Montreal Holiday

We're getting freezing rain as I write this. It was a beautiful day, for the most part, with sun this morning and overcast in the afternoon. The rain didn't start until early evening.

We spent most of the day out and about, walking and doing some shopping on St. Catherine. We had lunch at Olive et Gourmando, which was bustling even before Gourmet put it on the cover of its Montreal issue. Lunch was as good as ever - panini followed by the richest, most chocolatey brownie one could imagine.

We hung out and read and generally took it easy until dinner, which was at Brunoise . Brunoise is on St Andre, a brief ride on the Metro from the Old City. It's has the feel of a neighborhood establishment where you'd find the locals, and the food is brilliantly prepared. We had halibut, which was perfectly seared, and for dessert, Chuck had the much-talked-about vanilla panna cotta with basil syrup and passion fruit. It was a transcendent experience - the basil syrup, so simple and wonderful and an exquisite complement to the vanilla. We were slipping and sliding to the Metro station afterwards, but the meal was worth every little bit of effort to get there. Highly recommended.

I've updated the pictures so what you're seeing are mainly shots from this year's trip, rather than last year. As you can see... no snow. And there's not likely to be any while we're here.