The Montreal Jazz Festival
Up until last year, if we were to choose the biggest event in the city, there probably would have been a debate between the Montreal Grand Prix and the Jazz Festival. Loosing the Grand Prix to uncle Bernie has paved way to an undisputed champion of all events held in Montreal, The Jazz Fest.
The event is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and the performance lineup is very impressive, led by none other than Stevie Wonder, the living legend himself. As a celebration of this milestone The 2009 edition will be presented in the brand new installations called the Quartier des Spectacles ( Concert Block) which is being pushed to be completed for the launch of the festivities.
As usual, there will be tons of free shows, on a total of 8 different outdoor stages. Be advised that the addition of the Quartier des spectacles and its new facilities have resulted in some changes in the concert locations as Montrealers know it. This rearrangement will probably be a welcome change, a version 1.0 per say of the Montreal Jazz Festival in its new era, with a complete city block tailored to its needs.
Montreal Needs Some Street Food
Can anybody explain the reasoning behind the ban of street food vending in the city? Even Ottawa, which sees the most action during its annual Tulip Festival, has hot dog vendors on street corners, serving wieners to the busloads of Montreal retirees. Come to think of it, I have this odd suspicion that our local old people are using the tulip festival as an excuse to go eat some greasy wieners off these carts.
The arguments against street vending are always the same: they are not hygienic, it would create even more trash in the city and the carts would eventually be taken over by the local mob to launder drug money. These arguments are all well founded and actually make a lot of common sense, but the drunken teens coming out of the clubs at 3 am need more than just common sense to understand why there are no hot dogs or giros ready to quench the alcohol in their system.
And then we wonder why the Americans coming into town are always yelling in the middle of the streets once they leave the clubs. These people are driving all the way up from Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire for some under 21 drinking and partying, only to realize that there are no Hot dogs on the sidewalks after they leave the clubs. This typically comes as a shock to them, and as you might have noticed that is usually when all hell breaks loose. Mr. Mayor, these are our guests and the Montreal Tourism board should at least provide them with a ‘sorry no street dog’ disclaimer on the home page of its website, as well as any Montreal ad campaigns run in other cities.
In all, Street food vending will probably cause some inconveniences to the city from all the dirt and loitering it would generate. But all it takes is a bite of some real street food in New York and yes, even Ottawa, to realize that even with all its restaurants, Montreal is still not perfect from a culinary perspective. We have one more step my friends, one more step to reach perfection. And no, that fake shit with the Canadian Tire barbecue sets at the Jazz Festival is not real Street Food.
If there was a ‘Do Not Discover’ section on montrealing.com, then I would have posted this under that category, but I guess the ‘Discover’ section will have to do for now. If you are planning on visiting Montreal for the first time, consider this as your only disclaimer. We apologize on our city’s behalf.
Le Tour De l’Ile de Montréal
If you live in Montreal and haven’t done this at least once, you are definitely missing out on something very unique. It is not in every city where the streets are closed for a full day so that thousands of people of all ages ride around the city on their bikes. The tour, organized by Vélo Québec, will be held on Sunday June 7 and is a perfect opportunity to get to know your city as the trajectory pretty much takes you everywhere. The path varies between 40 and 50 km and has several sponsored rest areas with free food and drinks, although you should still bring a lunch because let’s just say that whatever they offer is kind of ‘bite-size’ especially for a full day of biking.
The registration fee is minimal (about 20$ for adults) and is worth every penny. The truth is you can probably do the same tour on your own for free, as the trajectory is pretty much a mish-mash of various bike paths, but nothing can be compared to riding along thousands of people, including families, couple, the people who are really into it (you know, the ones with their tights and shit) and of course, my favorites: the weirdos.
You might have noticed from some of my other posts that I am immensely intrigued by weirdos. Well The Tour de l’ile is like a specialty store for weirdos, covering the complete biking sector. These people are probably very normal individuals during the day, but when they get on their bikes, that’s when they transform into bicycle-freaks. A Lot of them are testing bikes they have made in their garage. It’s as if they are unsatisfied with the conventional bicycle design that seems just fine to me. Correct me if I’m wrong but the bicycle is the most common mode of transport in the world, with billions of them being used on a daily basis, and they seem to work just fine! But no. There are some people out there who think that is should be redesigned and end up with some things that look stupid, but not as stupid as the people on them, who typically look extremely proud and uncomfortable at the same time: very entertaining .
The Tour de l’Ile is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and they will be celebrating it with shows and concerts. The Cirque du Soleil is also celebrating their 25th anniversary, so look for some interesting free shows. The weekend has several bike tours, including the Tour la Nuit and the metropolitan challenge, which is a competitive version of the tour.
You can visit the Vélo Québec website for more info. Montrealing will be doing a recap of all 3 of the events. If you are interseted in reporting one of them, do not hesitate to contact us.
McDonalds on St-Hubert Street: An amazing freakshow
There are places known for having alot of freaks as clients; One that immediately comes to mind is Spot Bowling in Cartierville with that 65 year old prostitute that is in her bikini even if its -40 outside. Another known one is the Guy Metro station, known for it’s stylish hobos. But my friends, I have found THE spot to see a wide selection of freaks, one more interesting than the other: the St-Hubert street McDonalds.
Since montrealing.com moved to the St-Hubert Plaza, I have been walking around the streets and noticing very ”interesting” people, to a point where I can proudly describe myself as an expert hobo-ologist. My unofficial research has led me to the following conclusions:
Looking for hobos is actually very tricky; the best place to find them in public areas where there is some type natural or man made protection; the best time to find them is actually during the day between 11am and 3pm. If you are a beginner in hobo-explorations, a simpler way to find them is to just look for pigeons, they are usually close by.
Saint Hubert Street creates the perfect environment for the hobo population, mainly due to the fact that the Plaza sidewalks have a protective roof and that there is a lot of foot traffic. Now where it gets interesting is when hobos are mixed with groups of older people, Squeegees, wierdos and hippies. That is where the McDonalds on the corner of St-Hubert and Beaubien comes in. The “Mcdo du coin” creates the ideal circumstances in Montreal in terms of Freak watching. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the show!
I will be updating this blog on a regular basis, with my discoveries; hopefully including some pics, maybe even some interviews. Please feel free to do some explorations of your own and share your insights your freak discoveries and hot spots.
Devi Indian Restaurant and Lounge on Crescent
Our waitress called it: “Crescent Streets Best kept secret” and she probably is right. I accidentally went in this Indian restaurant for dinner on Saturday and although I am still suffering from the consequences of the spices, this place was amazing. I have been to some typical “ghetto” Indian couple of times but this restaurant is nothing like that. The attention to detail in this joint is surprising, both from a menu and decor perspectives. The ambiance is borderline mystical, with colors, lanterns, wooden beams and great loungey “BuddhaBar” style music. The food was pretty much your typical Indian meal but the presentation was very interesting, with modern versions of the metal plates and cups you would typically see in India or any hardcore Indian restaurant in Montreal. Overall the experience was great and so was the service, however if you are just hungry and are craving Indian food, there are lots of alternatives in the city that offer the same food for the fraction of the price but if you are looking for a different dining experience, Devi is definitely worth a shot.
My bill: about 130$, tip and a bottle of wine included.
Macaroni – Yeah, It’s A Club
When my friends first told me we are going clubbing at a place called Macaroni, I thought it was a joke. Well, it wasn’t. Located on the corner of St-Laurent and Mont-Royal, it’s been open for a couple of months and has now become a hot spot. It is not a big club, but the vibe was really good mainly thanks to the DJ (I think it was Donald Latour, not sure). I dropped by after 1 am on Saturday and the crowd was really into it. The place is a a modern version of a mom and pop italian restaurant, with pictures of old italians eating on the walls. To be honest, it kind of felt like partying in a newly designed Pizza hut. I guess that’s what makes this place a little more special. Typical supper clubs have club names and try to emphasize on the partying aspect of the night, this place seems to be more about the food, the wine and the good time that can be had afterwards. I guess the next time I go there, I should actually live the whole Macaroni experience.
Montrealers: A Series of Articles
montrealing.com will have a series of articles on Montrealers who have made their mark in their respective fields. We will be having articles and interviews with these great individuals with an objective of having the most elaborate archives regarding Montrealers.
Montrealing.com Party Tour
We are teaming up with the best promoters in town for an unforgettable series of parties around the city. Let me tell you that these parties are going to be INSANE !!! Amazing DJ line-up, out of this world entertainers and naturally, the best looking people in the world: Montrealers. The schedule of the montrealing.com tour will be announced shortly, with the first event held at the montrealing.com loft. Again, stay tuned…
The Montrealing.com Loft
We are pleased to announce that the montrealing.com headquarters is under construction and will be ready shortly! The loft is a 2500 sq/ft location in the St. Hubert Plaza and will be the place to be for all types of events. The place will be most known for its pre-parties, where Montreal’s finest will meet and greet right before taking the limos to a night out in town. I already have some “before” pictures but will wait for the “after” pictures to post them all at the same time, because quite honestly, the place looked like shit when we first got it. Stay tuned…
Coach Carbonneau Fired
It’s just too bad that it came to this, but props to Gainey for taking the tough decision. Carbo is a great guy but it had come to a point where he was taking the wrong coaching decisions and digging himself in a bigger whole, mainly because the players had given up on him. Looking at Various reports, we can conclude that Carbo would not win any awards for communication skills… Don Lever, the coach of the Bulldogs (the Canadiens farm Team) is coming to Montreal to asssist Gainey. The question is, can he be the next coach? even if he is not bilingual? If so, Gainey would once again take the tough decision as I can only imagine how the French media would react with an anglo coach…