Where Colin Ate (Montreal Edition)
Your go-to spots in North America's most underrated food town, critical hot dog intel, and some NYC joints
Colin Camac (aka @resyguynyc) is officially Blackbird’s “Strategic Sales Lead,” and unofficially is our resident insider’s insider. He is out, on the town seven nights a week, sniffing out the city’s best joints, skateboard in one hand, martini in the other.
It wasn’t cold enough for me in NYC, so for the long weekend I escaped to balmy old Montreal. The 514 is one of my favorite food towns, and if we ever run into each other, dear reader, I’ll happily chew your ear off about why you need to add it to the top of your list asap. Montreal feels like Europe, only it’s a 45-minute flight from NYC. The restaurants are amazing, the industry is super tight knit, and the food … the food! We’re talking food with personality. Here is a city whose cuisine has certainly grown far beyond the days of over-the-top, more is more that initially put it on the map. In Montreal, you’ll find delicate, thoughtful dishes being put out all over the place by some of the most talented chefs around. On top of that, I have never seen another town where every single place delivers consistently great service. It feels as if service is almost engrained in the culture. You’ve got these young college kids who really, really care about what they are serving, and they hit all the service points in a casual but totally dialed in way.
So, if you’ve heeded my advice and already booked your trip (well done), here are a few of the spots I hit that you should hit, too. And, for those who can’t squeeze in a Montreal visit for now, I’m including some recent New York meals as well. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.
- Colin
Gia Vin et Grill
📍Montreal (Saint-Henri)
🍽️ Italian
Some of my best friends are chefs and operators in Montreal, and coming back it always feels like a second home. Gia is the latest restaurant from some of my good friends who also own Nora Gray and Elena (must visits as well). It’s in the St. Henri area of the city, making it a convenient first stop off the plane. I rolled in right as they were opening the doors and made myself at home in a corner bar seat. For this trip, Gia was meant to just be a snack as I had a long night ahead of me, trying to go to as many spots and catch up with as many old friends as possible. The snack turned into something slightly more, but I couldn’t have been happier. Gia is a menu that is built around Italian meat skewers called arrosticini, which are perhaps the perfect food for snacking and drinking. I ordered three each of the lamb and beef, as well as a dozen oysters paired with a wet martini. Gia is my kind of place. They ended up sending me out a halibut crudo, a fantastic cotechino with lentils (after I decided the orange wine they gave me would be perfect for hot dogs), and finally an incredible off menu agnolotti that they are running as a special for the rest of the month.
Liverpool House
📍Montreal (Little Burgundy)
🍽️ Seafood/French
After my “snack” at Gia, my friend was insistent that we make a quick martini stop at Liverpool House since it’s a glaring hole in my Montreal resume. Although Liverpool House has been around for years, it has never really been in my rotation. I regularly spend time at their sister places Vin Papillon and Joe Beef, but for some reason I never really went to Liverpool. The place felt great, and the team was able to squeeze us in for a quick one between turns. It’s hard to put a finger on the big differences, but I’d say Liverpool is the slightly more casual counterpart to Joe Beef, a spot that comes with the big name and all of the accolades. Vin Papillon, which has been the one I’d frequented most, is the less heavy, vegetable-forward wine bar that happened to be under construction during this trip. At any rate, I ended up having a great time at Liverpool and tried two really standout dishes. The first was a stuffed chicken wing with foie sauce that was decadent in all the right ways with incredible flavor and texture. The second was a really fun steak tartare that felt as if it was playfully dressed as a steak with tiny fried potatoes and a béarnaise sauce. Really grateful they were able to squeeze us in.
Le Violon
📍Montreal (Plateau Mont-Royal)
🍽️ European
For the main event of my first night, we had the opportunity to check out the newly opened restaurant Le Violon from longtime friend Chef Danny Smiles. I met Danny years ago at Le Bremner (one of my old favorite spots) through his partner Chuck Hughes, who used to come to my spots in NYC. Over the years, we became friendly, and I’d pop in and hang out at the bar of Le Bremner pretty much every time I visited Montreal. Danny returned to Montreal after a stint opening a boutique hotel in the country, and he opened Le Violon and the perfect dive bar, Doubles (more about Doubles later). Le Violon occupies another storied space that I had been to many times — Maison Publique, Derek Dammann’s former restaurant in a residential neighborhood. The team did an unbelievable job making the space feel their own, transforming the pubby feel into a sleek new restaurant keeping the large open kitchen so that you can watch it all from the bar. We opted to go for the Chef’s menu ($100pp), the highlights of which were a house butter that was topped half and half with truffles and anchovies, persimmon salad with a Manchego-like cheese and sharp onion, Murphy’s stout bread with mussels and cheddar, and a pork collar with clams. The dish I am still thinking about though is a butterflied trout (I think?) with yellow beets and trout roe in a beurre blanc that was out of control. It was a fantastic night at a great new place that I can’t wait to hit again.
And now, for a brief hot dog interlude …
Here’s some iykyk intel: Montreal is a hot dog town, and it has its own style of hot dog. Actually, it has two styles of hot dog: a steamie and a toastie. A steamie is when both the bun and dog are steamed before being dressed, leaving the bun extra fluffy with all the texture coming from the crunchy toppings. A toastie is a flattop grilled dog usually in a New England-style, top-loaded bun that has been toasted on the flat top, which gives it a more textured experience. You can order these masterpieces in either style, although certain spots may only offer their preferred style. That said, they always come “all dressed,” meaning they’re garnished with mustard, raw onions, relish (ok, not always) and cabbage/slaw. Both are great, although I tend to lean towards steamies myself.
Anyway, kids, here are my top three Montreal spots for dogs:
Montreal Pool Room
This was a first time for me as well. The place had … character. You want to eat a hot dog here. They served both versions, and each were classic, with a finely chopped slaw and perfectly balanced flavor. I had to stop myself from getting another, knowing we had at least one more to try on the day. I also tried a small poutine (add raw onions, you’re welcome), which was one of the absolute best versions I have had in the city.Greenspot Restaurant
This place, a true greasy spoon, has so much personality and it’s been around forever. Greenspot is a full on diner, and it has a little counter to order hotdogs to go. Their version has a much coarser chop to its slaw, which leans a bit more vinegary than the rest, but balanced out perfectly by the sharp raw onion and mustard.A.A. Restaurant
Ok, technically I didn’t hit A.A. this time around, but it belongs in this roundup. A.A. is an industry staple due to the fact that it is open every night until 5 a.m., with the proprietor, an absolute legend named Andre, working the grill most nights. They only serve toasties here, but they always hit the spot. Also, the only late night spot worth getting poutine at as well.
Vin Mon Lapin/Rotisserie La Lune
📍Montreal (Little Italy)
🍽️ Canadian/Rotisserie Chicken
When I booked this trip, my immediate first text was to Vanya, one of the owners of the perennially packed Vin Mon Lapin, crowned Canada’s Best restaurant for two years running, to see if she could squeeze me in. Because she is the best, she said, “of course,” and since this is Montreal she naturally suggested that I go to their newly opened Rotisserie La Lune up the block for starters and finish up at Mon Lapin for a little one-to-the-other situation. I obviously jumped at the opportunity and couldn’t wait to check them out. Both restaurants come from longtime employees and eventually partners in the Joe Beef group of restaurants, who struck out on their own to instant success up in Little Italy. Rotisserie La Lune is this crew’s version of the classic Rotisserie that they grew up going to and is a staple of Quebecois nostalgia. True to form, this is a slightly updated version celebrating that nostalgia, and Vanya and her team absolutely knocked it out of the park. The room feels both sleek and comfortable, and the food and wine are absolutely top notch. I also had a great martini from their menu with notes of sage that feels tailor made for a chicken spot. The rotisserie chicken with gravy and fries was obviously great. The chicken liver toast, onion buns with chicken butter and oeufs mayo were also all standout, but the real dish that surprised me was the Caesar. This Caesar included whole chicken hearts and gizzards to add a gamey smokiness and depth that I never knew a Caesar needed, but as soon as I tasted it all together it made so much sense. An absolute must order if you go. Next up we headed down the block to Vin Mon Lapin for the second half of this adventure. As we had already had quite a bit of food (hard to hold back my excitement at a new menu) we tried to order as lightly as possible and go big on dessert. As always it was a spectacular meal. The room was buzzing and dimly lit with every seat filled and servers flying by with bottles and drinks. We had the famous scallop sandwich with saffron aioli, Uni in its shell, a pork tonnato, and agnolotti del plin with a truffle cabbage butter that put the entire meal over the top. We finished the night with two desserts, a Paris-Brest and an incredible buckwheat cake, both of which straddled the line of sweet and savory leaving them tasting like a delicious cereal. I absolutely loved both. I finished the night with a great pour of mezcal, which is a rarity in Montreal (from my experience). They happened to have two different bottlings from Mezcalosfera, both of which were solid, but I went with the Espadin because it had a bit more of a bright funk going on. This place is a must visit when you’re in town.
Doubles
📍Montreal (Mile End)
🍽️ American
Doubles, as previously mentioned, is a fairly new divey-style bar in the Mile End area of town. It opened with Danny Smiles doing the food, while his partner—and incredible restaurant personality—Coach Vic running the room. Both times I’ve been I was greeted by Coach at the door and it just felt like a place you want to be. They make a solid drink, have a pool table, and show all of the sports, even American Football (unfortunately an Eagles bar), which is what brought me there before my flight to catch some of the playoffs. The wings are great, but the star of the show is a really spot-on smash-style burger which nails the special sauce and is oh so craveable. This is another great industry spot that feels like it has been there forever, and I hope it is.
Back to NYC
Bar Oliver
📍Two Bridges
🍽️ Spanish
Sometimes you go to a newer spot and it all just makes sense. Bar Oliver is that place. The only thing missing for me is a cold martini (beer/wine only, alas), but if I lived over here this would be a spot in heavy rotation to either start or end my night. Bar Oliver is a Basque all-day cafe serving traditional pintxos and mostly small plates from the region. All of the pintxos hit the spot, and the relaxed service and pace transported me outside of NYC. The real highlight for me was a style of tortilla Española that I fell in love with earlier this summer during a trip to San Sebastián in which I hit a famous little place called Bar Antonio. It tastes more potato-forward with the potato almost being cooked like home fries with much more color on the outside than you normally see. It ends up all being a fairly rich delicious plate that I started my mornings with alongside a small piece of bread each day while I was there. Bar Oliver’s version brought me right back, and it felt great.
F&F Restaurant and Bar
📍Carroll Gardens
🍽️ Pizzeria
I stopped by F&F while I was in the neighborhood to catch up with the Franks and to see how everything was going. I hung out at the bar for a bit and was able to try a few snacks before heading back to the city for a late dinner. The Calamari Luigi pizza is truly a standout dish, and I absolutely loved the squid a la plancha as well, all washed down with a few Bianco Negronis. Will be back in short order for a proper meal, couldn’t be more excited about this perfect neighborhood joint.