody Mary snob. Our drinks were perfect with no necessary minor adjustments of hot sauce or horseradish afterwards. The next two days we were in the hunt for the infamous poutine. I would recommend to everyone not to get adventurous with a traditional dish by adding duck confit. My stomach just couldn’t handle so much excitement in one sitting, and I paid for it with a very uncomfortable ride back to New York City in the back seat of my friend’s Jetta. Cranberry juice, anyone?

— Banu Yilmaz, advertising director