Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Pooh and I were having trouble getting basic groceries. We found out…read morethat Toit Rouge delivers so we called them up made an order and within a couple of hours our eggs, meat and veggies arrived We ordered homemade sausages, eggs, 2 steaks, lean ground beef, red wine vinegar and eggplants. It seems eggs are a hot commodity so we were happy Toit Rouge had plenty. Also the prices were reasonable - bonus points!!

(Initially reviewed & written 7/1/2020, but it was posted for the wrong restaurant location)…read more When the restaurant's re-opened post lockdown, Le Mista was one of the first sit-down restaurants I went to - it was my first time there, though it was a restaurant my boyfriend has been telling me about for a long time. It was weird to sit down at a restaurant after months of takeout, and to see how things have changed: socially distanced tables, mandatory hand sanitizing at the door and a designated person to sanitize all the menus between uses. All waiters and cooks had a face shield on. Our drink orders were taken immediately, though it was clear that the face shield caused some communication issues as we and the waiter had trouble hearing each other - nothing insurmountable, but certainly an adjustment. I should mention here (because it becomes relevant later) that I don't drink alcohol, so I ordered a virgin strawberry mojito. We then got a complimentary amuse bouche of foie gras macarons, that were so beautiful, not to mention delicious. We also ordered the house bread, which was a beautiful mini loaf of foccacia, drizzled in olive oil with pieces of sun dried tomatoes and basil thrown in - so simple, yet incredibly tasty. My boyfriend and I ordered the burrata to start, a carbonara for me and a  pancetta truffle pizza for him. To save myself the time, I'll say this: ALL of it, every single bite, was phenomenal. And not being a huge pizza eater, I will also say this: THIS pizza in particular was one of the BEST pizzas I've ever eaten EVER. So there's that. When the bills came, however, was when I was truly impressed. Being that there were 7 of us in total, our waiter came to ask if the bottles of wine shared at dinner should be split equally between 6 people. Just the 6 drinkers. Without me having mentioned anything (which for the record, I wouldn't have anyway). And then, to cap off the meal, he brought over complimentary shots for everyone... with a special non-alcoholic, not just water, shot for me. It is things like this that will always impress me and, I should mention here that, as a non-alcoholic drinker, it is rare that waiters do anything out of the ordinary for me. Which I'm used to, and that's fine. So this was truly something that made an already great restaurant experience even better. My only regret? Not having room for dessert...

A good stop for local products for eating with from cheese to jam to coffee and chocolate. Nice…read moreservice provided but primarily a stop for cheese and charcuterie rather than other items. Situated in a building on the edge of the market.

This is a great store to find gourmet products made with local ingredients…read more Recently, I've been interested in boreal flavours. Here I can find what I'm looking for. They have beverages, condiments, herbal teas, jams, mushrooms, mustard, pickles, seasonings and spices made with Nordic ingredients. I spent some time browsing in the store since there are so many things I want to try. I bought some spices and teas. The cedar tea is so fragrant and healing, that I have the urge to plant a tree in my garden!

Heyez makes my favorite artisan chocolates in Montreal!! My mom has bought me their chocolates at…read moreEaster and Christmas for years now. My favorite chocolates are their dark chocolate caramel barrels, the chocolate outer layer is excellent quality and very thin so that there is a lot of caramel filling. Their store is pretty large, they sell special chocolate creations for all occasions, they make custom cakes by order only and they also sell maltitol (sugar free) chocolates, which are also very good. In the summer Heyez also makes several chocolate ice cream creations. I've tried also of chocolate shops in Montreal but Heyez remains my favorite.

On the way to Quebec city, we took a scenic route and visited one of the cheese farms. It was the…read morebest idea ever. All the cheeses we tried were super delicious. We had salami with pistachios that was out of this world. The place itself was very cute and neat. We had the best petit de jenour. We also paid a tribute to the . Definitely recommend to visit.

Not only is the cheese and scenery here both amazing but so are the people who work here. My…read moregirlfriend and I stopped by after seeing the sign on the highway and not only were they super nice from the get go but it turned out we were there when they're normally closed to the public and they let us in anyways. (If the women working there is reading this sorry that I apparently don't know a nicer way of saying "sorry I don't speak French" aside from pointing at myself and saying English. You were awesome) The cheese tasting board we purchased was very fairly priced and each cheese was very unique and we enjoyed the whole experience. We're going to try really hard not to eat all the cheeses we bought to bring home with us in the car in the next 10 minutes...

From the owner: Saucisses et saucissons charcuterie épicerie européen…read morespécialité d'Europe de l'est préparation artisanale

Salmon was OK, Tuna was definitely not sushi fresh, didnt smell right, texture wasnt right. Felt…read morelike it had been frozen. Both were overpriced, not going back.

everyone is great. always smiling, helpful, and always ready to help. as a mobility challenged man,…read morei appreciate how i am treated. now, the meat......just perfection. the tomahawk pork chops are unreal, as are the filets, and even the pre-made hamburger patties, are really delicious. then, at the checkout, are the pies. of course, being healthy, we need 3-4 of those. seriously, we love the place, and we highly recommend chartier. bob and kathy, and no, we are not related.

Chartier procures only the best product available. Top…read morequality meat, made in-house sausage and fabulous dinner dishes ready to heat. The service and staff are second to none! If you are interested in the BEST this butcher is for you.

Oh I loved Le Vieille Europe when I was living in Montreal. Unfortunately, I was a poor and…read morestarving student at the time and so I wasn't able to shop there as much as I wanted to, lol. I would occasionally go there for their imported cookies (oh how I adored Anna's Almond Swedish Thins, lol) and exotic teas. And also for their cheeses and deli meats. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I love the smell of coffee and they have a good selection of coffee beans and a huge coffee grinder. The store has a very European feel to it, and very high prices. However, they carry products that are difficult to find elsewhere. Every time I go back to Montreal I like to pop in and poke around ;) My last visit was shortly before the Pandemic started. Looking forward to going back once this Pandemic is over.

Okay. When it comes to cities with great culinary traditions, somewhere in the back there…read morenaturally lies a bunch of places to promote, vend and educate on cuisine. Take New York for instance - if you want to know what we eat and how we came to eat them, you hit our bunch of ethnic markets and grab some finger foods. Wanna know how the Greek do their stuff? Hit Titan or Parrot Foods. Syrian? Sahadi or Souk el Shater. Chinese? Flushing. Korean? Same. Jewish style? Barney Greengrass and Avenue J in Brooklyn. In short, if you want something and is willing to travel the 5 boroughs and beyond, you'll be able to find it. When it comes to Montreal? You hit the Main. The Main is basically Boulevard St. Laurent between Sherbrooke and Jean-Talon, and the diversity of places informs you of its richeness of flavors. Want Hungarian and Askenazi jewish? Start at the Sherbrooke end. Portuguese? That's around Rue Rachel. Something more hipster friendly? That's St. Viateurs. How about Italian? That's closer to Marche Jean Talon. Interspersed between that range is a series of small shops that can cater to your specific needs. Marguez? There's a joint near that. Spanish cooking with a specific need for a paella (the pan for cooking a paella is itself called a paella), there's a place that sells it. A bit of a melange? That's what La Vielle Europe is for. So what makes La Vielle Europe such a good place to visit? Well, it might have to do with its blend of European charm and core Frenchness. When cultural anthropologists talk about food traditions they use the term foodways, which is the socioeconomic and cultural practices when it comes to food. When Quebec was a New French Signoralty hundreds of years ago, its culinary roots were preindustrial French. Then the Brits came in and injected its traditions, and throughout Montreal's history of expansion through immigration, new palates inform and expand upon these foodways, and there are still cultural and economic links back to France and other parts of Europe, and you see it in vivid display here. First, the cheese. The glorious cheese. One thing every visitor to Quebec learn quickly is the richness of the soil at "nos pays". They have great pasture, great dairy, and unlike the morons south of the border, they don't require their cheesemakers to pasteurize all their milk. As any American can attest, Quebec cheese is just better, creamier and more complex, and there is no better place to buy cheese than here. Have something in mind? Point and ask! They are not stingy with samples and will toss a few clues your way. The price is fairly decent as well, check out their discount section for some good stuff. Next, the baked goods. Yeah, they have bread, but they also have galettes, pasteis and will do you a sandwich. What kind of sandwich? They can do something classical like a jambon sandwich, or they can make you one of those gorgeous Portuguese sandwiches with their large eggy rolls. What about syrups and the beans? Yeah, for the coffee geeks out there, they have a massive selection of roasts and varietals, and the same goes for the au chocolat. Sure, they got coffee syrups to add that extra bit of salted caramel to your brew, but the payoff comes to your sodastream machine - The real charm comes from the availability of drinks syrups from France, the Teisseires and the Piquitos. Trust me, it's much better than the crap on offer in the US, and they last a long time. Honestly, with their large selection of sauces, candies, charcuterie and cooking oils, you cannot help but be impressed by both the breadth and depth of their selections. Want good eating? Visit old Europe. No availability on Air Transat? Bixi out to La Vielle Europe.

The 440 is a super underated supermarket! It's not glamorous but it's clean, tidy and their fruit…read moreand vegetables are of very good quality. They have a large selection and their prices are hard to beat. I usually spend $30 on my fruit and vegetables for the week and that would be ateast double at an IGA/metro. It's debit or cash only. In addition, inside the complexe is a bakery, which makes awesome sheet pan pizzas, cheese shop and a butcher. The cheese shop has an excellent varieties of high end cheeses and staples and also has a small grocery section for pastas, canned vegetables, fancy olive oils and vinegars and a cold cut counter. You can do all your groceries for the week at the 440nand support 3 small businesses at the same time!