OLD MONTREAL IS ALL AROUND
Establishments stand the test of time
From the Orange Julep to the Montreal Pool Room, the city is full of places that have survived the passage of time. Julie Anne Pattee takes a tour of landmarks that are arguably lesser known, but equally iconic.
Over the last 10 to 15 years, many of our old bakeries, delis, neighbourhood stores and restaurants have disappeared as traditionally working class neighbourhoods undergo gentrification and elderly owners retire.
Fortunately, Montreal is still full of places that have survived the passage of time. Gibeau Orange Julep, the Montreal Pool Room, Moishes, Beauty’s, the Snowdon Deli, the Greenspot, Chalet BarB-Q, and La Binerie continue to thrive, in part, because they are time capsules and they make us feel nostalgic.
Studies conducted by researchers at the University of Southampton in England have shown that nostalgia has a positive psychological effect on us. Nostalgia makes people feel closer to each other and behave more generously with each other. And it makes life feel more meaningful. In one experiment, scientists from the University of Yat-Sen in China demonstrated that nostalgia even made people in a cold room believe they were warmer than they really were.
So just time in time for springtime walks around the city, here are few less well known spots that can help you get a healthy dose of heart-warming nostalgia.
AUX VERRES STÉRILISÉS
800 Rachel St. E.
The Boudrias family has owned and operated the tavern at the corner of Rachel and St. Hubert Sts. since 1945. The neon sign over its entrance reads “Verres Stérilisés.”
“It was advertising. They were the first place to get a dishwasher,” says barmaid Rosanne Lapointe. Taverns used to be known by their owners’ last name, she says, but over time Taverne Boudrias became known simply as Aux Verres Stérilisés.
The stones that form the tavern’s exterior walls are contoured by thick lines of cement, and its heavy wooden doors are windowless. The plate glass cubes that taverns used to let the light in but hide the identities of the men inside are still featured above the door on its side entrance.
Inside, the bar’s rich mahogany accents and the scratched-up wooden tables and chairs all date from the 1940s.
Denis Bélanger and his brother are sitting at the bar drinking quarts of Molson. Bélanger says what he misses most about the old taverns, aside from the jars of pickled eggs and beef tongues, is that you used to be able to slap down a dollar bill and get 10 glasses of beer in return.
Lapointe rolls her eyes and smiles. “I hear that every day,” she says.
Women have been allowed into taverns since 1986, when the Quebec law banning men-only taverns was passed. And there are VLT machines and TV screens now. But Aux Verres Stérilisés has managed to keep the feeling of the old taverns alive.
CRÊPERIE BRETONNE TY-BREIZ
933 Rachel St. E. Ty-Breiz is located just down the street from Aux Verres Stérilisés. The Breton-style crêperie opened in 1959.
At the time, European cuisine was all the rage and was often served up in restaurants that were purposefully made to look oldfashioned and resemble quaint country cottages.
Ty-Breiz is lit with amber-coloured glass chandeliers and its tables are covered with white and red-checkered tablecloths. The walls are lined with blond wood and decorated with heavily framed oil paintings.
The crêperie still serves shrimp cocktail and escargots, two of the most popular appetizers of the 1960s. Its thick menu is several pages long and offers a vast selection of crêpe combos, as well as meat and seafood dishes.
For more country cottage decor and a nostalgic home-away-fromhome feeling, visit Alpenhaus. The Swiss fondue restaurant is at 1279 St-Marc St. at Ste-Catherine St. It has remained virtually unchanged since it opened in 1967.
THÉÂTRE OUTREMONT
1248 Bernard Ave. W.
This beautiful Art Déco theatre in Mile End first opened its doors in 1929. It closed in the 1980s and was restored as a heritage site and reopened in 2001.
While a variety of cultural events take place at the theatre, it also shows movies in its large amphitheatre, complete with a secondfloor balcony.
Thick red curtains frame the theatre’s screen. Visitors sit on velvety red chairs, surrounded by creamcoloured walls and gold-painted architectural features.
There is no popcorn or candy available but you can buy wine, beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages at the bar in the lounge area to take into theatre.
The theatre mostly screens French- and foreign-language films, as well as English-language movies subtitled in French.
Dunkirk is being screened in English on March 19 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Blade Runner 2049 will be shown in English on April 2 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Movie tickets are $9. Visit www. theatreoutremont.ca or call 514495-9944 for more information.
Lester’s Deli is just a few blocks away at 1057 Bernard Ave. W. The deli specializes in smoked meat sandwiches and has been serving customers since 1951. Its walls are filled with old toys, licence plates, photos and other memorabilia.
BOULANGERIE N.D.G.
5801 Upper Lachine Rd.
The tiny Italian bakery and deli on Upper Lachine Rd. at Melrose Ave. in N.D.G. has been owned and operated by the Devito family for 45 years. The decor hasn’t changed since then, and neither have the bakery’s offerings.
Boulangerie N.D.G. sells fresh flour-dusted bread, Italian cheeses and cold cuts and a variety of classic treats, such as plain tomato pizza, round lemon cookies with thick white icing, shortbread cookies, cannoli, tiramisu and glazed almond tarts topped with maraschino cherries.
Its shelves and fridges are stocked with every kind of pasta you can imagine, as well as other Italian products.
The bakery is getting ready for Easter and has traditional large, colourfully wrapped Italian chocolate eggs in stock. They are also baking special zeppole, an Italian pastry.
Momesso Restaurant, an N.D.G institution and sports bar known for its submarine sandwiches, is nearby at 5562 Upper Lachine Rd. It’s been around for 35 years.
FAMEUX VIANDE FUMÉE ET CHARCUTERIE
4500 St-Denis St.
Located on St-Denis St. at MontRoyal Ave., the 60-year-old restaurant’s most charming feature is its exterior signage, with the words “fameux” and “charcuterie” in large script and bright colours.
The old-school diner has leatherette banquettes and is painted the pale, earthy brown colour that was popular in the 1970s.
Le Fameux’s menu has hundreds of items that range from Greek to Chinese food. It also serves breakfast all day. It’s the kind of place that not only reminds you of the era of martinis and drive-in movie theatres, but of small-town restaurants where there is often something on the menu to suit all tastes.
Mont-Royal Hot Dog, which opened in 1965, has also preserved a lot of its original decor. The casse-croûte is located east of Le Fameux at 1001 Mont-Royal Ave.
UDISCO LTD.
4660 Décarie Blvd.
The hobby shop on Décarie Blvd. has been owned and operated by the Kunin family since 1942.
The 60,000-square-foot store is lined with rows of modelling sets. The figurines and accessories, which range from tiny Crimean War soldiers to construction workers, are piled high on long metal shelves, and will take you back to a time when little boys wore striped Oshkosh overalls and conductor’s caps, and elaborate train sets and battle scenes were laid out on PingPong tables in dusty, unfinished suburban basements.
Upstairs on the second floor, though, Lyon Kunin is dismantling the large model train set he’s been working on for decades. The 74-year-old is retiring. Kunin’s brother, who operated the store with him, died two years ago. Kunin says his children and nephews have their own careers and are not interested in taking over the family business.
“I’m sad to see it go, to close it, but I’ve already jumped into the fire and sold the building,” he says.
Kunin plans to close his doors for good in February 2019. Fans of the model shop have one year left to visit. And they shouldn’t expect a large closing sale. Kunin says he’s been gradually liquidating his stock.
Bucarest Charcuterie & Pâtisserie, a family-owned European grocery store that sells imported products, is next door, at 4670 Décarie Blvd. It’s been operating for 40 years.
RESTAURANT A.A.
3702 Notre-Dame St. W.
A chef wearing a white jacket and apron cooks up toastés, steamies and some of the best poutine in the city in the open kitchen of this tiny casse-croûte at the corner of Notre-Dame and Bourget Sts. in St-Henri. The restaurant is small and narrow. Beside the long counter there are two tables for two. A few banquettes are located in the back. André Anoussos has been in the business for 58 years. The 75-year-old moved his restaurant from down the street to its current location 30 years ago and brought the chrome stove hood from his old locale along with him.
He renovated a few years back, but did his best to keep the look and feel of an old no-frills cassecroûte. New System Bar-B-Q is a few blocks west at 3149 NotreDame St. W. Along with A.A. and the Greenspot, it is one of the few remaining St-Henri establishments still located on the nowtrendy strip of Notre-Dame St. near the Atwater Market. Its interior is painted light turquoise and features blond wood furnishings. It opened in 1952 and was last renovated in 1974.
BAR SPORTIVO
6804 St-Laurent Blvd.
Café Olimpico and Caffè Italia are two Italian cafés well-known for having kept their Old World atmosphere and vintage charm.
But they don’t have Salvatore D’Onofrio serving up espressos and cappuccinos. D’Onofrio has been working behind the counter at Bar Sportivo since he opened the café in 1962. The 79-year-old speaks in a mixture of French, Italian and English and is proud to show you his large collection of framed pictures and photo albums, which he keeps near the cash register. D’Onofrio has sparkling eyes and a wide smile and is fond of saying “c’est la vie” at the end of his tales, which are accompanied by sweeping hand gestures and become perfectly understandable, despite language barriers, after a frothy cappuccino or two.
The café has been slightly modernized since it opened. But D’Onofrio’s stories will transport you back in time to post-war Naples and Montreal’s Little Italy in the early 1960s. Caffè Italia, which opened in 1956, is a few doors north at 6840 St-Laurent Blvd.
The café is famous for its coffee, its vintage atmosphere and its delicious sandwiches.
D’Onofrio can make you a sandwich, too, but he’ll send you to Caffè Italia if you are too fussy about what you want on it.