418314 Fri Jul 06 05:13:11 -0700 2007 13 22 Quebec (including Montreal) 0 2723585 Hi all, I'm going up to Montreal for a long weekend and need some advice for a quintessential montreal food experience. Here's what I'm interested in so far. 1) Smoked meat a) Schwartz's b) Ben's c) Snowdon Deli d) fill in the blank 2) Poutine a) La Banquise b) Poutine Lafluer c) Patati Patata d) Maamm Bolduc e) if we end up going to au pied de cochon, will their upscale version be good enough for a poutine experence? 3) a nice saturday night dinner for 4 a) au pied de cochon b) toque c) La Chronique d) fill in the blank I was also interested in trying sugar pie and montreal bagel, but I have no options to offer you, I was hoping for your suggestions. Thanks!!!! Fri Jul 06 05:13:11 -0700 2007 77936 gltsoi 1 2723632 1. Absolutely has to be Schwartz's! (BTW - Ben's closed last year after a long labour dispute) There's a long-running "smoked meat in Montreal" thread but unfortunately I can't find it with the new search tool - maybe someone else can. 2 & 3 - I'm not an expert in these areas so I'll leave them to others 4. Bagels - IMO you can't go wrong with any of our many major bagel emporiums: Fairmount, St-Viateur (has several outlets), Dad's, and REAL Bagel. Be sure to eat your bagels right away (i.e. within an hour) - otherwise, slice and freeze them and eat them toasted. 5. Sugar pie - I haven't been there, but I think Ma'am Bolduc and/or La Binerie would have it. Those two places also have other Québécois classics like "bines" (baked beans) and tourtière so if you're interested in that type of cuisine you may want to make a stop and cover a few bases at once. Enjoy your stay! Fri Jul 06 05:50:11 -0700 2007 2723585 66614 kpzoo 2 2723659 Thanks for your suggestions! Yeah, I wanted to apologize to people if I was being redundant on any of the questions, but I failed miserably in trying to use the new search tool. I know there has to be more than 4 hits for 'poutine' Fri Jul 06 06:04:50 -0700 2007 2723632 77936 gltsoi 3 2723692 I found it! (had to use the rather cumbersome advanced search tool) Warning: it's a long thread - runs from 2001 to the present. ;-) The best place for smoked meat http://www.chow.com/topics/96661 Best advice for Schwartz's: for a more enjoyable experience, try to go in the off-hours, like 3-4:30 pm (or really early - they open at 9!) to avoid the massive crowds. Also re: poutine - I'd strongly suggest that before you try any of those foie-gras, meat sauce, peppercorn sauce-laden or other variations, try a plain one first - trust me: it's rich and unusual enough for your first experience before you start with the extra ingredients. :-) Fri Jul 06 06:20:13 -0700 2007 2723659 66614 kpzoo 4 2723835 1-A 2-B (poutine is junk food that should be eaten in a junky place) 3-A is very much unlike the other choices. PDC is pretty loud compared to your other choices. If you want Bistro i'd say try Express or Lemeac. if you want more formal sit down, Chronique would be a good (but $$$) choice Fri Jul 06 07:16:22 -0700 2007 2723692 104556 YUL PHL 1 2723831 1. Another vote for Schwartz's. 2. Pied de Cochon has poutine without foie gras as well. But the foie gras poutine is spectacular. 3. PDC is a quintessential Quebec experience -- and serves sugar pie. Make sure you reserve well in advance, though. Bagels: St-Viateur and Fairmount are the two you need to try, but if you only have time for one, St-Viateur is as close to old school as it gets. Fri Jul 06 07:14:40 -0700 2007 2723585 48857 estragon 1 2723864 1. Schwartz's 2. junk food--try Lafleur 3. PDC- not necessarily quintessential, but def the most unique dinner you are going to find in town. Loud, boisterous, and GRAS, but very very good! -Sugar Pie-I am not a fan, but fans seem to like PDCs version -Bagel - gotta be St.Viateur Have fun! Fri Jul 06 07:25:33 -0700 2007 2723585 80075 foodismyfriend 2 2723892 I would advise against getting poutine at Lafleur. Their poutine is perfectly serviceable, but their sauce is way too thick. You might be grossed out by it, and it might ruin poutine for you. And that's something we don't want to happen. Also, people seem to forget that APDC has a non-foie-gras poutine. Fri Jul 06 07:36:56 -0700 2007 2723864 18488 SnackHappy 3 2727359 Yeah, I would say it has likely been about 10 years since I actually ate poutine anywhere (with the exception of the foie gras poutine at PDC), so I just threw Lafleur out there since I figured junk is junk--my bad I guess. Sat Jul 07 11:22:16 -0700 2007 2723892 80075 foodismyfriend 1 2725681 1 - Definitely Schwartz's!!! 2 - Poutine is not something that gets me going so I would say any junk food joint would be fine 3 - I love au pied de cochon but the portions are gargantuan. If you go, you must have Pouding Chaumeur (the unemployed's pudding) which is dare I say even better than my Mom's. It is a floating cake cooked in maple syrup - yum, yum, yum...... An experience similar to sugar pie.If you want a less formal atmoshpere (open kitchen, lively crowd etc.) then this is the place for you. Toqué, however, is a true culinary experience but a more snooty atmosphere. Since they moved to their new location Toqué seems to be a more tourist oriented venue since it is off the beaten track a little. APC will give you the true vibe of Montreal. During this time of the year they may be doing their seafood platter which looks gorgeous but is really balnd and supper pricey - I would avoid it One of my favourite sugar pies is from the supermarket - The St-Donat bakery sugar pie with "tourbillons" (like a sugar pie with dough rolls similar to cinammon rolls in it)....to die for. In restaurants I find the sugar pie to be hit or miss. Fri Jul 06 16:03:01 -0700 2007 2723585 110196 Lachapelle 2 2725796 1 - I am not particularly fond of smoked meat (I'm not a big red-meat eater). Smoked Meat aficionados/aficionadas I know say Schwartz edges out The Main across the street, but the Main has a fuller menu, with many deli-type dishes (and they serve beer, not that I wanna get drunk, but I HATE sweet fizzy drinks). My favourite food from Schwartz is their smoked chicken! (to go, entire chickens). 2 - Once again, I don't like poutine, but my favourite of those restos is Ma'am Bolduc. Very pleasant place, and lovely frites before they are mucked up as poutine. 3 - I'd rather go to a bistro with more human portions, much as I admire la gauloiserie of Au Pied du Cochon. I have a soft spot for Au Petit Extra, but that is also because I worked nearby in its early years: http://www.aupetitextra.com/petitextra/fr/index.asp The best sugar pie is made with real maple sugar/syrup. Does any resto serve it? Though that is really more of a winter or early spring (sugaring-off) dish. I'm eating strawberries from l'île d'Orléans near Québec City - they are tiny, sweet and wonderful. A truly gastronomic local resto should incorporate such wonders. Fri Jul 06 16:49:16 -0700 2007 2725681 84119 lagatta 2 2725826 > The St-Donat bakery sugar pie with "tourbillons" Mmm. Where can this be found? Fri Jul 06 17:01:58 -0700 2007 2725681 66614 kpzoo 3 2738612 saw it at Provigo yesterday, corner Cote vertu & Decarie. Wed Jul 11 05:11:32 -0700 2007 2725826 14157 C70 1 2726286 2a or 2c definitely. 2e is delicious, but no replacement for a proper non-gourmet poutine. Fri Jul 06 20:29:01 -0700 2007 2723585 28292 eoj