I'm turned off by Valentine's Day as much as the next Negative Nancy. However, if I can find a reason to have someone else curate a day of fun for me, you bet your behind I'll be excited as hell for the day. This year, the BF planned out a day of activities for us to do, which I knew would be interesting since:
1- BF isn't exactly what you'd call a traditional romantic
2- BF and I avoid "cheesy couple things" like the plague
3- BF and I have very unconventional ideas of fun
All this rolled together had me wondering if I'd be waking up to a mister who had no idea what day it was - but hey, turns out I was super wrong!
8:15 AM
My alarm clock goes off and BF still appears to be quite comatose. Uh-oh, maybe he did forget. Kitties have spotted my open eyes and have commenced Mission: Coerce Human to Feed Us... Might as well get out of bed.
9:10 AM
"Hey BF, didn't you say we were leaving here at 9:00 AM?"
"... Mmm...? What time is it?"
"Past 9"
"Oh.... Shit"
15 minutes later, BF rolled out of bed and got moving on the morning ritual and we were out. A bus and metro ride later, and we were trotting in the cold to this gem of a restaurant.
10:45 AM
We arrived to l'Gros Luxe on the Plateau. And it did not disappoint!
A few months ago, I came across their Instagram feed and drooled a little over their pics. BF apparently caught on cause last week, he informed me that we were doing V-Day there. It would have been a surprise, but he said "they don't take reservations, should I look elsewhere?" I figured we'd take the chance. A few days later, I saw a post on their Instagram feed touting that they were taking reservations exclusively for couples on Valentine's Day. Womp womp. There's a cheesefest I most definitely did not want to be a part of. And that's how V-Day dinner became V-Day brunch.
Needless to say, there were no regrets: their weekend brunch menu is absolutely to die for. I had the breakfast pountine - see just above - made up of taters, cheese curds, gravy, chopped shallots and a fried egg. Heavenly. Also, incase the picture doesn't give it away, the portion is quite generous. I tried to pile away as much as possible, but ended up having to leave about a third of it behind, much to my chagrin.
The BF had the BBQ Pulled Pork Hash, which he seemed to thoroughly enjoy - you can always tell cause he begins to have these When Harry Met Sally-esque moments. I'm definitely returning in the very-near-future as I'm dying to try the S'mores French Toast.
You can find l'Gros Luxe at two locations - le Plateau and in the Mile End.
NOON
We made our way downtown for Activity #2: CandyLabs. This is another great example of BF paying attention to my incessant blabbing (he's so a keeper!) A week or two ago, I was on the Montreal subreddit and someone posted a link to this awesome video of this new handmade candy store in town. Naturally, the video left me all googly-eyed: the whole process fascinated me, not to mention those candies looked insanely beautiful and mad delicious. I shared it with the BF and fast track to Valentine's Day and here we were - woohoo!
The moment you step in, you're welcomed by the sweet smell of sugar and the master confectioners from the video I had seen. The owners were incredibly kind and made us try several flavours, all the while elaborating on their technique. Educational AND super yummy?! This was quickly becoming the highlight of my week.
These candies are unlike any I've ever had before: aside from beinmade by hand, they're unique in flavour, texture and appearance. These candies are meant to be chewed and not disolved: due to the way the sugar is pulled and twisted, the candy is easy on the teeth.
They come in all kinds of amazing flavours, my favourites being peach and guava. We also had the utmost honour to try a "BETA-flavour" in-store that was a total mouth-gasm: it was a lemongrass-lavender candy and I have never been so excited for a candy to go "live."
Did I mention these candies look amazing? The BF totally picked out a few based strictly on the awesome designs they work into them - I mean - how adorable are these panda candies?!
We ended up getting a flask of the Valentine's Day mix, a vile of Guava candies and a vile of Champagne candies (BF is OBSESSED.) So... we're well stocked with candies now and I've got a new Montreal favourite. Check them out online at www.candylabs.ca
12:45 PM
Last stop, activity #3 of the day was our fave comic book store, Capitaine Quebec. The BF had a few comics set aside and one of our pre-ordered DC Bombshell statuettes came in. Unfortunately no new Afterlife with Archie comics, but I did pick up an issue of Life with Archie - you know, the one where Archie dies... It was a good haul!
2:45 PM
We got back home, got in our PJs, and watched Justice League: War and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, while snacking on our freshly handmade candies of course.
Our evening was spent bumming around and getting our Netflix on - the perfect lazy Saturday night. I guess I didn't give the BF enough credit to plan a day of Vday activities cause we had a killer day: yummy breakfast food, handmade sweets, a new comic, animated superhero flicks and cozying it up on a hella cold night - what more could a girl want?!