Hot Doggin in Montreal: Lafleur's

Just after Little Miss and I went to Top Dog, the whole gang motored up to Montreal for a family barbecue. Mrs. HDM and I decided to do a Hot Dog Story while in Downtown Montreal last Saturday before the cookout. We planned to do two more on Sunday, but unbeknownst to us at the time- Irene would quash that.

We stopped at La Belle Provence, a Canadian franchise that serves very good poutine (Mrs. HDM's favorite food). Unfortunately, the manager at La Belle Provence was "un sot" and didn't want us to film in his ristorante. What a DB. He was acting like the place was a five star joint or something.

So we motored to a Lafleur near where we were staying. They have lots of hot dog fare and good poutine too- I've actually done a Hot Dog Story there before. 

This location featured a fine patio dining area- perfect for a glorious Quebec morning.

The menu features a variety of fast food options, but "la specialte' de la maison" is a Michigan Dog. Frequent readers of Hot Dog Stories will know the history of Michigan Dogs from Marlboro hot dog truck operator Alan Archibald (a greater Montreal native) of Archie's on a Roll.

Lafleur's started on Avenue Lafleur in Montreal in 1951 as a Hot Dog Truck. In 1961, owner Denis Vinet built a permanent stand at the location and named the restaurant after the street on which it was located. Since then, they have grown to over 13 locations and over 200 employees. They make their own meat products and offer franchises. Lafleur is a true success story in the Hot Dog business. 

The proprietor of this Resto Lafleur was delighted to have Hot Dog Stories there- he was very accommodating and had lots of fun with it. We shot most on the story in French!

Mrs. HDM ordered up a Michigan Dog...

...and a poutine.

I added a Michigan Dog to the mix.

Mrs. HDM CHOWED DOWN!

J'ai

  MANGEZ BAS 

aussi.

Lafleur gets

TWO THUMBS UP!

Unfortunately, we were unable to get to a couple of other HDJ's due to time constraints and Hurricane Irene. We'll hit some other places up in subsequent visits- PROMISE! 

If you're anywhere in Quebec and you're hankering for a hot dog, stop by the local Lafleur and tell them "L'Hotdogman m'a envoye'."

Get the whole story on Hot Dog Stories.

Good Night Irene

It has been quite a few days. Little Miss and I traveled to Rockport to visit Top Dog last Thursday.

Friday, we left for a weekend in Montreal for an annual family barbecue that features corn and...

...hot dogs (amongst other  things).

It was a glorious Saturday in our neighbor to the north. Mrs. HDM and I even managed to sneak in a Hot Dog Story. 

We had planned to do another, but Hurricane Irene had other plans for us. 

I needed to be in Boston at 10 AM Monday morning, so I decided to leave at 11 AM Sunday. I drove right into the teeth of Irene as she tore up the Connecticut River Valley in Vermont. I saw flooded farms, raging rivers and a lot of devastation. It was a scary ride, but I managed to make it home in about eight hours (it normally take me 5 hours). I came home to a couple of downed trees in our yard- one precariously close to the house, lots of debris outside and NO POWER. The power came on around 9 PM, but we were without internet until around 4PM Tuesday.

On Monday, my audition in Boston went well- I was called back for a second. I aim to make infomercials and do a TV Food show about hot dogs. I will keep the faithful posted on these developments.

Anyhoo- I am back, safe and I have two Hot Dog Stories in the can. Top Dog should be up in a day or two and the Montreal story- nearly entirely in French- will be up later this week or early next week.

My heart goes out to the folks in Vermont who suffered severe flood damage as a result of Irene and to all the others who were affected by this storm. I count myself lucky that all I had to bear was a few hours with a chain saw and a couple of days without internet and cable.

Hot Dog Cookout

If you have ever driven to Montreal from the Boston area in August, you will see corn.

Lots of corn.

There's corn growing everywhere you look.

So much that you may get dizzy! So what do you think they serve at the big family BBQ?

If you guessed corn, YOU'RE RIGHT!

But, there's other stuff on the menu too-standard party fare- veggies and dip, bread and pate, various appetizers and HOT DOGS!

The dogs get grilled until crispy...

We went a little easy on Little Miss' standard plain dog...

I dressed mine all around.

Someone ordered some poutine for delivery, so I made a poutine dog: all around with poutine on top! DELISH!

Poutine

For the uninitiated, poutine is french fries topped with gravy and cheese curd. It's most commonly found in Quebec, but you can get it in other places too. Like many regional delicacies, folks have their own "favorites."

The wife and I get poutine whenever we are in Montreal for a visit or when we stumble across a place that has poutine in the states.

We recently found some poutine at Big Bellies Deli in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

These were very good-it was enough for lunch for both of us!

We also had some at Lafleur's in Montreal.

Also very good!

In Montreal, even McDonald's has poutine.

These pretty much sucked! 

The happy meal toy had more flavor!

Not Too Appetizing

Like most tourists, I travel with my camera. I also get hungry from time to time. I happened upon this sign while traveling in Montreal recently.

It looks like dog poop on a roll!

We didn't eat there....

Canadian Drugs

Prescription Drugs are bloody expensive. People on fixed incomes who need to regularly purchase prescription drugs face serious financial burdens. Senior citizens need to find ways to get their medications regularly at affordable prices and Medicare doesn't cut the mustard.

Big Drug Companies have carte blanche to charge whatever they want for drugs in the US, even though their profits are obscene and their customers are in need. Who do you call on when you need prescription drugs at affordable prices?

The Canadians!

Not THOSE Canadians, the folks who bring you the Online Canadian Pharmacy!

The Online Canadian Pharmacy is a pharmaceutical escrow service. They take your order and money, hold the money in escrow and order your medications on your behalf from pharmacies all over the world-wherever you can get the best price. You can save 40-90% on just about any prescription medication and on many "over the counter" medicines as well.

The folks at the Online Canadian Pharmacy used to be an actual pharmacy, but some of the big drug companies shut them down in the US to preserve their obscene profits. The same pills you pay $10 a piece for in the US may very well cost HALF that or less in another country! Why pay more when you don't have to?

If you take prescription drugs regularly and you want to save some dough, give the Online Canadian Pharmacy a shot, your wallet will thank you, even if Pfizer doesn't.