24 Hours in Montreal

Jetting off to Quebéc for an overnight trip with two other couples was a truly delicious endeavor. Sure, we hit some of the usual suspects – no less than three smoked meat delis, plus my favorite bagel anywhere, in the world – but we also managed to have an elegant lunch at Bouillon Bilk with Lesley Chesterman, the Critic at the Montreal Gazette, and had a mind-blowing two-hour hands-on cooking class with the gracious, fun-loving Stefano Faita and Michele Forgione. Watching them make (and then getting to eat) crullers drowned in maple glaze and some traditional country pudding, then getting to walk over to their new snack shop – Chez Tousignant – for homemade everything (hot dogs, burgers, soda, poutine three ways) was so over-the-top, that dinner at Joe Beef (preceded by drinks at Vin Papillon) was almost an afterthought. Almost.