Two Picks for a Rainy Weekend in the City

It’s looking to be a rainy weekend. So what is a mindful foodie to do?  Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Viree Agricole. This is a wonderful photo exhibition documenting the agricultural season of a Quebec organic farm. The project was undertaken last year by photographer Léonie Rouette Tétreault, who spent the better part of a year at Les Bontés de la Vallée Farm in Franklin Qc. The exhibit is sponsored by Equiterre and runs  until Sunday June 3rd at the Le Maison du Development Durable, on Ste-Catherine street near Clark.
• Chucks Day Off at Appetite for Books. If you’re a fan of Chuck Hughes, he will be at Appetite for Books in Westmount on Saturday afternoon as part of the launch of the English edition of his popular recipe book Garde Manger, which features favourites from his restaurant of the same name. The book signing starts at 3pm. Appetite for Books is a great independent book store specialising in cookbooks in food-related literature. Even if you can’t make the book signing, you should check them out!

If you do decide to venture outside, consider dropping in to the market in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. This weekend they have a seed and flowers workshop for children at 11am.  After picking up your market fare, you can duck inside to any number of the town’s shops and restaurants, such as Co-op du Grande Orme, which has a café and a great selection of organic and local fare.

Finally, in other news, I heard through the rumour mill that one of my favourite restaurants for sustainable food in the city, DNA in Old Montreal, will be closing its doors this weekend. The last service will be Saturday night. If you haven’t had a chance to experience DNA, this will be your last chance (although good luck getting a reservation at this point!). DNA is a restaurant that I never hesitate to recommend to people interested in good food that has been sourced sustainably. DNA also has one of the most impressive Canadian wine lists of anywhere I’ve visited. All the best to Chef Derek Dammann and Sommelier Alex Cruz, the co-owners of DNA, in their future endeavours. I hope they stay in Montreal and I look forward to whatever their next project is.