Olive & Gourmando

For Day 2 in Montreal, we decided to stay close to our hotel.  Hence, our plan for the day was to take the short stroll into Old Montreal and spend the bulk of our day there.  So to begin on the right note, we headed over to the popular Olive & Gourmando on the Western end of the old town.  Sure enough, much like any other popular establishment in any city, there was a wait.  Not bad though as it was only 30 minutes.  We ended up sitting in a 2-4-2 configuration due to their lack of large tables.  

Viv sat with our daughter and ended up sharing the Mr. Miami consisting of Smoked Beef Brisket, roasted onions, cilantro pesto, Havarti, pineapple and jalapeño salsa.  This was sure cheesy with an overloaded amount of melted Havarti.  Not that we were complaining though!  Despite the presence of many different ingredients, the whole sammie was overwhelmingly cilantro-tasting.  Hence, I only got a background hit of spiciness from the salsa whereas I did not taste the pineapple nor much of the tender beef.  They also shared an Apple Tart and Le Killer Chocolate Cookie. Sweet and slightly tangy, the apple tart sported flaky and buttery puff pastry.  As for the cookie, omg, it was outstanding.  Crisp with a moist interior, the intensity of the dark chocolate had a lingering taste.

Costanza ended up with the Cubain with pancetta, roasted pork, raw milk Gruyère, lime, cilantro, chipotle and pickle mayonnaise.  Beyond the crunchy exterior of the grilled bread, there was a deliciousness about the sandwich that is hard to explain.  It was almost as if the umaminess of the flavourful roasted pork and saltiness of the pancetta were so impactful, there was nothing else needed.  However, the creaminess of the ample cheese and multitude of flavours from the mayo brought it altogether.  My son went for his standby being the O+G Grilled Cheese consisting of caramelized onions, Raclette, Gouda Beemster XO and served with house-made ketchup.  This was no ordinary grilled cheese as there were layers of flavours including the creamy and nutty cheese as well as the sweet onions.  The tart ketchup provided a nice balance.

For myself, I had The Majestic consisting of a bacon+cheddar sausage, apple coleslaw, pickled corn + jalapeños, fried shallots and creamy mustard served on a Hof Kelsten's bun.  No, this was not merely a hot dog with toppings.  Rather, it was a firm sausage sporting a cheesy saltiness accented by an equal amount of sweetness, tartness and spiciness.  This hit all the high notes in terms of different tastes on my palate as well as textures including the snap of the sausage and firm crunchiness of the bun. The only blemish was the Green Salad as it was rather weird-tasting as the raw veggies and especially the herbs were overly pungent.  The salty dressing didn't really seem to bring the salad together.  Something more tart and bright would've been more effective.  Salad withstanding, the rest of the eats were solid and definitely a good way to start our day in Old Montreal.

The Good:
- Impactful flavours
- Simple, but effective
- The limited amount of baked goods we tried were good

The Bad:
- Not the most comfortable place to sit
- Constant lineup
- Didn't like the salad