If you were unaware, the reason my blog hasn't been updated much recently is that I was on vacation in Montreal visiting my relatives.Montreal has much more interesting (and way better-looking) ethnic composition than Portland. As a result, there are many ethnic neighborhoods that have little or no representation here on the west coast.
My first stop of note was the HUGE farmers market in the Italian neighborhood. Seriously, I cannot overemphasize the enormity of the place. Portland Farmers Market? You make me laugh. Union Square in NYC? A joke as well. This is the real deal.
The center is open-air but covered, and has miles of stalls selling every kind of fruit and vegetable you can think of, and I'm guessing most of it is local and seasonal. In addition, typical Quebecois products are on display as well, such as maple in all its various forms. 
The perimeter is lined with shops and restaurants, including a huge cheese shop.
Beautiful, smelly cheeses and glistening pates lined the cases:
Next, we were off to the Jewish neighborhood for a visit to the bagel shop. I had never had a real bagel before; the soft, gargantuan grocery-store renditions bore little resemblance to crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside little rounds that I experienced here:
This bagel shop was featured in the March 2006 issue of Gourmet Magazine, which focused specially on Montreal.
Here's the info for the bagel shop:
St.-Viateur Bagel Shop
263 St.-Viateur St. W. (and other locations)
514.276.8044
Whew! I'm tired. I'll finish the rest of Montreal tomorrow. Bon Nuit!
1 comment:
I've been to all those places! That ATM at the airport is where I called the cab to pick me up after I missed the last bus into town. I remember the farmer's marker in the italian district, under that roof thingy. The only I don't remember is the jewish district. Where's that?
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