Weekes: Montreal always is a fun place to visit

When it comes to restaurants, atmosphere and just a great place to be, Montreal was one of my favorite cities to frequent on the road.

If you have time, you have to visit old Montreal. You'll feel like you're in Europe, not North America. That's one of my favorite sites, especially during the day time. Obviously the summer is better than the winter, but if you dress for it, you'll be fine.

As far as restaurants, for me, one of the best steakhouses in the League -- top three -- is La Queue de Cheval. It's unbelievable. Great food, sick atmosphere, cigar lounge, great bar -- all rolled into one. It's not your typical steakhouse. If you go there, ask for the owner -- his name is Peter.

A lot of times, my parents or buddies came with me. But I took Zach Parise there most recently.

For all things considered, if you want decent Italian food, good scenery, good vibe, one of the League standbys is Buona Notte. That's about a 10-minute cab ride from the Bell Centre.

In terms of a place to say, the W hotel is great. It's a typical W -- chic, modern, nice and trendy, great interior, great restaurant with a nice club.

Montreal is a great city with tons of things to do, but I never was distracted by it when I was there as a player. I'm a disciplined cat, but for some guys, not as easy. We're all wired differently.

If you go to a game at the Bell Centre, you have to have a hot dog. Forget about the smoked meat; you have to have a hot dog. You know how good these hot dogs are? They're so good that teams order to the room and the coaches don't say anything. Usually we'd order it if we win. That's how good they are.

They'd come in boxes. The bun is kind of like toast. It's folded up, but it's square when it's folded. It's sick. The hot dogs there are sick.

There's great shoe and clothing shopping there, too. I've bought suits while I'm there. My new tailor is there, but I'm not giving out his name because I don't want everybody to buy my stuff. I've probably bought 20 suits during my time in Montreal.

I've never been to the casino, though. Some guys do, but I didn't. You'll laugh at me, but I'm a slot machine kind of man. I don't understand cards that well, as funny as that sounds.

Montreal is just a great city. The overall atmosphere for hockey in the arena and around town is unreal!