It was a short ride on public transportation to the Plateau Mont-Royal section of the city where La Binerie (The Beanery) is located. Made famous in pop culture history as the setting for the novel Le Matou, the classic down-home diner served its first meal in 1938. I walked in the door and looked around at the quaint, old fashioned eatery that serves 3 meals a day to the blue collar patrons that frequent the place and wondered what to order. The menu was printed in both French and English and as I looked down the long list of items I found at the bottom of the page something about Quebecois Authentique. So of course that was my choice!
La Binerie's signature baked beans "feves au lard" are featured in the meal both as a starter in the soup and as a side with the entree. I have to say after sampling both, they were nothing exceptional, although flavoring them with some maple syrup did help improve their character. But the meal was as advertised: hearty, filling and authentic. The serving plate was heaped with a generous wedge of meat pie, meatballs covered in a dark rich gravy, two ice cream scoops of mashed potatoes and some thick cut boiled vegetables. All that with the side of more baked beans did fill me up, almost to the point that I was unable to sample their dessert, pouding chomeur.
As I finished my meal it was readily apparent that diners there came not for the ambiance nor the conviviality of the staff, but for the abundance of the food at an economical price. And for the locals that is what it is all about.
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