I had taken a couple days off during the Memorial Day week. We'd planned a couple of trips in fits and starts. One of the basic limiting factors for us was that we both had $200 credit that we needed to use from the Great Delta Debacle of 2016 that left us stranded in Seattle overnight. In the end, the Missus's only request was; "I want to feel like I'm on a real vacation…..I don't want it to be like I'm in the US". So, in the end, Montreal and Quebec City sounded like the place.
Getting there, on the other hand was interesting. We used our credit to upgrade to Delta One, which came with lounge access…..in regards to bells and whistles, Delta's lounges aren't great, but they allow you space (most of the time) and a rather low stress environment….a decent place to grab some coffee and sparkling water.
Our flight left at 640am, pretty early in the morning. Breakfast was served on the flight….which was pretty good for airline food…maybe the best airline breakfast we've ever had.
We originally had a two hour lay over in Minneapolis; but by the time we disembarked, I received a message from Delta telling me there was a delay of an hour. Luckily, we had access to the lounge; which was rather dated, but comfortable.
By the time we got settled in, another message from Delta, this time an additional 30minute delay. I'd end up getting two more emails; for a total of a two-hours-and-change in delays. And while the food in this lounge isn't great; some soup, quinoa salad, and some cheese keeps those hunger pangs at bay.
To add insult to injury, the window over-looked our flight's gate. So, it was easy enough to see when the plane was(n't) arriving. Finally, we saw an actual aircraft rolling to the gate.
So, with evidence that there actually was an aircraft for our flight, we headed off to the gate. Meanwhile, I modified our 945pm dinner reservations; first to 1030, then to 1045….then I just gave up because I really didn't know if we'd actually make it. Back at the gate, we were delayed even longer, another 45 minutes because the flight crew and the gate staff could not agree on the correct security protocol……like they don't actually fly this route daily? And then of course, there's the D-Bag passenger….who kept asking for delay compensation, making sarcastic comments….he kept taking photos of the gate crew as they worked to get us out. He kept telling the gate staff out loud about the "Tweets" he was sending out…sheeesh…really? When we got into the queue, he boarded with Premier and First Class, saying out loud "I don't give a f@(k what seat I'm in, I'm boarding now!" Of course, when they handed out the snack boxes he took two. We had dinner plans; so we weren't going to be wasting calories. Oh, and he made the bad move of standing behind the Missus and kept pushing her with his bag, until She turned around and told him to "back off"! I turned around expecting some lip, but he just kind of shrunk away.
In the end we did make it to Montreal. The 747 Express Bus from the airport is a breeze. Get the ticket from the machine; it's a $10, 24 hour pass which allows you free access to buses and the metro as well. I had planned on staying close to the stop on our initial stay; at the Courtyard which less than a block from the Jeanne-Mance stop. I had left over CA$, enough to cover dinner in case we had problems with credit cards, so I didn't need to hit the ATM or currency exchange.
And after checking in, it was a short walk to this little restaurant, cum wine bar, like it's sister restaurant Bouillon Bilk (which would be tomorrow night's dinner) the place had no signage. This is Cadet.
We'd arrived just 5 minutes late; the Hostess was super nice and we ended up requesting to sit at the bar. Being a Sunday night, the place was fairly quiet. We loved our bartender, a sweet and very nice young lady. The Missus started with….well, I forgot what cocktail. I got an Old Fashioned.
It took thirteen hours; but we had made it……. We started to relax and let the whole day fade away.
We loved the set-up, under-stated, yet fairly sleek, and the menu; made up of small plates to share, with modern, fresh ingredients. The Missus was in Her element as there seemed to be a good selection of vegetable based dishes.
We started with the "Watercress". Basically a watercress salad, which was perfectly dressed with a nice, not too salty, blue cheese based dressing.
This was excellent. The watercress crisp and almost refreshing, the usual bitterness toned down, allowing for a mild sweetness to come through. What seemed to be preserved lemon and rind and delicious endives made up the rest of the salad. The watercress though, was the star.
The Veal Terrine was very nice.
The terrine was matched nicely with the not too sweet compote, which took the edge off. The texture was surprisingly creamy and the pickled vegetables added the acid and crunch, providing a nice contrast to things.
I actual chose Cadet because of a photo of a single dish I saw……it turned out to be the Missus's favorite dish of the night. An interesting combination of Broccoli, Labneh, and Spaetzle.
What sounds like a strange combination went so well together; the creamy, slightly salty labneh; the wonderfully toothsome sautéed spaetzle, broccoli, the crunchy sunchokes. Fanastic textures and you could taste every item in the dish….no ingredient overwhelmed the other.
The Oyster Mushrooms were decent, if not great.
I actually enjoyed the arugula the most; the flavors of vegetables here seems to "pop". The Caciotta, a mild, I believe Tuscan style cheese, went well with the greens, though I didn't care for it combined with the earthy flavors of the very meaty mushrooms.
The dish the Missus and I enjoyed the least was the Veal Skirt Steak.
We both loved the chorizo and the sauce, while on the mild side, had a decent tangy-bright flavor to it; the veal skirt was pretty tough and brought nothing to this dish. Strangely, both the Missus and I thought the cilantro tasted really good……as in the citrusy-anise flavors seemed amplified…perhaps the flight did something to our tastebuds?
The Missus had Her dessert.
I had a 12 year old Calvados as a disgestif.
This was a wonderful way to start this trip. We enjoyed the service, the price for everything was under $100 CA – think about $74-75 US! A bargain to us. We'd gladly return.
Cadet
1431 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Canada
Hours
Mon – Fri 1130am – 230pm, 430pm – 1am
Sat – Sun 430pm – 1am
We'd finally made it to Montreal. In spite of the upcoming forecasts of rain, I was sure we'd make the best of it.
And yes, this was indeed one of those pick some seafood; pick some toppings, make a bowl kind of place. They also had Spam Musubi, miso soup, and a couple of other items on the menu.
This was actually not bad; the fish was relatively tender, not much connective tissue, no off flavors, the marinade and the "sauce" worked rather well. The avocado was starting to brown, but was fine. There was one sneaky little move….I don't remember requesting any wasabi, but I put this little lump of what looked like smashed avocado in my mouth….ho-ly smokes….try eating an entire spoonful of wasabi!
Man, this was on the small side….but all would be well if the fish was good. Which it wasn't. The Hamachi tasted a bit off; on the fishy end of the scale, I pushed that off to the side…my salad got even smaller. The Ahi this time had too much connective tissue and was too chewy. Well, the masago and the rest of the ingredients were decent. 
