Road trip '13: Day 5

On day 5 we woke up in Quebec after a super long 10.5 hour drive the day before. When we first awoke at 6ish, we considered working out, looked at each other and said "nahhh" and then burrowed back into bed. Instead we lazed around for a bit, had breakfast in our hotel room, and then headed out for a short walk on the Plains of Abraham (the site of a famous battle between the British and the French), which was right behind our hotel.

Even though it was only 9 am, it was so much warmer in Quebec than in Halifax - we were loving it! We finished up our walk by stopping at Starbucks (iced green tea for me!) and then headed out on the road again.

Our next stop was just outside Montreal, where we met up with a family friend and her boyfriend for lunch at Cora's, a Canadian breakfast/brunch chain. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Cora's! I almost always order their bagel and lox, but this time I was craving eggs so I went for their 2 eggs, fresh fruit, and toast breakfast with an extra order of bacon.

After lunch we got back in the car and headed down south to cross the border into New York. It took foreeeeever, but we finally got through. Before we hit Albany we made a quick stop at The Fresh Market in Latham so that I could stock up on Barney Butter (the best almond butter in the world!), and ended up coming out with a whole lot more.

Our loot: Annie's Goddess dressing, Madagascar vanilla, 4 jars of Barney Butter, freekeh (I've always wanted to try it, but could never find it), Kodiak Cakes pancake mix, and Old Bay seasoning.

When we got to the hotel shortly after 6 pm, we still had no idea where we were going for dinner. So we pulled out our laptops and after a bit of internet searching, we decided on New World Bistro Bar which looked fantastic.

But as we were leaving the hotel, I thought out loud "Man, I could really go for Chipotle right now." My mom and sister looked at me, thought about it for a minute, and quickly agreed. So Hayley ran back inside, asked the concierge for the address of the closest Chipotle, and 10 minutes later we were on our way. I got the burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, fajita vegetables, mild fresh salsa, lettuce, cheese and guacamole.

Afterwards we had a good laugh about how we spent 45 minutes trying to find a restaurant for dinner, only to change our minds at the last minute and go to Chipotle. It was exactly what we were all craving though!

What do you usually order at Chipotle (or if you've never tried it, what would you order)?

Are there any products that you love that are only available in another country?

Road trip '13: Day 4

Saturday was the day we did our loooong drive from Halifax to Quebec City - we spent over 10.5 hours in the car!!! But first we checked out the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market. We planned our trip specifically so that we would be in Halifax on Saturday because Hayley said I just had to see this market.

And of course she was right - I was in heaven! There were local fruits and vegetables, freshly caught fish, handmade soaps, vegan truffles and energy bars, fresh artisan breads, ethnic food stands, arts and crafts, and more. It was amazing!

We browsed for an hour and left by 9:30 am to begin our road trip. Our first stop was in Moncton, New Brunswick for lunch because we wanted to go to the Tide and Boar - a gastropub that was featured on You Gotta Eat Here.

They are famous for their boar poutine, so my sister got an order and we all helped her eat it. It was so good - the boar was so tender and there were huge chunks of cheese curds in it!

For my main meal I got their black bean and date veggie burger with spicy mayo, as per the recommendation of our waitress. It was pretty good, but it didn't really blow me away. The side salad was awesome though - it had roasted root vegetables, parmesan cheese and a shallot dressing. It was also supposed to have granola in it, but they had to leave it off because of my allergies.

After lunch we got back on the road and drove. And drove. And drove some more. I spent a good chunk of the time catching up with good ol' Alton Brown. His books are like a food geek's dream - I love how they explain some of the science behind cooking.

8 hours and 760 km later (that's not including the 250 km we drove in the morning!), we finally arrived in Quebec City. We checked into the Loews Hotel Le Concorde and then headed out on foot in Old Quebec in search of food. It's been almost 10 years since I was last in Quebec and I forgot how much I love it there - it has such a European feel to it.

We finally decided to stop at Bello Ristorante. Even though we just had Italian the night before, this place looked really good! Also we were just happy to find a restaurant that could get us a table since it was almost 9 pm and the rest of the restaurants nearby were full.

Bread with olive oil and balsamic before the meal:

For my appetizer I had an arugula salad with fresh market vegetables, parmesan cheese, and a white balsamic vinaigrette.

My entree was gemelli pasta with mushrooms, truffles, arugula, white wine and pecorino cheese. It was simple, but good - it really let the flavour of the pasta be the focus. I'm not sure if the pasta was made in house, but it tasted like it!

By the time we were done our meal it was past 10 so we just headed back to the hotel room and crashed - we were exhausted after such a long day in the car!

What is the furthest you've ever driven in one day?

Have you ever been to Quebec?