A Tale of Three Shops

Following the Scent

The traffic rushed through these unknown streets. Where was I? I had been following the wrong directions to a market and ended up in this Montreal neighbourhood. Wandering in unfamiliar places and discovering things is a pleasure that is disappearing now that we have instant access to the internet. So, I didn't feel too bad about being a little lost. After crossing one particular street, I came across a bagel shop that I recognized from a Youtube video I had previously seen.

What a delicious coincidence. The shop has been operating since 1957 delighting customers with hand-rolled bagels boiled in honey water in a wood fire.

I saw the workers quickly inserting and retrieving large quantities of bagels into and out of the fiery oven. It is a family owned and operated business. On the walls, photographs and mementos showed ephemeral moments in the history of this Montreal landmark.

I tried the rosemary rock salt and blueberry variety, straight out of the oven. I was set to continue my urban journey.

L’art de vivre

After my long and convoluted walk with bagels in my backpack, I finally found the market that I was looking for. I had read good things about it, and thinking I would find some cool arts & crafts, I ventured on this meandering journey. The market had reached legendary proportions in my mind, so you can imagine my surprise when I finally arrived at the market and all I found was mostly food.

I wandered around looking at all the fruit, vegetable, pastries, cheeses, pies. Here the gustatory senses reigned supreme. Not quite what I was looking for, but when in Rome...

"No more ceviche," said the fellow behind the counter when I approached the stall.

"Oh no," I said. "Business has been brisk, I imagine."

"All day I've been busy because of social media post," he said with his wonderful French accent. "It went viral and many people showed up and took all the-oh wait, I still have one more."

Imagine that! My eyes lit up. What was this mysterious ceviche people had gone crazy about?

He busy himself with his craft, and he moved like an alchemist adding, mixing, separating and recombining into a cohesive alchemy of flavour. I saw the cool set up for customers that included tables on blue barrels.

I was finding out that there were many ways of chilling out in Montreal. It was a city built to maximize relaxation and sensory pleasure. True to its cultural roots.

The chef finished the ceviche dish, which was presented on a scallop shell, topped with smooth seafood, spicy herbs that popped with flavour, and mouth-watering juices.

A Small Well-Lighted Poutine Place

"WHICH MCDONALD!? THERE ARE F%^&NG MCDONALDS EVERYWHERE! WHICH ONE?" the woman on the street shouted into her phone. "I don't have TIME for this F%^&NG BULLS#^T! I'm getting the F#$% OUT OF HERE!" 😤

These were the loud colourful words that I heard a little lady utter in perfect English after a visit to the nearby oratory in Montreal.

For a moment, I thought I had come to the wrong side of town, but it appeared to be just a tourist upset with her significant other for taking off on her. She was raging mad. I could hear a man's muffled voice on the phone, which sent her on another tirade that would have made a pirate blush. Her shouting made me second-guess the way I was heading, and when I looked in her direction, I saw the sign for the small poutine place I was looking for, tucked away in a commercial strip across the street.

A jovial gentleman received my order with a smile. His French accent was thick with a cheerful demeanor. It was a small no-frills kind of place, but I got the impression that it was run like a tight ship.

The order came, and I dug into the quick street feast. These were without a doubt the best wings I've had in a while.

At last, my quest for local poutine was fulfilled with these chewy-gooey-gravy-laden cheese nuggets and fries.

As I ate the tasty meal and listened to the drama on the TV inside the restaurant, I wondered about the screaming lady on the street. I would not want to be on the other side of that call, I thought shaking my head. She really went off on him. What a riot. It was quite the scene. Ah, c'est la vie, mon ami.