Jean Talon Market in August

[sf&m]

Ah, Jean Talon market in August.

These pictures were taken August 14, 2004. Just snapshots really, but something to remember on Wintry days or pine over if you are unfortunate not to live in Montreal. This post belongs on the "Market Update" track, but I did not want to kill it with this heavy image load. Might have to edit it....

With no further ado: Jean Talon Market, August 14, 2004

Bean Time

The BERRIES.... and potatoes?

Chez Luis Roots

Onions

And they are purple too...

A favourite for foraging

Black jewels

And Brown...

North Side: The Temple of Cheese.... and a good lunch too

South side al fresco... grilled lamb, sausages, crepes, more sausages, calimari ..and ...and

The new Apples are in...must have one....

Can you believe this guy? That's his fourth this morning....

Did I mention the Wild Blueberries???

C'est tout, ça! ---- AND MUCH MORE

Edited August 27, 2004 by sf&m (log)

[carswell]

Great pics, sf&m! Don't see myself in them (whew!) but our paths may have crossed, as I was at the market on the 14th shopping for a birthday dinner. Remember thinking how nicely the carrots at Chez Louis were arranged. What camera are you using? Did you try to get a shot of the main allée (the one that runs from, say, Hamel to, say, Chez Leopoldo (or whatever the shop just west of Chez Nino is called)? The biggest challenge trying to depict JTM is capturing the scale of the place on a summer weekend and I always figured an allée shot would do it, though the lighting would be tricky and you'd probably need to perch on a ladder. Anyway, thanks for going to the trouble of taking and posting the photos. It'll be heartwarming if bittersweet to look at them in February.

[Gary Soup]

I was there for the first time on Aug. 12 and was mightily impressed (as mentioned in the other thread). I wish you had got a shot of the nicely lined up haricots of different colors so neatly lined up in small groupings. I visited Hamel (of course) but I liked the wider selection of aged cheddars (which I happen to be partial to) at a shop on the west side of the market (next to the sausage place, I think).

I grew up along the St. Lawrence (on the NY side) and love Montreal, though not necessarily in the winter). I've lived in California for forty-some years, where we can get fresh produce year-round. Unfortunately, the bulk of it is utterly tasteless.

[sf&m]

Carswell, I used a Canon A75 digital camera. I recently got it so I profess no great skill with it. These pics were taken between 1 and 2 pm, when the market was jumping, very crowded. Basically I walked around for 1/2 hour and took snapshots frankly with no particular thought or plan. For web viewing I cropped the images tightly and reduced size to 400 pixel wide and jpg compressed them to 50%. So there is quite a lot of resolution drop to get them to websize. I suppose one could get a "allée" shot if one got there at 7 in the morning, before the crowds.

Certainly to get anywhere near the "totality" of Jean Talon Market would take a much more skilled photographer, and even so... it has to be experienced.

Gary - oh, yeah, the bean and leak bundles, SAMI fruit, the Honey vendors, the Cranberry stand (best Cranberry Juice ever) the Duck Confit counter and and.....

Re Cheese: Marche des Saveurs (SE corner) has a small counter with a good selection of Quebec only cheeses - less crowded. And you can usually nip into a QC wine or Cider sample too...

[identifiler]

Nice to see Jacques and Diane back in the stall, for some reason, they were not around for the beginning of the harvest season or maybe they have swicthed spots due to the crazy parking construction they are doing on site... must be hell on week ends. Great shots !

[docsconz]

Nice photos. I am getting nostalgic already! I need to return there soon.

[carswell]

*bump*

So it's snowing. So the wind is howling. So the earth is shaking beneath your feet...

Don't let it get you down, Bubbie! Scroll to the top of this thread and remember that, in a little more than a month, the winter enclosure will be gone. And then, and then, the allées will be swarming with people on the weekends, the annuals and perennials for transplanting will be on full display, the tables will be groaning under the weight of piles of local asparagus and fiddleheads, and fresh berries and corn will be just around the corner. Your problem will no longer be finding something to eat that looks appealing but how to deal with the bounty.

Thanks to sf&m and his digicam for providing this valuable public service.

Edited March 6, 2005 by carswell (log)

[docsconz]

In less than two months I will be back. I am very much looking forward to revisiting this fabulous market. Thanks for reminding me.

[poutine]

Thanks to sf&m and his digicam for providing this valuable public service.

←

I second that, he captured much of the essence of Jean Talon Market. There should be a different flavour this summer with the new addition. Nice of you too Carswell for reviving this thread; theoretically we're not that far away from Spring. (although based on this: NEXT 5 DAYS it may feel like winter may never roll over & die)

So the earth is shaking beneath your feet...

←

I was sound asleep. I heard it was a 5.4 ... did you feel it?

[carswell]

I was sound asleep.  I heard it was a 5.4 ... did you feel it?

←

Yep. Had just finished watching a film (Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, a minor gem in a beautiful new DVD transfer). At 1:18 a.m. by my clock, there was a mild rolling sensation and the building's walls began creaking. The 2½-foot stalks of an about-to-bloom amarylis were swaying — a kind of upside-down pendulum — with an amplitude of about one inch on either side of centre. It lasted about 20 seconds. Not at all scary, unlike the Lac St. Jean quake of a decade and a half ago, which had me dashing to the most structurally reinforced room in my apartment.

Edited March 6, 2005 by carswell (log)

[gus_tatory]

yeah, thanks for posting the beautiful pictures. i too am aching for winter to be over. the whole schtick is getting tired...