heading to Montreal in June... looking for BGE dealer.

caliking

Not really. Niece and nephew are graduating from McGill the 1st week of June, so we're  planning a 4 day trip to celebrate. 

We'll be staying by the McGill campus. Have never been to Montreal, but it seems like a fabulous city. Recs for dining, things to do (especially, 9yo friendly), etc. would be very much appreciated. Getting some MSM in my piehole is on the agenda, but we're open to all sorts of food recs. 

Also, let me know if any eggheads in the area would like to meet up. Beers are on me

paqman

9yo complicates things a bit but Schwartz for MSM is a must (grab a few jars of the seasoning).  There will most likely be a lineup to get into the “restaurant” but they have a takeout right next door to the main location now for fast service if you are in a hurry.

I haven’t been there since the pandemic started but Joe Beef and Au Pied de Cochon are definitely must go.

HeavyG

How many pounds of poutine will be consumed during your trip?

fishlessman

pretty sure if you put a montreal canadiens hat on him he could get into the clubs on sainte-catherine street

caliking

HeavyG said:

How many pounds of poutine will be consumed during your trip?

About 1/2 lb for old times' sake... maybe a lb if I'm drunk

paqman

Not all poutines are created equal!

lousubcap

Quite European flavour (nod) to the city as I recall from many years ago.  French is the very predominant language as I'm sure you are aware.

Congrats to niece and nephew on the graduation.  

Above all, have fun.

No food rec's here. 

RRP

My favorite Montreal story was a joke on us albeit an embarrassing one...

Probably 50 years ago we were there and started out walking from our hotel to explore downtown. Before long we kept seeing these horse drawn carriages pass by. And before long we started to get tired about the time we came upon a carriage sitting idle. There was a number 50 on the side and I thought for 50 cents it would be well worth a buck for the two of us! We climbed aboard and had a pleasant ride with our quite colorful driver explaining everything! When done he even dropped us by our hotel. When I got out I handed him 3 greenbacks thinking that was a nice tip! He looked confused and ask where is the rest of his money? I said your sign says 50 - that is 50 cents right? He said. "no, Sir, my carriage number is number 50." The ride price was $10 apiece and between my wife and I all the cash we had was $24 and some change and he wouldn't accept a traveler's check! We gave him all we had and he muttered something in french when he left!!!

Canugghead

caliking said:

Not really. Niece and nephew are graduating from McGill the 1st week of June, so we're  planning a 4 day trip to celebrate. 

We'll be staying by the McGill campus. Have never been to Montreal, but it seems like a fabulous city. Recs for dining, things to do (especially, 9yo friendly), etc. would be very much appreciated. Getting some MSM in my piehole is on the agenda, but we're open to all sorts of food recs. 

Also, let me know if any eggheads in the area would like to meet up. Beers are on me

Congrats to your niece and nephew! FWIW you may run into your VP at her high school reunion, kidding.

@paqman and @GrateEggspectations are only about two hours away, meet up halfway!

+1 on Schwartz's, we prefer to order the meat by the pound, add rye loaf and assemble our individual right-sized sammichs. Add a side of fried liver if you're into that. Oh, ask for fat or medium, stay away from lean.

Fairmount bagels?

For caliprince Biodome comes to mind.

paqman

Biodome is nice and worth seeing if it is open.  “La Ronde” is an amusement park, may be nice for caliprince.  I may actually be in Montreal that week I’ll need to check my work schedule when I get back.

caliking

Thanks for the recs, folks!

Will definitely make my way to Schwartz's. Joe Beef and Au Pied de Cochon are on the list now, too. 

Appreciate the recs for La Ronde and Biodome, as well. Won't have wheels as such, but if I get some, I will bully @paqman and @GrateEggspectations into a rendezvous

caliking

Also added Fairmount to my list @Canugghead. I just recently learned that bagels are a thing in Montreal. 

CTMike

I also highly recommend Schwartz’s, as mentioned go for fatty or medium. One lesson I learned was to bring $CDN. Last time I was there they didn’t take cards and took $USD on par so you were paying a pretty healthy premium. Maybe things have changed. 

Haven’t seen it mentioned but if you don’t already have a reservation for Joe Beef, it might be too late. Bourdain’s episode re: Joe Beef is great, but I’ve heard the partners had quite the bitter falling out and it might not be the same. 

caliking

Thanks for the intel @CTMike. I’ll make sure to stop by an ATM before we hit Schwartz’s. 

JohnInCarolina

You’ll love it.  It’s a very cool city to visit, as long as it’s not the winter, in which case it’s a very cold city to visit.

But seriously lots of great dining options.  I recall kind of an “old town” area that has a European feel to it (complete with the bad accents) and lots of great restaurants.  I’m sure you’ll find it.

caliking

JohnInCarolina said:

You’ll love it.  It’s a very cool city to visit, as long as it’s not the winter, in which case it’s a very cold city to visit.

But seriously lots of great dining options.  I recall kind of an “old town” area that has a European feel to it (complete with the bad accents) and lots of great restaurants.  I’m sure you’ll find it.

 I'm looking forward to the trip. Only hitch is that other family is in the mix. Moar entropy in the system makes it harder to coordinate things 😀

Canugghead

JohnInCarolina said:

You’ll love it.  It’s a very cool city to visit, as long as it’s not the winter, in which case it’s a very cold city to visit.

But seriously lots of great dining options.  I recall kind of an “old town” area that has a European feel to it (complete with the bad accents) and lots of great restaurants.  I’m sure you’ll find it.

Old Montreal, Notre-Dame Basilica vicinity.

CTMike

A few phrases that will definitely endear you to the natives:

- Make sure to say "Ostie de colon" as your server delivers your food, followed by "T'es donc ben niaiseux"
- When your poutine is delivered you'll want to say "Ostie de Criss de tabernacle, ce plat est immonde."
- When greeted by a local you should reply with "je m'en calisse."
- If your server delivers impeccable service, you should compliment them with "Les nouilles ne sont pas toutes dans la soupe."

This is a good start.

caliking

CTMike said:

A few phrases that will definitely endear you to the natives:

- Make sure to say "Ostie de colon" as your server delivers your food, followed by "T'es donc ben niaiseux"
- When your poutine is delivered you'll want to say "Ostie de Criss de tabernacle tabarnak, ce plat est immonde."
- When greeted by a local you should reply with "je m'en calisse."
- If your server delivers impeccable service, you should compliment them with "Les nouilles ne sont pas toutes dans la soupe."

This is a good start.

FTFY.

You're a shite-stirrer, Mike

CTMike

caliking said:

CTMike said:

A few phrases that will definitely endear you to the natives:

- Make sure to say "Ostie de colon" as your server delivers your food, followed by "T'es donc ben niaiseux"
- When your poutine is delivered you'll want to say "Ostie de Criss de tabernacle tabarnak, ce plat est immonde."
- When greeted by a local you should reply with "je m'en calisse."
- If your server delivers impeccable service, you should compliment them with "Les nouilles ne sont pas toutes dans la soupe."

This is a good start.

FTFY.

You're a shite-stirrer, Mike

Just trying to help a brother out. 

Grogu

No trip to Montreal is complete without filling your face with some poutine.

GrateEggspectations

Congrats to your niece and nephew. McGill is a great school. Marge Simpson called it “the Harvard of Canada”.

One of my fave Canadian cities. Was there a few weeks back. Two hours East of Ottawa, where a few of us Eggheads reside. Great culture and nightlife. Fantastic restaurants abound. Joe Beef and Pied De Cochon both came to mind before I saw @paqman’s post, so I echo his endorsements. I have Pied De Cochon tourtières in my freezer as we speak and their chili crisp in my fridge, as we have that delivered from Montreal at Christmas time. 

The markets in Montreal are a lot of fun. Atwater or Jean-Talon. Lots of artisanal cheeses, meats, baked goods, libations, fruits and veg, etc. Dieu du Ciel makes really nice beer. And you’ve gotta have a good Montreal bagel. In addition to the Biodome, there’s also the insectarium. You may want to visit Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. It is quite nice and abuts Westmount, a posh area of Montreal featuring some spectacular real estate. Pics of both the Oratory and Westmount below (taken last summer). The bar featured is Messorem - a super well-rated brew pub with great drinks and a fantastic atmosphere. Another cool hipster bar is Big In Japan. It features an inconspicuous door absent signage and a maze of tables that’s really unique. Neat vibe. Lots of good live music venues. Have seen some great shows at Club Soda. 

I suspect you may enjoy hearing the French language. And the French Canadians can be nice to look at, too, but I might be biased. 

Be sure to leave the family behind if you venture over to Club Super Sexe. 😂 Yes, that is (was?) a real place. 

I say you also take a day trip to Ottawa if you can. 4 hour drive from Montreal round-trip, but it’ll give you the opportunity to visit another city and see Canada’s capital. The train ride between the two cities is relatively cheap (~ $70 CAD) and comfortable if you won’t have a car. 

The snow will hopefully have melted by the time of your trip. 😉

paqman

CTMike said:

A few phrases that will definitely endear you to the natives:

- Make sure to say "Ostie de colon" as your server delivers your food, followed by "T'es donc ben niaiseux"
- When your poutine is delivered you'll want to say "Ostie de Criss de tabernacle, ce plat est immonde."
- When greeted by a local you should reply with "je m'en calisse."
- If your server delivers impeccable service, you should compliment them with "Les nouilles ne sont pas toutes dans la soupe."

This is a good start.

Sounds about right 😂🤣

GrateEggspectations

And further to my above comments, I should specify that the $70 is for a one-way Via Rail Train ticket between cities. 

buzd504

Joe Beef was fantastic.

GrateEggspectations

Just remembered that the bagel place my family has taken me to for a very long time is St-Viateur.

Gr_egger

Orange Julep for your late night cravings…..

caliking

@GrateEggspectations - thank you for the recs. It's evident that we really need to plan a trip sans the extended family 😀 I've taken notes re: markets and breweries, and will not-so-gently recommend they be added to the itinerary.

The initial plan was to take a couple of extra days,  visit Toronto (and, as usual,  take advantage of @Canugghead 's gracious hospitality), swing through Ottawa, then end up in Montreal. Ended up not being feasible this time. 

Too bad Super Sexe burned down. I do have a story about being thrown out of a club in Toronto.

GrateEggspectations

Whenever you have a moment, please do share the secret as to how one gets onto @Canugghead’s guest list. That, in and of itself, must be worth a drive from Texas. 

caliking

GrateEggspectations said:

Whenever you have a moment, please do share the secret as to how one gets onto @Canugghead’s guest list. That, in and of itself, must be worth a drive from Texas. 

It is.

We have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed Gary's, and his family's, hospitality on more than one continent. Not sure what one does to deserve this, but very glad to consider him a friend. 

Canugghead

Thanks, you guys are too kind