Happy 2012 to all. With a new year ahead of us we look back on 2011 and take a look at the state of brunch in Montreal. We look at the new spots we discovered, some dishes we remember and we look ahead to see what new discoveries await us. Before we get started, let us take a moment to remember two brunch spots that have left us this year. Sadly, we’ve lost McKiernan and Montée de Lait this year, both of which were on my list of favourite spots and had some really creative dishes that were rarely found elsewhere. Fortunately, we added some new quality places on the list this year but these two favourites will be missed.

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Sain Bol – A new favourite spot

The 411

Healthy, market fresh, vegetarian friendly, gluten free options, constantly changing… These are words you would never associate with brunch. In a world of bacon and eggs, healthy tasty options seem to be foreign. Often times, if you want something healthy and tasty, you will need to look really hard among a sea of options which tend to be one or the other : places that are healthy and good for you often do not come off as tasty, while places that come off as tasty tend to not focus on health. Sain Bol, on the other hand, is a gift; a rare gem where chef Frederic Houtin serves up some amazing dishes inspired by market fresh and in-season ingredients.

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