What to eat while waiting to pick someone up at the Montreal airport

Yesterday I did my first round trip to Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport/ Dorval/ YUL entirely on public transit. Since I hadn't gone the whole way before, I wanted to make sure to have plenty of time so I wouldn't miss meeting Erik's flight.

It took about an hour, so I had an hour to spare. In my purse I had a book, an almost entirely full roll(?) of Starburst, my iPod, a menu from SushiShop, a sandwich and juice box for my tired travelin' man, and my wallet.

Right next to to place where domestic flights get in there is a Tim Horton's. It's easy to get Timmyed out around here. There is a Tim Horton's express stand (just donuts, bagels, muffins, and drinks) in the building all my classes are in. And on in the building across the street. And a full-service, newly-renovated Tim Horton's just a block away from those, across from the Metro stop. I'm not sick of it yet.

I've always been a donut fan. The fact that Canada shares this love was one of the first things that attracted me to it. Donuts are my number one sweet breakfast food, beating out all manner of waffles, pancakes, muffins, and crepes (well, American ones... this is another story). My number one anytime food is soup. The thing I miss most about college is the daily soup selections and eating some at pretty much every meal. In France I scandalized my European friends by making soups that were full of things, not just purées of this or this.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Tim Horton's has a combo that is soup and a roll and butter and a donut and a drink. That is an ideal meal for me. And it's $4.35 after taxes, so I can't feel too bad about having it one in a while.

We all know that airport food is notoriously overpriced. Even the fairly standard-priced McDonald's takes advantage of its captive customers by overcharging for its [tasty] crap. Well, my friends, this airport Tim Horton's was the same price as any other one.

I tried the Chicken, Rice, and Vegetable soup and roll with a glacé à la vanille donut (raised donut with vanilla icing and too many crunchy sprinkles) and a hot chocolate (8 pm is too late for a coffee). It was my first time with both the donut and this particular soup. The soup was burn-your-mouth hot (This is a plus as far as I'm concerned. Soup can cool down, but it's not going to heat itself up!) and came with two packets of saltine crackers (Premium Plus). It may be my favorite so far. The broth was flavorful and somewhat thickened, the rice was a good cracked open tender consistency. There were also lentils (nice touch, Tim!), parsley, and tiny bits of red pepper. The saltines were richer than some others I've had lately (Zesta, at Tous Les Jours). It may be the warm and spreadable temperature at which the butter packets are kept or their perfect salt content, but I have never been disappointed in the roll and butter that comes with the soup. To inhale or to savor? I rip the roll in two lengthwise, one half per butter packet (so buttery.) and eat the first voraciously, then make the second last as long as I can. The hot chocolate was also extra hot and served in a doubled-up cup. The one drawback of this airport operation was that everything was served in paper and plastic. If you choose to eat-in at a regular Tim's the soup is served in a real bowl with silverware. You can also have a mug for your hot drink.

Now, about that donut. It was good, but there was not quite enough icing, and what icing there was was absolutely coated with hard round sprinkles. I prefer jimmies (those long, softer sprinkles) for their texture. In the end, I ate the top of the donut and left a little un-iced part behind. Why finish it if it's not good or good-for-you, right?