Isaac got rejected, we ate poutine

31.01.2009

Nate wanted to out on his own today, so Isaac and I walked back to Aux Vivres today. It's not far from Marie's house. This time, I ordered the fake Montreal smoked meat sandwich and Isaac got a slice of carrot cake. It was not as good as the veggielox.

After that, we headed back to the museum so that Isaac could ask that guy out on a date. He was there, so I left Isaac alone for a bit and then took a little guided tour of the Canadian art section.

The guy he had a crush on ended up not being gay at all, but he gave him a ticket to Van Dongen as a consolation prize of sorts I suppose.

I was tired, and didn't really want to do any more looking at art, so I started my big walk to the poutine place. Le Banquises is supposed to have the best fries/cheese/gravy in the whole city, so Nate and I were going to meet up there at around 5 p.m.

On the way, I thought I would pick up some bagels for Marie and Louise. But I walked past an organic bakery, and I saw some giant croissants just glistening in the overhead lights. $1.40 each. Wow...incredible. I couldn't resist. I bought a whole dozen for them.

Getting to Le Banquises is not easy. You have to walk all the way down Rachel St. It's not that far, but by this time, I'm tired, thirsty and hungry. Nate's already there with some tea, so we order our poutines. He gets a regular and I get some kind of Mexican style? Yeah...who knows...

It comes piled with hot peppers and onions and cheese curds and gravy. Wowie. Nate's poutine never comes. We ask the waitress where his poutine is and then she brings it in a few minutes. Then, when she brings the bill it comes in two parts, and she says something to me in French. My French is not so good, so I try to understand her, but I can't.

"Can you say that in English please?"

"No."

I think she's probably joking so I wait for her to laugh...then I start laughing.

"Really?!"

"No, this is the French speaking part of Montreal, if you want to speak English, go to the west side."

Oh my. Never have I been told like that in Quebec before.

Whatever.

Anyway, my mouth is burning and I've drank all my water and iced tea. There is no way this lady is going to bring me more water. She comes over and pretty much forces me to pay, on the spot. I guess she doesn't trust us ignorant Anglos...*sigh*

We pay, but we still have to wait for Sylvain because he is getting a ride home with us. He shows up, has a Coke, I take a picture of him with the funny orange tree, and then we go back to Marie's.

Marie and Tommy are there, but they are on their way out for Vietnamese, so I present Marie with her fabulous croissants and say goodbye. Isaac shows up just after they leave, and then we are off! Another pooped-out weekend in Montreal.

Pigeons in the roof