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| - Okay. So when it comes to Montreal, there are several food things that you should stop for, always. Always grab some fruit at Marche Jean Talon. Always grab some cheese at Marche Atwater or La Vieille Europe. Always have a good smoked meat at Schwartz's, always have a #4 at the Pool Room, and most importantly, never ever pass up the chance to buy a bagel or 2. As a New Yorker at heart, it might be odd for me to sing the praises of Montreal's bagels. Well, they are 2 distinctly different products and appeal differently to different parts of my psyche. So what's so different about Montreal bagels?
Well, it has to do with the way how it is prepared. New York bagels are usually made with a salty malt dough, machine rolled, boiled in water and then baked in an industrial oven, and it's usually a fairly substantial bit of puffy carbs (which goes well with our infamous schmear of cream cheese, preferably made with upstate dairy). Nowadays it's more likely made across the Hudson in New Jersey, or sometimes in industrial kitchens in Long Island City (Queens). NYC Connoisseurs will often go for the Bialy, which is an even more obscure dough product that came from Askenazi jews with roots in Bialystok (Poland). Montreal style bagels are typically hand-made with a malty sugar dough (rolled into a braid), boiled in honey water (so it has a sweeter finish and keeps better in cold dry climates, since sugar is hydrophilic and helps draw moisture from the air), and then baked in a wood fired oven to lend it a slightly smoky finish (Quebecois tends to "get" culinary heritage and don't force modernity upon trusty age-old operations). Montreal bagels are smaller in general compared to their New York style competitors.
When it comes to Montreal bagels, two names are often mentioned in exalted tenor - Fairmount and St. Viateur. Both places are small, 24 hour operations, both places supply the city with their wares, and both command divided loyalties.
So what's the difference? Fairmount bagels tends to be sweeter and doughier, while St. Viateur is crisper and a little less sweet. The general consensus? The split is slightly in favor towards Fairmount, but I favor the crisper St. Viateur due to a better balance of flavors when assembling the "special" sandwich (Beauty's Special, from Hymie Sckolnick's luncheonette on St. Urbain, which involves lox, cream cheese, tomatoes and onions). I favor St. Viateur, but I am okay with Fairmount. The typical topping for a Montreal bagel is sesame seed, which are heaped on in generous allotments. There is also garlic and the all-dressed, which are decent. Stay the heck away from the hipstery flavors like blueberries or rosemary and stick to the oldschool. The line moves pretty fast, but think about what to order and pony up quick. The people behind you will appreciate it.
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