From the Archives: Moveable Feast, Montreal Edition

This series of posts on Montreal may be a little out of date (they were first published back in 2004), so inevitably some of the shops and restaurants mentiioned may have closed. But, if you are still looking for delicious bagels, fugasse (above), rousse beer, the porcine hedonism of Au Pied de Cochon, roasted bone marrow at L'Express, and great food markets, these entries should still make for a useful guide.

Montreal is one of my favorite cities to visit, especially for it gastronomical offerings, and a trip there again is long overdue.

» Destination: Montreal, Canada
» Montreal, Where the Pig Chops Are Happy
» To Market, To Market on Two Wheels
» Source: From Bagels to Baluchons
» La Petite Italie
» Reach for la Rousse

Road to Nowhere

Diners flock to Town House, a dining destination in the Virginia Appalachian country where Main Street is half a block long. (via New York Times)

New Frontiers in Culinary Travel: Ice Cream Tourism

The idea of culinary travel usually conjures up a romanticized image like a trip to Alba to hunt for white truffles, a wine tour of the Rhone Valley, or perhaps the ultimate in foodish travels, a week in Tuscany cooking, eating, and discussing food and wine with Michael Pollan.

But, a new promotion that recently arrived in my inbox suggests the innovation of an entirely new genre of gastronomic vacations: ice cream tourism.

Attack of the Clones

Raymond Sokolov reviews the Miami clones of New York restaurants Scarpetta and Gotham Bar and Grill.

Eric Ripert on Los Angeles

"There are great restaurants in L.A. It wasn't like this 10 years ago. There's great respect for the quality of ingredients -- I'm talking about the produce -- here. I think in New York, you have to use more tricks, maybe manipulate a little more to get the full flavor of vegetables sometimes."

Have Wine, Will Travel

Don't want to risk soaking your suitcase with your souvenir sangiovese? You can always take your chances on wrapping your bottles with dirty laundry (my own preferred technique), but here's a piece of travel gear for the truly risk-averse oenophile. Designed for "culinary travelers," the liquid-tight BottleWise Duo bag will hold two 750 ml bottles of wine inside checked luggage. Sure beats trying to fill up those TSA-regulated tiny shampoo bottles. $58.95 to $125, depending on color and style, at BottleWise.com.

Tim Wu on Live Octopus

"I have fond memories of the time I ate a squirming live octopus tentacle in Korea—not only did it taste pretty good, it also brought fond memories of a woman who used to twirl her tongue while French kissing."

Convenience Coffee, Italian Style

Lest you think that all food in Italy is slow food, Italians do have a way with convenience foods. I've written before about the imaginative lunchable-in-translation of Nutella, breadsticks, and ice tea. When we traveled to Italy a few weeks ago, we spotted pouches of foil-wrapped bite-size cubes of parmiggiano reggiano, "fredo fredo" and "caldo caldo" (instantly hot or cold coffees), and, at the COOP (supermarket), small pouches of pre-cubed pancetta, just right for cooking one dish. But, none of these could have prepared me for the magic of Pocket Espresso To Go, my newest discovery.

I've been a fan of Ferrero's Pocket Coffee, a chocolate and praline confection with a liquid coffee center (think of those nasty liquor-filled chocolate bottles, only better and with espresso inside and you get the idea). Stopping at an Autogrill somewhere along the Autostrade between Milan and Bologna, I thought I was purchasing some of these treats. However, it turned out that I had taken home some something quite different.

Opening the box, I discovered that these were not the candies I expected, but tiny containers. Each came with a two inch-long straw attached, and a spot labeled "forare qui" (pierce here). I plunged the straw into the miniature drink box and sucked out the syrupy contents: 21.8 ml of the liquid center (sweetened with sugar and chocolate) you would find in Pocket Coffee. It was thick, bitter-sweet, and stimulating (according to the box, contains 1/3 of the caffeine in a shot of espresso).

Unfortunately, I can't find a source for purchasing Pocket Espresso To Go in the U.S., but if you know of one, let us know in the comments.

Eat Anywhere

The Table-less Meal Kit by Simplicitas includes nifty multi-utensils (combining a knife, fork, and spoon), mugs, and dishes that fits together to form a compact set of tableware for two. Perfect for for an an impromptu picnic just about anywhere (and probably also quite useful for for feeding a toddler on-the-go). $38 at Flight 001.

Image: Simplicitas.

Lost in Translation

VEGAS, BUBALA? Above, the original Canter's in Los Angeles, and at top, the Vegas version.

A few years ago, Jessica of Ritz Bites tipped me off to the weirder than weird news that Canter's Delicatessen, the Los Angeles institution, had expanded to open a branch in Las Vegas. On one level, this made a certain kind of sense: You can have anything in Las Vegas, from a scaled down Eiffel Tower and Brooklyn Bridge to restaurants serving the culinary creations of Thomas Keller, Joel Robuchon, and Daniel Boulud, so . . . why not a Jewish deli? On the other hand: Whaaa?