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| - If you've never been to Lafleur on St Denis it isn't much to look at. Sure it has a great corner location across from historic Carre St Louis, but the Lafleur chain's green and white colour scheme - albeit fresh and new - mark this place as a slightly unappealing fast food resto from another time. Inside it's all tile and arborite surfaces. It's clean and neat in a 'don't stick around too long' kind of way. At night - your most likely time to visit - it is over lit and a shock to eyes that may have a hard time adjusting due to the influence of strong drink.
Your first impression as you get up to the order counter may be that the staff are sad barely legal youths with bad skin and goofy grins, chafing under their polyester uniforms. But this is where Lafleur starts to get interesting. We've all seen the teenage fast food worker at various burger places doing a slap dash hash of their simple tasks. We've seen the eye rolls, the dopey faces, the disinterest, the pure boredom. But not here. These youth are god-damn fast food heroes. They always seem super friendly, (they look out from behind the counter with a smile that says "I know you are loaded and we are here to take care of you.") they seem like they enjoy their work, and they perform with an above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty joie de vivre.
Because at 3am when the place fills with drunken idiots, and the line snakes to the front door, these Lafleur employees become hot-dog and fries ninjas. The kitchen is an open square, and you can see all the action. Even at the busiest times, the cashier/poutine operative will drop back and smash a couple dozen freshly peeled potatoes through a giant potato slicer. The others work the back area, flat top grill, hot dot vat, and most importantly the bun steamer. There is not enough time in the day to discuss the age old debate over toasted bun or steamed bun - suffice to say, whatever your preference, they make a great dog. My standard is a steamie all dressed. Which to those outside of Quebec means it comes on a steamed bun, with a pickley cabbage slaw, and mustard. The slaw makes the Quebec dog a superior food. The fresh veggie crunch balances the salty nitrate soaked meat tube perfectly and (maybe I go too far but) lends it an air of health.
The fries are great, the poutine is always surprisingly tasty. I can't vouch for anything else. And before someone gets bent out of shape - I have eaten here totally stone cold sober on several occasions - just so you know.
I would say Lafleur was a cultural institution, but that would be doing it a great disservice. Culture institutions are often past their prime, resting on their laurels and generally more curiosity than quality. Lafleur and their employees seem to care about what they do and for that they get five stars.
I refer those interested to the following rundown on the Montreal dog.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_hot_dog
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