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| - PERFECTION! It almost seems ridiculous to write a review about an institution like St. Viateur but I guess there's still people out there that haven't had a bagel (or 6) from here. If you're not familiar with Montreal bagels or bagel shops you may be a little surprised. St Viateur is a 24hr bagel shop, they sell bagels, cream cheese and little else. There's no ordering your bagel as a sandwich, no selection of cream cheese flavors mounding in the case, no fried eggs on them, I'm not sure they even sell coffee there ... and there's no seating, this isn't a dining destination, you order and then leave, you can stand on the sidewalk or find a bench nearby to eat. It's not unusual to eat outside or walk around the Mile End area window shopping with a bagel in hand.
The selection of bagels always includes sesame and then, seemingly random, there might be an everything, a rosemary or a cinnamon raisin, but sesame is the mainstay. Liberte cream cheese is available in the case and is typically limited to regular and low fat. Bagels are continuously being made here at all hours of the day and night, they're pulled from the oven and piled high, still warm. When you order the bagels will still be warm (they're always warm and should be eaten warm). The technique is to grab a container of cream cheese and your bagels and then "rip and dip" as I like to say. I had a discussion with some coworkers, most of them, like me, rip the bagels up and dip them in the tub of cream cheese like a dip. I've heard of people cutting them up but Montreal bagels aren't really suited for making sandwiches with.
There's some debate between St Viateur vs Fairmont bagels, my preference is St Viateur as they're typically less "done" than Fairmont making them a little more chewy and soft. St Viateur always seems to have more sesame which gives them a nice nuttiness.
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