Before we get to this week’s comic, a quick note: If you’re reading this on the morning of Monday, July 6 when it comes out, I will be on Wisconsin Public Radio around 12:30pm central time today! I’ll be on the Lee Rayburn Show (what used to be the Larry Meiller Show) to talk about my book Let’s Make Cocktails! Tune in and have a listen!

So Niles and I just got back from an absolutely lovely long weekend away in Montréal, where we had so many amazing things to eat and drink. I will probably draw comics about all of them eventually, but one place really blew me away: Les Street Monkeys and their Cambodian inspired cuisine.

Les Street Monkeys is on Wellington in Verdun, a short walk from the Lasalle metro stop. Every single dish was over the top flavorful and delicious. Niles’s favorite was the stuffed wings, juicy chicken wrapped around aromatic sausage. Mine was the prahok ktiss (which I still have no idea how to pronounce), so astoundingly bold and flavorful with coconut curry and peanut and shrimp paste. I could have eaten a whole bowl of it.

The wasabi shrimp ceviche was also a delight. The menu warns: “May be too intense for some. No refunds.” and the waitress asked us twice if we were sure. It was so punchy it made the back of my head tingle! But I am no stranger to wasabi’s hurts-so-good burn, and we happily polished it off.

We had a lovely walk afterwards up and down Wellington, where all summer long the street is a zone piétonne, closed off to cars! It was so pleasant and enjoyable, we ended up strolling all the way to the next metro station!

I have lots more to say about where we ate and drank while in Montréal, but in the meantime I realized I made a little comic travelogue of our last trip to Montréal, well over a decade ago. You can read the whole thing here, but I’m putting an excerpt below. A lot of those places are still around! In fact, we stopped in for a little drink at Else’s on this visit too, and it was just as charming as it was a decade and a half ago. :)

Shameless Self-Promotion:

That Threadless sale was extended! If you want any of my drawings on a shirt, you can get it pretty cheap for the next day or two. Also! If you have suggestions for designs that I should add to the shop, let me know!

What I’m Into Lately:

I just finished Sarah Gailey’s Make Me Better, a deliciously creepy and addictive novel about a weird (and weirdly charming?) intentional community/wellness cult on an isolated island surrounded by a maybe-conscious and malevolent coral reef. I really enjoyed this one! It was a very easy read with relatable characters, and some intriguing ideas about our hunger for community and meaning and what we’re willing to give up in pursuit of easy answers.

What Toki’s Into Lately:

My awesome friend Liz was looking after Toki while we were in Canada, and got this great photo of him sprawled out on the rug in all his floofy glory. Pat the belly!