A World Apart

     As I have previously mentioned, Montreal is truly a cosmopolitan community.  Poutine, bagels and tomato sauce are all demonstrative of that fact.  But during the walking food tour I found yet more evidence of the wide range of food items available in this bi-lingual island city.  Actually with more than a hundred languages spoken there it is in reality a multi-lingual and multi-cultural community.

     At the Panthere Verte (Green Panther) Restaurant I was introduced to the Middle East version of fast food.  On the menu there was a vegan organic falafel sandwich.  While the deep fried ball of ground chick peas is native to countries of Arabic ancestry it has also become very popular in Israel and is considered by many their national food.  And in that region the McDonald's franchise offered their version, a "McFalafel."



     Commonly served in a pocket flatbread known as a pita the falafel itself is topped with salad greens, pickled vegetables, spices like coriander, cumin and cilantro, and drizzled with tahini sauce made from ground, hulled sesame seeds.  Hot sauce is another option.

     At the Green Panther ours was also served with a Jewish pickle and enjoyed by all of our group.