Ahh Montreal - Friday July 8

We took the shuttle bus from the airport to downtown, called the 747 bus.  Great value for $8 which then includes access to the entire public transit system for the day and it was quick, taking only 35 minutes from the airport to downtown.  We have checked into the fabulous W Hotel Montreal and have a great 2 story suite on the 10^th floor, with a bedroom and bath on the mezzanine and living space with balcony below.
After a couple hours rest in our room we ventured out for a bite to eat at our favourite lunch spot ‘Chez Schwartz’ (3895 Boulevard St-Laurent, Montreal, 514-842-4813, www.schwartzsdeli.com).  Schwartz’s has been in business for over 80 years in this location serving the best smoked meat sandwiches you can find anywhere.  We thought we’d miss the usual Schwartz’s lineup since we were arriving at 1430 on a Friday afternoon, but to our surprise they were still lined up, this time only 15-20 people deep.  We waited less than 5 minutes for 3 seats at the counter.

Service at this Hebrew Delicatessen is always fast and friendly, especially at the counter, where you get to watch the action of the guys pulling big slabs of smoked meats from the steam ovens to slice it expertly for the best smoked meat sandwiches in town.  Our cherry colas and cream soda were on the counter within a couple minutes followed by 2 orders of fries which are clearly made by Schwartz’s team and not the frozen variety from the large food supply companies.  The fries magically appear from the back room after a couple clicks of a button on the wall.  While we waited for our smoked meat sandwiches we watched them prepare a couple steaks, wieners and foie de beouf (liver steak).  In the dozen times we have eaten at Schwartz’s we have never had any other main courses other than smoked meat.  One of these days when I have more than 3-5 days in this great city I will try something else on the menu, but when time is limited I stick with the tried and true smoked meat. 

We ordered 2 sandwiches and a large plate of smoked meat with a stack of rye bread.  The sandwiches are piled high with meat and standard yellow mustard.  The smoked meat is perfectly smoked and seasoned with their special seasoning and served warm from their steam ovens, as usual the meat was tender, juicy and virtually melts in your mouth.  My one sandwich wasn’t quite enough so I decided I should help Phil with his large plate which we could see he was struggling to finish.  Lunch was very reasonably priced at $45 for 3 people and we left with tummy’s full of yummy smoked meat.

Dinner was quite late after hanging out at Jeff’s favourite Rue St Catherines watering hole for a couple hours.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a decent local chain restaurant “Le Steak Frites St Paul”.  They have been in business since 1986 and now have 14 restaurants in greater Montreal, just 5 years ago they adopted the ‘votre vin’ policy where you bring your own wine.  It’s not even an option to buy wine from them so you must be prepared to grab a bottle from the local SAQ (government liquor store) or a deppaneur (local corner store that sells wine and beer until 2300).

Even at 2200 we were told it was a 45 minute wait for a patio table so we opted to sit inside where the service was prompt and courteous although not terribly attentive.  We should not have bother ordering the fried calamari as it was heavily breaded and a bit overdone.  I was quite happy with my duck confit main course which included French green beans and mushrooms.  The serving of duck was generous with 2 legs of duck that were prepared beautifully and not too salty or over seasoned as I’ve found in other restaurants.  The 7 ounce steaks were well prepared and served medium rare as ordered.  All 3 main courses came with an endless supply of frites that were good but we resisted the temptation of finishing those they served us, that helped keep the calorie count for the day a bit lower!  No photos of this dinner but I’m happy to recommend their restaurants as decent quality and value.  Dinner for 3 with appetizers and mains, tax and tip was $115.