Bagels are a major deal in Montreal. They're sacred.
What makes a Montreal bagel a Montreal bagel? They're a distinctive variety of handmade and wood-fired baked bagel. Compared to other bagels, they're smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven. They contain malt, egg, no salt, and are boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked. They were first brought to Montreal by Jewish immigrants from Poland in the early 1900s.
Without contest, the top places to get authentic bagels in Montreal are St-Viateur Bagel (my personal favourite) and Fairmount Bagel, both named after the streets on which they are located.
It's nearly impossible to find a fresh-made Montreal bagel outside of Montreal without it being imported from one of the shops in Montreal directly. However, Vancouver's Rosemary Rocksalt is attempting to accomplish just that. Voted #1 Best Bagel 2017 in The Georgia Straight's annual poll, this Mount Pleasant-based shop is attempting to harness the magical powers of this special bread.
They now boast six locations in the Vancouver area, spreading the bagel love far and wide. They follow the same steps that are practiced in Montreal: They boil the bagels in honey water, bake the bagels in a stone-hearth with an open flame, and then they toss the bagels into the bagel chute. Just like in Montreal. They are extremely focused on producing REAL bagels and I certainly appreciate their efforts. Even their name; Rosemary Rocksalt was not lost on me. While the two most classic types of bagels are the poppy seed (the orig) and the sesame, St-Viateur also offers a specialty flavour; Rosemary & Sea Salt. This is very clearly how they chose their name and their signature bagel!
We visited on a Saturday evening and approached the ordering counter. The space is pretty simple and straight forward, with the bagels on display front and center. Decor is minimal with a cool line drawing mural on the wall. On the menu you'll find breakfast all day, sandwiches, and bagels. Everything is made with bagels. Why else would you come? Bagel varieties include; Rosemary Rocksalt, Plain, Poppy, Sesame, Multigrain, Everything, and Cinnamon. They also usually have a seasonal feature bagel (I love when they do the Rainbow bagels) and they offer three types of "almost gluten-free" versions. It's always a solid choice to grab a dozen along with some of their made-in-house cream cheese. (HOT TIP: Always eat your bagels ASAP - same day preferably. If you're not able to do this, cut them in half and freeze them immediately. Pop a frozen bagel into the toaster and enjoy!)
Looking for a more "full meal" experience, we decided to order two sandwiches and to make one a combo. You can make anything into combo by adding soup, fries, yam fries or poutine and then you'll get a free drink. I grabbed a Boylan Black Cherry soda because it seemed like the closest thing available to what one would order in Montreal. I really enjoyed that one of the items listed on the menu is:
A trip to Montreal to get a dozen bagels - $2,500.
Maybe a little bit high but you get the point!! It's nice to have a fairly comparable option right here in Vancouver!
The first sandwich, served open-faced, was the Steveston (Wild BC sockeye salmon, cream cheese, red onion, capers - $12.25) named after a small fishing village in Richmond. We ordered this on their signature Rosemary Rocksalt bagel. All of the bagel sandwiches have really great names, fusing together the two cities of Montreal and Vancouver. You can get a Mont-Royal or a Mount Pleasant. How about a Whistler? The Steveston is an extremely classic Montreal combo, reminiscent of the iconic Beautys Special (only missing the tomato). Right off the bat, I have to say that their bagels are a pretty decent attempt. You can taste the quality and the effort. They're not 100% on par with the real ones in Montreal but they're pretty damn close and they certainly serve as a good option all the way over on this side of the country. The biggest difference, I find, is that Rosemary Rocksalt bagels are a bit too gummy. The texture and flavour are pretty good but there's something a little bit off when you're chewing them. On the other hand, the salmon here in BC is surely better and fresher than what's available in Montreal, so they've got the upper hand on that one! All that being said, I really like the flavour of their Rosemary Rocksalt bagel a lot. It's extremely herbaceous and the rocksalt stands out beautifully. I like their version of it better than St-Viateur's Rosemary & Sea Salt! You can't really go wrong with the Steveston. I could have used a bit more cream cheese but the rest of the toppings were exactly as I wanted them.
In making a combo, we selected a Poutine ($8.49). Not the best in town, but they do claim that the fries are hand-cut. The cheese curds and gravy were decently good. I didn't mind this poutine but I wouldn't go out of my way for it either. There are more solid poutines in town.
Lastly, the Kitsilano (Montreal smoked meat, turkey, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard - $11.25) on a Sesame bagel, which I obviously had to try since this is the neighbourhood in which I live! This is a full service sandwich and I liked it a lot! They say that the Montreal smoked meat is "the real deal!!!" but I'm not so sure. I'm curious about where they source it from. It's very thinly sliced which really isn't the Montreal way, however the distinctive notes of flavour that I got from it tasted pretty legit. I mostly enjoyed that this tasty sando was piled high with tons of stuff, the vegetables were fresh, and the condiments were saucy. I would order this all the time.
Rosemary Rocksalt is a great place for breakfast and suitable for lunch or dinner as well. Their bagels are very good. Certainly far better than anything you'll find in the grocery store. It's really nice to have a place all the way over on the west coast that is putting in the time and effort to offer the best product possible. I'm on board!
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