As we reach the first anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic I imagine a gastronomic romp through the city Mark Twain called “the City of a Hundred Steeples. Montréal is one of my favorite cities on the planet and I miss my visits during this pandemic. It is also a city where I love to eat. At first I though I might highlight a special eatery, but I decided what better way to pay tribute to the fabulous cuisine this city has to offer than to make a vicarious grand tour beginning with breakfast and ending at a favorite terrasse with a nightcap before calling it a day.
I normally prefer a light breakfast, and there are so many places to choose from to score a fresh croissant and a well made cup of coffee. Yet it seems a shame to pass up a full breakfast to fuel the day’s activities. Whether you eat light or heavy, a good place to start is Olive et Gourmando, at 351 rue St-Paul Quest in the west end of Vieux Montréal, the Old Port where the city was first established as Fort Ville-Marie in the mid 17th century. Olive et Gourmando also serves lunch and dinner, but I prefer the Old Port early in the day before it becomes choked with traffic and tourists. One can sit and enjoy a quiet breakfast at a high-top table while watching the cobblestone streets come alive with activity. The St. Lawrence River is just a couple blocks away at the foot of rue St.-Pierre. Olive et Gourmando has a wide variety of fresh baked pastries and artisanal breads to choose from, but on this visit I opt for the mouth-watering cheese, bacon, and poached egg open face, the one that appears on the cover of their cookbook. The pièce de résistance is a couple take away brownies should I for some reason feel peckish before lunch.
After a morning of wandering around the shops and galleries in Vieux Montréal I would more than likely darken the threshold of Stash’s Café for a light lunch. It is located just a couple blocks from Olive et Gourmando at 200 rue St.-Paul Quest. It has long been a favorite of mine for lunch and dinner, serving delightful Polish dishes with a unique Québécois touch. They are known for the sweet and savory pierogi served with a dollop of sour cream, as well as placki, the Polish version of the potato pancake served with fresh apple sauce. For lighter fare there is the delicious flacki, a beef tripe soup, and the unique and refreshing zupa agorkowa, a dill pickle and vegetable soup. My favorite is the kielbasa served with warm sauerkraut. Those who know me know it is difficult for me to pass up a well prepared and attractively plated sausage.
I decide to move on for lunch today and I make my way downtown to the Boulevard St.-Laurent, locally known as La Main and one of principal commercial corridors since the early 18th century. It originally separated the English west side with the French-speaking East End. The Le Plateau neighborhood has long been the center of the Montréal’s diverse immigrant communities and I favor it for its bohemian atmosphere, its many cafés, shops, and galleries, but most of all for its variety of ethnic foods. Boulevard St.-Laurent is also the center of city’s juiverie, the historic Jewish neighborhood since the mid 19th century made famous in the novels of native son Mordechai Richler (1931-2001) – The Apprenticeship of Dudley Kravitz (1959), St-Urbain’s Horsemen (1970), and Solomon Gursky Was Here (1981). This is also where Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) grew up and where he maintained a home until the time of his death.
There is so much to choose from here, but I naturally gravitate to Charcuterie Hébraïque de Montréal, more popularly known as Schwartz’s Deli, at 3895 Boulevard St-Laurent. Founded in 1928 by Reuben Schwartz, a Romanian Jew, it has been serving to order the city’s famous viende fumée – brisket salt brined, cured for week, and smoked on the premises – to several loyal and appreciative generations. I first visited Schwartz’s on the basis of two urban myths that, like most, turned out to be false. First that the Reuben sandwich originated here. Schwartz’s is strictly kosher and does not serve Reubens as they contain both meat and cheese. Second, that it was Cohen’s favorite neighborhood haunt. In fact, he lived just a few blocks away in the rue Vallières, just off St-Laurent in the Little Portugal neighborhood, and he frequented La Main Deli across the street from Schwartz’s at 3864 Boulevard St-Laurent. But since I was already there I decided to stay and I have been returning ever since.
When I go, I order presque toujours the trademark steam pressed smoked meat sandwich served on rye with mustard. Add a order of fries, a garlic dill pickle, a cherry pepper and a soda and what more does one really need? The meat is cut to order and stacked high and a pretty good deal for CDN$10. Another favorite at Schwartz’s is the smoked meat poutine. The place is almost always crowded with a line snaking out the door. Patience is amply rewarded in the end.
A third urban myth turned out to be true, or at least partially so. The eponymous Montréal steak seasoning found in almost any grocery store in North America and used at smoked meat emporiums across this city, was first developed at Schwartz’s. Originally a pickling spice developed by the Ottomans and further refined by Romanian Jews, it is now a popular rub for steaks and chops. Consisting primarily of ground salt, pepper, dill, coriander, garlic, paprika, and mustard seeds, it was brought to Montréal in the early 20th century and has been used in the preparation of smoked meats as well as in steak and chop houses across the city and beyond.
During a pleasant afternoon wandering around Le Plateau, one can stop into a café for a cup of coffee, and later meet friends for a cinq à sept [literally “five to seven], enjoying wine or beer at one of the many café terrasse scattered throughout the neighborhood while deciding where to have dinner. Lunch, even on a good day, will only hold you so long. Montréal is a great foodie town and there are so many places to choose from. After drinks one might jump on Le Métro and explore what the city has to offer.
If one is a glutton for some of the best Québécois fare to be found anywhere, there is no need to wander far afield. There is only one place I can think of and that is “the Wild Chef” Martin Picard’s Au Pied du Cochon at 536 rue Duluth in Le Plateau. In 2012, Time called it a “bastion of excess beloved by Anthony Bourdain and other gastronomes” where even a salad can offer the diner a challenge. So how could I go wrong?
For such a well known and popular place it is rather unassuming and it is possible to walk right by the first time around. Once you have eaten there, however, you will never forget it. This is genuine Québécois fare at its best; a menu full of superb rich offerings that are truly decadent and guaranteed to stick to your ribs. One thing for sure is you will probably not have to worry about breakfast the next morning. Foie gras is featured throughout – foie gras tacos, foie gras poutine, foie gras chicken nuggets, foie gras hamburger, foie gras puree, and the house specialty – pigs feet stuffed with foie gras and covered with mushrooms and onions and served over a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes. There is also pork loin, sausages, and duck pie. I have tried them all and its hard to decide. I sit at the counter so that I watch the food being prepared, a practice I have nurtured for years eating at diners. On this visit I decide to try something new – canard en conserve – or “duck in a can.”
It is exactly what is sounds like but served in a most unique way. The can contains a roasted half duck; in this instance a mallard raised for its foie gras at Picard’s farm in St-Benoît de Mirabel northwest of the city where he also owns La Cabane d’ à Côté, a popular seasonal sugar shack. The duck is extremely flavorful due to the manner in which it was raised, and the can also contains generous slices of foie gras, butter stewed cabbage, a balsamic vinegar demi-glace, and sprigs of thyme. The can is heated for roughly 30 minutes in boiling water and then brought to the diner where it is opened and the contents poured over crostini covered with a thick Bernaise. Many choose the house beer but I order a nice Syrah, a rather heavy red wine that helps cut through the fat without camouflaging the rich flavors. It is a dish to be savored slowly and don’t be surprised if you have plenty of leftovers for take away. There is certainly no room for dessert although APC has a wonderful selection.
After dinner is a good time for a leisurely stroll along nearby rue St-Denis. This trendy tree-lined street where the sidewalks are filled with quotations by the famous and the obscure has plenty of places to sit and enjoy the electricity running through the city. I pop into Bar L’Barouf at 4147 rue St-Denis for a nightcap. It is not overly hip; a pleasant place to listen to classic rock music or watch a sporting event while enjoying a wide selection of beers from all over Canada and the world. There is no question I won’t be going to bed hungry yet a couple of cold ones seems the perfect end to a far from quotidian outing.
If this pandemic lasts much longer I may have to plan another eating vicariously adventure in Montréal. There is still so much to choose from.
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