Smoke Meat Pete (Ile-Perrot, QC)

283 1ere Avenue
L'Ile-Perrot, Québec
514.425.6068
website

After a hard workout of kayaking in Huntingdon with Kayak Safari, Elle, E (who started her own sweets blog) and I went searching for food. Elle suggested Smoke Meat Pete which was on the way back to the city. Smoke Meat Pete has had the title of best fries in Montréal and we wanted to check it out. It did give me a chuckle to see the newspaper clipping from years ago.

Smoke Meat Pete.

Elle and I shared an order of smoke meat sandwich, fries and coleslaw. Honestly, I don't have any comments to how this smoke meat differentiates itself from other Montréal smoke meat, specifically Schwartz's Deli. I remember the smoked meat being satisfying and that's all I wanted.

Smoke meat sandwich.

Same thing with the fries. Would I say they're the best in the city? Probably not. Did they hit the right spot? Sure did. There are two main categories of fries (that I can think of right now anyway): the super thin and crispy fries, and the fatter fries that are soft in the middle. These were definitely excellent ones from the latter group. I remember buying the same type of fries for $1, served in a paper bag, by Côte-Vertu métro that were just as satisfying.

Fries!

Would I recommend driving all the way to Ile-Perrot for smoke meat and fries? No. Would I recommend stopping by if you're in the neighbourhood? Definitely.

Schwartz's Deli (Montréal, QC)

3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Montréal, Québec
514.842.4813
website

Schwartz's is a Montréal institution. In terms of food, Montréal is known for its smoked meat and bagels. Schwartz's is where you find the best smoked meat. Montréal smoked meat consists of smoked beef briskets. Similarly in the US, New York has pastrami. I have never tried pastrami so I can't comment on the difference. My understanding is that additives are added to pastrami meat to cure it while smoked meat is just... smoked! At any deli counter across Canada, you can buy Montréal smoked meat but it never tastes the same as back home, just like Montréal bagels at groceries store which taste like bread shaped like a donut.



Whenever I've been to Schwartz's, there's been a waiting line outside. My sister L and I didn't wait too long, maybe 15 minutes or so. The restaurant itself is very small and they seat as many people as they can. We got the farthest table tucked in a corner. The walls are adorned with pictures of celebrities and reviews. Like I said, it's an institution!



You have to have your smoked meat with a black cherry soda so I ordered a Cott. My sister likes her smoked meat with a side of pickles ($1.60) and we got an order of fries ($2.65) to share (rather, I ate most of it!). You can't beat diner fries that are freshly fried in house.



L and I decided to order smoked meat sandwiches. L ordered the lean smoked meat ($5.90). The very high stack of meat is sandwiched between two slices of thick rye bread, and served with mustard. There are bottles of mustard if you want to add more.



I ordered the medium smoked meat which came marbled with fat. Eating a smoked meat sandwich is a messy endeavour but definitely worth it.



They also sell beef briskets and you can even hire someone to slice it at parties.



Schwartz's also sells smoked turkey sandwiches and you can even order smoked turkeys for $6.49 for Thanksgiving! I've already written it twice but Schwartz's is a Montréal instituation so you must visit if you are in Montréal.

Road Trip, Day 3: Chicago (Part II)

Trapezista and I arrived near Chicago close to 2 pm, faced with gridlock and very aggressive drivers. Why do drivers (yes, YOU, older lady in the Lexus SUV) honk at you when clearly there is nowhere for anyone to go?


Entering Illinois.


I HATE traffic!!

Cemitas Puebla
3619 W. North Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
773.772.8435
website

Our plan was to first stop by for some authentic Mexican food that was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. My sister sent me a link to Cemitas Puebla because she was intrigued by their cemita sandwiches, that can only be found in the city of Puebla. Trapezista enthusiastically agreed, really missing good Mexican food after having spent a year and a half in Mexico.

Cemitas Puebla is situated in the Humboldt Park neighbourhood that could probably second as Little Mexico. When we did not have change for parking, we bought a bottle of water at a convenience store and had to pay a man behind a bulletproof glass pane. This doesn't exist in Canada!! Trapezista was a little worried about leaving her car on the street. If only we had known that there is parking close to the restaurant!


Cemitas Puebla.

We guessed that Cemitas Puebla would fall under the dive category. However, don't be deterred! The food and the warm welcoming by the owners totally make up for it! We were greeted by the owner, who explained to us what a cemita is. We then sat down and once we decided what we wanted to eat, we went to the counter to order.


Cemitas Puebla's counter and interesting posters on the ceiling.

We decided to first share chalupas ($3.00), which consisted of five corn tortillas doused in salsa verde and salsa roja topped with onions and aged cheese. I started with the salsa roja and thought it was very hot (and I think I have a good tolerance for heat). Trapezista preferred the salsa verde, which was strong in coriander flavour and not as spicy. We were very happy with our appetizer!

Spicy Chalupas.

We also decided to share a cemita al pastor ($6.00). As is well explained on the restaurant's online video, cemitas originated in Puebla. A cemita is a sandwich made up of meat, avocado and a generous amount of cheese with an adobo chipotle peppers, in a sesame bread. The restaurant offers various cemitas, including a pata (cow foot) one. Too bad I'm not more adventurous! The al pastor we ordered consisted of marinated pork and onions. According to the video, the owner regulary goes to Mexico to buy Mexican ingredients, including the cheese and chipotle peppers. I really enjoyed the creamy avocado against the cheese and meat.

Cemita Al Pastor.

We also shared a taco arabes ($2.60). This unique taco stems from the influcence of the Lebanese in Mexico, hence its name arabes. While Trapezista enjoyed the cemita, she much preferred the taco. It reminded her of the tacos she ate in Mexico. She also really enjoyed the homemade sauces that came in bottles on the table. Eating this taco made me realize that real Mexican tacos have nothing to do with the tacos we know, which, I guess, is more Tex-Mex.

Taco arabes.

We were both quite full after eating all of our food. It was very enjoyable. Trapezista declared that it was one of the highlights of the trip. As we were leaving, the owner asked if we were going to come again. No, we're from Canada! Then he happily agreed to pose for a picture with me and his son.

The owners of Cemitas Puebla and myself.



After checking in at our hostel, we were finally ready to check out the Windy City. I got to admire Chicago's great architecture. We walked to the Millenium Park and had fun with the mirrored Cloud Gate. I was really wowed by the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry, surrounded by people on their lawn chairs, watching a free classical music concert, which was part of the Grant Park Music Festival.

I liked the elevated trains.

Chicago's skyscrapers.

The Crown Fountain in Millenium Park is quite... interesting?!

The Cloud Gate, also known as "The Bean".

Frank Gehry's beautiful Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

We then headed ou to the Navy Pier to check out the Chicago skyline by the water. There we got tempted by a chocolate churro. It was good, but definitely not freshly fried.

You can always stop for a snack!

The Chicago skyline.

White Palace Grill
1159 S Canal Street

Chicago, Illinois

312.939.7167

website (currently under construction)

After quickly taking a look at the Magnificent Mile (that I personally thought was not that magnificent...), we headed back to our last meal of the day. We were going to complete our food 3 D's! We already ate at a drive-in in Montana and a dive earlier in the day. We only needed a diner. Luckily, one of Chicago's best diner, the White Palace Grill, was close to our hostel.

The White Palace Grill.

The White Palace Grill is open 24 hours, every day. When we arrived at 10 pm, it was full. Once we sat down and looked at the menu, I wished I had researched this diner better. We had no idea what to order. Many people ordered breakfast food but I didn't really feel like it. We narrowed it down to a chicken or steak fried sandwich. When we asked the waitress, she said to go for the chicken, but it seemed she just randomly picked one of the two. Trapezista also ordered a vanilla milkshake, that was quite large and looked like a typical diner milkshake I imagine.

Milkshake and chicken fried sandwich.

The food was good, nothing special. The waitresses were prompt but not overly friendly. They were too busy serving customers. When we went to pay at the counter, I really liked the look of their old fashioned cash register.

Old-fashioned cash register.

The next day, we headed home to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I had a great time on the road trip, full of great scenery and some great food. I couldn't have asked for a better driver than Trapezista! Everyone should go on a road trip, even if it does not compare to Jack Kerouac's!

For previous road trip posts:

Road Trip, Day 1: Montana

Road Trip, Day 2: South Dakota

Road Trip, Day 3: Wisconsin (Part I)