6013921756


A food lovers dream. AQVoyage on the St. Lawrence with stops in great food cities...Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto.

It’s a tough job but somebody must do it. As culinary ambassador of AQ Voyages this past year while traveling on rivers, oceans, and lakes my quest was to find the agricultural and cultural influences that define the local food scene. This is where I find my inspiration to create recipes for our boats and ships that give guests a taste of each region to enhance their overall experience. I often share stories, recipes, and cooking demos when I am on board. I also love taking old and new friends on fun food finds with me. When traveling my focus is finding everything food, including markets, gourmet shops, restaurants, breweries, distilleries, coffee roasters, and even a few bars with character and even better with local characters.Before this trip to Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto I conferred with one of my favorite chef friends, Andrew Zimmern with confidence that he would know where to find the best that these three food cities had to offer, and he did! This has been an amazing trip and I have discovered so many places for great food, drink and other cultural experiences that have made me fall completely in love with Quebec and Ontario Canada.My trips often begin in New Orleans when I must fly. We always start off a trip with a good meal with our son, Jean-Luc who lives in New Orleans. The find this time was Dian Xin. The best eggplant & shrimp dish ever, and perfect soup dumplings. We don’t have Chinese food in Natchez and this trip I was on a quest to find some of the best. This meal was a great beginning.Montreal-Saturday October 1st It is such a busy airport; it is best to take a limo to your hotel. The taxi line is daunting. After you’re in the city center Uber is great. My good friend from Natchez, Melody Thayer joined us on this trip. We arrived at the hotel just in time to connect with some of our Minneapolis family, Joe and Leanne Charboneau and good friends Michelle and Charlie Cremer. It was nice for me to have family and friends on this trip. There was an added bonus, my good friends from Natchez, Kevin and Lisa Walsh who had been traveling Europe since late July happened to be in Montreal at the same time. We all gathered for dinner at a charming Italian restaurant Salumi Vino. As expected, the cured meats and creamy burrata were the highlight, also great Italian wine list. The owner made a perfect choice for the table a Montepulciano from Ruro Vineyards. I never can pass up Cacio e pepe, it was not quite moist enough. The simplest of dishes are often the most difficult to prepare. Overall, a stellar evening with friends in a charming restaurant that I would return to. What is especially appealing about this trip on the AQ Voyages Navigator is that we are in most ports overnight, so we really get to explore and get a sense of place without feeling rushed. Doug and I set out to find lunch and scored with Bouvette Pastek, a chic wine bar in the old town area. The brunch menu was innovative and well prepared. The winner was the mushrooms on toast with egg and local cheese and greens. Excellent service. We just walked to get a feel for the city. China town was lively with a colorful celebration, I believe it was the 70th anniversary of the revolution. We found a dumpling shop and had our fill of steamed and fried dumplings. Loving each dumpling more than the last.Montreal Sunday Oct. 2nd The next morning before we boarded the ship, we went to the year-round Atwater Market in an art deco structure from the 1930’s. These markets are always a thrill for me. I decided that day I could live in Montreal and shop here every day. The downside for me is to be in a chefs dream market and only be able to secure maple syrup and a few items that were non-perishable leaving behind the work of experienced butchers, cheesemakers, bakers, and fisherman that are stewards of ingredients that inspire me to cook. It doesn’t stop me for continuing to visit farmers markets wherever I travel. Most everyone found a pastry where I zeroed in on freshly baked olive bread. Montreal is known for its smoked meats. For lunch that day I had a smoked hot dog in a food court, it was absolutely delicious. Sometimes simple is ok!We boarded the Navigator that afternoon happily reuniting with one of my favorite people, writer, and co-founder of Travel Essential newsletter Barbara DeLollis we had traveled the Columbia river together and forged a forever friendship. (Missing our partners in rose and chardonnay, Jeri Clausing, Judi Cuervo, Claudette Waggoner and Toby Saltzman. Another wonderful twist to this trip was meeting Barbara’s friend Joel Seidman a news producer for NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. It was an added treat that our Corporate Chef, Paul Wayland-Smith joined me on this trip. We go back for over ten years, and it was fun to share another food adventure. The to be greeted by one of my favorite Hotel Manager’s, Alex Maskel. He was the hotel manager for my Alaska cruise, and I knew this would be a well-run ship. The party began and the tone was set with the first dinner where the choices are many, but the standout dishes were the Smoked trout rillette, the pumpkin bisque and lamb chops au poivre, all perfectly prepared under the direction of Chef Ross Soriano. Of course, we were the last ones to depart the dining room each evening due to a combination of excellent food and great company. Maybe it had something to do with that one last glass of wine.Quebec City Monday, October 3rd, 2022We awoke in Quebec City, and all went in different directions. I had a day of filming with Jenn Lee with Travel Planners International which turned out to be such a fun time. Scott Moore was our director and kept me and Jenn in line (no easy task) Our videographer Simon was from Quebec and could not have been more capable and charming. A high light was a behind the scenes tour of the Fairmont Le Chateau Fontenac. The lovely, public relations Andree-Ann Groleau gave an amazing behind the scenes tour and patiently let us film highlights of this amazing hotel. The most perfect hotel in Canada and beyond, with the perfect Chef at the helm, Hugo Coudurier, google him!We found an outdoor lunch spot with a waiter that was so impatient that it became entertaining. He would walk away if we were not speedy to order our food or drink. We would start thinking but not acting on ways to aggravate him further. I thought I might ask him where the lettuce is grown and to name each ingredient in the salad dressing. Of course, I didn’t, but it provided humor waiting for food and drink at his pace. All our food and drink were very well prepared. Café Archibald with its lovely outdoor seating is worth visiting, just be sure you know what you want to order before the server comes to the table. Everyone in Canada could not have been nicer even our cranky waiter ended up being a bit charming by the end of the meal. We wanted to film at the historic bar Uncle Antoine’s, the owner would not let us film there, but we enjoyed gin and tonics with a local gin that was outstanding. We ended our day with dinner on the ship, a perfect spinach salad with fresh strawberries, braises veal shank and tiramisu. So many choices, so hard to choose. Somehow, we all got a second wind, and returned to the exquisite bar Traiteur at the Chateau de Fontenac for the recommended White Cosmopolitan. A perfect ending to a perfect day. Quebec City Tuesday Oct. 4th The second day was welcome because we could visit what I missed while filming. The local Farmers market did not live up to Montreal or Toronto. Time was well spent in Old Quebec. It’s a place you cannot get enough of. We had few museums to visit, even the Musee du Bad Art! We were delighted to hear we had a late departure, so Joels’ a colleague Kevin T. the perfect restaurant recommendation. Right up my alley, a well-established farm to table restaurant featuring the best of local ingredients. Le Clocher Penche. So popular that we had to sit at separate tables but ordered almost identically. I tried a local gin martini which had a distinct flavor because of the local herbs. Who knew there were so many gins made in Ontario and Quebec. I tried many local gins during this trip and each one unique and none like the last or next. The bread and butter was a course and it did not disappoint. They make everything, even their butter. I am a fan of good bread and butter. In fact, I’m looking forward to my new woodfired pizza oven to perfect my artisan bread baking skills this winter. I have been the queen of biscuits long enough! Ready to tackle wood fired bread. Their house made creamy cheese with crisp apples and finely shaved root vegetables was memorable. The pork belly starter must have been good because Doug didn’t share but one tiny bite. I went with the pork ossobuco because it was locally sourced and was wonderful. Doug went for the halibut, and he loved it. When your food doesn’t travel far from the farm to you plate, it’s a remarkable difference. Good job Joel! Definitely a memorable dinner. Thousand Islands Canal de la Rive Sud St. Lawrence – sea day Wednesday, October 5thWhile researching where I wanted to eat when in Toronto, I read in The Toronto Star, That Roti is credited to a Toronto restaurateur, Avtar Singh of Gandhi Indian Cuisine, a narrow Indian roti shop on Queen St. W. After tasting his first West Indies roti wrap in 1983 at the now-closed Ram’s Roti Shop He loved it and decided to serve his East Indian curry in a West Indian way. I am anxious to try the West Indian and East Indian when visiting Toronto. I am sharing a Butter Chicken version of Roti. Not everyone has access to goat to curry for the West Indian version, but I never found a place to try this. Next trip! It was nice that Chef Ross added my Roti recipe to the lunch menu that day, so everyone was able to try it. He also did a stellar job on the roti. My demo was followed by an informative and entertaining talk by journalist, Joel Seidman. With our daily news of the conflict in Ukraine, it was especially serendipitous to have a journalist connected to NBC Nightly news with Lester Holt. He began by answering the question many of us have asked the past months. Did we not see the signs of the war on Ukraine by the aggressor, Putin? The two news segments that he shared were two years old and they were quite telling. His talk was not political just informative, and the guests were completely engaged. The questions were varied and his answers quite informative. I’m just glad I had my cooking demo before Joel, he would be a hard act to follow! I did follow him later in the day with a cocktail demo. As I often do, I found all local ingredients to make a couple of classic cocktails with local flavor. The traditional cocktail of Montreal is the called the Montreal, it is a cross between a Negroni, which is gin based and Boulevardier, whiskey based. The Montreal has both in it! (see recipe at the end) That evening I was invited to join a group from Iowa for an enjoyable dinner. They were well traveled and well cared for by their host Randy Calaguas. Her son, Kyle accompanied the group and not only brought the average age down, he was charming and attentive to not only his mom but her 14 guests. Clayton NY Thursday, October 6th When I walked out of my room this morning, I had a perfect view of the Bolt Castle and the scenic thousand islands along the St. Lawrence river. As with river travel, sometimes there are delays due to river traffic. You learn to go with it and sometimes it works in your favor. We were delayed but rewarded with an experience we would have slept through if we had been on schedule.I had never heard of Clayton NY in the St. Lawrence Thousand Islands but so glad we spent time in this charming town. Greeted by the Chief of Police and Mayor Norma, I felt the kind of hospitality we offer in my town of Natchez. Norma is a force and has served as mayor for 16 years. There were obvious signs that she served her community well. Like Natchez all the houses had a sign showing the circa, unlike Natchez any year was celebrated. Maybe we need to do the same in Natchez. I loved seeing circa 1969 as well as 1869. After walking around this town where one of the highlights was the True Value Hardware store. we found a microbrewery that served woodfired pizza. They take the “Thousand Island” seriously when you use Thousand Island dressing to top some of the pizzas. I admit I steered away from those. We enjoyed the Antique boat museum. Port Weller/ Niagara Falls Friday, October 7th I learned a long time ago that I don’t like to be wet or cold. I have finally learned at this stage of my life not to do something I don’t want to. So, I took the opportunity to view the Niagara Falls from a lookout and not on the boat that was offered. Everyone who went on the boat loved it. We took the time to walk around the quite touristy town of Niagara and even went into a casino where I spent 20. Canadian and it was worth it for clean bathrooms with an attendant. I grabbed a Starbucks and made our way back to the ship. There are great photo ops here. I am glad I did not miss this opportunity and equally glad I did the comfortable version. Toronto Saturday, October 8th Every day has been great. This one was quite memorable. It hit all the sweet spots for me. Beginning with the magnificent St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. I can’t take home the butchered meat and sausages, or cheeses but we were able to indulge in the best oysters ever! I’m going back and having my fill next trip. We only had a couple as we were saving ourselves for lunch. Andrew Zimmern had recommended Fishman’s Lobster Clubhouse, his words “it will blow your mind”. The one thing you need to prepare yourself for when visiting Toronto is it is equivalent to being dropped off in NY with no sense of direction. When we looked up the location it said it was quite a distance by car. They had recently opened Jumbo Lobster, the same concept, and owners just a bit closer. Barbara and Joel were leaving for the airport from the restaurant, so we chose the closer location. It would be worth the drive for either. It is a concept hard to describe. Just trust me when I say, it’s worth the drive, come with Canadian cash, make reservations, and do not miss it! You begin by figuring out which menu you want for the table. The fresh lobsters and king crabs are brought to your table. The dinner is a set price, but the seafood is weighted to make sure you get what you’re paying for and when it’s over they add the exact overage to your bill. The king crab was as fresh as it could be, but I think I would miss it next time because the “Lobster Tower” is the most memorable. We ordered sauteed greens and a variety of dumplings that were exceptional. We may have over ordered just a bit. We were pleasantly surprised that the bill was about 120 Canadian per person. That even included a bottle of wine and a few beers. Back to the lobster tower, the lobster is cut into perfect chunks, dipped in a seasoned batter, fried, and stacked around seasoned fries that are battered as well. It was quite an experience because there are at least 200 other guests having the same experience. We sent Barbara and Joel off to the airport with the few left-over dumplings to continue our eating marathon. We sadly said goodbye. They were such a fun part of the trip. We all Ubered to the Distillery District. We walked a bit before finding the Spirit of York Distillery. The tour is self-guided and more about the tasting experience. Keeping with my infatuation of the local gins we ordered a flight of 3 of their gins. The pricing was reasonable and the pours light. The cocktails were creative and a good introduction to their products. It’s hard to believe we made it back and actually found room for dinner. Everone loves the idea that you can have lobster nightly on our boats and ships. Most everyone did steak or lobster with crispy fries. Just enough!Toronto: Sunday, October 9th We had a shorter last day in Toronto, so we went back to the Distillery District to take in the sunshine and a pleasant lunch at Bistro Cluny. Known for their French onion soup, we had that in mind but ended up being seduced for the Foie Gras Poutine, and yes it was a wonderful as it sounds! The pastas have all been perfect but the roast chicken Mostaccioli was a stand out. Gananoque: Monday, October 10th (pronounced Gan nan noke)The Thousand Islands were the most visually stunning on this leg of the trip. We were so fortunate to see them coming and going! We dropped anchor and guests had a choice of one or both morning trip to view the islands and the afternoon just to spend time in Gananoque. I’m not sure I will ever pronounce it correctly, but I won’t forget it! I went on the afternoon outing to this charming town where the leaves were every possible fall color, beautiful churches, and well-kept homes. I’m so glad I took the time to go into this port. I love that we were able to get off frequently for nice walks during this trip. I returned to have a lovely dinner with my sweet friend Alex, Hotel Manager, charming Captain Ziolkowski, our Musical Director Norman and his new bride. They shared the sweetest story they met on the American Queen and fell in love and married in June. Montreal Tuesday, October 11th We arrived about 2:00 pm which gave a nice amount of time for a long stroll through old Montreal. Finding a charming pub, Wolf and Workman to enjoy more local gin and tonics. Tuesdays many restaurants are closed, we enjoyed all the meals so much on the ship it was a consensus to enjoy yet one more meal onboard. I am very particular about a true Caesar salad, and I had it at least five times on board. It was great! As everyone commented how perfect the fish was prepared and the variety was exceptional. The pasta dishes were so well prepared that several in our group started ordering it as an appetizer. The fresh baked bread and pastries were a 10 out of 10. I could not have been more proud and more pleased with the food under the capable direction of Chef Ross. I know I will be living on bone broth for the next few weeks to shed some of these food memories. When I say I could eat Canada up with a spoon- I mean it!
RESTAURANTS, BARS ETC…New OrleansDian Xin 1218 Decatur St. 504-266-2828
Montreal Atwater Farmers Market 138 Atwater Ave,Salumi Vino 358 rue Notre Dame E. Montreal 514-759-0505
Bouvette Pastek Wine Bar 209 St. Paul Quest Montreal
Wolf and Workman Pub 139 Rue Staint Paul O. Montreal
Quebec CityCafé Archibald 40 du Marche-Champlain Old Town
Bar Uncle Antoine 29 rue St. Pierre
La Clocher Penche (reservations a must) 203 St. Joseph Est Quebec, QC418-640-0597
Fairmont Le Chateau de Fontenac (Hotel, Bar & Restaurant)1 rue des Carrieres
Toronto Fishman’s Lobster Clubhouse 4020 Finch Ave East (because its high-end seafood $$$ and cash only plan on 125 Canadian a person (atm next door) Its pretty far from downtownTheir newer one is a bit closer Jumbo Lobster 7501 Woodbine, Markham (suburb
Best Farmers Market (lots of local food to taste here) St. Lawrence Market 93 Front Street East
Spirit of York Distillery 12 Trinity Street (Distillery District)
Bistro Cluny 35 Tank House Lane (Distillery District
ROTI & BUTTER CHICKEN RECIPEI will begin by saying you can buy roti. For something with just two ingredients, there is a lot of technique involved. Once you do everything right, you cook it on a griddle on both sides then you must put on a hot flame (or if you have an electric stove- a grill device that needs to be purchased that allows the Roti to puff up). You Tube Videos can help understand this process. My Butter Chicken recipe is easy so if you decide to purchase Roti you can still enjoy this taste of Toronto.ROTI In the 4.5qt mixer, you can make dough from 2 cups of flour. If your stand mixer is larger, you might need to prepare a larger amount, so the dough hook catches the flour from the bottom to kneed. 2 cups of whole wheat flour, use 1 cup of water. This dough is a 2:1 ratio. Depending on the brand of whole wheat flour, you might need to adjust the amount of water. It is always good to start with a little less water, and then adjust as needed by checking the dough. Start with about ¾ cup and add more as needed.Always use the dough hook and set it to the lowest speed, stop and scrape the sides to incorporate all the flour.When the dough has almost come together, you can add a teaspoon of oil The bowl will be almost clean once the dough is formed and kneaded enough.Press your fingers against it to make sure it is soft and pliable. Your fingers should leave an impression.Let Dough rest for 30 minutes in the bowl, divide into 6 balls. Roll out evenly into a round shape before cooking. Heat a skillet or griddle, lightly oil and cook each Roti for 30 seconds on each side. It should have brown spots on it if your pan is hot enough.The biggest reason a Roti won’t puff is that it wasn’t rolled evenly. Make sure that its thickness is same throughout. It also won’t puff if the dough is too tight/hard. Even if the Roti does not puff- it still is a good vehicle for your Butter Chicken.BUTTER CHICKENMarinade for chicken (minimum 3 hours, but I think best to do overnight)1/2 cup plain yoghurt, full fat1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice1 teaspoon ground cumin1 tablespoon ginger paste1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder2 teaspoon garam masala 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder2 cloves garlic, minced1.5 lb. chicken thigh or breast fillets, cut into bite size piecesCURRY2 tbsp ghee or butter1 cup tomato passata (aka tomato puree) 1 cup heavy cream1 tablespoon sugar or honey1 1/2 teaspoons saltTo cook the chicken, heat the ghee (butter or oil) over high heat in a large pan or Dutch oven. Take the chicken out of the Marinade but do not wipe or shake off the marinade from the chicken, Save the marinade left in the bowl to add to the curry mixture at the end.Place chicken in the fry pan and cook for around 3 minutes it will not brown because of the yogurt marinade.Add the tomato puree, cream, sugar or honey and salt. Also add any remaining marinade left in the bowl. Turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste to see if it needs more salt.