Emily and Neil’s Wedding

wow! our wedding got a wedding blog shout-out! http://ping.fm/Ne1j0

Just when I was calming down from the @theflashdance video, @ourlaboroflove blogs our wedding pictures! THANKS Guys! http://is.gd/Jk0l

Smiling like a little kid at this video @theflashdance put together from the wedding! BEST DJ EVER. http://snipr.com/j15s2

Day 4
Thursday brought rain, so neither one of us was eager to head out and explore. I woke up early (shocker) and ate a piece of cold pork with some OJ, and then decided to check out the hotel spa. The aesthetician’s excitement that I was from Nashville was only trumped by the excitement that I was a newlywed on my honeymoon. She hugged me tight, twice, and squealed with delight before getting to work.

After an hour-long facial, I found myself back on the couch with a reheated piece of pork and a cup of tea watching What Not to Wear. Neil finally decided to get up, and after much deliberation, we showered, dressed, and headed down to  the front desk to see about dinner reservations. The concierge talked us into a place called The Keg, a steakhouse near the Cirque show we had tickets to in the evening. We let him make us a reservation and headed out to Rue St. Catherine to shop and stroll avec umbrellas. After a quick stop in Starbucks (at my request, not Neil’s) we decided it just wasn’t  strolling weather, so we decided to stop in and visit our friend Teresa at McKibbin’s. For a snack, we went for McKibbin’s Poutine, which was topped with shredded cheese, grilled chicken, and a curry sauce. It was actually pretty good for pub fare (we took a picture but it looked kind of gross. We’ll spare you). Teresa poured us a few pints and continued to berate Neil for fidgeting with his ring. She also told us that The Keg was a tourist trap and we were much better off going with our first choice, Modavie.

We settled up with Teresa and bid adieu (tear), then took the Metro back into old Montreal. The Keg was right around the corner from Modavie, so I stopped in to let them know we wouldn’t be making our reservation. As soon as I walked in and saw the Applebee’s-esque decor and advertisements  for surf and turf, I knew we made the right decision. I got a completely different vibe when we walked into Modavie, which had an impressive wine bar and a cozy atmosphere. We were seated upstairs, near the jazz band (which, sadly, only starting playing when we got the check) and next to the a window overlooking a pretty street corner.

For starters, I opted for the Mediterranean salad and Neil ordered the cream of asparagus soup. Both were delicious, but mine was especially good thanks to the garlicky dressing and rosette of smoked salmon, which sat daintily on top of super-fresh greens, tomato, cucumber, chunks of feta, and more kalamata olives than I could possibly eat. For the main  course I chose the tagliatelli with chicken and pancetta, which was tossed in truffle oil. It was a huge portion, but I did my best to eat the crap out of it. Neil wisely chose the rack of lamb at the recommendation of our server. In short, it was amazing. There were five or six different lamb options on the menu (it’s Modavie’s specialty), but this particular one which was covered in sesame seeds and served with potato gratin and a generous serving of goat cheese. The lamb was incredibly tender, and the goat cheese was, well, I’m a girl who loves her goat cheese. ‘Nuf said. With my help, Neil cleaned his plate, leaving  only the carrot puree, which is really just garnish, right?

Stuffed beyond belief, we skipped dessert and let our digestive systems get to work while we sipped coffee and took in the opening set of the jazz band. It was just a 10 minute walk to the Cirque du Soleil tents, so we strolled over and found our seats. We saw a new show called Ovo, and it was very cool. This was my first Cirque experience, and now I get what  all the hullabaloo is about. We walked/metro’d home and immediately abandoned our now too-constrictive jeans and sweaters for fluffy white hotel robes. It was about this time that Neil discovered our smilebooth photos from the wedding had been posted online, so we perused all 790 shots, then watched the end of Beetlejuice on TV and fell asleep.

It was a perfect day.

I had meant to hashtag earlier so my tweet about this would show up on the blog, but I just forgot. We did a photo session on Thursday with Whitney and Peter of Dove Wedding Photography around Nashville’s Nolensville Road. They were a lot of fun to work with and I think we’ll have some great shots to go with the fun of the wedding day itself. Whitney and Peter offered up their services at a silent auction benefiting the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation back in March and we we were the lucky winners! We were getting short on time before the wedding, so we’re glad that they were nice enough to let us turn the “engagement” session they offered into an “after” session, especially after seeing the sneak peek post on their blog!

Day 3
The sky was very grey on Wednesday, so we hung around the hotel and took our time getting out for a meal. I had my sights set on hiking in Parc Mont-Royal because Frommer’s told me the top of hill provided the best view of the city, but before we could even attempt the long walk I wanted to eat at Fairmont Bagel, rumored to be the best bagel shop in all of Montreal. Apparently bagels in Montreal rival the best New York bagel you’ve ever tasted, so I was determined to find this place. Neil was sweet to play along. The trek to Fairmont Bagel was a long one (mostly because Frommer’s took us about three blocks in the wrong direction), and when we finally found it we were greeted by a not-so friendly clerk (this is definitely more of a locals joint). We weren’t quite sure how to order, and looking back, getting some smoked lox with our schmears would have been a good idea, but the bagels were pretty delicious on their own. We scarfed them down on a bench outside the front door and went on our way.

The rest of Wednesday afternoon was spent walking through the Plateau Mount-Royal area of town, popping into shops and plotting our next poutine-centered meal. We decided on Au Pied de Cochon (translation: Of the Foot of the Pig), and well, we ate way more than the foot. We knew we had to try the decadent poutine topped with foie gras (best decision of my life, second to marrying Neil), and words can’t even describe how buttery and delicious it was. For an entree, we chose to split the PDC cut of pork. The waiter told us it was 500 grams of meat, but seriously, who has a concept of 500 grams? What he should have said is, “It’s about the size of a toddler’s head.” It was a lot of pork, to say the least, but we had a nice salade de lard (healthy, no?) on the side to balance things out. We ordered the sugar pie (exactly what it sounds like, my friends) to go, and along with our to-go box of 450 grams of pork, we waddled home. After all, it was LOST night.

Poutine topped with foie gras at Au Pied de Cochon

PDC cut. We had to give up.

Day 2
The Frommer’s guide we bought at BNA told us to head into Vieux-Montreal first, so we could take in Notre Dame Basilica and other cool old buildings. The sun was shining so we were seeking somewhere with an outside terrace. After checking out the offerings, we ended up outside a place called Montreal Poutine, which I suppose is like going to a place called “Chicago Pizza” in the middle of Chi-town, but whatevs. We each had the lunch trio, which included their regular poutine. It was a nice introductory poutine for me, but Neil knew there had to be something better (more on that tomorrow).

After strolling through Old Montreal and stopping into an internet cafe for caffeine and a cookie, we went back to the hotel and found ourselves sucked into American Idol (what the hell was Gokey thinking?) and spent some time researching a great late-dinner spot (thanks, free wi-fi at the hotel!). L’Express was the pick, and it was a great one!

Not to bore you with the non-food related details, but our attempts at taking the metro to dinner were thwarted by confusing signage and a possibly not-running train, so we hopped into a cab outside the Bell Centre and took off to find L’Express with our mostly only French- speaking cab driver. Since we caught up with him just outside the arena, he thought we were coming from the Britney Spears concert (which apparently Neil does not love me enough to buy me tickets to), and wanted to know how it was. My brain immediately turns off when I hear people speak French (it sounds like Charlie Brown’s teachers all of a sudden), but Neil did a good job of pretending we were totally at the concert, and it was actually pretty good, but our hunger won out and we decided to leave.

L’Express did not disappoint. It felt very NYC, with old black and white tile floors and dark reddish-brown walls. The only pictures hanging on the walls were old sepia tone group portraits of the restaurant staff back near the bathrooms. Other than that, it was very minimal, but super-classy, and just bustling with happy diners. We got a seat at the bar and perused the beatifully handwritten (or handwritten-esque? Hard to tell) menu. Then the bartender brought us a printed (i.e. not at all handwritten) English version so I could order with confidence. I knew the goat cheese salad was in the cards for me. Neil opted for a green salad and hanger steak, and I followed my dee-lish salad with handmade ravioli. We threw a couple mini-gherkins in the mix (with special mini-gherkin tongs, pictured right) and we had ourselves a very successful meal. No poutine needed.

If you’ve followed us at all on this blog, on Facebook or Twitter, or if you’ve had a conversation with either one of us in the past month or so, you know that we had one item on our itinerary for Montreal: Eat a lot of good food. Mission accomplished, folks. And I’m pretty sure we have the waistlines to prove it. Please indulge us as we relive the good times: meal times.

Day 1
We arrived in Montreal late Monday afternoon, on just four hours of sleep. The concierge at the (pretty darned awesome) hotel recommended a nearby Irish pub for our first meal, so we headed around the corner to McKibbin’s. It was cozy and friendly, so we sat down to a couple of pints and perused the menu. Neil decided to trust the concierge’s recommendation and get the bison burger and I went for the chicken and leek pie. I won. Well, we each got a plateful of amazing hand cut fries, so I guess we both won. We also got a chance to chat quite a bit with Theresa, McKibbin’s charming (and really Irish!) bartender. Although charming, Theresa is a sharp-tongued lass. She sassed the regulars and really let Neil have it every time she caught him playing with his ring. He’s lucky she didn’t take it away from him.

After a hearty meal, we headed back to the hotel and took a nap until about 3 a.m. (whoops). Thank goodness for room service – one ham & cheese sandwich and one goat cheese & roasted veg sandwich, which each came with a lovely mixed green salad, tided us over until morning. The sandwiches were decent, but the salad was more satisfying. Quebecois really know how to dress a salad with just the right amount of balsamic.

Stay tuned for more! We had like 37 other meals, so there’s much to discuss.

Bad news: we’re leaving Montreal. Good news: I’m out of food pics to post.

so sad to leave montreal, but so happy that our smilebooth pics are up! http://snipr.com/hlfmo