Première Moisson Outremont

We all know la boulangerie Première moisson in Montreal. How can one resist the pastries and arguably the best croissants outside of France. I did not realize the outlet at Outremont on avenue Bernard had seating in the back. I was worried that it might be just a tad bit crowded on a Sunday morning, but it turned out to be very nice indeed. Quite easy to find as it is just diagonally across the junction from the famous Outremont theatre. Great place for a casual meeting.

Stopping in Montreal chinatown for lunch = bad idea

So much for trying to stop in Montreal chinatown for lunch. Unless you are willing to pay as much for parking as for your food, that's not an option on a weekday.

Dim Sum in Montreal

As far as Dim Sum in Montreal Chinatown goes, I vote for Ruby Rouge which takes up the entire second floor of a small mall. www.restaurantrubyrouge.com

Outremont finds - Montreal

The portuguese restaurant that serves both tapas and table d'hôte diagonally across from the Outremont theatre in Montreal is excellent. Very reasonably priced, as is all food in Montreal. The gaspacho is the best I've tasted in a while, and the barbequed pork portuguese style was tender, succulent, and you could just taste the charcoal which just right and not too overwhelming. The oyster bar directly facing the theatre seems really popular too. Not to forget lilloquet down the street, for ice cream.

Parts of 417 between Ottawa and Montreal reduced to 1 lane

I discovered today that parts of the 417 between Ottawa and Montreal are reduced to 1-lane each way due to construction. Basically, while the 2-lane section going one direction is closed to traffic, the traffic is redirected to share the 2-lane highway normally going the other direction. Vertical pylons are placed in between the two lanes (now going opposite directions) in order to prevent overtaking. It's smooth going unless there is an accident but there will always be one car which will slow to 85 kph (the speed limit in the construction zone is 80 kph), even though I personally feel safe up to 100 kph. I have no idea when the construction will end.

There was in fact an accident that caused a jam on the way to Montreal this morning, and despite the fact that I had no map with me, I decided to follow a UPS van off the highway onto the side road which turned out (fortunately) to be a rather convenient bypass of the construction as well as the accident.