I’m in Montreal right now, enjoying some time in one of my favorite cities with the kids. It’s been four years since we were last here, just a few weeks before the pandemic hit. Petite Italie is a neighborhood that feels like a comfy sweater, very reminiscent of my old Brooklyn neighborhood. Not much has changed the last four years, and for that I’m thankful.
This week I shared one of my favorite lunches, and a new soy-free tofu brand I found a few weeks ago at my local health food store. The recipe is super customizable. Use regular tofu if you like, but chicken, pork or beef would work well, too. You can find the recipe here.
Eating on vacation has been a little more extravagant than at home, though I firmly believe there’s no such thing as “off limit” foods unless it’s due to allergies or sensitivities. I may not be eating pastries daily in my everyday life but I do enjoy some kind of sweet treat after dinner. One or two cookies is really enough to satiate my sweet tooth. My Sicilian Almond Cookies were on repeat for the last two weeks. When I get home, I plan to bake off some of the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie dough stashed in the freezer. You can find the recipe for them here.
Looks like spring is scheduled to arrive next week, on Sunday just in time for us to leave Montreal. Soup may not be the obvious choice for spring but I’m a believer soup is a year round food. I had the most lovely brothy soup filled tuscan kale at Impasto (see photo below). The flavor achieved in that bowl of broth reminded me of my slow roasted chicken soup. Coincidentally when I first wrote about this soup 8 years ago, it was the end of March, and I called it a perfect transition from winter to spring! You can find the recipe here.
Favorite Places in Petite Italie Montreal
When I’m in Montreal, I make the rounds at all of Michele Forgione’s restaurants. There’s Vesta, Gema and Impasto, plus he has a burger place Chez Tousignant. I highly recommend adding any or all of these to your reservations list next time you’re in Montreal.
San Gennaro is a go-to place for breakfast, lunch and sweet treats all day. I love their breakfast pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and a sunny side up egg. People line up for their bomboloni (Italian donuts filled with pistachio, vanilla custard or nutella but it’s their maritozzi with fresh cream & pistachio that I find most addictive.
Alati Caserta is the Court Pastry (my beloved Brooklyn pastry shop) of Montreal. All of their pastries are delightful, plus they make their own nougat. The real sleeper hit here, though, is the pizza rossa they sell on weekends only. For $10 (Canadian), you get half a sheet pan of focaccia-like pizza covered in a smooth tomato sauce—enough to feed a family of three and still have leftovers
Fruiterie Milano reminds me of the Italian grocery stores I went to growing up. It’s one stop grocery shopping for everything you need while in Petite Italie, and you’ll find a lot of imported products from Italy and France. Skip the produce section, and head to Marche Jean-Talon. While you’re there, stock up on everything maple, including syrup, candies, sugar and maple butter, plus some incredible creamy churned honey at great prices.
Montreal is a favorite here. Bill loved it and my son Alex and I went there before pandemic. Unfortunately it was over 100 degrees but we loved it. Next trip I’ve got to visit your recs. Will you get to see the eclipse there.enjoy the time with the girls.
We just returned from a week of eating our way through Montreal - mostly Mile End and the Plateau. It's also our kids' favorite city (in the world so far! 🤯) so we'll keep going back and I'll remember these recommendations for next time!!