Nick & Barry's Excellent Video Adventure

[carswell]

Nick Robinson (of www.montrealfood.com) and Barry Lazar (occasionally of the Gazette) have just raised the bar for foodie pictorials of Jean-Talon Market and environs. Turn on your speakers and click here for a Quicktime video tour that includes Caffè Italia, Roma, Poisonnerie Shamrock (dancing lobsters!), Jean-Talon Market (winter enclosure, extension, Prince Noir, Qui Lait Cru?, Hamel) and a pit stop at Schwartz's. Of course, they made the vid in winter, so we may still need to rely on sf&m's soul-warming pics of the market in August to raise our sagging spirits.

Edited February 8, 2006 by carswell (log)

[sf&m]

Hey, that's nice!! More of the same!!

Of course coming from they guy Who wrote "Taste of Montreal" (riiight) - without even mentioning French inspired food - it has it's "deficiencies":

- Paella?

- You're buying French and Dutch Cheese? What's UP??

- Ever heard of Marche des Saveurs and QC cheese?

- Eh, Barry.... you're not behind the woodpile anymore.... learn how to hold a coffe CUP.

- To bad there was not any more snow. That's nice to remember on a sweltering August Saturday

- And then the ultimate insult - %$#@! Swartz!!! Will The day ever come when that abomination is permananetly removed as a Montreal "food" destination??? Not soon enough!!!

- Suggestion...... maybe keep to Cote de Niege et environs next time.... I am sure there are lot's of Asian hole-in-the-walls that need exposure...

But that's nitpicking!!

We need a Montreal foodie podcast!!!

It's HUUGE! (Gratitious Inside Tiki Bar ref)

[francois]

- And then the ultimate insult - %$#@! Swartz!!! Will The day ever come when that abomination is permananetly removed  as a Montreal "food" destination???

←

I happen to like Schwartz!

Of course it has nothing to do with 'real' restaurants like Toqué! or the Club Chasse et Peche. However, there are times when a simple, good smoke meat sandwich is just great.

[sf&m]

Also - thanks for the kind reference to my old summer time JTM Pics. But right now I think we need some chillin' pictures we could look at come the heat of summer. Wintertime, especially with a lot of snow is a wonderful short season in Montreal. Sipping a bowl at Caffe IN while contemplating the JTM foraging dash in 30 below... etc.

I missed out on a great opportunity in December. After attending a funeral at the church at Henri Julien and Dante we quietly walked back to JTM with the snow falling in huge clean flakes.

Like crystal tears in the dark hair of the woman I was with. We dropped into MdS for some QC provisions after which we tucked into a meaty gratin at Prince Noir. A funeral makes you hungry!

I wish I had taken some pictures then.

So IF we get a new snowfall, please get out there - take pictures and post them.

We need them come summer!!

[Mr. Fagioli]

But my preference is to show new inventive local stuff. And really Swartz is a tired, bad has-been and it's ALWAYS mentioned in every Montreal touristy food article. It does not do justice to what you can find all along the MAin or in the Plateu - enough already.  I am sick of always seeing it pushed. That's my opinion.

←

I'm no fan of Schwartz's food, nor of the grumpy waiters, nor of the fact that it's a bit of a tourist trap (the fate of most "institutions"), but I think it has a cultural significance beyond the food. It's emblematic of what makes the Main special: variety and authenticity up and down the street, and the lack of corporate fast food but for one Subway and one Second Cup. The coexistence of the humble and the swanky, the old and the new. It's reassuring to have survivors like this, and I say the more the better even if I (we) don't personally treasure each and every one.

Was the old St-Laurent Bakery the best bakery in town? No, but we lost something important when it closed. Was Warshaw's terrible in almost every way in its last few years? Yup...but it's still a loss IMO. Do we really want to lose more of our authentic "institutions" even if some of them are a little long in the tooth?

Places like this are (were) bulwarks against the Toronto-ization you say we need to guard against. I agree that we need to do that, but I just don't see how Schwartz's undermines the cause. Schwartz's or Shopsy's? EuroDeli or Pizza Hut? Caffè Italia or Starbucks? Vieille Europe or Loblaws? Taqueria Mex or Taco Bell? Few of those places are the best in their class, and none is especially inventive, but they are at least part of the community and not just corporate "locations." So they don't have much to do with our French roots...they are still part of our Montreal roots!

I believe that this kind of independence and durability is just as important as being new and inventive. I would even argue that the survival of such places helps create an environment where the new and original can thrive. To me, that's why our tired old has-beens are worth celebrating.

[riboflavinjoe]

... and besides all that, a fat sandwich wins the war on drugs.

[Vinfidel]

mr bean

let us not be too dramatic with terms like TORONTO-IZATION

when was the list time you went there? a very vibrant scene of cheap eats and small joints owned by food lovers

i agree that montreal should not become McMontreal

but schwartz is good especialy since we are a tourist site here in north america

to keep this city alive with good love and cash we need tourists. this is a fact. and these guys know and love schwartz it is like a landmark

like mordecai richler or leonard cohen or auf der mar

do not disrispect mr. bean the meat at schwartz is very fine and sweet

[Chris Amirault]

Folks, I just had to delete a string of mean-spirited, off-topic, and politically inflammatory posts. (Click on the Member Agreement or the "Discussion of Politics" for reference.) This thread is devoted to the video clip described in its title; please stick to the topic at hand.

[Mr. Fagioli]

Vin, you're right that I shouldn't be too hard on Toronto, as I do know that the city has plenty of that authenticity I value so much. But I would also be willing to bet that the concentration of corporate offerings is much higher than it is here.

As for Schwartz's, to each his own. The meat was nothing special when I went a couple of months ago (my medium-fat was too dry and way too salty), and I can remember way more bad attitude than good from the waiters over the last 20+ years. So, it's not the place for me anymore, but I'm still happy it's there.

Sorry if this is again off-topic, but I wanted to come back to those two points.

Edited February 11, 2006 by Mr. Fagioli (log)

[Vinfidel]

it is true the service is terrible

and the lineups! oy vey

mr bean if the meat is too salty then drink anotehr cherry coke - it works for me!

today i got a pain parisien and pain levain baguette style from the bakery atwater market

much better than before!

maybe somebody is reading our little board

[sf&m]

Yes, chrisamirault.... I guess I started that racket. So I should apologize.

Sorry about that. I posted comments that were uncalled for - that pushed peoples buttons - and not appropriate in this forum. Did not see all that it led up to and you had to delete - but I should have known better in the first place.

However, I might be inappropriate at times but it's not meant to mean spirted, I can assure you.

I'll **try** to wise up....

/gth