Last night we headed to Little Italy in Montreal, for
supper and good times with my sister & brother-in-law. We chose Casa Cacciatore which has been around for 25 years, and which we've frequented many times. We
decided to eat on the patio at the back of the restaurant, and watch the goings-on at the Jean Talon Farmer’s Market across the street (interesting tidbit: before the market opened in 1933, the space it
occupies used to be a lacrosse field).
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| Patio at "Casa Cacciatore". |
After placing our order, my sister and I headed across the street to
check out the wares at the market. There
weren’t a lot of people in the market because of the late hour, but I found out
that they stay open till 9 or 10pm each night, just in case. What I found different about this Farmer’s
Market is that they have plates of freshly cut fruit next to their offerings,
so that you can try before you buy!
I
also found a fruit I had never heard of before.
It’s called “cerise de terre” (which translated literally from
the French means “cherries of the ground". Turns out that it's actually a small tomato, which is also a fruit like its bigger cousin!). I was given a taste by the vendor (and there’s
a pic below). You peel off the outer
papery layer and it looks like a beige cherry inside (therefore the name). I’m told the taste varies
from tart to sweet and it's used for everything from salads to jams to desserts.
We then headed back to our newly-arrived food (which we
watched for, from across the street) and savored every bite! My husband ordered the salmon carpaccio
appetizer which is proudly made in-house…divine! From appetizer to dessert, we were not
disappointed. After dinner, the chef
sent complimentary digestifs to our table. The limoncello was great. My sister ordered the Averna which was
surprisingly good, considering it’s made from herbs & roots. But I had the grappa, which was so
strong that I could only wet my lips with it, before realizing I couldn’t/shouldn’t
drink it! My family tried to warn me,
but I had to go for it anyway! (now I’m
warning YOU).
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| Posing with the Chef: Irving (my brother-in-law), Guido (our chef), me, Annie (my sister) and Ray (my husband). |
p.s. forgot to
mention that earlier, on the walk from the car to the restaurant, we stopped in
this local artisan gift shop below, where everything was handmade (jewelry, pillows,
paintings, etc.). In their back yard, we
met “Gotcha” (the cat) who looked to me like he was sporting a "moustache"!
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