Over the last year or so, Al Jazeera English has produced a really interesting series on food from around the world. In previous broadcasts, they have visited Jerusalem and New York City, and here, they're in Montreal, where the cuisine ranges from gussied-up oysters and tarts to the arguably less refined poutine (cheese curds and gravy over fries). Some purists think the fat explosion that is poutine represents a scandal. "It's not really cooking! An aberration!" A little miffed by these naysayers, chef Martin Picard of the well-respected Au Pied de Cochon, put poutine on his menu as a symbol of his support. Except to make it jibe with the rest of his restaurant, he throws on a dollop...
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48 hours is hardly enough time to eat your way through any city, especially one as rich, and deliciously diverse as Montreal. But that doesn't mean my wife and I didn't try on a recent weekend trip. I'm sure there are amazing things we missed, but I can promise you this: follow this itinerary, and you won't leave Montreal disappointed (or hungry). Dinner at L'Express; Friday 8 p.m. Montreal is known for its French food, and dinner at L'Express is the perfect way to start your weekend. This no-frills, stand-out bistro is just as much of a favorite for locals as it is for out-of-towners. Go for the big mound of steak tartare, the pot au feu, or one...
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Or, 'Two Poutine- and Montreal-Virgins Share Their Thoughts' Editor's note: Serious Eats readers Kathy Park and Rob Price emailed with this account of their recent trip to Montreal—and their first taste of poutines. Yum. Thanks, Kathy and Rob! —Adam Words and Photographs by Kathy Park and Rob Price | After a seven-hour road trip from New York City with only one food stop for breakfast, we were ravenous when we arrived in Montreal for Labor Day weekend (it was Canada's Labor Day, too!). For the drive, we had printed out pages of Montreal food chatter from Serious Eats and Chowhound, and learned about poutine. After many jokes about the word poutine, we decided that the dish Montreal is famous for,...
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"Lay in a course for Bagelgeuse, Mr. Data." Looks like they took bagels into space when the Space Shuttle Discovery launched last week. Montreal-born astronaut Greg Chamitoff insisted on bringing 18 sesame seed bagels into orbit with him. The bagels are from Fairmount Bagel in Montreal. 74 Fairmount West, Montreal QC H2T 2M2 (map); fairmountbagel.com [via The Big Picture]...
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Farmer's markets all over the place--at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, in the Twin Cities, at the Greenmarket in New York City, and at Borough Market in London--are suffering from wintertime blues. Yeah, January's not the best time to be a locavore! But at the Ethicurean, Spanky Horowitz manages to have himself a good time at the market in Montreal anyway....
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