Montreal Mystery
My bride and I escaped to Montreal, QC and environs this weekend to catch up with good fiends, Fabrice and Veronique.We stayed in their spectacular, almost-complete new home located about ten minutes east from Montreal. In the country! How many cities offer the bounty of culinary, cultural and professional opportunities of Montreal, with the luxury of country living only ten minutes away?
On Saturday evening Fabrice and Veronique dished up an endless parade of decadent dishes and libations for a gourmet feast that lasted about five hours. Sheer bliss! Spanning two continents and fusing Fabrice's Haute-Savoie heritage (he grew up in Annecy, France) and Veronique's Québécois heritage, the banquet included two Champagnes; Meursault; Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux); Canadian apple ice wine; crab, cream and fresh vegetable parfait; seared foie gras served over local apples; scallops over a mango, herb and olive oil puree; French and Canadian cheeses; strawberries with balsamic vinegar reduction; and home made Crème brûlée. No, this is not a totally inclusive list of the delicacies we savored or the meandering and inspired conversation that swept us up upon arrival, shortly after 5:00pm, and resulted in much suprise when we realized that it was 12:15am and we were still chattering and sipping away...
Ah, the sleep of the sated!
On Sunday morning, we drove into Montreal for another extravagant meal, this time located in a centuries old mansion built and decorated on par with many European châteaux. Once again the culinary adventures were decadent and excessive, but we justified our calorie overload by joining a guided tour of the home which certainly took some energy climbing up and down the grand starcase and deciphering the Columbian tour guides French presentation colored by a strong, melodic accent from Bogota.
A perfect morning, except for one unfortunate twist. We discovered that this magnificent landmark will cease to operate soon. No explanation was given, but loss will be dramatic. With these few hints, can you guess which Montreal mansion was the location for our decadent brunch?
