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Montreal bagel
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
n. — especially Quebec, Food
a style of bagel originally from Montreal that is thinner, lighter and sweeter than other bagels (see Image 1).
Type: 1. Origin — Montreal bagels originated in the Montreal Jewish community and remains most frequent in Canada (see Chart 1), despite having achieved international popularity (see, e.g. the 2012 quotation). As with other dishes of Montreal origin, such as poutine and Montreal smoked meat, Montreal bagels have acquired cultural significance in Quebec, where the term is most frequently used (see Chart 2).
See also COD-2, s.v. "Montreal bagel", which is marked "Cdn".
See also COD-2, s.v. "Montreal bagel", which is marked "Cdn".
Quotations
1978
Surfside has an annual French-Canadian day in March, French-Canadian entertainers are booked for the winter into certain local clubs, and the Montreal Delicatessen and Restaurant in Hallandale does a brisk business during the season, selling more than 400 dozen hand-rolled Montreal bagels daily.
1986
Bringing the Montreal bagel to Toronto was a giant step for this bagel maker. "I was scared to come here," Myers says, "but there's a saying, 'If you build a better bagel, they'll find you.' "
1991
Authentic Montreal bagels are baked in brick wood-burning ovens, which impart a brick-smoke taste. According to Morris Grojecki of Edmonton's Bagel Bin, it is now illegal to build these ovens in Canada - he says only two remain, both in Eastern Canada.
2007
A two-step boiling-and-baking process makes Montreal bagels the finest on the planet: They're moist yet chewy and utterly irresistible when they come fresh from the oven at St. Viateur Bagel or arch-rival Fairmont Bagel, which are both open 24 hours a day.
2012
Both bagel shops are landmarks in Montreal and have been arguably the most influential players in shaping the reputation of the Montreal bagel, which has gained international recognition.
2016
Tietolman and Noah Bernamoff, both 33, are making a name for themselves in New York City as Montreal bagel and smoked meat authorities. Last week, the pair got a call from the Canadian think tank Canada 2020 to serve smoked meat at a welcome reception for Trudeau at the Renwick Gallery, across the street from the White House.
2016
There are many bagel variations, and I wasn't raised foolish enough to say which is better, New York bagels (fluffy and salty, the style predominant in Toronto) or Montreal bagels (denser and sweeter). But I do know that no one walks into a Montreal bagel shop and complains that they don't have New York bagels.
References
- COD-2
Images
Image 1: Montreal bagels. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: G. Perlman
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 16 Aug. 2012
