Canadiana: Sunny Montreal Weekned

The exile continues through March as I brave the seems-like-forever-winter solo in Montreal. My days consist of listening to CBC radio, watching lone flakes of snow fluttering through big bay windows, cooking up food projects and snapping pictures of different landscapes. With cheese making on my mind I fantasize about change. Upcoming adventures and the spring season to come...

Yesterday was an exceptionally beautiful day. After spending the night in Mile End (home of Mordechai Richler, Leonard Cohen and Schwartz's Deli) and lamenting the loss of an hour of sleep, my 2 locally based sisters and their gentlemen, planned a brunch adventure and neighborhood jaunt. Here are some of the highlights:

The day begins with my favorite meal. Breakfast. Drinking cup after cup of mediocre coffee we reread the menu, taking forever to figure out what to order. In typical Rotstein fashion, the sisters are debating who will share what with whom and who gets the sweet vs. savory meal. Omelet? Blintzes? French toast or pancakes?
[There is nothing better than the smell of frying onions.]



After a starchy Following the starchy beige breakfast (delicious but lacking in any fresh vegetables or fruits), we head out to explore, bright sun pouring into the street. A plethora of vintage clothing stores and funky boutiques line the hopping side streets along Mount Royal Avenue. I spotted (for when the $$ returns) some fabulous Montreal t-shirts decked out with awesome graphic depictions of the Orange Julep, Poutine, and various Mtl street scenes.

Bagels. I won't go into the long drawn out and uninteresting 'fight of the bagels'. (not to be confused with 'flight of the bagels'). I am a Montreal raised lady but personally prefer my bagels from the ovens of Absolute Bagels, Bergen Bagels or yes, La Bagel Delight. Sorry.

The Breakfasts of Winter: Part 1 - Victor's 1959

Breakfast. Hands down our favorite collective meal. A great breakfast sets the course for the rest of the day. Hot, filling, cup brimming over with coffee, protein, sugar, I can go on and on...

What is better than breakfast? Breakfast on a weekday! Imagine that, no wait for a seat, no lines around the corner, no waitress giving you the stink-eye because you have sat at your booth for longer than the time it should take for a grown person to inhale two eggs, toast and a side of vegie sausage. Breakfast on a weekday also means chatting with the staff who are chatting with the regulars, reading the paper, writing a postcard. Breakfast on the weekend is what we all dream about when the alarm goes off at 6:25am reminding us that no, we will not have time for leisure this morning.

Victor's 1959 is a local favorite. We read about it in countless Minne foodie blogs and articles. It is the real deal for a cheap and filling breakfast, Cuban style. The restaurant is housed in a mural-adorned, small shack-like house at the corner of Grand and 38th street. Niki, the Greek owner, has been serving Cuban style cuisine since 1999 (not sure what the 1959 is about as nowhere on their website does that date appear as a milestone of any important event). Walls are adorned with patrons' Sharpie markings and little shrines of knickknacks, photos and Cuban paraphernalia.

The food was fresh and tasty, coffee was refilled whenever it got below half full (though the beans are their own special fair trade brew, the joe was weak and lacking completely in flavor) and since we were three, we ordered many plates to share: One huge corn pancake (with soft kernels of yellow corn embedded within), a huge mango pancake (with walnuts and a decorative drizzle of mango sauce), Ranchero Cubano (2 corn tortillas with melted cheddar, topped with 2 eggs & covered in a creole sauce) and finally 2 eggs over medium, potatoes and Cuban toast (white roll smushed till flat on the grill, buttered and served with guava paste). Total bill was $25. Not bad.

Great Pizza in Minnesota?

Ruby has, for as long as I've known her, sung the praises of Jakeeno's Pizza in South Mpls., founded by good old Jack Keegan in 1975. It's a total dive, but the pizza will blow you away! She actually grew up across the street from smells of the pizza shop and Jack would always donate free coupons to her school events. She's tried all kinds of pizza, but claims that Jakeeno's is still the best pizza she's ever had. Is it nostalgia or is Minnesota pizza really something to be reckoned with?

R: You know how NY pizza makers scrimp on their sauce and cheese, right? Well Jakeeno's is known for its generous portion of sweet delicious red sauce, a tangy flavor like no other sauce I have ever sampled, plus a plentiful dose of gooey oozing-hot cheese on a cracker thin crust. The cheese is so gooey that they cut their thin-style pizza in 2x2 squares that you eat with a knife and fork (the "Minnesota way") or just fold in half and stick in your mouth. Today Jakeeno's actually bottles and sells their sauce and Jack's daughters have taken over the biz.

M: I had my doubts. As I tend to. I know I love my pizza and have yet to find a slice worthy of any praise. NY pizza is the real deal. From Sal and Carmine's on Bway /103rd to Bleecker Street Pizza to Di Fara's on Ave. J, Bklyn. Also, slices here are $5?! what kind of a 'cheap' lunch is that? So when Ruby and Char decided that it was time for Jakeeno's, I was ready to take the plunge. It has been almost 3.5 months with no good pizza. What choice did I have??
One word. Delcious. Not NY but damn close. little cute bite sized squares, hot, melts, thin crust, sweet and tangy tomato sauce. Great topping combos. We ordered a half potato/rosemary half spinach, mushroom, ricotta. mmm. Take a look!

Mom and Pop lives on...

As I have noted on this blog and in early entries on presenceofcolor, Minneapolis is a great city for indie businesses. In terms of coffee shops, bookstores and boutiques, there is a plethora of non-chain stores and specialty stores all over town competing but not overrunning each other. On Lyndale alone (main thoroughfare) there are at least 6 non-Starbucks, non-Caribou Coffee shops. We can take the laptop to a new place each morning and we haven't even explored St. Paul! We are huge fans. That is definitely a noteworthy and important plus for this town. +++!

On this night, the last official day of winter vacation, Ruby, Char and I went out on the town. First a stop at the Electric Fetus, a local record/gift/music/book emporium - a hotbed of a head store since 1968. After seeing Slumdog Millionaire on Friday night, Char vowed to get the soundtrack asap and she thought that a trip out to the Fetus would make for a great authentic Minneapolis experience. Plants keeping watch in the windows; the smell of patchouli fragrantly whacking you in the face like bare feet on ice. Lots of pipes, incense and rows and rows of vinyl.

From there, we drove down off of Nicollet Ave. to Char's old art-days haunting grounds and winter comfort restaurant: The Black Forest Inn. We had dined there a few years back and were excited to make ourselves comfortable under the taxidermied deer heads and German Beer garden ambiance. It was a quiet night, a few tables of quiet diners, huddled over their sauerkraut, spaetzle and geschnitzeltes, sipping hot Apfelwein (AppleWine) and dark wheat beer. It was heavenly. I had a hot veggie-pot pie, shared some spaetzle with gravy and cooked sweet and sour red cabbage salad. Apple streudle with cinnamon whipped cream for desert.