Sin City North

Reader beware, this is very biassed!

I have had the privilege and wonderful opportunity to live all over this beautiful country we call the Great White North. I've been to all the provinces except Newfoundland, been to all those provinces' capital cities and been as far north as Fort McMurray, as far south as Windsor, to both oceans, the mountains, the prairies and everything in between. By far and away, without question, the best city in this glorious country is not my hometown of Toronto, but our neighbours about 500 km to the north-east, Montreal!

Earlier tonight, I got into a bit of a war of words with some of my Facebook buddies about my utter detest and loathing for the city of Winnipeg. I will publically proclaim without hesitation Manitoba is easily by far and away the WORST province I have lived in, and I have little nice to say about it. But this post isn't about trashing Winnipeg (that's pretty easy. Cold, bleak, desolate and full of criminals and hicks. Ugh.) this post is about how wonderful Montreal is!

During my years in Montreal, I was exposed to a large array of wonderful restaurants, shopping, nightlife and cool culture. The permanant exhibits at the Musée des Beaux Arts used to be free, I'm not sure if they still are, but they're worth a look. I also checked out the McCord and the gallery at our school constantly had new installations -- and is located in an old building the school built around and incorporated into the library.

Window shopping along Ste. Cat's is always fun -- and in winter, can be taken indoors if you follow the shops through the underground. I stumbled upon a map of the underground recently and looked longingly at all the kilometres you can walk under the streets, finding all the goodies you need. (Including my favourite boulingerie, Premiere Moisson. Hello, baguette!)

Weekends start on Thursdays, drinking beer or coffee on a terrasse is permissible any time after easter (no matter how cold and/or snowy it is) -- and it's also allowed to live in some run-down, ramshackle apartment so long as you're nicely dressed and out at social functions. The place oozes with live music, great food, and for Ontarians who probably don't know the meaning of the words "happy hour" there's nothing more fun than hitting what les Montrealais call 'cinq-a-sept' after a long day at the office.

And the hockey? Anywhere with cold beer and good food is a good choice, but the most fun I ever had at a bar in Montreal watching hockey was in the Cage-aux-Sports in the basement of the Bell Centre. Michael Landsberg tweeted the other day that Boston Pizza restos in Montreal have changed their name for the playoffs to "Montreal Pizza" -- they're pretty serious about their hockey. I remember seeing a riot break out on Ste-Cat's the night Canada won the World Cup in 2004.

I'd move back in a heartbeat if I could.

And in case you were wondering (because I know you were) the best poutine in the city is at the Lachine Arena. In case that's a little too off your beaten path, I recommend the peppercorn poutine at Café L'Etranger (south side Ste-cat's near university-ish) or the chicken poutine at Moe's Diner (hole in the wall beside the Old Forum on Lambert Closse).