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Coffee on the Road - MontrealPage 1 | Page 2 "More of a Bar Culture Than a Coffee Culture" "I’d say the city has more of a bar culture than a coffee culture," says Tim. "If you have to choose between coffee and Boreale [a microbrewed Quebec beer], sorry to say it, but Boreale is going to win." In light of Tim's recommendations, we see no reason to choose between the coffee culture and bar culture, and on the following night we seek places that can give us the best of both worlds. Admittedly, McLean's, an Irish pub in downtown Montreal, may not seem like a logical stop for coffee connoisseurs. We are not only caffeine-thirsty tonight, though; we are also hungry, and McLean’s seems like a lively place that will serve us reasonably priced, hearty food. We are not disappointed. I go for the Sous-marin McLean's, a giant sandwich featuring a generous helping of smoked meat. "Smoked meat on rye is one of the city’s signature food items," said Tim, describing the sandwich which tastes similar to corned beef. While I’m perfectly happy with the McLean's version, Tim sets me straight about the quintessential place to get it. "The most famous place to get [a smoked meat sanwich] is at Ben's Montreal Deli. Almost every Prime Minister has gone there for the ‘Big Ben Sandwich." All about us, television screens are aglow with several out-of-town hockey games. We ae, after all, in the mother of all North American hockey towns. Montreal’s National Hockey League squad, the Canadiens, are historically the premier NHL franchise, and have won more Stanley Cups than any other team in the league. In recent years, however, they have found themselves in unfamiliar territory: the lower echelons of the league standings, sometimes even failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, some of the team’s heart and soul seemed to evaporate in 1996 when the team vacated the beloved 80-year-old home rink in the Montreal Forum in favor of the ultra-modern Centre Molson. Still, Montreal remains devoted to its hockey, and the area is abuzz on game nights. The Washington Capitals are in town during the weekend we visit, and even in the mid-afternoon on game day, scalpers approach us trying to sell us tickets. Conscious of our surroundings and the time of day, it makes little sense to order a conventional coffee here. We opt instead for one of the best fusions of caffeine and alcohol: the Irish Coffee. This McLean's does very well – the beverage is sweet, has a bite, and even late on a Saturday night, the coffee tastes fresh amid its friends Bailey's and Jamieson's. A Room With A VieuxWe spend the afternoon in Vieux-Montreal (Old Montreal), a part of town that encompasses cobblestone streets, municipal government buildings, and a waterfront. Mid-February is not peak time for Vieux-Montreal, and we intermittently find ourselves amidst moderate crowds of people and then find ourselves alone on long stretches of road. Large ships are docked in the frozen port, and we hike back uphill on blvd. St Laurent by a city square overlooked by Vieux Palais de Justice. We have walked many a kilometer from downtown to Vieux-Montreal, and are in need of warmth and drink. Once again at A L'Aventure, we find ourselves in the enviable position of choosing between alcoholic and caffeinated beverages, and never really need to make up our minds. This bistro-style French restaurant and bar has its fair share of Belgian fare, and we order Belgian ales that come in gigantic glasses. Like so many other elements of this city, the coffee I later order has a taste of the European. The bartender goes to an espresso machine to pull my coffee -- quality wins out over quantity, and I am about to cap off my pub evening with a carefully brewed, rich-tasting coffee, the best of my weekend.
Willing VictimsIt is folly to believe you can ever get a true feel for a large city after just a few days; I don’t kid myself that I’ve even scratched the surface with Montreal. There is much more to Montreal’s café culture that deserves attention, and I would love to go during the summer months when it is in full swing. Once again, however, we have fallen everwilling victim to the city’s more vice-heavy tourist attractions. Montreal has done it to American tourists for decades, and we won't be the last ones. We may not have fully outgrown the hedonistic streak that first brought us to Montreal, but we are slowly growing attuned to the city's unique atmosphere, and our eyes are open to the fact that the options for a coffee lover are as diverse and culturally rich as the city itself. Page 1 | Page 2 Tags: montreal |
