INTRODUCING WORKMAN’S CITY DINING GUIDES
No matter the corner of the world you might feast in, chances are a Workman author has raised her spoon there, too. Our illustrious food and drink aficionados have literally written the books on the cuisines of Paris, India, Miami, Persia, New England, the Yucatán, and 1,000 places in between. When they’re not writing treatises on chickpea flour or kombucha, our intrepid food and drink authors can be found eagerly entertaining their taste buds with the cuisine of their hometowns.
To many people, food is an—if not the—important way to get to know a new place. And for recommendations, who could be better than a person whose life’s passion is to cook, write about, and enjoy food? With that, it gives us great pleasure to introduce a new breed of city dining guides, written by Workman’s family of food and drink authors. First up is Daniel Shumski, author of the bestselling Will It Waffle? and the forthcoming Will It Skillet?, on his hometown, Montreal.
General provisions
Marché Atwater
138 Avenue Atwater
Website
While Marché Jean-Talon (7070 Avenue Henri-Julien) is worth a visit and sometimes steals the show, Atwater has much to offer. In particular, it tends to have fewer tourists. During the growing season, stands offer fresh produce from all over Quebec. Off-season, there’s still plenty to enjoy, with seafood, meat, cheese, pasta, chocolate, and maple syrup in abundance.
Bakeries
La Fabrique Arhoma
1700 Rue Ontario Est
Website
Watch through the window as bakers crank out croissants in giant batches. Then step through the door and stare down croissant choices such as chocolate, blue cheese, cheddar, and traditional, among plenty of other pastry options. (A demi-baguette with brie or butter and jam is a solid non-pastry option.)
Arte & Farina
1256 Rue Ontario Est
Website
Just a handful of Italian pastries and slices of pizza are offered at this small storefront where the counter and seating space is almost an afterthought to the enormous mixer and long workbench for dough. My experience is that English is cheerfully spoken but you’re probably better off with French or Italian.
Boulangerie Guillaume
5134 Boulevard St. Laurent
Website
This bakery has moved or expanded twice in three years, going from a tiny hole in the wall to its current airy, spacious shop. Bite into one of their pastries or tear into one of their creative loaves of bread. In good weather, enjoy your food in the small, green plaza next door, a gift to the city from the bakery that is maintained with help from neighborhood funds.
La Bête à Pain
195 Rue Young
Website
An oven in the center of the room is ringed by a glass case packed with pastries and breads. All this is set amidst colorful tilework under a lofty ceiling. Sit down for something savory or sweet, or grab a pastry and coffee to go.
Pâtisserie Notre Maison
4101 Boulevard St. Laurent
Website
Portuguese pastries in Montreal? Oh, yes. You may have to contend with the regulars—all speaking Portuguese—for a table, but it’s never much of a fight, as they all seem to know one another and don’t mind sharing a table. Tuck into a cream-filled ball of fried dough or a lightly sweet braided bun. Personally, I like to dazzle the employees with a casual obrigado as I leave. (This is uttered only on the way out, lest they somehow get the idea that I actually speak Portuguese and attempt to draw me into conversation.)
Fairmount Bagel
74 Avenue Fairmount Ouest
Website
Montreal bagel bakeries—like bagels themselves—evoke fierce partisanship. Fairmount and another neighborhood bakery, St. Viateur (263 Rue St. Viateur West), each claim legions of followers. I frequent Fairmount, but in truth the two bakeries churn out bagels that are quite similar—and very different from a N.Y.-style bagel. These bagels are made without salt in a wood-fired oven. At Fairmount, the fast-moving and seemingly perpetual line at the 24-hour shop is forced to share space with stacks of bagel trays that nearly reach the ceiling.
Casual bites
Wilensky’s Light Lunch
34 Avenue Fairmount Ouest
Website
I’m not spilling any secrets when I tell you to get “the Special.” It’s all-beef salami with all-beef baloney pressed and grilled on a roll with a little mustard. It’s also just about the only thing on the menu. Order a drink and watch the cola syrup be ladled into a glass before it’s filled up with seltzer water. Wilensky’s has been in the same spot since the 1950s and is a glimpse back in time.
Boucherie Lawrence
5237 Boulevard St. Laurent
Website
Boucherie Lawerence is a butcher shop with top-quality meats and a few sandwiches during the day. But two other restaurants in the Boucherie family deserve attention as well. Larrys (9 Avenue Fairmount Est) is the latest addition, with breakfast early in the day, and small bites and drinks as the day goes on. Lawrence (5201 Boulevard St. Laurent) is a proper restaurant, where dinners highlight foods from Quebec (and the prices are often in accordance with the high quality of the ingredients).
High-end dining
Park
378 Avenue Victoria
Website
Not exactly an unknown gem, this restaurant deserves the attention it gets. Led by Argentine-born chef Antonio Park, the restaurant offers Japanese cuisine with Korean and South American touches. The omakase tasting menu puts you in the hands of the chef and is unlikely to disappoint. Dinner is not cheap, but stopping by for lunch gets you a taste of things at a more modest price.
Hoogan et Beaufort
4095 Rue Molson
Website
Located somewhat unpromisingly in an office park on the site of a former railyard, this restaurant showcases local and seasonal products in a slightly industrial but warm setting. Order the tasting menu or choose from a carefully conceived list of starters, pastas, main courses, and desserts.
Le Mousso
1023 Rue Ontario Est
Website
A friend asked me to describe the cuisine here and all I could come up with was “creative” and “surprising.” A tasting menu of roughly eight courses (with an optional wine pairing) offers ever-changing dishes such as potatoes lightly smoked in a bed of hay that is set on fire at the table. A sea urchin mousse packed into an inky black tart crust and topped with edible flowers was so beautiful I almost didn’t want to eat it. Almost. Service—in English or French—is friendly and attentive.
Dessert
La Diperie
68 Avenue des Pins Est
Website
How can a place offering just one kind of ice cream—vanilla soft serve—grow into practically an empire in the space of a year? By offering every conceivable kind of dip and topping. La Diperie has expanded not just within Montreal, but also to the neighboring province of Ontario. Visit the original location and order “l’après-match.” You’ll receive your vanilla soft serve dipped in chocolate, studded with pretzels, and drizzled with caramel.
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