LOCO Zero Waste: Bring Your Own Container

LOCO Zero Waste: Bring Your Own Container

I've hung out in libraries, cafés, bars and parks, but my latest hangout is the Villeray LOCO, a zero waste green grocer. It sells a range of food, cleaning and personal care products, not to mention a range of products that can help you reduce future waste, like cloth shopping bags and cloth sandwich wraps for your kids' lunches. Half the fun is just looking at what they have and getting ideas for things you might want to make. My favourite is the health and beauty section because the sellers provide a list of ingredients.

I've given up on big name brands because of the chemicals manufacturers use. To see what I mean, check out my post on the Dirty Dozen in My Personal Care Products.>

When you walk in the store, you weigh the container you brought from home and record the weight on a tiny sticker and stick it to your container before filling it up. The weight of your container will be subtracted from the total weight at the cash so that you only pay for the actual weight of the product. This is particularly handy when refilling products like face cream. There are always a few grams of cream left in the bottom of the container that you have no way of retrieving. At Villeray LOCO, the weight of these few drops at the bottom will be counted in as part of weight of the container.

The other luxury of this store is that you can take just 100 grams of something to try it at home to see if you like it. I did this today with the store's peanut butter. This is a difficult household when it comes to peanut butter. We look for no sugar or palm oil added, which is not as easy to find as you might think.

Weight of my container: 73 grams

Overall, the face cream is a bargain, particularly given the quality. The peanut butter was more expensive. Even though the shampoo was slightly more expensive than a store-bought brand, we all feel better knowing that we won't be adding more empty plastic shampoo bottles to the landfill.

I walked past this store a number of times before walking in. I could never remember to bring my containers. Then I learned that customers leave behind clean containers on a shelf at the front. If hygiene of the latter is a concern to you, the store also sells fairly inexpensive containers. Now, I find myself there at least once a week. I have a friend who is sold on the environmentally friendly cleaning products in spite of them being more expensive. And we aren't alone. There is always a long line at the cash with a few kids asking their parents a lot of questions about zero waste.


Villeray LOCO
422 Jarry Est
Montréal, QC, H2P 1V3
(438) 386-7345
villeray@epicerieloco.ca

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An Adventure in Frustration

An Adventure in Frustration

Go on! Step On Me!

In my writing class, we were recently instructed to write for 20 minutes about an emotion to see what we came up with. We were told that we would inevitably come up with a story beginning, middle and end. My husband found my foray into frustration amusing, and for anyone, who has forgotten their wallet after ordering food, you will understand my predicament. Please bear in mind that this experience was also replete with embarrassment, but that was not the subject.

Frustration happens so fast, rising to the surface when your expectations don’t pan out. Depending on the day, that surge of irritation can easily be exacerbated by a little noise, a misplaced word or a thoughtless gesture that any other time might go unnoticed. Anyone who does not give full reign to their frustration, particularly in public, should be commended with a pat on the back, an Atta girl or You showed’em.

I would have appreciated any one of those gestures just a day earlier.

I’d decided to have sushi for lunch, eat in Jarry Park and saunter home 45 minutes later to return to work. I picked up my phone, grabbed my purse, checked for my bank card and keys, and headed out the door. After ordering my sushi, which was made in front of me, I reached for my bank card, but couldn’t find it. I offered a credit card, but no. "Just cash or debit," said the man at the counter in his crisp white apron and hideous hairnet, not the owner who knew me, but his unsmiling cousin.

I rifled through my purse. No money of course. And then decided to go home and look for my card. "Could you hold that for me," I said. "I just have to run home and grab my bank card." Slightly miffed, I pushed the door to leave and was immediately struck by glaring sunlight. I walked home slightly embarrassed, but reminded myself that at least I was getting some fresh air. At home, I searched for the bank card only to find it in my back pocket with my phone. I scratched my head. I had no recollection of putting it there. Then I went to wash my hands. I’d been out the previous evening and had heard numerous stories of bouts of flu, vomiting, and its related aches and pains.

I stepped out the door again heading back, thinking of fresh sushi with a squeeze of lime and a cold glass of mineral water. As the man at the counter handed me my lunch I reached into my purse, but yet again my bank card was not there. To make matters worse, the man at the counter sucked on the toothpick between his teeth as he waited, not once but three times. Each tslll ratcheted my annoyance up to full blown frustration. "Fuck," I said looking through my purse for the second time. Then I heard a snigger from the kitchen worker. As a regular customer, the owner would have said, "Drop by later and pay me" but the cousin with his Ruth Buzzi hairnet was not feeling particularly generous. He just sucked again, tslll. My irritation gathered momentum forcing its way up to my shoulders and immobilizing my jaw. My sushi lunch was not to be.


"I guess I won’t be having it today after all," I offered forcing a smile before running out the door.

I walked home with my face in a knot, but relieved that I didn’t have to hear El Sucko one more fucking time. My bank card was on the counter in the bathroom. I made a salad and told myself that the Interact terminal at the sushi shop was probably crawling with influenza germs multiplying by the second, and fortunately, I hadn’t come into contact with it, saving me and my family from a weekend of misery.

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A Moment in Villeray

A Moment in Villeray

The beginning of December is a busy time, and one of the hardest things is to muster enough energy on these short days to get everything done. December is also the month when I, like everyone else, take stock of the year passing. My family and I went through a lot this year, but the tragic events were offset by many positive moments.

I fell and injured my knee last year, and it stopped me from doing a lot of blogging this year. I just can't sit for extended periods of time anymore without some degree of pain, and because I work seated for 7.5 hours a day, something had to give.

But as luck would have it, the injury pushed me to spend a lot more time walking year-round in Jarry Park. There is nothing more beautiful than the intense blue of a winter sky, something I can't remember enjoying since I was a kid. And I know that this will annoy the s**t out of some people, but winter can be enjoyed with the right clothing.

Because of my injury I also carved out some time to go to yoga and pilates, which have been beneficial in more ways than one. Not only am I doing something I enjoy, but it also gives me a chance to socialize with people in my neighbourhood. Social opportunities are sorrily missed for people who work from home. But while regular exercise has helped, it has not cured my knee problems or the pain from sitting for long periods of time.

On Friday, I started physiotherapy. I checked on the Internet to find a physiotherapist within walking distance. The address was curiously on Rue Gary Carter, formerly known as Faillon Ouest. Everyone who is at least 40 will remember Gary Carter, the Expos golden-boy catcher, back when we had three TV stations, and if the Expos were playing that's what you were watching, whether you liked it or not. When I saw the sign, it was a happy nostalgic moment.

The physiotherapy session was less cheery. Plenty of prodding later, I discovered that I will need more than a few sessions of physio to correct the muscle imbalance caused by my fall. The problem with uncorrected damage is that our bodies compensate in different ways, which can cause subsequent injuries, namely in the back, neck or ankle.

With my list of exercises in hand, I walked home through the park by the pond. I thought about all the writing I had wanted to do this year but wasn't able to. Nevertheless, the quality of my life definitely improved with regular exercise and fresh air. Below is part of the beautiful silver lining of my injury.

The Pond at Jarry Park in Early December

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Neighbourhood Shut-In and/or Yuppie Shit

Neighbourhood Shut-In and/or Yuppie Shit

Spicy Lobster Tempura Salad at 426 Sushi in Villeray

As my high school friend, Avril, passed me her huge black "weekend" bag to go back to Toronto, I gasped. "Oh my God! We haven't left the neighbourhood in days," I said. She looked at me and smiled, "That's okay. It's been very relaxing." I walked away slightly embarrassed, trying to recall if we'd done anything even remotely fun for an adult.

This was the first time I'd realized it. I rarely leave my neighbourhood. I'd taken Avril to 426 Sushi, my favourite restaurant on Villeray for the spicy lobster tempura salad. We'd then strolled down to Slak to do some clothes shopping, one of her favourite places in Montreal. Then I'd taken her to Chez Vincenzo on the way back for some homemade gelato. She liked my suggestion, pistachio, but preferred the caramel with sea salt.

Pistachio and Caramel w/ sea salt gelato Chez Vincenzo

Ever since I started working from home, I rarely leave my neighbourhood. I gave up driving about 12 years ago when I moved to Montreal, and everything we need can be found within a few blocks of our house, including the grocery story, which delivers for a modest $4.00. We also have a small shop around the corner that sells inexpensive fruit and vegetables for those in-between times. However, they DON'T sell organic produce, as I indelibly learned. "So don't even ask!" replied the annoyed shopkeeper with his tight black pin curls swaying ever so slightly. The other shop patrons watched as he followed me around the store barking the merits of conventionally grown vegetables over their yuppie bullshit organic cousins. This rant included a reference to a study conducted in Texas and the fact that he had consumed conventionally grown vegetables his entire life, and "there was nothing wrong" with him. There were similar tremors in his pin curls on another occasion when I questioned my change from a crisp 50-dollar bill.

Shopping at Slak

My neighbourhood is livable, diverse and interesting. I just have to keep my goddamned yuppie questions to myself.

Yes, Villeray, my neighbourhood, is going through gentrification, and many long-time residents are not happy. Rents have gone sky-high, and condos are going in wherever property owners can find an administrative loop-hole. There are regular street demonstrations about this, where passersby will invariably see the "Villeray Désobéit" banner.

Although I don't think of myself as a yuppie, I have unfortunately been cast into this role, judging from more than a few reactions from local shopkeepers.

In my first week in the neighbourhood, I went to a very retro-looking bakery. I quickly discovered that it was retro because they had never changed anything, not for any trendy fashion reason.

I tried to take a picture of the store price list, which was much like the one you would see in the bakeries in France, but the shop owners, two plump middle-aged women, presumably sisters, protested bitterly. I immediately apologized to the pair in white baker's suits. I usually ask before I take pictures of things, but for some reason this time I'd forgotten. But their protests continued, even through the business transaction of buying a few croissants. "We don't go to your house and take pictures," said one. "Yeah, how would that make you feel?" asked the other. After my admonishment in tandem, I grimaced as I tried to swallow my croissant. It lurched down my gullet like a ball of concrete. But maybe I was a little upset. I've only gone in there once since, to get out of the rain, but the sisters hadn't forgotten me. They were polite, but still crossed their arms and scowled in my general direction.

On the other hand, my father visiting from Vancouver loved the bakery and the ladies. They even gave him a special deal on croissants. He went there every day and brought back a half-dozen, which hadn't become any lighter, or was it just the memory? The Villeray croissant had become the polar opposite of Proust's madeleine.

The kicker--the pastry ladies even let my dad take a picture of the place.

Other posts on Villeray
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
Oriental Pastry Delights
Felines: Friend or Foe?
The Haitian Barber
Pots and Pans Protest in Villeray


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Café Vito: Villeray's Espresso Drive Thru

Café Vito: Villeray's Espresso Drive Thru

Service window at Café Vito

I took advantage of the early sunny autumn day to go for a walk on Villeray. I stopped in for a latté at Café Vito, a fairly new edition to the Villeray landscape. As I walked through the door of this café, which also doubles as a laundromat, I was greeted by the familiar face of Vito Azzue. He served many a latté and espresso at Café Olimpico on St. Viateur in the Mile End. I spoke to him briefly about his new digs before taking my latté to a tiny table outside, just as two of Montreal's finest in their dress blues walked in and ordered.

In addition to the usual Italian coffee fare, Vito and his sons serve gelato and sandwiches at 151 Villeray, at the corner of Casgrain. The inside is quite small, but it appears that most patrons order from the side window. "I got the idea for a service window when I was in Italy a few years ago," said Vito. As I sipped my latté and enjoyed the sun, I saw a man pull up to the curb in a silver Mercedes, order his espresso from the sidewalk, pay as he stepped up to the counter, down his beverage on the spot, then wave to Vito, say "Well worth the stop," and then hop back into his car. Seconds later, the Mercedes was replaced by a white pick-up truck with another thirsty patron who was also in a hurry.

The wide sidewalks of Villeray make it an ideal place for outdoor cafés, but for the time being zoning is strictly residential, and the borough apparently has no plans to allow for such extensive commercial ventures. For now, Vito is only permitted to have a few tables pushed next to the building.

Café Vito is well worth your stop if you're looking for that perfect latté, but don't feel like going inside anywhere. You can also bring your dog, as the owner has set up two stainless steel water dishes for canine patrons. If you want to try some great gelato, Vito's lemon is divine.

Other posts about Villeray
Pots and Pans Protest of Bill 78
Felines: Friend or Foe?
Food: Villeray's Subtle Rawsomeness
Buying Local: Slak on Villeray

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Felines: Friend or Foe?

Felines: Friend or Foe?

Warning on Villeray Tree to Neighbourhood Cat Owners

In recent weeks, I've come across photocopied notices to area residents regarding a certain neighbour who evidently hates "stray" cats in his garden.This neighbour "Claude" has taken to posting an anti-feline message on the perimeter of his property, and it reads like this:

"Warning to all (Avis à tous), cats without tags will be captured and sent to the SPCA."

Another concerned cat-loving resident photographed Claude's warning message, added her own message, photocopied it and posted it to the tree directly across the street from the cat-loather's home, "Warning: keep an eye on your cat..."

Fortunately my own cats have tags, but after I asked around at work, I discovered that some of my long-time cat-owning colleagues have never put tags on kitty. So, it would appear that our neighbour Claude may be trying to tackle hapless felines in his backyard who indeed have legitimate homes.

Monsieur Coton on our BBQ

And some of the neighbours are vocally opposed to his kittynapping. In a woman's curly blue-pen scrawl, another concerned resident has added to the notice, [Translation] "I say we pass around the hat in the neighbourhood to collect some money to pay for cat-hating Claude's yoga lessons. He needs to breathe through his nose."

Now, I can understand the sentiment of fretting cat owners. Our feline friends go wherever they please, and we have little say in the matter. Take for instance our neighbour's tagless cat, Monsieur Coton, who refuses to buy into the concept of human property ownership. Twice I've gone downstairs to find him sleeping on the couch, and we suspect that Monsieur Coton regularly uses our garden as his litter box, so we do understand where Claude is coming from. For catless green thumbs, felines can be the bane of their gardening existence.

But we may have found a solution, which we are trying as I write this. It's called the ScareCrow, a motion-activated animal deterrent. As an animal approaches your garden, the motion-detecting sprinkler repels the animal with a startling two- to three-cup burst of water. The sudden noise, movement and spray of water should keep the cats away. We have aimed our ScareCrow directly at Monsieur Coton's favoured poop du jour site. Fingers are crossed.

If the ScareCrow is a successful deterrent, I might slip the spec into Claude's mailbox to keep some peace in the hood and to save him some lacerations and possibly his sight. The funds raised from the neighbourhood collection could be used to purchase this new found solution, and then we could all breathe through our noses again.

Other Villeray-related sites

Food: Villeray's Subtle Rawsomeness

Buying Local: Slak on Villeray 
Churros: The Uruguayan
Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
Café Cuzcatlan: Roasting Local Coffee Beans
Creole Cuisine
Oriental Pastry Delights

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Food: Villeray's Subtle Rawesomeness

Food: Villeray's Subtle Rawesomeness

Counter and Kitchen/Classroom at Saveurs de vivre.

For all of us with competing family and professional responsibilities, eating out is an obvious remedy for tired parents at the end of the day. And, yes, at times, we worry about the nutritional value of the food we're consuming, but what are parents to do? I have the solution, and it's right down the street at Saveurs de vivre.

This small take-out operation serves up a daily variety of healthy and delicious vegan, flextarian and raw meals. This is the perfect address for those who are lactose intolerant or require a gluten-free diet. For organic meats and pulses look no further.

I was surprised to discover just how reasonable the prices were at Saveurs de vivre: detox juices and smoothies (16 oz) $5.95; vegetarian meals from $7.50; organic meat dishes from $9.00, and raw desserts from $4.95. You can order single, double or family-sized orders. They even have a "social" size for when you want to invite friends over and don't have time to cook.

Family-size Beef Stroganoff w/ Noodles

Tonight, we are trying the Beef Stroganoff and egg noodles made with organic beef, onions, cream, paprika, homemade veal stock and dill pickles. The total cost for a family of four is $24.00, tax included. This is certainly cheaper than pizza, take-out chicken or Chinese, and more importantly, better for you.

Another little known fact, owners Lucie Boivin and her chef husband Pierre Sanglard offer cooking classes. Under chef Sanglard's direction, you will cook three different dishes and then eat your creations at the end of the afternoon course. I just walked by and the next class, May 19, from noon to 3 pm, is on preparing rabbit  ($75 plus tax). La Presse has named Saveurs de vivre one of the five best places in Montreal for cooking classes. The take-out counter is located at 7901 Henri-Julien, corner Gounod, tel. 514-904-0521.

Cru vitalité and Rawesome

Raw Desserts at Cru Vitalité

Just two streets west of Saveurs de vivre is Cru vitalité, a small eatery specializing in raw vegan desserts and snacks, such as kale chips, macaroons, super goji energy sticks and flax crisps. You may also want to try the vegan parmesan for seasoning. But whatever you do, make sure you try their gourmet vegan organic ice cream, which apparently has half the fat and only two thirds the calories of its conventional cousin. I had a taste of apple pie ice cream today, and it was sublime. Try it for yourself at
151 Gounod.

Other Villeray-related posts:
Buying Local: Slak on Villeray 
Churros: The Uruguayan
Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
Café Cuzcatlan: Roasting Local Coffee Beans
Creole Cuisine
Oriental Pastry Delights


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A Royal: Jackie Robinson

A Royal: Jackie Robinson

Yesterday, cities throughout the United States were celebrating the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first African-American to play baseball in the major leagues. A little known fact is that the year before he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he played for the Montreal Royals, one of the Dodgers' top farm clubs at the time. Not only credited with breaking the colour barrier in major league sports, Robinson was also a civil rights activist who worked alongside Martin Luther King Junior.


Now, you may be wondering about my sudden interest in baseball. This weekend, on a walk just a few blocks from my house, I discovered the duplex where Jackie Robinson lived with his wife, Rachel, while he played for the Royals in the 1946 season. A brass plaque in both French and English, a gift from the US Consulate, is now proudly displayed outside the front door of 8232 De Gaspé just north of Jarry in Villeray.

I wonder if he ever had breakfast at the Quebec Deli? Or had a smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz's?

Other Montreal-related posts
Montreal Heritage: Griffintown Horse Palace
Montreal: 200,000 Students Demonstrate
The Montreal News Group 
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray



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Buying Local: Slak on Villeray

Buying Local: Slak on Villeray

A few weeks ago when my father was visiting from Vancouver, we walked past Slak, a women's clothing store where the articles are sewn right on the premises. At the time, we could see four young women busy sewing through the storefront window and a few women shopping on the other side. "You'd never see something like that on the West Coast," said my father. "Because you'd never be able to pay the rent in a similar neighbourhood of Vancouver."

As I was running an errand this week, I had a chance to drop in and speak with the store's designer Mélanie Duhaime. She told me that Slak had been open for seven years and that everything was made locally, including some of the work that she outsources to people working from home. I also learned that Slak articles are sold throughout Canada via KA Agence.

Initially, as I walked around the store, I wasn`t sure if I would find anything in my size. But the store did offer a much larger range in sizes than I expected. The cut of the designer`s clothes are typically asymmetrical, but refined nonetheless. Obviously, they are more expensive than what you would pay in a large retail outlet, but in addition to supporting your neighbourhood`s economy and a young designer, your new clothing will be one of a kind.

To see the fall and winter collection, click here.

Fortunately, they were having a sale, which I took advantage of. And in keeping with my 8-week resolution, I paid cash, which didn`t kill this week`s budget.

There are a number of stores affiliated with Slak in Quebec, as well as stores in Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario. For a full list of the affiliates, click here (points de vente).

The Side of Slak Where the Clothing is Made

Slak
352 Villeray
Montreal, QC
H2R 1G9
www.slak.ca




Other hood-related posts:
Churros: The Uruguayan
Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
Café Cuzcatlan: Roasting Local Coffee Beans
Creole Cuisine
Oriental Pastry Delights

Read more »

The Art of Mosaic

The Art of Mosaic

Work in Progress at Mosaikashop

If you can't part with broken cups or smashed plates and spend more time than most looking at bathroom and kitchen tile then you may be a born mosaicist. Before my children were born, I collected different colours of glass, porcelain, broken kitchen tile and beads, and I decorated counter tops, plant pots and tables. Making a mosaic is a great way to hang on to your favourite cup and all of its memories after someone has broken it. You can then use the pieces of the broken cup to create a border on a mirror, a picture frame or decorate a plant pot. I`ve even done mosaics in the molding around a room to great effect.

A Tray Exhibited in the Mosaikashop Gallery

Unfortunately, I gave this hobby up about 7 years ago because of the hazards associated with working with bits of broken glass and sharp edges around small children. And although I`d done a fair number of mosaics, I still needed some instruction on how to use tile cutters (effectively!) and how to grout evenly. Much to my surprise  after I`d moved to Villeray this summer, I discovered Mosaikashop at the corner of Villeray and Henri-Julien streets. If you enjoy the feeling of highly creative and colourful spaces then I suggest you come see this place for yourself.

A Project from the Mosaikashop Beginner Course

The Mosaikashop concept was originally developed at Mosaïka Art & Design (MAD for short), a world-renowned mosaic studio that specializes in large-scale mosaics. MAD is responsible for several mosaics in the New York subway. Mosaikashop is in fact first and foremost a mosaic school. Owner Suzanne Spahi runs the store and gallery and offers 3 workshop classes, and luckily one of those classes gives instruction on the basics, exactly what I was looking for (an early Christmas present from my husband). Spahi`s own mosaic specialty is to reproduce and reinterpret tribal rugs with mosaics. (To see her fabulous work, click here.)

If you would like to try a mosaic on your own at home here`s what you will need:
(Hint: you may want to start with something small like a dollar store mirror frame or a plant pot.)

 Materials
1. Some small pieces of broken china, beads, ceramic.
2. Tile adhesive (hardware store)
3. Grout (hardware store)

Instructions
1. Apply a small amount of tile adhesive to the clean, dry surface.
2. Add your pieces of broken china in your desired design.
3. Wait at least a day for the adhesive to dry completely.
4. Add the grout, ensuring that there is an equal amount of grout in between each tile.
5. Wipe off the excess grout with a damp cloth.

Voila! You have made your first mosaic.

Mosaikashop

300 rue Villeray
Montreal, Quebec
H2R 1G7 Canada

Other hood-related posts:

Buttons, Ribbon, Theatre 

This is what 77,000 books looks like
Expozine 2011
Occupons Montréal in Photos
Bixi: 2012 Recap
Churros: The Uruguayan
Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
New Digs and Swedish Thrillers
The Haitian Barber


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Read more »

Buttons, Ribbon and Theatre

Buttons, Ribbon and Theatre

Treasure Chest Full of Buttons

Calling all sewers, crafters and hobbyists! I was working on a snowflake craft with my children and needed a variety of white buttons to make Christmas gifts for grandparents, and I came across this fabulous store. There are many shops selling sewing and decorating supplies on St-Hubert, but none quite like Rubans Boutons.The owner collects antique buttons and has some of the most beautiful collections I have ever seen. He even has a wooden chest full of odd buttons that you can scoop into bags for $1, $2 and $4. This is exactly what I was looking for. I was even lucky to scoop some beautiful retro buttons from the 50s.

Effet V's Stage

As I wandered further to the back of the store I realized that there was a stage. Rubans Boutons' owner, Richard Letendre, informed me that he and his partner have their own theatre company, Effet V, and they just finished their latest show in October. They will be starting a new stage production in the spring. And of course, I'll be sure to drop by.

If you`re a sewer, crafter or just curious, this store is a must-see, and don`t be fooled by the modest store front, as is often the case on St-Hubert. There is an entire wall of silk ribbons, which of course must compete with the opposite wall that has possibly the most beautiful buttons you will ever lay eyes on.

Drop in if only to have a chat with the friendly actor/button store owner Richard Letendre.

Rubans boutons
7363 St-Hubert
Mtl (Qc)
Canada H2R 2N4
514 847-3535 

Other related posts
Café Cuzcatlan: Roasting Coffee Beans
This is what 77,000 books looks like
Expozine 2011
Occupons Montréal in Photos
Bixi: 2012 Recap
Churros: The Uruguayan
Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
New Digs and Swedish Thrillers
The Haitian Barber

Read more »

Café Cuzcatlan: Roasting Coffee Beans

Café Cuzcatlan: Roasting Coffee Beans

Cuzcatlan Coffee $25,000 Turkish Roaster

Yesterday, I dropped by a café on St-Hubert where the owner roasts his own Arabica beans, which come directly to Canada from El Salvador. Owner Erick de la O was kind enough to show me the Cuzcatlan coffee roaster and talk to me a little about the art of roasting coffee beans. By the way, Cuzcatlan is the indigenous name for El Salvador before the Spanish conquest.

In the picture below you`ll see the three distinct colours of beans. Erick showed me the light, medium and dark beans he uses to make Colombian, French espresso, Italian espresso and the house special, Cuzcatlan espresso. The ratio of light to dark beans in these blends (apart from the Cuzcatlan espresso) is apparently an industry standard. Good to know. Obviously, espresso requires a higher concentration of dark beans. However, here`s a little fact that you probably didn`t know. The lightest beans have the highest caffeine content. (To read more about coffee roasting click here.)

Dark, Medium and Light Roasted Beans

I was offered a cup of the light roast coffee, to which I added a little milk. It tasted like a weak cup of coffee that you might have at the office. Then the owner told me to try it without milk, and it made a world of difference. It was a very smooth cup of coffee.

Café Cuzcatlan serves filtered coffee and cappuccino and espresso on the premises, or you can purchase the Colombian, French espresso, Italian espresso or Cuzcatlan espresso ground blends or just the beans. Erick supplies coffee to many neighbourhood restaurants, and it can also be found in a number of the smaller Villeray grocery stores.

Either way, it`s nice to know that you can buy coffee that is roasted just a few streets away and handled by just one person.

Café Cuzcatlan
7585 St-Hubert
Tel: 514-807-3754

Other hood-related posts:
This is what 77,000 books looks like
Expozine 2011
Occupons Montréal in Photos
Bixi: 2012 Recap
Churros: The Uruguayan
Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
New Digs and Swedish Thrillers
The Haitian Barber

Read more »

Churros: the Uruguayan

Churros: the Uruguayan

Two Churros Filled with Caramel

Need some comfort food? Have I found the place! Churros Montreal is a lunch counter that serves specialties from Uruguay, the small country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina. Similar to Argentine cuisine, the Uruguayan specialty is beef, which is the mainstay of many of the eatery's dishes

The lunch counter serves empanadas, sandwiches, milanesas and churros, its namesake. I've eaten churros in Spain in my thin days. The long sugar-coated fried bread was served with a warm mug of thick chocolate for dipping. The Uruguayan churro is similar in size, shape and sugar-coating, but  is instead filled with either caramel or chocolate. Yes, our equivalent would be a donut, probably with just as many calories. I've wanted to blog about churros before, but each time I bought them, they were gone before I had a chance to take a picture. Yes, churros are good ole comfort food, and my husband, who is annoyingly thin, loves them. Our favourite type is caramel.

Empanadas and Yerba Maté at Churros Montreal

Churros Montreal is a popular spot run by the Laner family. At any given time, you'll see the father cooking behind a standard kitchen stove, the mother and aunt preparing the food and the daughter or cousin serving at the counter. When I was in yesterday, they invited me back for an yerba maté between 5:00 and 6:00, when friends usually drop in for a chat.

Like Ange and Ricky's, Churros Montreal has a warm family feeling to it with some beautiful posters of the Uruguayan plain to give you a feeling of dépaysement.

Churros Montreal
7497 St-Hubert
Montreal, QC
H2R 2N5

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Who's a Cyclopathe
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
New Digs and Swedish Thrillers
The Haitian Barber
Good Morning Villeray
Creole Cuisine 


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Who's a Cyclopathe?

Who's a Cyclopathe?

Vintage CCM Ladies' 3-Speed

Montreal is so cycling-mad that you can find a bike shop on every major street. I've been looking for a new bike for a few months now, but I haven't been able to find exactly what I want, in my price range. Although I've read a lot about how to safeguard your bike against theft, such as removing, or painting over, any brand name tags, paying more than $50 for a lock or just bringing it in at night, I'm still anxious about paying a lot of money for a ride only to have it stolen.

On Friday, I stopped in at Cyclopathe, a tiny shop on Villeray that stores, rents, repairs and recycles bikes. The team will custom build a bike for you at a relatively low price. Another interesting point: they don't charge PST or GST because their sales fall short of the taxable threshold. In other words, these guys do it for the love of rebuilding. In addition, the shop is having an end of season sale, which means that you could save up to 40% on what you would pay at a second-hand bike shop.

A vintage CCM ladies 3-speed bike  immediately caught my eye. It even had an Eiffel Tower on it because it was the deluxe "Paris" model. I thought that vintage was less likely to be stolen, but according to Cyclopathe salesman Khalil, I couldn't be more wrong. Vintage bikes are not only "in," but "they are also apparently coveted by thieves because their parts are so hard to come by."

For weeks I have been looking at a Dahon in the window. These are lightweight folding bikes with 16" wheels that are ideal for people living in small apartments without storage. I've been looking for a Dahon on ebay, but they cost about $600 new. I've read up on them, and that's definitely the price for a high-quality lightweight folding bike. The one at Cyclopathe was 30-years old, and it was relatively heavy.

I was told to come by often because the team receives new inventory weekly. Khalid showed me a decent frame and told me that he could customize it for me. Still unsure. If you're looking for a vintage bike or just a well-built second-hand bike, Cyclopathe might be the place for you. They also take trade-ins.

Cyclopathe

30-Year-Old Vintage Dahon $379

318 Villeray
Montreal, QC

514-439-1965

No blog or Facebook page because inventory changes too fast, and these guys just want to work on bikes.


Other Villeray-related posts
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
New Digs and Swedish Thrillers
The Haitian Barber
Good Morning Villeray
Creole Cuisine


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Creole Cuisine

Creole Cuisine

Sticky Rice, Goat Tassot, Fried Plantain, Hot Cabbage and Salad

I was walking on Jarry with a friend visiting from Toronto when a little restaurant caught my eye. Ange and Ricky's had large red and fuschia cloth flowers and a few clients eating with great enthusiasm.I had heard about this wonderful little restaurant that served Creole cuisine from a friend living in the neighbourhood. Although I'd never tried Creole before and was slightly apprehensive, I was drawn to the simple decor and friendly atmosphere.

My family and I made a short trip to Ange and Ricky's the following week. Ange, herself, came out to greet us. She asked us if we had ever been to her restaurant and then brought us out a sampler of what she was serving that Saturday. The meat was rich and savoury with a hint of spice, and the sticky rice with mushrooms or beans was heavenly. But for me, the pièce de résistance was the lemonade made from lemons, raspberry and Haitian vanilla, which gives the drink a slight ginger taste.

We've been back three times since, as the lemonade and food is a big hit with my kids. In fact, once we went back just to get a pitcher of lemonade for some dinner guests.

Ange said, "All the kids in the neighbourhood come in to buy a glass of lemonade. I sell 1,000 a month."

I can certainly see why.

Ange and Ricky's is a wonderful place to go for food made with love.I recommend the goat tassot (chèvre tassot) and the sticky rice with mushrooms. Anyway, you'll be able to decide for yourself because Ange and Ricky give all newcomers a taste before you order. In addition, Ange speaks English, Spanish and French.

Ange and Ricky
195 Jarry East
Montreal, QC
514-385-6094

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9/11: A Decade Later

9/11: A Decade Later

It's so strange to write about 9/11. I feel like it's when the Western world lost its mind. 9/11 became a watershed moment, paving the way for the invasion of Iraq and exacerbating the already complex war in Afghanistan. As I see it, 9/11 gave Western governments license to do whatever they wanted in the name justice and retribution, namely violate human rights and implement measures such as torture, imprisonment without charge and racial profiling, to name just a few.

But this demonstration of might did little to prevent further terrorist attacks, rather it triggered four more: Madrid, London, Bali and Moscow. After all, violence begets violence, and this past decade has been the bloodiest I have witnessed in my lifetime.

Instead of remembering just those who died on 9/11, we should also be thinking of all the innocent people killed in Madrid, London, Bali and Moscow, and the civilians who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We should also remember the young women and men who have been sent by our governments to fight battles on their behalf and who have not returned or have returned physically and/or psychologically disabled.

If we are all inextricably linked by the world's events, maybe  more of our tax dollars should have been put into researching the cycle of violence rather than into military spending. But then military spending has made many people rich. Just ask Dick Cheney.

On Facebook today, I noticed that few people wrote about 9/11. It's just too big an event to put into words. But I did reflect on how shaken I felt on that day and what transpired in the world in the weeks subsequent to the attacks. I remember all the fingers pointing at so-called "liberals" because they were slow in reacting. They were the "unpatriotic" ones because they did not give in to their knee-jerk reactions. In hindsight, I think that they were on the right track.

How many people have died or been injured in the last decade as a result of 9/11? What was the cost of retribution?


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The above mural, entitled "the Sixth Sphere of Culture," covers 1,500 square feet and was created under the artist direction of illustrator, painter, comic artist and author Dominique Desbiens. The central figure is none other than mother nature, and the four corner figures represent the four continents: Africa, Asia, America and Europe. The mural took 18 weeks to complete and is located at 7255 La Jeunesse in Villeray.

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Oriental Pastry Delights

Oriental Pastry Delights

Pâtisserie Villeray has been serving fine oriental pastries for over thirty years. Although the shop's specialty is baclava, I was interested in the cashew flowers, pictured on the left. The owner told me that they were made with filo dough, cashews, clarified butter, syrup and orange blossom water and that the preparation time was about an hour.

A dozen costs $11.00, and they are a great idea if you're bringing dessert for a small dinner party. And don't fret about not having enough.The cashew flower has a sweet, delicate taste, but is surprisingly rich, and even someone with a voracious appetite will not be able to eat more than two.

When I asked the owner about the number of calories in just one. He smiled and said, "Never mind the calories. They give you energy!" So, if you need some energy and would like to try a variety of fine oriental pastries, I suggest you drop by the shop at 373 Villeray at Drolet in Montreal.

Other Villeray-related posts:
Neon Icon: Miss Villeray
New Digs and Swedish Thrillers
The Haitian Barber
Good Morning Villeray

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Neon Icon: Miss Villeray

Neon Icon: Miss Villeray

East-bound View

In my first walk around the new hood, I happened upon this big, vintage, sexist yet beautiful, Miss Villeray neon sign.The leggy Scarlette, aka Miss Villeray, can be seen from blocks away at night.Initially, I imagined that it was a strip bar and that if I stepped inside I'd see a bunch of old guys swilling quarts of O'keefe and playing video poker.This couldn't be farther from the truth. It is in fact frequented by the hip 30 somethings of Villeray.

The Miss Villeray officially opened on July 28, 1960, and one of its first patrons was the Minister of Public Works and Hydraulic Resources, René Lévesque, along with his friends, the mighty but charming professional wrestler Johnny Rougeau, and radio personality, singer and actress Lucille Dumont. What I would have done to be alive and 20 years old then! The bar opened just one month before the inauguration of the Jarry Park Stadium, then home to the Montreal Alouettes. The number of sports fans Scarlette attracted grew to legions once the Montreal Expos began to play at Jarry Park in 1969.

North-West View

In September 2008, an enthusiastic young entrepreneur and brewery rep discovered that Scarlette's owner wanted to sell. He capitalized on the opportunity and renovated, recycling many of the furnishings so that the Miss Villeray would not lose her original look and feel, and what a fabulous job he and his partners did. Cheers!

But who was the woman who inspired the Miss Villeray sign? According to 83-year-old resident C. Riverin, Miss Villeray was the name given to a very popular neighbourhood woman in the years following WWII. This sweet woman had the reputation for inspiring love. Both women and men were said to fall in love with her one after another.

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Good Morning Villeray

Good Morning Villeray

Beyond the gate lurks some bones of contention...

I left the house early this morning to fight the urge. Instead of violating the unwritten code among neighbours with gardens, I headed down to Jarry to pick up some milk. I made a conscious effort not to think about those darling little faces.

In front of the Bonisoir, I met a middle-aged woman with large rectangular sunglasses, wearing shorts and a tank top. She stopped in front of me and held up a nail. "I find these everywhere," she said with an irritated shudder. "These things are what nailed our son Jesus to the cross." Speechless, I nodded and let her walk past.There was a large band aid on her shoulder and yellowish-brown bruises from what appeared to be the remnants of someone's fingertips, possibly hers. Fearing her annoyance might turn into an extended rant about the lord, I waited until I saw her disappear into the back of the store. As I picked up my milk, I thought about the dilemma that awaited me at home. My daughter would be standing at the door asking if she could feed them. But a good neighbour would not do this.

I've never lived anywhere with an alley before, but I have heard from friends that a few stray cats can quickly turn into a small feline farm. Two days ago, we discovered that a stray had had a litter of kittens just outside our gate. As my kids and I crowded around the tiny critters, a neighbour came over and told us that last spring there were 13 cats in the alley because a local renter had been feeding them.The neighbours had all bitterly complained about cat feces in their gardens, and the renter was threatened with eviction if she continued her "inconsiderate" behaviour.

 

Count the five darling faces

This morning I saw the mother cat outside the window of her former meal ticket. She meowed and scratched at the window, jumping back and forth from patio table to chair. I thought about the seven kittens that had not yet been weened and the mother with no food...

As I paid for my milk at the Bonisoir, I told the dark-haired cashier in a blue Italia T-shirt about the nail incident. "Oh her," she said, ringing in my order. "She's harmless. Believe me, there's a lot worse around here," gesturing with her head to a middle-aged man outside whose pants were pulled up to his ribcage. He was listening to an old radio held close to his ear and rocking to the music. "As long as they're not hurting anyone, I have no problem with them," she said handing me my receipt. "Yep, tolerance is key," I offered and waved good-bye.

I walked down the street enjoying the early morning sun trying to figure out how I could get some food to the mother cat on the sly. I could pitch a handful of dry cat food by the kittens, but what if someone saw me...If my daughter did it, the neighbours might be more understanding. It's hard for a child to understand that gardens are more important than kittens going hungry.

Fortunately, by the time I got home, my problem had been solved. My daughter ran to tell me that the mother cat had killed a squirrel. I laughed. Not only did the neighbours have cat shit to contend with, now there was a squirrel carcass.



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The Haitian Barber

The Haitian Barber

One of my first discoveries on Jarry Street in Villeray was the red, white and blue barber's pole of Hans Coiffure. From the street I spotted a wall full of what I believed to be African masks, but when I later ventured in for a closer look, I discovered that they were from Haiti.

In addition to selling masks and wood carvings, Hans also has some colourful oil paintings on sale from some talented Haitian-born painters, with prices ranging from $350 to $400. But above all, this is a lively barber shop, with plenty of chit chat and Caribbean music. The people on hand were more than willing to explain some aspect of the art on display.

There was a particularly moving painting of a ship carrying a large number of passengers with many people below floating on pieces of wood and debris in shark-infested waters. Was this a depiction of the Haitian boat lift from the early to mid 80s? I can't be sure because when I called Hans to inquire, he told me that he was too busy cutting hair to answer.

Some of these paintings and masks are well worth a look. Drop by to see the art display at Hans Coiffure, 630 Jarry East just a block East of Jarry Metro.

For further reading on the Haitian boat lift between Haiti and South Florida in the Los Angeles Times click here.



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