happy weekend!

We're looking forward to a long weekend and a nice dinner with friends... what are you guys up to?
These photos are from our time in Brussels, it's hard to believe that it's been a year since we were there.
They really know how to decorate for Easter.

square victoria

At Square Victoria...

...dreaming of Paris.

le canard libéré

Since neither of us ordered the fois gras poutine at Au Pied de Cochon, when we saw it on the menu at Le Canard Libéré, it had to be sampled. Le Canard Libéré is a gourmet store that we pop into whenever we can to pick up ingredients. Although it's focus is selling duck products (that are made from ducks raised locally in Brome Lake), they have a variety of foods and kitchen items. The store also has a tiny little restaurant with a few seats.  In addition to the poutine, we ordered a duck burger with fries (cooked in duck fat, of course).  Both meals were more than we could handle and were stuffed after a few bites. 

They're often cooking up something to sample, near the entrance, to encourage people to incorporate duck products into their meals. We always leave with a recipe, but have yet to attempt any at home. It's safe to say that we've eaten more duck in the last few months than we have in our entire lives!

amherst and st. catherine

weekend

Yesterday we grabbed breakfast at Eggspectations before a day of shopping on Rue Amherst. We agreed that, with a name like "eggspectations", we should have been served better than average eggs. They were just regular eggs - not bad, but not great. So, we wouldn't recommend the place unless you go there with lowered eggspectations (I couldn't help myself, forgive me). 

The shops on Amherst street were like stepping into my parents house in the 80's. The whole street is lined with stores selling mid-century modern furniture and a lot of teak.  It made me wish I knew more about things like Eames chairs and design in general. There was a beautiful original egg chair in one of the shops but, alas, I wasn't prepared to drop $5000 on it and it really wouldn't go in our space. Someday...

-Mina

P.S. If you write a blog and occasionally post photos of the city/town you live in, please send us the link to it (you can comment below, or email us: hello {at} sending-postcards {dot} com). We're working on something... perhaps you'd like to be a part of it?

i ♥ macarons

One of our favorite things about living in Montréal is how easily accessible macarons are. We discovered the colorful pastries on one of our first trips together, to France, when a girl we met at a wedding said we couldn't leave without going to Ladurée to try a few. We fell in love. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, for our waistlines), we couldn't find them anywhere upon returning to Winnipeg. No one had heard of them despite the fact that they had been made for decades (maybe even over a century). 

That was 4 years ago and now, it seems, they're everywhere - popularized by the series finale of Sex and the City where Carrie gets a sad table for one. If only I had the patience to make them myself... because they are quite the expensive habit but, half the enjoyment of these are getting a variety box and trying to guess what flavor you've just eaten. 

-Mina

métro de montréal

The Montreal Metro is Canada's busiest subway system and it's filled with award-winning art and architecture. Each station was built by a different Canadian architect. Apparently, the Paris Metro was the inspiration behind it and, in turn, the Montreal Metro has inspired other stations including the Mexico City Metro which shares a similar design. I remember thinking how incredibly efficient (and unbelievably cheap) the Mexico City Metro was. Unlike the one in Mexico City, the stations here don't have a strange sewer smell and are surprisingly clean.

Musicians are allowed to play in designated areas, under the harp sign. I've run into this guy a few times:

He always has this exact same ridiculous setup. I think he's my favorite busker. The metro is also connected to the 'underground city', but more on that some other day...

-Mina

armenian pizza

Last weekend, we went to Arouch for dinner after one of our readers sent us an incredibly awesome and detailed email about where to go and what to see in Montreal (you guys are the best)! We were particularly curious about trying "Armenian pizza" or lahmajoun (it's actual name). 

The pita-like dough has a crispy crust around the edge but has a soft and chewy middle and is topped with beef, onions, parsley and spices.

In addition to the Armenian-style pizza they also had Greek and Lebanese varieties. We picked up a few of the 'Zataar', the Lebanese version, with thyme and sesame. While you can get a bunch of toppings and have them as a wrap, we just stuck to a bit of lemon juice and they were perfect.