There are the well-kept secrets, the obligatory stops and those that are worth the detour. There are above all essentials of all kinds that are good to share. For the pleasure of your palates, The duty therefore imagined an appointment in the form of a gourmet notebook, one theme at a time. The bagel is a Montreal signature food that also knows how to be loved everywhere in Quebec. For your pleasure: ten delicious destinations to write down in your address book.
MONTREAL
Fairmount Bagels
Canada’s first bagel bakery, Fairmount Bagel first opened in 1919 in an alley near Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Hand-rolled and baked in a wood-fired oven since day one, the 12,000 daily bagels are available day and night. The proof: there is no lock on the door handle of the bakery! And that’s not the only interesting fact about the place; his bagels, tender and slightly sweet as tradition dictates, were eaten in space. In fact, astronaut Gregory Chamitoff brought three dozen bagels to the International Space Station because he couldn’t imagine going six months without eating them! Of the 18 varieties available, we recommend the poppy seed bagel — the original recipe dates from the opening of the bakery — fresh out of the oven.
74 Fairmount Avenue West
St-Viateur Bagel
Montreal’s second institution, this mythical Mile End place was born thanks to the friendship between Hyman Seligman, owner of a bagel bakery on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, and his employee Myer Lewkowicz, from whom he learned the art of bagels. Five years later, in 1953, they opened St-Viateur Bagel on the street of the same name. One of their employees, Joe Morena, in turn learned the secrets of this very special bakery and over time became co-owner of the company with Mr. Lewkowicz. Interesting facts that show the extensive history of the place: Leonard Cohen was a regular customer there and Prince Charles once had an order of 20 dozen bagels made for him. We can’t stop you from choosing a classic bagel, but keep in mind that they make a rosemary and sea salt bagel with no worms.
Four addresses, including the original at 263, rue Saint-Viateur Ouest
The hole
More recent address, but just as worth the trip. Why The Hole? Because it’s the visual element that makes a bagel… a bagel! Prepared according to Montreal tradition, the bagels are hand-rolled and pre-cooked in honey-sweetened water. Classic bagels are on the menu here, but while you’re there, you might as well grab a Griffintown beer and parmesan bagel. They also offer sandwiches. And, since we are at Le Trou, we also sell “bagel holes” to dip in your favorite spread.
1845 William Street
LAVAL
Bagelmania
The neighboring island also has its own bagel bakery. Bagelmania was born 26 years ago, when Sophie Trivlidis and her brothers chose to settle away from the competition in Montreal. However, their concoctions have nothing to envy to others. The crumb is soft, tasty, and the outside is golden brown, as it should be. It offers a dozen traditional and original varieties, including a coconut bagel — the big star of the place.
3262 Saint-Martin Street West
LAURENTIANS
Bagel Saint-Eustache
It is for the love of the bagel according to the Montreal tradition that Paula Nagayama launched, in 2014, her bakery a few steps from her house. She handcrafts five varieties of bagels, but her trump card is undoubtedly cream cheese, which she offers in seven flavors. The combinations are almost endless: poppy seed bagel with chive cheese or cheddar bagel with sun-dried tomato cheese? Or are we more the type to choose the bagel of the moment, like the one inspired by the churro? A beautiful dilemma! The place, warm and family-friendly, also offers topped bagels, for a tasty meal quickly, well done.
682 Arthur-Sauvé Boulevard, Saint-Eustache
QUEBEC
Bugel
A true neighborhood landmark for 35 years, Bügel has more than one trick up its sleeve. First, that of offering good 40 g bagels with more honeycomb than its Montreal counterparts, made with flour from sustainable agriculture, hand-rolled and pre-cooked in water sweetened only with Quebec honey. They make the traditional sesame seed and poppy seed bagels, but also a cheese bagel really bigger than the belly! But what makes your mouth water even more is the prospect of a table near the window, in front of a “Vegetarian Poussin” plate — a bagel deliciously garnished and au gratin in the oven —, with the heat of the wood oven and a first coffee. in the morning.
164 Cremazie Street West
Bagel Maguire Cafe
The history of Bagel Maguire Café is closely linked to that of St-Viateur Bagel in Montreal, since François Joyet’s first associates were Joe and his cousin Vincent Morena. If the beginnings of the adventure were strewn with pitfalls, Bagel Maguire is now linked to the landscape of Sillery, 34 springs later. We come here for the hot and fresh bagels of the day, including the classic sesame seed bagel, while sweet tooths will savor the donut bagels, an invention born from a surplus of bagels in 2017 and therefore an essential of the menu.
1400 Maguire Ave.
ESTRIE
The Café Noir Bagel Factory
Born from Daniel Crevier’s passion for traditional bagels baked in a wood oven, La Fabrique has been a staple in the Eastern Townships for 10 years, and the company has continued to grow in response to growing demand. People come here to stock up on bagels — some of which are created on the spur of the moment — and also several regional products, including sweets from Le ptit hollow Eastman pastry or cheeses from the abbey of Saint- Benoit-du-Lac.
2760 Main Street West, Magog
BAS-SAINT-LAURENT
Saint Simon Bagel
It was to fill a gap in the Bas-Saint-Laurent food supply that Chantal Despatis and Pierre Verenka opened their bagel factory in June 2010 — adorned with a huge bagel that you can’t miss! Rolled by hand and baked in a wood-fired oven using the traditional method, the bagels are prepared with flour from the Seigneurie des Aulnais, an organic flour mill in the region. The result is available in several varieties, some of which are only available in season, such as the maple bagel in the spring. If the bagel is tasty, the popularity of the place is undoubtedly due to the vending machine, which provides bagels to gourmands daily. On the eve of retirement, with three million bagels behind the apron and the tie, the couple assures that the new owner also shares the passion for the bagel. She also plans to offer family baskets to people in the region. For all the others, you can stock up on the Terre promise Bas-Saint-Laurent site, which delivers directly to your door.
319, route 132, Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski
MADELEINE ISLANDS
At Fox’s
When Ève Beaudoin Gallaise and Philippe Raymond opened their café-buvette, they saw in the bagel the perfect morning offer not to compete with their neighbor, the L’Arbre à pains bakery. Rolled and shaped by Mme Beaudoin Gallaise, the bagels are sweetened with local honey from Miel en mer and covered in hemp seeds, a more local choice than sesame seeds. The nutty flavor goes divinely well with homemade Pied-de-Vent cream cheese, the jam of the moment or hemp butter — an option that revisits the classic peanut butter. With a hot canelé from the oven and a coffee poured from beans roasted by Kittel, the day begins with great happiness!
315 Quay Road, Cap-aux-Meules