First, the service, the excellent wait staff at this trendy Montreal restaurant is dedicated to their clients’ good time, friendly and cheerful and ever ready to share a laugh as they suggest a tasty dish or a good wine pairing. Great service will always affect your mood when you eat out. Knowing one is in good hands, one tends to relax more, drink more, eat more and generally have more fun.

So what’s so special about their table d’hote? A “table d’hote” is a specials menu, it features a selection of fine dishes, paired with an appetizer and coffee or tea included in the price, sometimes you will even get a desert. The table d’hote is a fixture in Montreal restaurants, and is usually more than worth the price.

The table d’hote at misto includes an appetizer as well as desert, in addition to coffee of course. I believe that appetizers and deserts, when paired with excellent service and food, plus plenty of wine, make eating out more fun.

The kitchen is open until midnight every night, so if you happen to be looking for a late night dinner, you have happened upon the right place.

Montreal Museums day is a monster! With 35 museums participating, pulling out all the stops with exciting exhibits and activities, plus free shuttle buses running between the museums so you can catch as many exhibits as you please, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things to do on Sunday May 27th. Luckily, we’re here to help with our best picks and some Montreal Museum Day advice.

First, Download this free Montreal Museums day Iphone app to help you sort through all the exciting events, you will be able to see a list of participating museums by proximity to your location, what events are happening, and suggestions of what’s hot and where to go.

Next, take a look at the shuttle and museum activities schedule to pick the ones you want to visit. This might just be a good time to branch out and visit some museums you would not normally see when you are in Montreal like the Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic site, on the beautiful Lachine canal.

MyStudioMontreal.com Best Bet for Montreal Museums Day

The yellow line looks like a pretty great bet, hitting all the main downtown museums like the prestigious Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, as well as the Musée Redpath where you can explore the Egyptian mummies exhibit and a special demonstration: Dinosaurs of Canada! (11am, 12pm and 1pm) The yellow line also stops at the McCord Museum, where you can learn about the cultural history of Montreal, and completes the tour with an organ concert at the beautiful Saint-Josheph Oratory, to finish your day of discovery and interesting sights with the sounds of one of the world’s top organs.

Have fun out there!

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I’ll let you know what draws me back every time. The homemade pumpernickel is all I have to say. For most of my childhood life, and a little into my adult life I believed white bread was the holy grail. Any other type did not have that perfection that white bread did but little did I know how other possibilities could be so magical. It was probably dark rye bread that turned me on to the good stuff, and now pumpernickel(when done right) is pretty up there and for that reason these sandwiches cannot be argued with. Used in every sandwich with cream cheese almost any sandwich turns out delicious with this combination. Plus for a place that’s been open three decades, of course recipes have been tested over and over.

I’ll suggest the Killer Tomato which a true crowd pleaser – of course with thick pumpernickel bread, cream cheese, basic, sun dried tomatoes. The sandwich towers pretty high but bite into it and you’ll forget all about the mess around your hands and just keep chowing down. All other sandwiches are just as delicious with the aforementioned bread and cream cheese. I should say now if you’re allergic to lactose or wheat – this sandwich is not for you, and for that I apologize. All others, rejoice!

3990 rue Saint-Urbain

For a shorter and more romantic bike trip, the Friday before the big tour you can participate in the exciting Tour la Nuit where thousands of  cyclists take to the nightime city streets, this route is twenty-two kilometres in length and starts at 8:15pm, a whole new way to explore Montreal by night.

Don’t Beat em, join em!

So celebrate the warmer weather, and the beginning of festival season 2012 by getting your bike a tune up, dusting off your helmet and hitting the streets, alongside of an estimated 25 000 excited cyclists enjoying a weekend of bike appreciation and car-free streets. If you don’t have a bicycle there are many places around town where you can rent a mountain bike for a day or for the weekend, or you can take a bixi bike! The Montreal bike share system is offering a special price for the Tour de l’Ile and the tour la nuit this year, only 10$ to use a bixi bike for either tour even for non-members. More information is available on their website.

So maybe you like poetry and furthermore you like ballet, and even further you like the time honored french classic The Little Prince, then you are in luck as the Grands Ballets Canadiens showcase this ballet the 12th of May at the Place des Arts, choreographed by Dutch Didy Veldman. Ongoing until the 5th of May at Place des Arts as well are regular ballet shows by Regional Dance America.

Do you like the circus? And honestly if you live in Montreal, the greatness of Cirque du Soleil is rarely lost on anyone and this year once again they put on a splendid show named Amaluna that combines mythical aspects like moon people, rock and roll and of course the wonderful acrobatics they have come to be known for. The show is ongoing until July 19th.As well, another circus act known as God Save Circus plays shows at Theatre Sainte-Catherine during May 4 and May 5th.

If you wanted to venture away from traditional activities like ballet or circus then head over to festival known as Elektra, that represents digital media from May 1st to the 6th. The festival includes all things like music, film, performance arts and art installations. This coincidentally happens the same time as the International Digital Arts Biennale at the MMFA.

So what’s your plan for this spring weather weekend?

Although the poutine regulars of fries, gravy and cheese almost seem like nothing special (although when you’re craving it, it can be the best meal ever) Smoke’s prides themselves on the many reinventions they’ve brought to to poutine. So many which ways to make your head dizzy. Honestly we won’t even begin to try and list all the crazy amount of variety you can include in one poutine but anything, we mean anything you can even dream of – that mix will be available.As well, if you’re vegetarian the great thing is they offer a vegetarian gravy alongside their meat based options. Another exciting tidbit is they carry Pop Shoppe sodas, which are very hard to find and any both from Ontario and Quebec in the 80s might remember they’re sugary deliciousness.

Nothing is wrong with the classic poutine, but the reinvention don’t hurt surely. With so many things to add on it, its like a burger but perhaps better – more cheese and more gooey and stringy fries, an eclectic mix that keeps getting better every time you try something new.

2019 rue Bishop Street, (514) 419-4744

La Banquise is one of Montreal’s premier poutine destinations. Not content to serve the famous Quebec meal in it’s most usual incarnation, fries covered with cheese curds and slathered with gravy, this family restaurant features over twenty poutine variations, adding even more every month! You can order your poutine topped with three kinds of meat, or covered in Mexican toppings like sour cream and guacamole, or even with part of a turkey dinner! With this many poutine options, delicious burgers and hot dogs, combined with friendly service and a great location, it is no wonder that there is almost always a line winding outside the door at La Banquise.  The intimate restaurant features plenty of seating inside and on the back patio, but you always have the option of doing takeout and enjoying your poutine in the park. Open 24/7, this Plateau poutine joint is an institution in late night eats.

For amazing apartments in the plateau, near beautiful park Lafontaine, check out MyStudioMontreal.com today!

Hillbilly Hoedown, Now with more Vampires!

The Centaur Theatre, located in the Old Port, has an exciting spring line up, but what I’m really “dying” to see is Haunted Hillbilly, running from May 8^th to June 3^rd. Haunted Hillbilly is a musical  about a Country Music Star and a seductive vampire. Those are three of my favorite things right there, musicals, vampires and hoedowns, I will certainly not be missing this crazy romp! Haunted Hillbilly is a SideMart Theatrical Grocery production.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

At the Segal Centre, the upcoming production of Same Time Next Year has us looking forward to opening night, not because of the play, which does sound great – a man and a woman meet once every year at the same inn, away from their marriages, sharing disparate parts of their lives – I’m mostly excited for the leading man. R H Thompson is a famous Canadian actor who has a plethora of impressive theatre credits under his belt, but might be best remembered by Canadians who grew up in the nineties for playing the part of Jasper Dale in the Canadian television program Road to Avonlea. If that doesn’t have you heading to the Segal Centre, I don’t  know what would.

Montreal’s Favorite Comedy Mix

At Theatre St. Catherine I am most looking forward to Freedom Nation, happening Tuesday April 24^th, featuring a mixture of comedy, dance, puppetry and everything in between hosted by DeAnne Smith, one of Montreal’s favorite Comedians, this is sure to be an amazing show!

Where to stay

Heading to Montreal to  take in some theatre, festivals and culture? Be sure to check out the great selection of furnished apartments at MyStudioMontreal.com.

The co-owners Amelie Thellen along with Melanie Robillard run the cute boutique that has been opened since September 2008. Both have long worked in the fashion industry, since they were just 16 years old. Studying in fashion marketing and haute couture, they make a great pair perfect for balancing a boutique in Montreal where the fashion industry is well, alive and constantly burgeoning.

For all things hand picked, the shop is made for smart women uninterested in being fed labels and mass media representation, and rather want the hand picked selection from around the group with great accessories to tally up a well rounded look. With their recent spring and summer 2012 collections, the store is burgeoning with all things light and airy. Plus their trunk show upcoming the 26th of April is a perfect opportunity to see what’s in store and upcoming in the near future, sure to be a hit.

5135 Bd St Laurent Montreal/514 544-2828

Other screenings this weekend include the Latino-American festival of Montreal continuing. Check out ‘I’v Loved You For Long’, a film that was commended in 2008 screens this weekend. As well, the Alfred Hitchock Presents- type festival continues. At the Rialto Theatre, the 1953 version of the Titanic, in honour ( perhaps not the best term) for its 100 year anniversary of April 15th, 1912. There are three other versions centred around the event (1943, 1958 and 1997) which are not to be confused with the version being shown at Rialto presently.

As well, because Friday the 13th doesn’t really come around all that often there is always some sort of celebration of the anomaly. Blue Sunshine is showing a 16mm print of Martin! And on Saturday Belanger was a Madman – a wonderful opportunity to catch a glimpse of Montreal (more specifically the Rosemont area) in the late 1930s. Be sure to check out some of the excellent entertainment around town this weekend.