Just got back from Montreal and here's what I think: What the hell is up with America's Canada-bashing? First, I didn't hear any "aboots" and "ehs," so phooey on those jokes. Second, Canada—at least what we saw in Montreal—was fantastic! The people were so nice, the city wonderfully cosmopolitan and, here's the best part, the food was amazing. By food, I don't just mean "fine dining." Because frankly, we're a family on a budget and our dinig choices wouldn't have qualified for haute cuisine. By food I mean just that—food.
What impressed me most was how accessible great, affordable, fresh, locally grown produce seemed to be. You could find them on street stands, grocery stores, farmer's markets, cooperatives (groupes d'achat). (ChowHound has a great thread on this, and here's a great article on About.com.)
At the world-famous Jean-Talon Market, which would've qualified as upscale in NYC, organic apples were $2.50 for a small basket (I'm no good with pecks and other weights). That's $2.50 Canadian—and the apples were delicious. Crisp and wholesome like apples ought to be. There were free samples everywhere, so we tried everything—the pineapples (pamplemousse in French, which I like saying only because it sounds so silly), tomatoes, strawberries.
Restaurants that whipped up dishes from organic and/or locally grown ingredients were easy to find, too. In fact, I stumbled upon them twice without even trying. We were just hungry tourists who walked into eateries because the menu looked good, and then we'd see the tell-tale "bio" (for biologique) mention on the menu. Even when the place wasn't "bio," there were wonderful, natural touches. At Buns, a low-frills hamburger joint that only had five items on the menu—primarily buger-related—we had the best fries. They literally were just fashioned out of a plain potato, sliced thinly, and cooked on a grill. Absolutely not prepackaged, and not made soggy in a deep fryer. (A tangent here but still worth noting: Peanut-free products were at many grocery stores and drugstores, too. We didn't need them but we bought two to show friends here who always seem to have trouble finding them.)
It just seemed to me that food was the focus there (and what do I know, I've only been to Montreal once). They truly seemed to want to eat well. Not well as in more. But well. Healthy well. Tastes great well. And this might totally just be coincidence, but there didn't seem to be many obese Canadians in our midst when we were visiting.(Back home, we're still inundated by diet tips on magazines, books and TV shows. And yet we struggle with weight issues constantly.) Could there be a connection? We say it about the French all the time, don't we?
—CityMom
Juste une petite correction: pineapples are ananas, which sounds just as silly as pamplemousses (grapefruit).
Posted by: Maggie | June 24, 2009 at 11:34 AM