AS SEEN ON TV

So guess what was on t.v. the other night?  The Layover- Montreal edition (Yes, I missed it the first time it aired which was before I jet setted to Montreal...oh well, still cool to watch).  Here's where Tony ate. (Need to try these spots).  Yes,  I have mad respect for where Tony goes.

(1) Beauty's Luncheonette (Yep, the same place I went).  He orders the Beauty's Classic (salmon lox bagel).

(2) St. Viateur Bagel Shop (I preferred Fairmount Bagel instead, but this is what Tony says).

(3) Club Social- Good place to have a latte or coffee in the Mile End neighborhood.

(4) Marche Jean Talon- An amazing farmers market! I tried to go, but it was closed due to the New Years holiday :(

(5) Club Chasse Et Peche in Old Montreal.  He gets a duck dish.

(6) L'emporte Piece in the Plateau area.  Here you should order a grilled cheese sandwich which comes with swiss cheese, and braised beef shoulder.  It looked amazing!

(7) Marven's in the Park Extension area.  You go here for some Old World Greek food.  Get calamari and a rib steak.

(8) Brasserie Capri in Sud-Ouest neighborhood.  It's a Canadian pub that's truly authentic.  You go here to order large glasses of bear and pork knuckle with boiled potatoes and pea soup.

(9) Dominion Square Tavern in Downtown.  Dominion Square has been around since 1927- it was one of the first tavern's in Montreal.  Order Moule Frites and bacon.

(10) Gibeau Orange Julep on Decarie Boulevard.  This is the oldest drive-in movie in Quebec- around since 1932.  How cool?  This is where you go for greasy food, an orange julep drink and a flick!

(11) Joe Beef in the Little Burgandy neighborhood.  The menu here changes daily.  It may be really hard to get a reservation.  In which case, you can go to one or both of the following places.

(12) L'Express in The Plateau area.  A good brasserie.  Order steak frites.

(13) Rotisserie Romados also in the Plateau area.  This place serves Portuguese chicken which is roasted.  You can get regular sauce or spicy sauce and it's really inexpensive.

(14) Brasserie T in Downtown.

(15) Big in Japan in the Plateau area.  Awesome Japanese food and is open 7 days a week until 3am.

(16) Nouveau Palais in the Mile End neighborhood.  This is where you go to get a really good taco.

(17) Schwartz's Deli in The Plateau.  This place is really good.  I know, cause I was there too!  Just like I told you to get, he ordered a smoked meat sandwich, a cherry soda and a pickle.  Delicious!!!

PIGGING OUT IN MONTREAL

Montreal is known for some really good food. And I mean R-E-A-L-L-Y good food. So we were very excited to check out some of the best this city has to offer.  I had my camera for most of our culinary outings so I could share them with you.  Here are four of my favorites (the best cupcakes, the best bagels, the best breakfast, and the best smoked meats)!

(1) Les Glaceurs in Old Montreal

This place has beautiful cupcakes.  But, more importantly, they are delicious.  Seriously, better than any cupcake I have had in New York City (and there are a ton of cupcake places in NYC).  We tried a lemon cupcake with lemon frosting, a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting and a red velvet cupcake.  All were yummy, but my favorite was the classic vanilla.

The cake part is so moist and flavorful, and the frosting is rich, sweet and creamy.  Some might think that they are a bit pricey at $3 a piece, but once you taste one, you will without a doubt think that they are worth the price!

You will love these cupcakes if you are a cupcake person.  Look at the smiles on our faces (all sugared up and in "heaven").  

(2) Fairmount Bagel in the Mile End neighborhood

This place is the real deal folks.  Now, just so you know, bagels in Montreal are very different from bagels in New York- but, they are good in their own way.  Bagels in Montreal are more dense, less fluffy and sweeter than New York bagels.  They are also crispier on the outside because they are cooked in a wood-burning oven.  Basically, a Montreal bagel is a cross between a pastry and a bread- and it is good enough to have just plain.

Just so you know, the most popular bagel flavor to order in Montreal is the sesame.  In fact, 70-90% of the bagels sold in this city are sesame!

FYI: You will hear a lot about St. Viateur's Bagel also in the same neighborhood.  We tried their bagels too, but preferred Fairmount much more.  St. Viateur's were not as sweet, and their everything bagel had no salt on it, which for me is a big let down.

(3) Beauty's Luncheonette on Avenue Mont-Royal

You may look at this picture of the outside and think "what's so special about this place?"  But, I'm telling you, once you spot the line trying to squeeze its way into the very tight doorway (expect a good 25-35 minute wait on the weekends), you will surely understand why.

This place is a Montreal institution/ landmark.  Beauty's has been serving food since 1942.  It's often referred to as the grand daddy of Montreal Brunch spots because it is a place you MUST visit when jet setting to this city.  The decor is similar to an old diner, yet sort of updated and very well kept.

Now on to food and what to order.  Beauty's has a very large menu, but is known for two things- (1) The Beauty's Classic: a smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese, tomato and red onion.  The bagel is toasted, the cream cheese and salmon are fresh, and the tomato and onion are well proportioned.  It's delish.

And (2) The Mish-Mash omelet made with hot dog, salami, green pepper and onion.  It might sound a bit weird, but it's amazing!  The meats work together so well to give it just enough of a salty flavor, and the green pepper and onion in it remind me of a western omelet with a twist.  What an awesome creation!

(4) Schwartz's Deli on Saint-Laurent Boulevard

This is the place to order smoked meats (something Montreal is certainly known for).  Schwartz's has been serving smoked meats with the original recipe since 1928.

This place rocks!  Schwartz's is a must try for all people visiting Montreal.  It's a place you'll very quickly find yourself craving and missing more than you can imagine.  Here's what to order:  Smoked meat (either lean, medium, or fatty), an order of pickles, coleslaw, french fries, and wash it down with a Black Cherry soda.  I promise, you will love it and leave so satisfied if you order that perfect combo!

Montreal is such a good food city.  I will certainly be back to visit this awesome city many, many times!

NEW YEARS IN MONTREAL

This year for New Years we took a road trip to Montreal with my family.  We wanted to ring in 2012 in a different city, and Montreal was a great choice.  Even though I'm a born New Yorker, I have such a thing for European cities, and this is as close as you can get to Paris without having to jump on a seven hour + flight.

We rented these wheels...a jumbo sized Ford Expedition e.l. to accommodate all seven of us and our luggage.  Montreal is less than a two hour flight away from New York City, but driving there took less than seven hours and it was fun, especially in this cool ride!  We really want one of these now...we feel like we would take so many more road trips.

Then we checked into the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal.  This was definitely a great hotel in the center of the city.  For starters, the location is just a couple of blocks away from shopping, restaurants and a metro stop, so we just parked the car at the hotel and explored the city on foot.  In addition, the rooms, although not the most modern of decor (although they are in the process of renovating and updating), were nice and spacious, and our room on the 28th floor had a great view of the city!  The fitness center has nice workout equipment, steam rooms, a hot tub and a pool.  And the service was excellent- what you would expect from an Omni property.  Plus, we got it at a great price during the New Years holiday weekend.  We paid about $175 a night...so it was a win-win situation for a great hotel.  I highly recommend the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal if you jet set to this Canadian city.

We spent about 3.5 days and four nights exploring every corner of this wonderful city.  So much so, that by the end, we said we could "put a fork in it, we had seen Montreal."   Yes, it was cold and snowy, but that was part of the charm because it was so festive.  We wandered around the cobblestone streets of Old Montreal.

We walked through Montreal's Chinatown neighborhood.

We went to see Montreal's Notre Dame Church which is so incredibly beautiful.

And need you ask...yes, of course we ate, and ate, and ate (and shopped).  I will have more on all of the great places where we stuffed ourselves silly tomorrow, and more on some of Montreal's good shopping this Friday in my Jet Set Stylin' Fridays post!

HAPPY 2012

Happy New Year Jet Setters!  I just returned from two back-2-back road trips.  The first was to Rhode Island, and then I spent New Year's in Montreal...both were amazing!  I hope to take many more trips in 2012 than I did in 2011 (having a baby made it a bit hard to do :).  Anyway, hope you all had a great New Year's....and I will share more about my trips soon!

10 THINGS

Poncho & Turtleneck: H&M, Pants: Ann Taylor Loft, Boots: Unity at Famous Footwear, Pin: Much Love Illy

1. Jet Setting to be with family tonight.  Yay, let the holidays begin!  Especially excited for baby's First Christmas!
2. Please love that it's almost 60 degrees out today. Are you kidding me.  It's the middle of December?!?
3. I have not even started my Christmas shopping!!!  Mall, I will be your best friend tonight and all day tomorrow.
4. Coquito!!!  It's a holiday tradition in my family.
5. Road Trip to Rhode Island next week with one of my best girlfriends, her son and mine.  Girl time is the best!  And with babies included...I'm in heaven!
6. Planning a family vacation for New Year's Eve weekend.  Trying to decide...Montreal, Boston, Philly or Washington D.C.
7. The best thing about our tradition of exchanging x-mas p.j.'s...getting to throw out some old ones and finally getting some new ones.
8. Mom just got email.  I know, I know.  It took forever, but it DID happen!
9. Just bought a jacket that was originally $149, on sale for $16.  Booyah!
10. Recently discovered Stephen's hot chocolate..need I say more?!?

MONTREAL ON MY MIND

As you know by now, Jet Setting to foreign destinations is what I love to do most in this world! If I could, I would chose not have a home base, but instead live and travel from one amazing locale to the next.
For now, my husband and I try to travel on average about 4-6 times a year. And we don't always take long vacations. Sometimes, we jet somewhere that isn't so far away, but that is rich in culture! A perfect example...MONTREAL!!! Yes Canada, my fellow jetsetters! It's only an hour and a half flight from New York- which makes it the perfect location to visit for a quick weekend getaway.

A Few Jet Set Smart Things to know about MONTREAL:
1- They use the CAD (Canadian dollar) which isn't worth much more than the USD currently. So while your money won't go as far in Montreal as it will in Buenos Aires at the moment, it's not as expensive as let's say Paris. Today's rate was 1 U.S. dollar = 1.07 Canadian dollar
2- Locals speak French & English
3- No long transatlantic overnight flight! Many daily flights out of JFK, LaGuardia & Newark.
**PLUS: Just found this great deal that runs through October 15, 2009! Book two nights or more, and depending on hotel, get 50% off 2nd night, or 3rd night FREE!!! Hotel rooms with a 4-star rating start at $115/per night.**

Here's a link to the tourism website:
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/Offers/Summer
{photos: http://montreal.about.com/}