Montreal: Ateliers et Saveurs

"I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made." Yes, James Bond. I agree.

One of the first things you notice when you enter Ateliers & Savuers are the light fixtures. Specially designed and created by lighting artist François Legault of UNIK Sculptural Lighting you realize immediately that this is no ordinary culinary school.

A spiral chandelier featuring 260 spoons shines above, in the wine tasting room a 7 foot-long pendant lamp of 476 spoons and 21 Champagne flutes draws your near, on the walls espresso cups act as sconces.

"We designed them especially," says Parisian-born sommelier and co-owner Arnaud Ferrand. And indeed no expense has been spared in this half a million dollar restoration. Housed in a heritage building in Old Montreal, Ateliers et Saveurs is unique to this metropolitan city offering cooking, cocktail and wine classes to locals and tourists alike.

With so much to take in — attractive, young clientele, gorgeous decor — it was hard to know where to look as we waited our turn for our Friday night cocktail class after all, if the food you lovingly cook is more delicious, than surely the cocktail you shake is far superior - and possibly more toxic!

Armed with nothing but our enthusiasm (part of the allure of going to elsewhere to make cocktails) the four of us girls waited patiently for our turn at the bar, props at the ready. The class was sold out and so two rotations of budding bar tenders took it in turns to turn mere ingredients into the nectar of the Gods - or at least die trying.

The first cocktail was a classic Margarita.

As the ingredients were poured and the instructions translated for us English speakers, the music got pumping and all involved shook and shimmied like there was no tomorrow. The result, a perfect Margarita worthy of the best Manhattan watering hole.

We created three cocktails in all with special shot pouring classes topping off the night. As you can imagine the atmosphere was quite festive by then, strangers becoming friends, work foes becoming allies. Thankfully, a delicious array of h'ordeuvres were also served to help soak up all that fun!

All in all, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. The price you pay for three or four hours of fun is less than it would cost to purchase the drinks and definitely less than it would cost for the ingredients alone. Even better, you could put this down as an educational experience - much more socially acceptable than a mere night on the town (of course, this is a great prelude to that too, if you so wish).

Montreal: La Buvette Chez Simone

As in Europe, dinner in Montreal is best served family-style, with delectable portions of amazing goodies arranged so that you can enjoy the food (and the company) at leisure. La Buvette Chez Simone on Park Avenue in Place des Arts, has this sort of dining down to an art form. Hip yet unpretentious, this neighborhood institution brings together locals, dates and diners to enjoy an array of tapas-style dishes arranged with a stylist's eye, as delicious as five star dining. This is the sort of place where time flies and lifetime friendships are cemented.

Buvette Chez Simone
4869, avenue du Parc
Rés.: 514 750-6577

OPUS MONTREAL: Stylish digs for the hip

Ah, Montréal. I forgot everyone speaks French here. It seems as if I have been politely ignoring the entire population over the last fews month as I find myself in foreign countries with no idea what anyone is saying. Add to my confusion that the first thing I hear upon entering my gorgeous room in the Opus Hotel is Kylie Minogue’s “Locomotion.” Being an Australian/New Yorker in French/English speaking Montreal this can get a little confusing.


Having finally come to grips with it all, I did my initial room inspection and found all the amenities I so love; a coffee machine, nice sized bathroom, L’Occitane products, modern décor and fabulous bar awaiting us downstairs. The only slightly misleading amenity being the complimentary wireless which, like many hotels these days, is only in the common areas.

One of the only Canadian hotel chains, Opus has four hotels within Canada. The Montreal addition is two years old and has quickly made a name for itself as the place-to-be on weekends — possibly the reason for the ear plugs next to the bed. Situated on the corner of Saint Laurent, one of Montreal's trendiest streets, it's perfectly situated for a weekend getaway.

Settling down for a quick nap pre-meet and greet, I flicked through the hotel’s encyclopaedia of amenities and found a great addition: “The Tips” sheet listing the most happening events for the month. Using fictional lifestyle muses; Billy, the enlightened rockstar, Susan, the fashion exec, Pierre, the food critic, Dede, the film actress and Mike, the doctor it outlines five off the must-see hip happenings around town. Written by Zink Canada editor, Simona Rabinovitch it gives you an insiders guide to the city of Montreal something all of us need on a trip away.

St Louis: Cielo

Our final night in St. Louis and Cielo Restaurant, in the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel, played host to an amazing four-course dinner, perfectly portioned and expertly paired with a wide variety of wines from the hotel's resident somelier. Conversation was barely audible over the plethora of diners gathering for the much sought after sights, sounds, tastes and delights of Cielo.

Floor-to-ceiling glass panels showcase the illuminated skyline in the restaurant's beautifully designed dining room. Beyond the rectangular swimming pool, hot tub and cabana area, the St. Louis arch is visible in all its glory- a definite highlight for July 4th celebrations.

Spring ramps risotto with roasted quail breast and pearl tomatoes kicked off a magnificent offering by Chef, Marc Kusche, paired with a 2007 Viogneir from Mt. Harlan.

The main event of pan seared halibut with diver scallop, cauliflower puree and red wine reduction was cooked to perfection and served with a stylists' eye. Paired with a tasty Santa Maria Pinot Noir it was exactly what the doctor ordered after days of gluttony in the name of culinary research.

Clean, tasty and fresh, an intermediate dish, designed to cleanse the palette and add a further dimension to the evenings courses was served by way of calamansi lime sorbetto with amaretti and dried plum sauce.

Finally, dessert of an organic chamomile panna cotta with Kumquat semifreddo cielo mint syrup and apricot sorbetto was served up thanks to Pastry Chef, Christopher Jordan. Paired with a Riesling Ice Wine from Mission Hills, Five Vineyards, Canada it was perhaps a fitting segue to my next adventure to Montreal.

Casino Secrets: Crimes against interior design

Have you ever wondered why the carpet in casinos — worldwide — looks like someone vomitted in hypercolor then doodled aimlessly in every direction? "It's pyschological warfare," says one trusted insider. "The idea is to keep the guests' eyes up, looking towards the gaming area."

When on the floor of one such casino it would seem the technique works. Overwhelmed by the many zig zags, patterns and colors all colliding without rhyme or reason, your eyes can't help but seek refuge ahead.

So next time you'd like to draw attention away from your flooring and onto your new framed travel photos you may want to employ this technique. You can use last night's left overs or simply use party string for that extra something special. Food for thought...

St. Louis: Curiosities from the zoo

Mm... an artistic replica of a dead deer in the tree.

No I did not put it there!

There is something not quite right about this statue...

These might just be the world's ugliest camels

(but I'm sure they have great personalities!).

St. Louis Zoo: Adventures with my driver

A black SUV was waiting to transport me to the St. Louis Zoo. The others in my group had predictably chosen grown-up options, such as the brewery tour and a trip to the arches, I was niether ashamed nor envious about my somewhat childish choice. In fact, I was frickin excited.

My request for clear, blue skies had been denied by the St. Louis weather department however, nothing could dampen my spirits. Like an annoying eight year old, I peppered my driver with questions about the zoo; What animals do they have? Is it big? How big? Do they have elephants? What about tigers?

I had worn my sneakers as it was going to be a quick tour but I was determined to see as much as possible in my short amount of time. So much so that I almost flew out of the black-tinted windowed car as soon as we stopped.

Alex galantly escorted me through the entire zoo, complete with his three piece suit, dress shoes and umbrella over my head to shield me from the weather. Although I would have been happy to see it by myself it was much more fun with someone else in tow.

My favorite was his commentary. Upon seeing an enclosure and no animal, I would ask, "what's supposed to be in here?" searching for the animal hidden away trying to live with dignity. He would reply, "It's probably dead." in his great Russian accent. This became a running gag, that and his eagerness to wake every animal from their slumber for my amusement. At one point he offered to take a duckling for me as a gift, I had to stop him from chasing the poor little thing down the road and into the pond. Overall, awesome zoo. Great driver. Thanks Alex!