ST-VIATEUR BAGEL - MILE END — Restaurant in Montreal

She leaves the bouldering gym and her tired feet shuffle to the heart of the Mile End. She finally spots the familiar sign, lit up by the glowing light within the shop, and quickens her step towards salvation. She steps within, the warmth welcoming her like a mother embracing its child. The sight of dough being cut, the wood scraping the bottom of the oven to deposit the circular breads into the furnace, the kind greeting of the cashier wearing food-safe gloves: a comforting sight indeed. Only the best and freshest goods are selected for her: the savoury rosemary and salt, the sweet and hearty muesli and traditional sesame of course. Clutching the hot bag to her chest with a smile on her face, she pays her fare and quietly thanks the gods of carbohydrates for providing such a sustaining and affordable treat to the Montreal population. She makes her way back into the darkness outside, places a chewy bagel into her mouth and carefully drops her precious cargo into her bicycle basket before setting off towards the Plateau. It isn’t only bagels she will be bringing home – it is the pungent smell of sesame, the kindness of strangers and most importantly, the sense of truly belonging to a community.

Update: I still...

Honestly, the best bagels I’ve ever had - bar none… and I’ve had A LOT of bagels… baked with a proprietary process of dipping each bagel in hot honey-water prior to baking in a wood-fired oven, the end result is a rich, soft, nutty, slightly sweet almost creamy Montréal-style bagel that is absolutely authentic and second to none. Fast, friendly informative service make for a quick, efficient and worthwhile visit - every time. Given the awesomeness be prepared for a lineup, any time (our last time was a weekday, mid-morning - I’d imagine weekend mornings might be a lot more intense) though it moved exceptionally quickly. We ordered 5 dozen bagels (seemingly a huge amount, relatively speaking (for friends and family at home), but our order was filled incredibly quickly. Of note, this location (and the bagels produced) were featured with the host’s rave reviews on “Somebody Feed Phil”, a hilarious and bang-on travel/food show on Netflix - and for good reason. Coupled with the availability of freshly prepared fare featuring cream cheese and smoked salmon, etc, as well as merchandise and other sundry items, you really can’t go wrong. There may be other locations, but this is the OG… an absolute...

Checked off a Montreal bucket list. (@158 Rue Saint Viateur O.) Readers, you will absolutely love the sesame bagels although the cinammon ones were good too. The sesame ones were fresh, flavorful, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. I must admit, I like it better than our own NYC version. We love that the sesame is on both sides and because its baked on wood planks, the bagels have a ever so subtle smoke taste to it. The honey is subtle as well. I personally like the ones with a little char on the bottom. I am cheese fanatic, so I tried the locally made cream cheese offered but it was almost similar to cottage cheese in texture and size. Still it tasted like "Philadelphia style" cheese. The local Salmon lox here is amazing. Buy a few Red beets are used to "cook" it. Also, they are so much cheaper in cost than back in the Mid Atlantic.

One downside to the restaurant, is that its cash only. They have an ATM in the back and the fees are not too over the top. Beware, long lines can form at anytime like a flash mob. Don't be surprised to see locals coming out with entire bags. We came at 10 am and parked right on the street. They do it alright up...