Courses have started again at George Brown and I have some interesting blog assignments coming up. But let’s look back at the summer.

Summer means Food Festivals in many cities. Toronto is certainly blessed with a plethora of diverse cuisines from around the world. But the pugs and I wanted poutine so we made plans to go to Montreal for Poutinefest.

One of the great things about outdoor food festivals is they (usually) don’t restrict dogs from attending. Poutinefest was no different. Held down at Jacques Cartier Quay on the waterfront. As you can see by the hanging tongues, it was a hot, overcast day. The festival opened at 11 so we went in search of air conditioning.

At the amusement area there were lots of outdoor activities (no pugs allowed on the ferris wheel). However none of the buildings had AC. Finally we strutted into the Old Port of Montreal building. The cold floor did its magic on hot pug bums.

Now, time for some poutine. This attention grabbing sign caught our eye from a distance.

Walking over to the booth, Eve’s head was vacuuming back and forth searching out french fries on the ground. We got the classic poutine to start.

“Sharezees?”

Next up was the bison poutine. Eve was getting annoyed with having to pose with the poutine. And, yes, I did share some. That’s how I get them to pose.

It started to rain so we headed back. One thing I realized is that poutine is filling. As much as I wanted to try a few more, I was full. Would be good to have a tasting size.

After the pugs had a nap, I put Raisin in her specially designed back pack and we went in search of dumplings in Chinatown.

It was located just a couple of blocks from our hotel.

Everyone had their tongues out

We found a dumpling house but, of course, the pugs could not go in. We explored the neighbourhood. OH Dumpling is right behind them – 1050 Clark St. 

I got the spinach dumplings with hot and sour soup. Delicious. The dumplings are made fresh, in house behind a glass window so you can watch them being made.

For Sunday brunch, my friend Diane recommended O’Thym in the Gay Village. I had called and they had an 11 am reservation available. But first, the pugs and I had an early morning walk through the village. It was just a few blocks from our hotel.

Raisin and Eve went into nap mode when we got back and I headed out again to O’Thym- 1112 Boul de Maisonneuve East. 11 am Sunday it was quiet on the streets. I was the first customer, although I was told they were booked solid for brunch. They offered French cuisine -which was just what I was looking for.

The waiter brought an Amuse Bouche, which is a complimentary item offered to the guest to showcase the chef’s culinary approach. In this case it was a yogurt, oats, melon, and maple syrup

I decided on cappuccino, corn fritters, and Eggs Benedict. I read “Finding Gobi”, sipped my capp and watched the people walk by.

I had not been to Montreal’s east side before. There were a number of other places I wanted to try out – including Restaurant de l’ITHQ which is where the culinary students perfect their craft. I highly recommend exploring the east side.

When we got back to Toronto, the pugs and I went to the Mac and Cheese festival but that is for another blog.