Jean Talon market in the summer is one of our favourite weekend destinations. You can get lost in the countless fruit stands, meat and cheese shops, all the while, discovering a variety of new foods that will make you smile and fill your stomach. Sitting in Little Italy, you can explore the surrounding areas finding various cafes and shops all walking distance from the Jean Talon Market.
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Every year just as winter begins to ease up, the sap starts flowing and people begin heading out to get their maple fix at various cabane a sucres/sugar shacks outside of the city. Back in the day, the only way people would get their maple syrup addiction fed was to head out of town and hit up a sugar shack. Normally people would associate sugar shacks with very simple/traditional meals. The standard lineup at most sugar shacks include baked beans, eggs, mini sausages, potatoes, pork rinds, beets, and loads of maple syrup, in almost every dish. Pretty much basic dishes that haven’t changed or evolved in years. Things started to change when Martin Picard’s Pied de Cochon cabane a sucre made waves by taking these traditional dishes and making them fancy, combining them with modern dishes while keeping you full and having a steady supply of maple. They did such a good job that people started getting inspired and lots of places started looking at bringing this cabane a sucre experience into the city and having fun with these traditional dishes. (more…)

The 411 Atelier Argentine is a relatively new place opening in the old location of DNA. I had heard of it from a friend of mine who had dinner there and saw that they served brunch. He enjoyed the dinner so we decided to try out their brunch and see what it would be like.

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Griffintown Cafe – A little bit of country in the city

The 411

Over the last couple of years, Notre Dame street has brought us some interesting brunch spots, with its booming population, and sprawling developments. Griffintown café (not to be confused with Café Griffintown) is a place I was introduced to a little over a year ago. A group of us had dinner there and liked it. Over the last little while I had heard that they added weekend brunch to their offering. Considering I liked their dinner service, and I am a fan of the area, it did not take much to make me check out this spot and see how they handle brunch.

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Grange Vin + Bouffe – A unique twist on Brunch

The 411

Every day there is a new place opening in the city, some make waves among various foodie circles by doing something new and unique. Once in a while, some of these places add a brunch offering to their menu. Some bring their own take on brunch, helping to make it something unique and fun while others just do the bare minimum. I have heard some buzz about Grange for evening service and then recently found out that they do Sunday brunch. I decided to see if they were able to take the success with their dinner service and apply it to brunch.

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St Viateur Bagel Cafe – A Montreal legend since 1957

The 411

After a grueling 18k morning run followed by 90 minutes of trying to survive 52 degrees of a hot yoga session, we made our way to NDG for some much needed refueling. I had not eaten a single thing since the night before and was physically exhausted which usually make for a bad combo. There are only a few places in NDG left that I have not reviewed and St Viateur Bagels & Cafe is one of them. You may know St Viateur as the same people who make Montreal’s best bagels, but did you know they opened up a two cafes? One on 127 Mont. Royal East and this one at 5629 Monkland Avenue.

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Mosaik – Your friendly neighborhood spot

The 411

Way up at the tip of the Mile end you will find a local gem called Mosaik. It’s a hit with the locals and seems to have quite a following. The crowd is somewhat mixed with families bringing their kids and a few younger people from the area stopping in for bite and coffee to ease into their day.

At 1st glance

Once you push past the really stubborn front door (which lets in the cold so don’t sit near it) you immediately notice some nice stained glass artwork suspended and a bunch of drawings made by kids suspended under a funky ceiling light. The stained glass is accented by the fact that Mosaik is at a corner of the street and the large windows let in tons of light. The ambiance is very comfortable and laid back; it really has that neighborhood charm. Once you are settled in you feel as if you are in not in any rush and can decompress with no lineup and no pressure to get out and pay your bill.

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