Thu 07.03.08

The Market at Rue Jean Talon

I'm in Montreal for the week with the family. The main agenda is the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, but as most of the concerts are in the evening, our mornings and afternoons are open for more gastronomical activities.

This afternoon we went to the open-air market at Rue Jean Talon, a sprawling square packed with fruit and vegetable vendors under a huge tent and enclosed on all sides by charcuteries, boucheries, poissoneries, fromageries, boulangeries and other varieties of fooderies.

In other words, it's the greatest market I've ever been to. I had a strict list in my head of things to get -- eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, young onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary for a ratatouille -- but, unsurprisingly, ended up walking out a lot more. In my defense, when the vendors loudly announce that the Quebecois strawberries and pluots have arrived, or insist that you try a piece of their sweet turnips, or show you beautiful baskets of baby carottes de sucre and haricots blancs as you're paying, what are you to do?

After stocking up on our veggies, my brothers and I decided to grab some sausage sandwiches and venison and maple sausage (it is Canada, after all) at one of the saucissiers around the square.

Ok, I gotta wrap this up, as it's time to finish up my breakfast of leftover ratatouille (recipe to come soon) and head out again to the festival. à plus tard!