Quebecois Authentique

     As I made my way around Montreal I inquired of the local citizenry regarding the best place to find an authentic Quebec meal.  And almost to a person the answer was the same, "Go to La Binerie" was the overwhelming response.



    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.



Market Day

     In the Little Italy District of Montreal is one of the oldest markets in the city.  Originally called the Marche du Nord, the Jean Talon Market first opened its doors in May of 1933.  It was given that new name in honor of the first Intendent of New France as the region was formerly known.

     It was a short ride there from Mile End by public bus and was easily identifiable by the bi-lingual street signs directing me.  Jean Talon claims to be one of the largest public markets in North America and I would not dispute that after walking around and inspecting the numerous fruit and vegetable vendors and the cultural diversity of the shop keepers..  It is open year-round and in the summer months additional stalls are occupied around the exterior perimeter of the building.

 

     The market was a profusion of color with flowers, spices, cheese, meats, fish and baked goods all on display.  And best of all...free samples!

 



Depuis 1928

     Having studied the French language for 2 years twice (it's a long story) I was able to translate most of the signs and menus in Montreal.  And with most things also written in English I did fairly well as I made my way around the city.  Some things were easier to understand than others...

     But as I walked up St. Laurent Boulevard I didn't need a translator for the Charcuterie Hebraique de Montreal known by simply one name, Schwartz's.  After all, it's been around depuis (since) 1928.  They have been smoking brisket literally by the ton for nearly 90 years.  Their smoked meat (viande fume) sandwich is the headliner on the menu, served with fries and a enormous Jewish dill pickle.  So of course I had to give it a try.  

 

     There's nothing fancy about the deli.  Just a bunch of long tables and a counter to serve customers the likes of Celine Dion, Hank Aaron, Burt Lancaster and Jerry Lewis, and Vinny Garette.  I received a friendly reception from the all male wait staff and we exchanged some good natured humor as I asked about what made them an institution in the city.  Speaking easily in French and English I learned that they smoke the meat for 10 days and that right over my head on the second floor was 10 tons of brisket aging and waiting to be served to customers from near and far.  On an average day they serve up 2,000 pounds of that legendary smoked meat in mouth watering white rye sandwiches slathered in yellow mustard.



     It was juicy and flavorful and sweet, balanced by the sharp tang of the dill pickle.  And my drink of choice?  Why, Canada Dry of course!



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.



La Salsa della Nonna

     Montreal is truly a cosmopolitan city!  In the space of just a few blocks our guided tour went from tasting bagels made by a Jewish immigrant from Poland to sampling gnocchi simmered in Calabrian tomato sauce.



     The Drogheria Fine is a one-man operation on Fairmont Avenue West in the Mile End section of the city.  In a space barely large enough to contain our small group Franco Gattuso proudly served up some of the best potato flour gnocchi that I have ever tasted in my life.  And he attributes that superior flavor to the tomato sauce he makes himself from scratch in small batches right on the back of his tiny store.  He rigorously follows his Sicilian grandmother's recipe that he described to us as "from hot to cold" using unprocessed olive oil that he imports himself from Olivedo in the Calabria region of Italy.  



     He spoke fluently and fervently in English, French and Italian as he detailed the process.  And all of us hung on his every word, in between bites of the tomato drenched puffs of dough that were garnished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Splendido!

Ethnic Montreal Specialty

     Having satiated my initial desire for poutine, at least temporarily, I decided to explore the city to uncover what other Montreal specialties the residents enjoy.  And what better way to do that than to enlist the assistance of a professional?  I met with 7 other people for The Mile End Montreal Food Tour as we learned from our guide about some unique and locally made food items.  We concentrated our walking to the Mile End section of Montreal, a primarily Jewish neighborhood originally a garment district surrounding the Mile End Inn located there, named for an East London suburb.

     What could be more distinctly Jewish than the bagel?  Created by a grateful Jewish baker in Austria it was a gift given to the king of Poland for protecting his compatriots from the invading Turks.  It was made in the shape of a stirrup, or beugel in Austrian German and pleasantly reminded the king, who loved riding, of his favorite pastime.  Jewish immigrants to Montreal brought with them the recipe and the desire to keep alive the tradition of hand baking the bagels for friends and neighbors.  One of those immigrants was Meyer Lewkowicz, a Holocaust survivor, who in 1957 opened St.Viateur Bagels on a street of the same name.

     If you think you know what they're like because you've had a New York bagel, you're wrong.  Montreal bagels are smaller, sweeter, and denser with a larger hole.  They are distinctive in that they are always handmade and baked in a wood fired oven after being boiled in honey water.  And they do not contain any salt, unlike the New York style bagel.



     At St. Viateur Bagel they work around the clock to provide their customers, both commercial and retail, with the freshest product in the city.  And of that fact I can speak with authority because I enjoyed one right in the front window with the rest of our tour group (with Philly cream cheese!).



Factoid: On a typical Montreal bagel from St. Viateur's there are 1,500 sesame seeds.

Banq On It!

     There was no poutine when French explorer Jacques Cartier first stepped foot on the island in 1535.  He did find, however, a large community of Iroquois "first people" living around the base of the highest prominence which Cartier named Mont Royale that eventually became the name for the entire island we now call Montreal.


     No one exactly knows who really came up with the idea of combining fries, cheese curds and gravy into a single dish.  There are several claims to the invention, all originating in the Quebec Providence.  And while the restaurant La Banquise did not create poutine they did revolutionize it.

     Open 24 hours a day La Banquise was founded in 1968 by firefighter Pierre Barsalou as an ice cream shop.  He expanded his menu sometime later to include hot dogs and fries.  But it was not until the 80s that he began to serve poutine, and then only two varieties, Original and Italian.  Now with 30 different options to consider on the menu it is without doubt the premier poutine palace in the city, if not the entire nation.

 

     Acclaimed by the likes of Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations, the Montreal Mirror newspaper has also bestowed the dual honors of "Best Late Night Eat" and "Best Poutine" to La Banquise.

 

      So without doubt that had to be my first dinner destination on Monday.  Located in the Mile End section of Montreal it was a brief taxi ride to the quirky and comfortable location.  With so many options on the menu which also included burgers and breakfasts, I had a difficult time making my choice.  But I finally ordered the B.O. M. which is an acronym for Bacon, Onions and Merguez, a spicy sausage.  And then I had another decision to make.  Should I order the regular or the large size?  Since I probably would not be back to try both I decided to live large and ordered the one that came in a bowl instead of a mere plate.

 

     It was amazing!  At the same time it was crisp, savory, squeaky and gooey.  The flavors all distinct yet melding into a unique gastronomic experience.  It was Christmas, Thanksgiving and the 4th of July (for Americans at least) all rolled up into one holiday in my mouth.  I confessed to my young waitress that it was my first time.  She just smiled.