Headed to Montreal

What time of year are you going? There are some seasonal things there. But whatever you do, go here:

http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/

Please eat as many items off the foie menu as you can!

Where are you staying? There are many great places, with huge historic backgrounds. I'm jealous. It's been several years since I've been there, and it is a great city. And I know some people on the board live there, so you should get more great suggestions.

Schwartz's deli! sooo good!

ive only been there once, and stayed at someones house who went to mcgill. so i cant help with hotels. sorry.

I've lived here for about a year now and the first thing that comes to mind is poutine.

Bagels fresh from the oven.

lefty

Last time I was there, a very old hotel, the Ritz Carelton in Montreal.

Here's an updated list of something I posted on another forum a couple of months ago:

Bars/clubs:
- Baldwin Barmacie on Laurier, near St-Urbain. I'm a big fan of the place. The crowd is eclectic; young professionals, hipsters, students, francos, anglos. Good drinks, cool vibe, nice decor, hot girls. Its sort of a lounge, but it gets loud without being a club.
- Tokyo Bar on St-Laurent: a bit of a Montreal institution. Easy-going crowd. Just your standard club, I guess.
- B-Sides near St-Laurent: the terrace on the roof is cool during the summer. Been there once and it was way too packed though. Chicks were good-looking.
- Garde-Manger: its a good restaurant but turns into a bar into the night.
- High-end places would be Time SupperClub, Buona Notte, etc.

Microbreweries:
- L'amère à boire on St-Denis: the Imperial Stout is amazing.
- Dieu du Ciel on Laurier: always packed but some great beers. Its my favourite one.
- Sergent recruteur: if I remember correctly, the beers were alright.

Poutine:
- La Banquise on Rachel. Only poutine you need to eat.

Pizza: Montreal's not a pizza city. The best one is at La Bottega on St-Zotique in Little Italy.

Hamburgers:
- La Paryse on Ontario: Montreal institution
- M:brgr on Drummond: can get expensive if you go wild on the toppings, but by far the best beef.

Steakhouses:
- Moishes
- Gibby's

Chinese:
- Keung Kee on de la Gauchetière, 2nd floor: good for cantonese but avoid duck dishes.
- Lotte furama: best dim sums; if you really want to go to a Chinese restaurant, it'd be my pick.
- Prêt-à-manger: its in Chinatown II, near Concorda University on St-Catherine/Guy. Pretty good.

Sushis:
- Tri Express on Laurier: my favourite, make a reservation though because its tiny.
- Kanda on Bishop and de Maisonneuve: its alright for a all-you-can-eat (24 bucks); not the best sushis, but the value is great.

Bistros:
- L'Express on St-Denis: a true Montreal institution. Open from 8 in the morning to 2AM. Very consistent. The service can be a tad snobby, but that's part of the deal.
- Au Petit Extra: classic bistro, quite good.

Wine bars:
- Comptoir à vin Bouchonné!: my personal pick, great food, great wine, good servers. The place is nice, too. Eclectic crowd: young and not so young professionals, hipsters. Classic Montréal crowd, I guess.
- BU bar à vin: one of my favourite places. Still quite trendy. Italian food. Reservations recommanded.
- Pullman: a tad higher-end and not as good in my view. Its on Parc Av.

Really good places:
- Au Pied de Cochon: unique Montréal experience. Must-try. Indulge in foie gras. My personal favourite.
- L'Épicier: the chef, Laurent Godbout, is one of the city's finest and is very creative.
- La Chronique
- Jun I: mostly Japanese but has French-inspired dishes too.
- Raza: high-end latin food on Laurier.
- Toqué!: doesn't need any introduction to Montréal foodies. Very expensive.
- Graziella on McGill street in the Old City (not McGill College); great Italian food.

Hotels:
I'm not a specialist by any stretch since I usually stay at friend's place. Out of the places that I've been to, I've liked Le Germain (I think its expensive? I didn't foot the bill...) and Omni Hotel is also nice.


Best of luck. If you need some more precise stuff just ask.

I wasn't that impressed with the food or shopping in Montreal (although I didn't make it to Pied de Cochon). The bagels and smoked meat, in particular, are overrated (go to Schwartz's for the pickles and coleslaw, get some meat on the side). Despite not being Catholic, I was really impressed with the Catholic history. Three of the places I found most interesting:

• Notre-Dame-des-Neiges
  
• Notre-Dame Basilica
  
• St Joseph's Oratory
  

If memory serves, at one time, the French settlers had to be Catholic. It was not for the entire length of time the French had possession of Quebec, but pretty sure that was in place for a number of years. I think it had to do with the thought the settlers could be controlled and/or swayed by their priests.

Chez Paree

Wanda's

Kama Sutra Club

Super Sexe

Club Downtown

+1 for Wanda's

I went to Montreal twice in High School with my French club. Really cool town, really beautiful. Hope you enjoy it.


P.S. Is there any city that SFers don't know about?