Montreal

Well I just spent the weekend in Montreal -- what a
great city for eating! We had:
Friday Lunch: a newly opened bistro in Vieux Montreal.
Price Fixe lunch was $10.50 for appetizer, main course
and dessert. We both had salad for appetizer; I had
Moules Mariniere and Ellen had Cassoulet au Canard.
Everything was excellent, though I could have skipped
the dessert just as well.
Friday Supper: fresh strawberries,
mascarpone/gorgonzola torte, and honey; all purchased
at the Atwater Market, a beautiful location for buying
produce, cheeses, meats, bread, flowers.
Saturday Lunch: Smoked Meat (Canadian Pastrami)
sandwiches at Schwartz's, which my friend Maurice
described as the Canadian Katz's -- well, I wouldn't go
that far as I found the meat a touch too dry and tough;
but it is a very respectable deli, at least as good as
the Pastrami King in Forest Hills.
Saturday Supper: The only miss of the trip. We went to
a jazz club called Biddley's and ate their barbecued
ribs and chicken wings. I wouldn't recommend the food
or the music particularly.
Sunday Lunch: The cafe at Musee des Beaux-Arts de
Montreal. Excellent soup, fair sandwiches -- certainly
better than any other museum cafe I've ever eaten at.

Oh my. Even comparing Schwartz's to Katz's seems
sacriligious to me. And to compare it unfavorably just
dumbfounds me. When I lived in Mtl, I was a regular at
Schwartz's, and though they might have had an off-night
or two, I found the brisket to be better by far than
anything NYC has to offer. Perhaps you didn't order it
correctly? Ask for 'medium' smoked meat -- 'lean' is
too dry and tasteless, 'old-fashioned' is a heart
attack between two pieces of bread. Accompany with
fries (homemade and best on planet), pickles (local
Mrs. Whyte's), and a Cott's Black Cherry Soda...
Aaaaah. I went to Katz's recently and thought the food
was terrible, really really bad. The pastrami was badly
sliced and dry, the fries had been kept heated for a
day or two, and the pickles had seen better days. So
please. Give Schwartz's another chance.

Also, next time you're in town try the all-night
Fairmont Bagel Factory for the best bagels in the
world.

Jake Klisivitch writes:
>

I've mentioned at least once on Chowhound how I pine
for Fairmount bagels; there's no bagel in NYC to
compare to a Montreal bagel - by which I just mean
Montreal bagels are a whole different experience; I
wish to God they did mail order. (I still have my
Fairmount bagel T-shirt that I got for $3. Ah,
memories.)

you didn't have dinner at Toques??

No. What's Toques?

See my post on "Montreal restaurants" a few lines down
on this message board. It's called Toque (pronounced
To-kay). I think that is what Stephen Kaye was
referring to.

You can now go to Cena -- 12 East 22nd St. here in NY
to sample Normand's food. He's partner there with
Stephen & Thalia Loffredo of Zoe. He spends some time
here every month to change the menu. Prices are on
the expensive side, but there is also a less expensive
cafe menu. The best bargain is still Toque in
Montreal because of the exchange rate (but then you
have to pay airfare).