Hello! We’re back! We’ve taken a sleepy winter hiatus, during which many mugs of tea have been sipped, pots of soup have been stirred, cookies have been baked (so many cookies have been baked), and there have been some great hikes.

While the downside of winter in Vancouver is the rain (as I write this, it is pourrrrring), the upside is that by January, green shoots are already pushing their way through the soil, and a few trees have even begun to hint at the possibility of cherry blossoms. With the damp greenery all around, it’s sometimes easy to forget that many parts of the country are still buried under snow, and that for some people, outdoor ice-skating is a regular part of the week (if you don’t believe us, check out Aimee of Simple Bites' Instagram feed!)

We’re keen to get in on some of that classic winter action, and are thrilled to announce we're going back to Montreal! In February, we’ll be heading eastward for the Montreal en Lumiere Festival, a crazy tangle of arts, culture, and culinary events, now in its 15th season. This year’s festival runs from February 19th to March 1st, and we’ll be there from the 19th to the 25th to eat, eat some more, then finishing up all that has yet to be eaten. There will be workshops to attend, markets to explore, and a heck of a lot of meals by local chefs, as well as some from Switzerland, this year’s featured tourism partner (bonjour, fondue).

Knowing that we’re going back to Montreal has triggered a very fun and never-ending game of “When We Go Back, I’m Going to Eat _____.” The first two things we thought of were from our Croissant Crawl, a bicycle tour that took us to some of the best bakeries in the city.

Dana’s first "I'm Going to Eat THAT" treat was the kouign amann from Patisserie Kouign Amann in Mont Royal. It's a ridiculous confection that's turned us into two kouign amann-seeking missiles.

The pastry I haven’t been able to shut up about is the “Oh, Mon Dieu!” croissant from Mamie Clafoutis, which gets its name from the obscenely thick layer of chocolate ganache baked inside it. Take the amount of chocolate used in 15 pain au chocolat, and then you'll have half the amount of chocolate that's inside the Oh, Mon Dieu. I'm serious.

Then there’s the smoked meat, poutine, cider, cheese, and bagels - DON’T EVEN GET US STARTED ON THE BAGELS - that await, as well as much more to discover, including plenty of foods from this year's featured Quebec region, Lanaudière. We’re so excited for FEAST Montreal: Round II, and looking forward to sharing it all with you!

Now, we must go find some real winter clothes....

*Thank you so much to Montreal en Lumiere, Tourism Quebec, and Tourism Montreal for inviting us back!

-LA