Geno Eats His Way Around Boston and Montreal

A skyscraper, church and statue. The might be the most Boston photo ever taken.

First stop in Boston for food is usually for a lobster roll. Nobody does it better. There's apparently a Luke's Lobster location in Miami. I haven't tracked it down yet. There are a couple in Boston. But I've been to Luke's Lobster locations in Philadelphia, NYC and Las Vegas. They're all great.

Not the most photogenic lobster roll with those spices on top, but definitely tasted incredible. And that blueberry soda is a must too. They actually have it in stock usually at Mazzaro's in St. Pete.

Pronounced Gah-din.

Boston Common is kind of like a mini version of New York City's Central Park.

The reviews for this food truck were off the chart so I gave it a shot.

Go the "in a cup" route. Or it'll be a mess in 20 minutes.

I went with birthday cake cookies with Milky Way ice cream inside. No regrets. At first...

Don't order the cookie sandwich. I eat fast but couldn't eat fast enough to avoid a meltdown.

Wearing a Lightning hat to a Bruins game? My Twitter friends made me do it. Clearly they didn't care about my well being.

Before the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins did a charity scrimmage game at TD Garden. I grew up in Maine so the Bruins were my childhood team. And since the Bolts were out of the running, I was pulling for 'em.

Time to eat. And there's no better place to be hungry than Boston's Italian north end.

Most pizza experts say this is the best you'll find in Boston. I like Regina, but I have other plans when I go to the North End.

Every Boston visit means a trip to Giacomo's for Chicken Parmesan. Like most places I'm going to recommend, there's always a line at Giacomo's... even if it's 2 degrees out in the middle of winter. There's a reason people are willing to wait. They don't take reservations or credit cards.

You might not have room after Giacomo's for dessert. But go anyway. White Mike's Pastry boxes will be seen as soon as you get to any tourist area in Boston.

I caught Boston on one of its 5 nice weather days of the year. But time to heard north over the US border into Canada. By car it takes about 4 hours to get from Boston to Montreal.

First stop when I get to Montreal is at IGA, their big supermarket that carries my two must-haves: Old Dutch Ketchup Chips and Saint Henri Cheese Curds (Squeaky Cheese.) You can't find either in the US. The first time I had squeaky cheese was at a little convenience store. There was a basket of packages of cheese like this sitting next to the cash register. I wondered who the employee was who'd be fired for leaving the cheese out of the refrigerator. They DON'T refrigerate it. It's so fresh it's good for days like this! And when you bite in, it squeaks. So good.

Weather was perfect... temps at night were in the 50s. Felt great!

Street musician in Old Montreal on my bike ride. They have bikes you can rent for about $5 a day. Just be careful. You can't keep them longer than 30 mins or there's an extra charge. You switch out at stations all over the city. On Sundays though, they're free. But the 30 minute limit still applies.

Yup. Another line. A stop at Schwartz's on Saint Laurent is always a must. Smoked meat sandwich, fries and cole slaw is my usual.

A heart attack between two slices of bread.

Canadian style cole slaw is so good. It's not sweet or creamy. It's tangy. So so so good. Most go to Schwartz for smoked meat. This is my reason to go.

Montreal definitely makes you feel like you sprung for a European vacation to Paris.

Great Portuguese BBQ spots are all over Montreal. Barroso is my pick.

Honestly the views aren't that incredible on the Montreal version of the big wheel.

One of my favorite breakfast spots is "Cacao."I went with the Apple & Bacon waffle. No regrets.

Last visit, I had the Illegal. Worth a few days in jail.

Bananas, strawberries, waffles and a brownie to dip in chocolate. And that's your appetizer.

Really glad we don't have "Cacao 70" in Florida. They'd have to widen the studio door. When your breakfast is your dessert. This is chocolate bliss. It's crazy to me there's no long line at Cacao 70 every morning.

Back in line again at one of my all time favorite breakfast spots - Le Passe Compose.

Hands down the best french toast you'll ever have. The French know how to do french toast right. Who'da thunk it? It's crunchy... sweet... it tastes like something you'd think they'd have at the Florida State Fair.

On the flight back to Florida, I had a connection in Charlotte, which meant I got to grab a burger at Bad Daddy's. This place puts airport food to shame.

The bacon cheeseburger on steroids is an appropriate name.

Any day with tots is a good day.

No napkins. They give you a roll of paper towel. You'll need it.

Look at size of this thing. I'm about 300 pounds... I think the burger was about 280. And after this burger, I exploded so the trip was over. Hope you enjoyed.