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Coffee on the Road - MontrealPage 1 | Page 2 During alcohol Prohibition in the United States in the 1920s, many U.S. citizens within reach of the Canadian border crossed over to Montreal, Quebec, where the drinks flowed more freely and the legislation was less ill-conceived and puritan. These days, U.S. alcohol prohibition is more selective, applying only to those under the age of 21. For many of us who came of age in the northeastern U.S., Montreal held a unique allure during a three-year period of our lives. I made the trip on a regular basis for several years, joining a gang of rowdy friends who fell into a similar age bracket. We would drive through northern New England, pass through the border atop Vermont, and sing rousing renditions of "O Canada" as we crossed into a land where we had all the rights of adulthood, regardless of whether or not we acted like adults. Like barbaric genies let out of a star-spangled bottle, we roamed up and down rue St. Katherine, awestruck at the thrill of walking into a bar where nobody loomed in the doorway waiting to bounce us out.
Along with many of those same friends, I am now in my late 20s, and drinking legally is no longer a novelty to us. It has been several years since my last trip to Montreal, and when my friends Steve, Adam, and Abdallah suggest a road trip there this time, I feel ready to tune in to the city’s unique culture to which I was once so drunkenly oblivious. Slightly ashamed of our younger years where we viewed the city as a giant city-sized bar, the four of us are ready to act our age, and behave differently from the Ugly American stereotypes we once so perfectly embodied. Or are we? A European Climate in North America In many ways, Montreal feels like a European city in North America. French is the predominantly spoken language in town, although the cultural barrier for an English speaking tourist is modest. Many people here are at least bilingual, and meeting somebody who is trilingual is not in the least bit uncommon. The most comparable city in the United States is probably New Orleans, another French-flavored metropolis for which travel guides inevitably invoke the phrase joie de vivre, and another one where Catholicism and vice don't seem mutually exclusive. The city is major-league when it comes to fashion -- even in the midst of winter, which hits Montreal hard, people in the nightspots are dressed on a fashion level that puts to shame the more utilitarian winter garb of most Yankee visitors. So while the English-speaking visitor will encounter many people who speak English, and indeed pockets of the city where English is predominantly heard, let there be no doubt about it: French rules here. We are, after all, in the fiercely independent-minded Canadian province of Quebec, whose populace voted by the slimmest of margins not to secede from Canadian Federation in the mid-90's. Street names and road signs are in French, and so is much of the music you hear as you go about town. Second Cup: A Different Kind of French RoastSo much for acting our age. On our first night in town, Steve, Adam, Abdallah and I find the city's hedonistic attractions too much to resist, and we linger at the casino, bars, and other such attractions until the wee a.m. hours. When we finally begin stirring early the following afternoon, we trudge down the snow-filled sidwalks, and Second Cup café on rue Crescent beckons us. We heed its call, and in its vaguely familiar environs, I order a cappuccino.
Upon first glance, Second Cup looks, seems, feels and tastes like a Canadian twin of Starbucks. It is as common in Montreal as Starbucks is in many U.S. cities, the array of coffees and coffee-based beverages will seem familiar to those who frequent Starbucks. and even the menu over the counter looks like a Starbucks menu, though written in some type of Frenalian appropriate for the coffeecentric fare being served. The Ontario-based chain seems to have made similar waves in terms of choice for coffee lovers in Canadian cities. "The choices for a coffee lover [in Montreal] weren’t as diverse earlier in the ‘90s as they are now," says Tim, an alum of Montreal's prestigious McGill University. "It was much harder finding certain types of specialty coffees until Second Cup came in. Before that, I actually thought the coffee culture in town was pretty bland. Still, the city’s café atmosphere more than made up for it.
Not everybody has greeted Second Cup with such open arms. In October 2000, three Second Cup cafes in Motreal were victims of attempted firebombings. A group calling itself the Brigade d'Autodefense du Francais (BAF) claimed responsibility had previously threatened similar violence to Second Cup and other retail chains in Quebec with English-language names. The Montreal Gazette reported soon afterwards that Second Cup's clientele remained undaunted by the attacks. Page 1 | Page 2 Tags: montreal |
