St-Viateur Bagel

“The very best bagels in the world are the ones my mom makes, boiled in potato water and sprinkled with carmelized onions, but Montreal's St. Viatur bagels run a close, close second (especially since Absolute in NYC is no more; I still dream of the egg bagel there). Compact, chewy, subtly sweet b/c they are boiled in honey-sweetened water, and transcendent warm. They are our house bagel (ordered by mail and kept stashed in the freezer).”

“Did you know that you can get Montreal bagels shipped to you? My dad keeps stock in his freezer at all times. They're the best.”

“Montreal has its own distinct style of bagels (thinner than NY). St-Viateur and nearby Fairmount in the Mile End area are where to get them.”

“St-Viateur is a meticulously prepared and crafted bagel. It is first mixed with whole natural ingredients, rolled, shaped, boiled then strained before dressing and finally wood-firing. I had their all-dressed bagel with plain cream cheese. It is a different type of bagel not only in appearance (as it is thinner than your typical NY style bagel), but also in flavor, carrying more of a wheat-like flavor which I found to be really pleasant.”

“One of the great institutions of Montreal, and are even more proof that some things are better when nobody tries to modernize them. Open since 1957, they still hand-roll the bagels, boil them in honey water, and bake them in wood-fired ovens, which is why the entire block smells unfairly good at all hours. Smaller, sweeter, slightly charred, and best eaten still warm in a paper bag while standing on the street. One of those places that feels woven into the city itself.”