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| - I'm a native of Los Angeles. I love NYC bagels (Ess-A-Bagel, hello!). What do I think of Montreal bagels?
CHA-CHING!! On the money, yo.
I must say here, documented, that Montreal bagels whip the butts of NYC bagels. An NYC bagel is good, but it gets its perfection from the mounds of cream cheese. A Montreal bagel is perfection without any alterations or additions.
I've never, ever had a bite of any bagel and felt that I would want to willingly eat it plain and in its entirety, right there and then. At St. Viateur, I looked at the bagel and wondered why it wasn't cut in half. "Do you put cream cheese on it?".. and she smiled and said, "No", and pointed to the fridge to my right and said, "You can buy for .50" (I think she said 50 cents, but it was something in that amount). I decided nah.. and told her it's ok, I'll just go with it as is. She smiled big and made that gesture with her hand that can be read as "magnificent choice!"
I took it outside towards the drizzly morning of Montreal/Mile-End, and sunk my teeth into it. And more. And again. And suddenly felt that I needed a cup of coffee to help slow down, and to be able to relish it. Stopped by a coffee shop nearby (I forget the name, darn it!), but it was a very good latte... and oh what a delightful breakfast. The coffee was certainly not necessary, but unless you want to scarf the bagel down and wish you hadn't, you should get one to pair it with. :)
The shop offers nowhere to sit. It's not really a dining establishment. Just a shop that makes bagels. I wish they'd have somewhere to sit, but perhaps that's part of the decades of charm. The area itself seems residential nearby, and it was a bit of a trek by a bus from the downtown area, to get here. I'd say about 25 minutes by bus. Worth every bumpy moment.
This is a way to consume carbs the way they were meant to be consumed. And you won't feel one bit of guilt.
Didn't get the chance to try Fairmount, but the reviews make them sound so similar.. so I've left Fairmount for my return visit.
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