http://www.montreal-by-design.com Eat. Shop. Discover vibrant Montreal. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:23:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I had dinner at Méchant Boeuf, the lively bar-restaurant in Vieux Montreal. Tall windows define the front of the restaurant, the tiled back wall streams with water. The bar, suffused in red light, runs from front to back. The place is packed ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2010/02/mechant-boeuf-for-a-night-out-and-a-burger/ Our self-guided tour, Montreal for Chocolate Lovers, was featured on My Gourmet Connection - a food lover's guide to great flavor. What a great gift for your favorite chocolate lover, and at $14.95, it's outrageously affordable! http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2010/02/chocolate-lovers-montreal-a-valentine-classic/ Hotel Nelligan — a boutique hotel known for great service, luxurious rooms and French cuisine - is offering a winter promotion:  a loft suite for $189 CAD (normally $365-$650 CAD). With two restaurants, a bar and, for added romance, a poet as a namesake, the Nelligan is the perfect place to cocoon. I spent ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2010/02/time-out-at-hotel-nelligan/ Last minute shopping to do? Food is always welcome, and my Seven Days article “Global Palate: A Montreal holiday gift guide for foodies” reviews 14 great sources of kitchen tools, wine storage and accessories, cookbooks, and LOTS of food products, from refined gift baskets and gift certificates (Chez ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/12/holiday-shopping-for-foodies/ I’ve been researching the best Montreal Burger for a year, eating at a variety of diners and restos, including one that specializes in hamburgers. And while much of it was good, nothing completely satisfied me. Then, a few weeks ago, I went to Café Griffintown to meet a friend and ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/11/best-burger-in-montreal/ I've been wandering Mile End lately, with and without clients.  I love that it's an interesting mix of architecture, commerce, art and people. These photos take you to the neighborhood in ways my descriptions just can't.  I'll be back with a few reviews, but in the meantime, merci mille fois - ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/11/lots-happening-in-mile-end/ At DHC-ART, the space is beautiful, entry is free, and the work high quality and thought-provoking. The current expo, Particles of Reality, by Israeli artist Michal Rovner, combines video, installation and sculpture. I found the show beautiful, mysterious, intricately designed and socially relevant - a curious combination of abstract ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/09/particles-of-reality-at-dhc-art/ Art is food. Feed the people. This weekend, Galerie Maison Kasini, Montreal’s newest contemporary art gallery, gives sustenance to body, mind, and spirit at their grand opening in the Belgo Building. Working backward: Reception, Saturday 4-7pm in their new fourth floor space. Meet writer, artist, and gallery owner Ric ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/09/galerie-maison-kasini-opens-with-installation/ Leave it to design-friendly Montreal to combine green technology with scenic vistas and affordable food. Muvbox, a new take-out restaurant in Vieux Montreal, is a 20-foot shipping container by night and a solar powered boîte serving clam chowder, pizza, and lobster from the Magdalen Islands by day. I arrived just before noon ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/09/muvbox-a-design-friendly-affordable-lunch-spot/ What I liked most at L’Insoumise, the Latin Quarter anarchist bookstore, was at the back. An Emma Goldman poster the size of a decent TV screen said: “I want freedom, the right to self-expression; everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.” Nearby, a mother defined anarchism to her teen-aged daughter. “It’s craziness! ... http://www.montreal-by-design.com/2009/09/old-books-for-new-times-l%e2%80%99insoumise/