10 things I will miss about living in le plateau-mont royal

There are so many things I’ll miss about my old neighborhood in Montreal. It has changed so much in the 6 years I lived there… going from a bit artsy and rough around the edges, but with a Starbucks (one the reasons I bought my place)… to pretty much straight up yuppy today. But I loved every moment of watching old and new float by.

If I have to narrow down a list of the things I’ll miss the most, in order to fit into a post, here they are:

1. Hangover (or still drunk) poutines just steps away.

2. Street festivals with banjo players and discount shoes. 

3. My parc (La Fontaine) with sledding and skating in the winter… wine and baguette in the summer. 

4. Sangria on patios, especially outside the original Chez Baptiste.

5. The people watching. All sorts. 

6. The ample seating at Starbucks where I probably spent the price of a small car over the years.

7. 3 take-out sushi options within 1 block: a cheap option for weeknights, a medium option for weekends, and a pricier one for special occasions. 

8. My cab stand (but not the cabbies). 

9. Being able to Bixi from outside my front door downhill to the bar. 

10. Christmas music played in the streets. 

tourist in my own town... dinner in chinatown

Last night I was having a drink at my friend's local watering hole (St. Liz) and the topic of good Chinese came up. I had just driven through Chinatown and had wondered why we don't eat there more often since my friend B lives close by. Feeling inspired, and hungry, we decided to walk down and dine at one of his recommendations, Keung Kee Restaurant, on Rue de la Gauchetière.

Walking up and into the restaurant it already checked so many of the boxes that our group (all originally from Vancouver and convinced we know true Chinese) wanted to see:

1. It's in an alley.
2. It's on the second floor and the carpet covered stairs have seen better days.
3. The tables are covered in disposable plastic table clothes.
4. The hot tea kettle hits the table before you can even sit down.

Even though we were filled with anticipation that we were sure couldn't be met on this side of Canada, it was. Our servers were fantastic.... they cracked jokes, mocked us for our love of Vietnamese hot sauce, brought us their own freshly mixed concoctions to try, recommended new dishes, and happily boxed up our soup before our second course even came because we had clearly over-ordered.

The food though was legitimately the best part. We ordered 5 dishes and 3 appies for the four of us (did I mention we had been drinking?) and all were good... But the Spicy and Salted Shrimp, the Kung Pao Chicken (typical white people order! I know!) and the duck were my fave.

I used to think you couldn't get good Chinese in Montreal... and while this may not be quite the same as Vancouver... it's legit.

So thanks B!

shoes...shoes...shoes... new hummel hightops

I'm a sucker for shoes and here is one of my neest pairs! (Yes, just ONE of my newest pairs... there are more.)

Despite the snow and cold which will prevent me from wearing these for a few months, I just had to have a new pair of high tops for 2014 and these hummel's are perfect. They are totally classic in style and the black/grey will go with so many casual outfits. I might even try to wear them to work on a Friday with my leather leggings. That will dress them up right?

I picked them up still on sale (from 129.99 to 99.99) following "Boxing Week" at NEON on Mont Royal. The same store where I bought my Fjallraven Kanken backpack before the supermodels started wearing them. (See below it being used as a picnic basket on my roadtrip with VDB to Ottawa last Canada Day.)

More shoes to follow I'm sure!

tourist in my own town... brunch at l'avenue

3 years ago my parents came to visit me in Montreal. My Dad didn't travel much later in life but he fell in love with my neighborhood, the Plateau. And he fell even harder when I took him to breakfast at L'Avenue. He loved the fresh blended fruit smoothies, the humongous omelettes and other brunch entrees, and the atmosphere (which was really mainly due to the fact we got the table in the window which allowed him to people watch). Every time we met in Vancouver afterwards he asked me if I had recently been to L'Avenue.

Today with my Mom and brothers in town for the holidays I took them to enjoy what my Dad had so often fussed about. My Mom and older brother had the classic eggs benedict which they are famous for. They enjoyed it very much, and almost even managed to finish, though we were perplexed as to why they have changed the recipe from a traditional ham to one slow roasted in beer and maple syrup and then pulled like pork. They agreed it was good, but almost too rich.

My younger brother and I had the Idaho omelette. This is my favorite as it comes not only with the BEST hashbrowns on the side but also with mashed potatoes folded into the omelette. I love poatoes of every variety. It also has bacon, red onions, and sour cream of course

I wholeheartedly recommend L'Avenue to anyone visiting Montreal for breakfast. But take note, i said breakfast and not brunch. If you get there after 10am you will be waiting in line.