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The Art of Montreal’s Flavour

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Delicious tartare starter at Ê.A.T. | Photo credit Patricia Brochu

Montreal is a whirlwind of attractions, beauty and food. So with only three days to explore (and 10 years since my last visit), I set out with my sunglasses and a full schedule of inspiring exhibitions and market-fresh meals.

I started with dinner at W Hotels Être Avec Toi, or Ê.A.T.  Montreal rosettes—spray-painted on the windows by local artist Alex Scaner—hint at the restaurant’s interiors, where street artists have covered the walls and tables with colourful pop-art collages and cheeky contemporary paintings inspired by Renaissance icons. Leaving through the lobby, satisfied after my tuna tartare starter and fresh snapper with heirloom carrots and mint, a jar of markers invited guests to help create a mural. I decided to leave it to the professionals.

Benny Wilding's work in progress at Mural Fest | Photo credit Vivien Gaumand

The next day, I strolled along Boulevard Saint-Laurent, between Mont-Royal and Maisonneuve, where every year, for 11 days in June, Mural Fest invites local and international street artists to paint 20 new pieces. Ranging from dream-like landscapes to sidewalk sea creatures, the finished displays remain accessible year-round.

With night falling, I made my way to Place Emilie-Gamelin behind the Berri-UQAM metro station. From May to October, the square turns into the Jardins Gamelin, hosting free movie screenings, concerts and even performances from the Montreal Complètement Cirque festival every night, which you can enjoy from the lawn or the beer garden.

The next morning, I joined a three-hour Beyond the Market tour with guide Danny Pavlopoulos of Spade & Palacio. Small groups are taken through Jean-Talon Market for tastings, including aged Tomme de Maréchal goat cheese, nine kinds of pork charcuterie and three ice cream flavours, then to four other hot food spots in the surrounding Little Italy and Mile-Ex neighbourhoods. Time flew.

Full, I walked off the samples through Place des Arts, home to a flurry of events throughout the summer, including French music fest FrancoFolies, Montreal Jazz Fest and Just for Laughs, plus plenty of savvy retirees who set up lawn chairs by the screens broadcasting from the main stage.

Inside Patrice Pâtissier | Photo credit Mickaël A. Bandassak

My last day in the city started with breakfast at Patrice Pâtissier, an unassuming spot in up-and-coming Little Burgundy from pastry chef Patrice Demers. As tempting as it was to stay for one more perfectly lacquered kouign amann (a round Breton pastry), I had more to see—and eat. Off I went down Rue Notre-Dame Ouest to sip the gourmet oils on offer at Olive Saint-Henri and poke through grocery-slash-restaurant 3734’s mouth-watering and eclectic freezer, with everything from duck breast to lime sorbet.

After treating myself to flaky hand-held cherry and strawberry-rhubarb pies at Rustique Pie Kitchen, I turned back toward Atwater Market, where families take their spreads to picnic tables overlooking the Lachine Canal. Here, you can rent a bike or paddleboat, or while away the afternoon aboard Canal Lounge, a floating café in a restored 45-year-old boat.

With only a few hours left until my train home, I squeezed in one last stop at Arsenal Gallery, a sprawling 50,000-square-foot former shipyard that is now used for contemporary art exhibitions.

Yes, I fell asleep as soon as we left the station, but satisfied that I had made the most of a summer weekend.

 

 


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