My Amazing Weekend in Montreal - Part I

Sooo this blog post is VERY late. I was briefly seeing this guy, Let’s call him Batman (long story), and much like Carrie and Big, we have broken up before the story has gone to press. I was going to scrap the blog completely, but it being my first great Montreal dining experience, I decided to re-write with a few modifications. Enjoy.

I was sitting around my apartment on a typical Tuesday night when I got a text from Batman, asking if instead of him coming to NYC this weekend, if I would prefer to take a trip to Montreal. Ummmm.... YES. I began my packing process immediately – This consists of me making amateur sketches of all my outfits prior to putting everything in suitcase… I’m not sure who I think I am. Ultimately I ended up with way too many clothes packed, and now had to wait until Friday.

Finally Friday rolled around and I took the Amtrak home to Albany. We had dinner and attended the Siena basketball game Friday night (Our alma mater, Go Saints!!)… courtside obviously (Batman wouldn’t have it any other way), and then went home to get a good night sleep before leaving for Canada.  We dropped off his adorable golden retriever with my parents the following morning, and were on our way to Montreal.

Since Batman thinks he's a race car driver we made it there in record time, even before our 3 PM check-in time. Unable to head up to our room yet we decided to have a celebratory glass of champagne in the hotel's restaurant/bar. The hotel was very boutique, so the bar was fairly basic, but the bartenders were charming, and after a few glasses of champagne we were finally ready to head up to our room.

After extensively reading every yelp review for every fine dining restaurant in Montreal, Batman decided that the first night we would have Italian, and made reservations at Da Vinci. We arrived at the restaurant and it was rustic and cozy. Exposed brick walls are a favorite of mine and the dim lighting made for a romantic atmosphere. We ordered a bottle of wine and began to review our menus.

Probably the coolest cork thing ever....

While looking over the menus our waiter brought over a huge bread basket and some oil and vinegar.

All in one oil and vinegar

As an appetizer we ordered the "carpaccio di manzi 'All'Emiliana"' aka thin slices of angus beef tenderloin seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, parmigiano reggiano cheese and shredded arugula. It was classic, and we had no complaints. Batman inhaled it.

Beef Carpaccio w/ Parmesan

As a dinner entree I obviously ordered pasta (hence the name of my blog) -  "Cavatelli con pancetta, funghi shiitake, tartufo nero e formaggio asiago” or cavatelli pasta with pancetta, shiitake mushrooms, black truffles, and asiago cheese. It was heavenly. The cavetelli had great texture, the truffles weren't overpowering, and the pancetta was just crispy enough.

Homemade cavatelli

Batman got the "Linquine fink del pescatore" which was linguine with lobster, scallops, shrimp, and clams in a spicy tomato sauce. Obviously during the first bite he managed to get a tiny dot of sauce on his crisp white shirt. I don't know if any of my readers are How I Met Your Mother Fans, but it reminded me of the time Barney got a dot of sauce from his meatball sub on him..... catastrophic meltdown status. There were generous portions of all the seafood, and considering it was gone in minutes I’m going to go ahead and say he enjoyed it.

Dinner was delicious. Since we ended dinner at a reasonable hour, and because we are in our 20’s, we decided to find a place to grab some drinks afterward. We ended up stumbling into a night club, a little early, but staying and grabbing a few drinks. Sadly, Batman had one too many and we ended up calling it an early night. We headed back to the hotel where he promptly passed out, and I snap chatted with my friends for the next 30 minutes or so until I finally fell asleep. 

Stay tuned for part II.... 

Lemon water hand cleaner haha