The old favorites

There certainly have been a lot of changes in Montreal since my last visit.

Between all the good ol places that are now gone and the slew of new places that have appeared, I guess it’s just not my city anymore.

Luckily there were a few of the truly old favorites left.  Places that have been there as long as I can remember.

One such comforting place as  Rotissierie Italienne on St. Catherine Street West.

Rotissierie Italienne

This was always a great place to get a cheap, hardy, comforting meal that would satisfy.  And on a cold snowy night with a glass of red wine, there was no better place to be.  Very glad to see it is still there and has passed the test of time.

Another place I was happy to see was still there, in spite of itself, is a place called Calories Restaurant further West on St. Catherine Street.

Calories Restaurant

I say in spite of itself because it has managed to endure through years of diet fads that have come and gone.  And as a delectable dessert establishment, there never seems to have been the “all cake all the time” diet just as yet.  Going to Calories was always a guilty late night pleasure.

Then if you wanted to turn it around and get a hit of healthy, then Le Commensal Restaurant is your place!

Le Commensal Restaurant

Le Commensal is a vegetarian buffet that can be rivaled by few.  They have a few locations ( including in Toronto) but this one was always my favorite.  Perched high above St. Catherine Street, there was nothing better than scoring a window seat and watching the world go by while loading up on delicious fortifying fare!!

In fact, back when I used to work in the movie business, on one particular show, we had the highly acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier in the cast.  Rumor has it that he was such a fan of Le Commensal that he would insist his driver take him directly there from the airport before even checking in at the hotel!  So if you like good vegetarian food, you might want to check this one out!

Now this last place, is a legendary Montreal eatery.  Schwartz’s Deli home of the famous Montreal Smoked Meat!

Schwartz’s Deli

This picture was taken at 3:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday and there is still a big line up!

As a former Montrealer I am almost embarrassed to say that I have never been to Schwartz’s!  I know, I know, but I was just never into the line ups and then being crammed inside and yelled at just for a sandwich.  Especially when there were several, much less abusive, perfectly delightful other establishments where one might procure the equally traditional Montreal smoked meat.

But this is the one that is in all of the tourist brochures, so knock yourself out!