Articles

Montreal - Sub Categories

  • Québec Cheeses (15)

    Local cheeses, all purchased from Montréal. Related: the [l:albums/travel/montreal/poutine Poutine!] pages contain information about fresh cheese curds. Cheese Shops

    • [l:node/1154 Fromagerie Atwater]
    • [l:node/144 Fromagerie Hamel]
    • [l:node/1162 La Maison du cheddar]
    • In a pinch and after-hours - grocery stores such as IGA, Provigo, Metro, Super C, etc. There is bound to be a good place to buy cheese from where ever you stay in Montreal.
    Note that the US has some very strange, bizarre, and restrictive food import policies - see [l:travel/montreal/schwartzs-jewish-deli#comment-5229 Meat, Cheese and US Border Crossings comment] for details.

  • Jazz Fest (29)

    Summer Jazz Festival. More than just jazz. More details at: [l:travel/montreal/montreal-jazz-festival]

    • 2012 Montreal Jazz Festival (6)

      Writeup, along with some video clips also available: [l:blog/2012-07-06/montreal-jazz-festival-2012]

    • 2013 Montreal Jazz Festival (13)

      Pictures and video clips of some of the final four days at the 34th Edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival which ran from 2013-June 28 through July 7. Also included are some pictures from other events going on at the same time. The best shows for me were as usual at either the Blues stage, or the Tropiques/Groove stages next to it: [l:albums/travel/montreal/jazz-fest/2013-montreal-jazz-festival/fatoumata-diawara] [l:albums/travel/montreal/jazz-fest/2013-montreal-jazz-festival/the-harpoonist-the-axe-murderer] [l:albums/travel/montreal/jazz-fest/2013-montreal-jazz-festival/anthony-joseph-the-spasm-band] The pictures below have more info and some video snippet links too. There is also a [l:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkd3PNh_1yPTqRqrVEGJaa-9tn8C4xyhN playlist of all snippets on YouTube]. And a few more photos, including full size photos, are at the [l:https://picasaweb.google.com/104075696510996624769/2013MontrealJazzFestival?authuser=0&feat=directlink Google Picasa Album] July 9th saw the start of another festival: [l:albums/travel/montreal/jazz-fest/2013-montreal-jazz-festival/festival-de-percussions-longueuil-2013 Details on Festival de Percussions Longueuil 2013] opening show. [l:http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/default-en.aspx Official Montreal Jazz Festival] site. [l:http://montrealcompletementcirque.com/en/ Montreal Completement Cirque] site. [l:http://internationaldesfeuxloto-quebec.com/en/ International Fireworks Festival] site. [l:http://www.percussions.ca/ Festival de Percussions Longueuil 2013] site.

  • Poutine! (11)

    A dish unique to Quebec. [l:http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20130531-how-the-quebecois-came-to-love-poutine BBC article: How the Quebecois came to love poutine]. Fries, Gravy, and fresh Cheddar Cheese Curds (fromage en grains) make poutine! An exclamation point seems necessary for this dish. The process of making cheese from milk goes through a step that results in curds. These are small chunks of solid cheese that are not yet pressed into molds for the final aging process. Fresh cheese curds only last a day or two, therefore are only available in places where a lot of cheese is manufactured. Cheddar cheese curds are available widely in Montreal, and it is the key ingredient of poutine. Fresh cheese curds are easy to recognize - they will make a squeaking sound when you eat them. From fast food joints to celebrated chefs, there is no shortage of places to get poutine in Montreal. [l:http://www.montrealpoutine.com/ Montreal Poutine] has good information on all poutine places in that city. Poutine fries should at least start crispy, and have sufficient amount of gravy to smother the fries. The run-down looking Poutine Lafleur has pretty good poutine. This is the standalone place on Rue Wellington and not the chain of the same name. Maamm Bolduc was not as good - not enough gravy or cheese - but many consider it one of the best, so worth checking out. Many places that claim to be famous, or are very old diners that should probably have good poutine, do not. French fries may be limp and not crisp, sauce may be tasteless, and they dish may not be warm enough. So for a short visit, just try the known-to-be-good places, do not experiment. La Cantine, closed in 2012. This bistro on Mont Royal had excellent poutine, in very nice surroundings. The fries stay nice and crispy to the last bite. There is a photo provided below, which now serves as a memory only! Surprisingly, some fast food joints have good poutine too - such as La Belle Province. And Frite Alors! has amazing fries, and good poutine too. 2013: Schwartz's has gotten onto the poutine act: [l:albums/travel/montreal/schwartzs-hebrew-delicatessen/schwartzs-poutine]. It is essentially fine as a novelty item, but the basic poutine elsewhere, and the smoked-meat sandwiches at Schwartz's, are both best eaten without anything else added to either dish.

  • STM - Métro and Bus (8)

    Montreal subway and bus system. External link: Photographer [l:https://instagram.com/explore/tags/mtlmetroproject/ Chris Forsyth's #mtlmetroproject]

  • Le Petit Alep (10)

    Great good, awesome ambiance. Near Jean Talon metro station.

  • Marché Adonis (4)

    Excellent middle-eastern grocery store - large selection of fruits, ready-made food, feta cheeses, tzatziki, and sweets. They now have a home page: [l:http://www.adonisproducts.com/pages/accueil_en.asp adonisproducts.com] DISCLAIMER: please note that this web page has no association with the Marché Adonis business. And this site is not in Quebec, so English readers are the majority here, and French may not be understood by most. Thank you!

  • Marché Jean-Talon (8)

    The Jean-Talon market is a couple of blocks east of the intersection of Jean-Talon and St-Laurent, near the the Jean-Talon metro station. Newly refurbished in 2005, visit this place for fresh fruit, groceries, cheeses, bread, fish, desserts. Great food available in the market itself, additionally, surrounding area is Little Italy, which has many good restaurants.

  • Schwartz's - Hebrew Delicatessen (12)

    Absolutely the most addictive food in the world, the best smoked-meat in the world.

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

Official Jazz Fest entry
"Italian troupe, 7 musicians revitalizing their native music. "
Video snippet on YouTube

Babel - Acrobatics

Babel - Acrobatics

Part of MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CIRQUE

Babel acrobatics every night at Émilie-Ganelin, Berri-Uqam metro.

Show every evening at Place Émilie-Gamelin at 19h and 22h of 4th to 13th July (may be cancelled only due to weather).

Video snippets on YouTube:
Acrobats entering
Acrobats jumping
On the high pole

Grilling sausages

Grilling sausages

Hot dog (all beef) and Sausage (pork and beef, spicy) grilling stand.

Fireworks

Fireworks

Hong Kong was the presenter this day. Part of the weekly International Fireworks competition here in Montreal.
Video snippet on YouTube

All the roads leading to the best spots for watching the fireworks are closed, so it is a nice 20-30 minute walk from Papineau Metro. Just follow all the crowds that start gathering around 9AM which is about a hour before the fireworks start.

Some people go on Jacques Cartier bridge to watch the fireworks. This is actually not a good spot for the fireworks. It is too far, too high, and most of the view is blocked by the bars that barricade the bridge. The view from the street level near the banks of the river is best. Well, I suspect the view from the island itself is great, but that requires pre-planning, buying tickets, and then driving in a crowd to get to La Ronde, all of which may not be worth it just for 30 minutes of fireworks!

The fan site Montreal Fireworks has good info, the second paragraph is definitely the best spot that requires no planning - just show up if you have the time!
To get to La Ronde, take the metro to Ile Ste Helene and follow the signs to La Ronde. Reserved seats start at around CA$32. Access to the site only (no rides), but with good viewing costs around CA$16.
*** Another good vantage point is from the foot of the Jacques Cartier Bridge on the Montréal side of the St. Laurent river. Take the metro to Papineau and walk to the junction of Rue Notre Dame and Avenue De Lorimier. There is a good view of the river from here. This is easy to find since there will be many other people heading in that direction on firework evenings. ***

Crowd watching fireworks

Crowd watching fireworks

Picture taken on top of Jacques Cartier bridge. The crowd below had a better view of the fireworks!
More info and videos at: Fireworks

Acrobatics and movies festival

Acrobatics and movies festival

One festival is not enough, there is more stuff going on elsewhere in Montreal too.
This is a schedule of some of the activities around Berri Uqam.

2013 Montreal Jazz Festival

Pictures and video clips of some of the final four days at the 34th Edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival which ran from 2013-June 28 through July 7. Also included are some pictures from other events going on at the same time.

The best shows for me were as usual at either the Blues stage, or the Tropiques/Groove stages next to it:
Fatoumata Diawara
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer
Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band

The pictures below have more info and some video snippet links too.
There is also a playlist of all snippets on YouTube.
And a few more photos, including full size photos, are at the Google Picasa Album

July 9th saw the start of another festival: Details on Festival de Percussions Longueuil 2013 opening show.

Official Montreal Jazz Festival site.
Montreal Completement Cirque site.
International Fireworks Festival site.
Festival de Percussions Longueuil 2013 site.

Schwartz's Poutine

Schwartz's Poutine

New in 2013!

It is more of a novelty than anything - the Schwartz's Sandwich is far better in terms of enjoying smoked meat. In any case, the best poutine is also the basic nothing-added version, so this smoked-meat added poutine doesn't really increase the pleasure. The poutine itself is good, given that the fries at Schwartz's are truly outstanding.

This is only served at the Schwartz's Next Door Take Out Counter (Schwartz's à côté), which is not open all the time - may only be open during summer rush hours, for example, and closed in winter, etc.

Le Club Sandwich - Closed

Le Club Sandwich - Closed

2015 December. Closed. This restaurant, and other bars and entertainment joints in the building, all boarded up and closed. The news about that whole Bourbon Complex Building is that it likely was a result of illegal construction and in the end was put up for sale to satisfy creditors.

Le Club Sandwich open 24/7. Huge place, cool old fashioned decor.
Near metro Papineau in Montreal at 1570 Ste Catherine St.
Way off the tourist track, but useful to know for late night poutine.
Excellent poutine. Very hearty, thick fries, and they really put on the gravy, which makes it even better.

Lagniappe Brass Band

Lagniappe Brass Band

They played multiple times at the festival, in various stages, on the street, in lounges.
From New Orleans, USA.