Montreal's bakeries offer the weary traveller gorgeously golden loaves of freshly baked bread, baguettes, croissants and other assorted treats.
The anti-carb frenzy of recent diets hasn't stopped svelte French women from eating good quality bread- and it didn't stop me from enjoying some very satisfying loaves when I was in Montreal either! And thank goodness for that because outside of the City of Lights- Montreal has some of the finest bread and pastry in Canada (some say anywhere!). (And Montreal chocolate... like Montreal bakeries, the only question is where to begin?)
Simply the Best
You don't even have to take my humble word for it either. Referring back to my well thumbed issue of Gourmet's Montreal special edition- we started reading about these fantastic sounding bakeries weeks before our trip. The Gourmet team had deemed one particular bakery's bread on Montreal's gourmet strip- Laurier Avenue East as possibly "the best bread we've had, period." With accolades like that- my carb-loving husband and I took off to taste what all the excitement was about at said bakery, called Le Fromentier (1375 Laurier Ave. E.).
Unlike those anti-climactic moments when you hear so much about how a film or a new song is supposed to be incredible- only to find that the hype was more inspiring than the final product- I'm delighted to say that wasn't the case with Le Fromentier. Tucked away below ground and sharing the space with a charcuterie, Le Fromentier offers loaf after loaf of beautifully prepared bread. We asked the affable counter girl serving us to tell us which bread she most enjoyed- what she would buy if she didn't work there. Without even a hint of hesitation, she pointed to the whole wheat, walnut baguette. A darkly bronzed loaf promising a savoury, nutty flavour, she suggested it sliced fresh or toasted with cheese and jam. Good grief- this is by far one of the most memorable breads I've ever savoured. It was moist and tender on the inside and the baguette crust had just the right amount of crunch- and I'm not talking about the rip the roof of your mouth to shreds kind either. This was baguette perfection. We also took home a hearty loaf studded with generous pieces of olives and a little mini loaf made of kamut.
What a Bagel!
The day before, we had a chance to explore the Jewish bakeries of the Mile End neighbourhood and were richly rewarded. The bagels at the St. Viateur Bagel Shop (263 St. Viateur West) are amongst some of the very best in the city (and I'd say anywhere full stop!). Others prefer the Fairmount Bagel's version (74 Fairmount Ave. West) and they're also delicious, but perhaps it's because I tried the St. Viateur bagels first when I was a student in nearby Kingston, Ontario that I prefer them. The trick to these dense circles is that they're boiled first and then they're baked in the time-honoured method of using a wood burning oven. Poppy seed, sesame seed, flax seed, multi grain- the choices are fairly varied and are wonderful when consumed with some fresh creamed cheese and good quality smoked salmon.
Cheskie Specialties
For light-as-air cream puffs and my favourite, Jewish Cheesecake, you can make one satisfying stop at the Cheskie Heimishe Bakery (359 Bernard Street West). Jewish Cheesecake isn't like the kind you may know with a graham cracker base, a sweet cheese filling and fruit or any other kind of topping. Nope- this is more like a rich pound cake that's baked and resembles a traditional cake. The flavour is wonderful- it's not too sweet, it tastes like the perfect cross between cheesecake and dense golden cake and it makes a wonderful accompaniment to a cup of freshly brewed tea. And the Cheskie Heimishe makes one of the best- love at first bite!
Bonjour and Au Revoir
On another trek, on our last day there, we found ourselves sitting at Olive & Gourmando (351 St. Paul West) for a late breakfast. Truth be told- it was the palmier cookies in the magazine that made us both wander Old Montreal that sunny morning. In the magazine, the palmiers were mouth-wateringly good looking- baked to a caramelized finish with crispy edges that whispered sweet nothings to the onlooker. We had to have one of those. For breakfast though, we tried to be civil and ordered café au laits with astonishing croissants and an apple cinnamon, baked-on-the-premises roll that was terrific! We languidly enjoyed our pastries and then innocently inquired after our much sought-after palmier to take with us. "Sorry, but we don't make those until after lunch" was the response. Our hearts sank as this was the last day we were in Montreal and we had to leave palmier-less. Well, we may have left without sampling the sugar baked sweetness of the famed baked goods, but we drove away with loaves and other baked treats to last us for days, not to mention something to look forward to on our next Montreal expedition.
