Aside from last night's poutine, bagels were next on my list of things that I had to get while I was here. So I hopped on a BIXI bike and made my way to the original location of St-Viateur Bagel (263 Rue Saint Viateur O, 514-276-8044). Now I finally see what all of the fuss is about a Montréal bagel: it's denser and tastier on its own, and without that weird "skin" of a New York bagel. Next time I'd be interested in trying its rival Fairmount, or at least going to its café offshoots where I might be able to sit down.
BTW, I didn't intend to bike all the way around town today; it just turned out to be faster than taking the bus or the metro. So I jumped onto another bike and headed over to the Jean-Talon Market (7070 Avenue Henri Julien, 514-277-1588). Only about half of the stalls were open, perhaps because it was too early. But there were a number of cheese, sausage, and olive oil shops that I could have spent a lot of time in.
On my way back, I had to stop at Schwartz's Deli (3895 Boul St-Laurent, 514-842-4813) for a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich. It was very similar to pastrami, except that the spice mix was much more pungent (in a good way), and the portions were much smaller too (also a good thing). My only gripe was that the meat was way too lean and crumbly. It was only when I looked it up just now did I realize that I could've asked for a fattier cut.
lol, that is NOT enough cream cheese :)
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