Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Montreal and Food

I am currently in Montreal exploring and will be writing a few blogs on food in this culturally vibrant city. First entry...
La Panthere Verte, 2153 Mackay St, Montreal, Quebec:
After a leisurely afternoon visit to the Musee des Beaux Arts admiring classic as well as eclectic modern art my stomach started growling, reminding me to pay attention to it and not the art anymore. I knew that a raw foods café was right around the corner, although it was one I had already tried at a different location, but I thought I would check out this locale as well. As I came upon it I saw hidden right next door a little café with a green version of the pink panther painted on it and the writing La Panthere Verte. I was intrigued and popped my head in to check it out. To my surprise it was a vegetarian café and a respite for my wallet considering the raw foods restaurant is quite expensive. This cute, airy café had freshly made soups, sandwiches and drinks that catered to my price range of $4-$10 so I was sold.
Looking around the café I noticed the décor had elements of being in a Dr. Seuss version of the rainforest. The walls were white with hand painted motifs of wild plants and exotic animals, accented with other walls painted green, or of brick. Vibrant plants hung down from the ceiling making me feel at home, while the tables were designed with tree trunk bases and wooden tops. Immediately I felt soothed, relaxed, and after moving my eyes to the menu…ready to eat. The menu was written on a chalkboard and consisted of sandwiches such as falafel, tofu bbq, veggie burgers and soups such as tempeh stew or squash soup served with pita. Also there was an extensive drink menu, desserts, and a cooler with premade goodies to take home. I am a huge falafel fan and like to try it every where I go, so I decided on that. After a bit of confusion with their ordering system, a young pretty blond woman with a colorful scarf in her hair smiled at me and placed my falafel on the counter to pick up. I must admit at first it didn’t look like much, but discovered half way through that this was going to be adequate to satisfy my hunger. The falafel was super tasty and of the green variety (this is something I need to research as I do not know why some falafel is green and other is yellow), and it filled a thick whole grain pita pocket. The pita had just a tiny slit in it, so I am not sure how they stuffed it full of falafel balls, shredded carrots, coleslaw, tahini dressing and sprouts, but didn’t want to question and rather just enjoy. It was delicious, filling, and priced within my budget, so I couldn’t complain. What a pleasant surprise this little café was and a nice way to finish off my afternoon. But, I still couldn’t resist the temptation to go next store to the raw foods café and pick up dessert to enjoy later. A day of visual art and culinary art was a perfect way to endure a cool, rainy spring day in Montreal.