Small steps

[sleestak]

I'm about to head out to nosh at Montreal's most famous "smoked meat" establishment - Schwartz's. The ambiguously named smoked meat, for the uninitiated, is a Montreal delicacy that's sorta-kinda (but not really) corned beef. I tried it at a lesser, tourist-y deli on Ste. Catherine the last time I was in town, and was profoundly underwhelmed.

Comments

[blixie]

Yay Slee is back!

during my stay in Canuckistan commented last Friday that I have a habit of being easily disappointed by foodstuffs considered house specialties or local favorites. It held true for poutine,

One sincerely hopes the sleestak has tried the elegant house specialty Pomme Frites Supreme at Habitant La Taco Belle? Cause, seriously, awesome. But then I do love me some poutine too.

I was good and toasted for the TV on the Radio/Grizzly Bear show that night

They rock steady. All night long. It sounds like you're having a good time, even surrounded by Quebecois, good for you. Have you had a chance to take in a Habs game and they 25 goddamn Stanley Cup banners?

[sleestak]

I was tempted to try to get a scalped ticket to the Canadiens' Saturday night game - the arena was only two blocks from my hotel - but I was broke and hung-over from the night before. I did, however, see an eight-foot "Rocket" Richard statue at the Eaton Center, so that's almost as good.

I'm not a huge fan of fries to begin with, and the poutine I tried was (as zoob mentions below) the fake-y mozarella version. Still, I need to give it another shot. I'll just fast the day before so I don't feel as guilty about the 120 grams of fat and 800 calories.

It's good to be back!

[kaytethinks]

Hopefully getting this entry under the belt will make it easier for me to share the rest of my Canadian adventures.

I hope so, because I miss youuuuuu. Also I wish you continued success in your experiential endeavours. ;)

[sleestak]

I think I've returned to my ascetic ways, unfortunately. I'm going back to Michigan tomorrow, which the past two times I've flown home means I hit Montreal until the wee hours. This time, however, I checked into my hotel and instantly fell asleep. LAME-O.

I missed you, too!

[zooby]

Yeah! You're posting again! Bring on the strippers!

Poutine is so different here from what I imagine a real poutine to be. Here, it's just mozzarella and gravy. In Montreal, I imagine it to be actual cheese curd and thick, meaty gravy. And bazillions of calories. Mmmm... calories. Damn you, Slee! I shake my fist at you!

[sleestak]

I think the poutine I ate was closer to the stuff you've tried. Next time I'm in Montreal I'll have to take a stab at the real thing. Because one thing I need right now? To get fatter.

[tesseractor]

Hey! You're back! Are you still in the Great White North, or are these mere reminiscences?

[sleestak]

No, unfortunately I'm still nomadic. I'm flying back to Michigan Wednesday and taking a few days off for Brady's b-day. Then it's off to Indiana for a week and Canada for the two weeks after. My lab, which was supposed to be completed in October, now looks to not be ready for habitation until February. I am not a happy boy.

[tesseractor]

Geez - does that mean you're nomadin' it until February?!

So to recap:
*You have a job in Illinois, but are working in Montreal
*Christine has a job in Michigan
*You have a house in California, but none in Illinois, Montreal or Michigan

In a year, it will all seem pretty funny, right?

[sleestak]

When you put it like that, it all seems so complicated!

I hope a year is all it'll take to make this experience into a good story. It's really not that bad as long as things keep moving. It's when you take the time to really think about what's happening that it makes your head want to explode.

[picklepants]

consarn it, I can't believe I didn't see you at TVOTR! I almost did, I think you might've walked right past me...between sets Jesse said "hey, isn't that your friend from the Yo La Tengo show" and pointed at [someone was was probably] you heading towards the front and disappearing into the crowd, and before I could set off to give chase I totally lost sight of [what was probably] your head.

Man, I wish The Hold Steady wasn't on a school night. I think I might just pretend it isn't and get a bit toasted anyway.

Anyway, I want more Canadian adventure stories! (In person and on-line!)

[sleestak]

Drat! It's probably for the best, though, since I was likely incoherent from lack of food and overabundance of drink. (I discovered the joys of Boréale Blonde, which has become my favorite Canadian beer.)

What did you think of the show?? TVotR was great, but Grizzly Bear completely blew me away. So frickin' gorgeous.

I'm most likely going to miss The Hold Steady. Right now I'm scheduled to fly in Monday, but I may try to change it to Sunday if tickets are still available. Grrrr. Regardless, I'm thinking about spending a weekend in Ottawa if you're interested in meeting up for dinner.

[picklepants]

mmm Boreale Blonde.

I thought the show was ok. I like Grizzly Bear more than TVotR; TVOTR was fun, and it pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, except I thought there would be saxophones, and there weren't any :(

You should totally do a real weekend in Ottawa. Just let me know when and where and I'll be there. Maybe we'll have poutine! Hey, have you had a Beavertail yet (I forget, you may have already said.)

[sleestak]

Excellent! I'm kind of Montreal'd out and would love the opportunity to see more of Ottawa than shopping malls and concert venues. Any hotel recommendations??

I've not had a Beavertail, but welcome the opportunity to sample any and all fattening Canadian foodstuffs.