I found myself in Montreal this weekend for the first time in a long time and it was deliciously good. In many ways. (Except the rain).
For dinner one night I was pleased to order the 2007 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux which was delicious and real from the moment we opened it. But we probably didn’t give it enough time for the texture or the more expressive Grézeaux flavors to develop. But even if my critical mouth found it tilting tight, nobody else cared and it was fun regardless. Plus that expressiveness may take a few years?
I also made sure to compare the Fairmount and St-Viateur bagels. Which is conveniently done since they have shops so close to each other.
Can’t say that I was anal enough to find any significant differences between the two shops. Maybe slightly denser and chewier at Fairmount? (We’re talking sesame here). But that could just as easily be bagel-to-bagel variation and not house-style variation. My sample size was too small to tell. On a more superficial level, Fairmount definitely lost some points in my book for the blueberry chocolate mocha bagels. But whatever helps pay the rent.
And as a picky New Yorker who has found very few ‘real’ bagels on this planet, I had to give both of these shops my respect.
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