Montreal, April 3-8, 2026

Posted: May 15th, 2026 | Filed under: Out Of Town

April 3, 2026
The Betty Beavers Truck Stop & Diner is still there in Lewis, New York, just off of I-87, though minus a diner:

April 4, 2026

First, Fairmount Bagel:

Then the Ateliers & Saveurs Macarons Class:

Then a bagel taste-test following a return visit to St-Viateur Bagel:

Parc du Mont-Royal/Mount Royal Park:

The AirBnB was in a great spot in Vieux Montréal/Old Montreal, so we were able to explore around there a lot. The nautical Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, for example:

Place Jacques-Cartier:

Rue Notre-Dame:

We tried to eat mostly Quebecois food and Caribou Gourmand features many exotic meats, including seal (!):

April 5, 2026

The Spade & Palacio Beyond the Basilica Essential 101 Montréal Walking Tour is very good and as the name implies, takes you “beyond the Basilica” into Chinatown, up Boulevard Saint-Laurent, into fun stores and snack spots and showcases various Montreal’s murals between the Place des Artes and Plateau Mont-Royal . . .

Place d’Armes:

Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal/Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal:

Rue Saint-Jacques:

Royal Bank Tower:

RÉSO:

Palais des Congrès de Montréal:

Chinatown:

Esplanade Tranquille:

Eva B:

Boulevard Saint-Laurent:

Schwartz’s:

For dinner, Au Pied de Cochon, where everything is remarkable. This is squid ink poutine topped with calamari:

Sea urchins and foie gras nigiri:

Veal brain:

And their famous “Canard en Conserve” — Duck In a Can:

April 6, 2026

The aforementioned Schwartz’s is great but Smoke Meat Pete in nearby L’Île-Perrot is worth the trip:

The Oratoire Saint-Joseph-du-Mont-Royal/Saint Joseph’s Oratory up on Mont Royal is a beautiful spot:

I have never seen so many candles as there are in the votive chapel:

I am partial to nice views, which was one reason I wanted to come here:

A return visit to Marché Jean-Talon:

Les Délices de la Mer:

Great local oysters at La Boîte aux Huîtres:

April 7, 2026

Cabane à Sucre Constantin Grégoire in nearby Saint-Esprit is a festival of all things maple syrup:

The meals at the sugar shacks (“cabane à sucre”) are huge and seemingly everything incorporates maple syrup:

Tire:

Of course they also produce maple syrup, and the spring is when the trees basically aspirate the raw sap — producers need daytime temperatures above freezing to induce a freeze-thaw scenario that moves the sap through networks of hoses:

Rue Saint-Paul:

The joyful Gibeau Orange Julep:

April 8, 2026

A morning run around the Vieux-Port de Montréal/Old Port of Montreal:

A winter’s worth of slowly disintegrating chunks of snow and ice looked almost sculptural:

Place d’Youville:

A final lunch at the elegant Gibbys:

These were the best escargots I’ve ever had:

On the way back home, the IGL Duty Free at the border:

And back into the U.S. via the Lacolle-Champlain Border Crossing:

Phoenix, February 14-21, 2026

Posted: February 27th, 2026 | Filed under: Out Of Town

Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area:

Last year I ran by Central Park and got a kick out of the name, so I wanted to return:

The amount of classic design on display at the Martin Auto Museum is really impressive and you can even sit inside many of the cars — really luxurious:

Sunset on February 17, 2026:

Bacanora on Grand Avenue:

Lost Dutchman State Park just outside of Phoenix:

Sunrise happens relatively late — 7 a.m. — so you can often catch it:

Papago Park:

Arcosanti, an hour north of Phoenix is a fun artifact of 1970s-era utopian design principles:

Love’s Travel Stop is just down the street from Arcosanti before you get back on I-17 and has an amusing hot dog roller grill:

Sunset on February 19, 2026:

The first day of Spring Training at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick:

El Norteño‘s chimichangas are highly regarded:

125th Street, An Update

Posted: February 11th, 2026 | Filed under: Manhattan

Honestly, 20 years just sneaks up on you but one of the satisfying things about this admittedly somewhat insane project is catching change over time. Walking the length of 125th Street in Manhattan in 2004 was just to see what was there, while walking the length of it on January 23, 2026 made you aware of how much of the street has evolved, so I paid more attention to the new things than I usually would have:

The former site of Demolition Depot (which is now on 126th Street I believe) . . .

. . . is now this:

And the southwestern corner of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in 2004 . . .

. . . in May 2020 (those images are here . . .

. . . and today:

The “Corn Exchange” building at the northwest corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue pre- and post-renovation:

The northeast corner of 125th Street and Madison Avenue:

The Studio Museum, first “of” now “in”:

“Movie Center 5” was long closed by the time we walked by in 2004, but it was once a huge Loew’s theater and is now part of a huge mixed-use project:

And the Apollo, behind scaffolding then and now:

Nelson Cleaners, same:

The pre- and post-eminent domain Manhattanville deserves its own page, here, but some side-by-sides follow: