263 St. Viateur West
Montreal, Quebec
(514) 276-8044
www.stviateurbagel.comGoogle MapIn the North American bagel world there are only two distinct types, New York or Montreal style. Endless debates have resolved little in the battle for bagel supremecy. Montreal natives swear by their smaller, sweeter variety, but they are rarely seen here in Toronto. The two most famous Montreal bagel makers are Fairmont and St-Viateur. It was recently discovered that St-Viateur's coveted circle bread was available for online orders. Having never tasted an authentic Montreal bagel, I jumped at th
e opportunity.
Ordering through St-Viateur's website is a breeze. After quickly registering pertinent information, you're presented 3 options, seasame seed bagels, poppy seed bagels or half and half. The minimum order is 6 dozen for a respectable $33. Unless you're a bagel addict or prepared to gain a lot of weight, sharing an order with a neighbour, family or friends is advised. After selecting quantity, delivery options are given (extra cost of course!). Toronto residents are given the option of fast or faster - with Xpress post shipment our orders turnaround time was 1 day and I can't imagine priority shipping being any faster.
About 24 hours later, your order arrives conveniently packed into a box. After cutting open the box you immediately get a whiff of the bagels - relatively fresh even after their long journey. With so much hype riding on these bagels, I grab one of the bagels from the bag to taste - a seasame seed bagel. The smell from the toasted seasame seeds is strong, almost like seasame oil, bite into the bagel and you'll notice these are much sweeter (from being boiled in honey water). The texture is dense, less chewy, but oh so good. I sit wondering how these bagels would taste fresh from the oven, something you can try the next time you stop by St-Viateur's 24 hour bakery.
The next tasting involves putting the bagel through the heat test, otherwise known as toasting. Winner!!! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, toasted with a touch of butter made this the best bagel I've ever tried. Crunchy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. The sweetness of the bagel is perfectly balanced with the butter. Absolute heaven, like no other bagel.
If there's one complaint about this bagel, it's how small they are. Thinner, flatter and a bigger hole, but it's been a Montreal trademark... who am I to argue with perfection (Besides, each order has enough to feed the neighbourhood).
So, what to do with the remaining bagels? In addition to giving some to loved ones (and I mean really loved), St-Viateur offers a helpful tip - slice them up and freeze them. When you're ready to have one, just pop it in the toaster... tried and tested method.
If you've never tried Montreal style bagels, you're really missing out on something great. Just like smoked meat from
Schwartz, you won't get a true taste of the city unless you've tried them. Thankfully though, St-Viateur has offered to ship you a taste of Montreal to your door. Even with the slightly inflated price and added shipping costs, they're worth every penny. Make sure to order yours.
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