Bagels, the Montreal way

If you're American (or really, live anywhere in North America outside of Quebec), chances are you think of New York when you think of bagels. Noah's. Thick, warm fluffy bagels with a savory yeasty taste, topped with lox, cream cheese, and the works.

There is, however, another world of bagels, nestled within the second largest population of Hasidic Jews in North America: the Plateau/Outremont area, Montreal. And it's another thing altogether.

These bagels rarely come in more than four or five varieties, and you can for the most part forget about those three inch bagel sandwiches. These are made for munching: thinner and with a slightly sweet taste, you buy them out of massive baskets set at the end of a conveyor belt leading to the oven, from where they emerge in rows like something out of Willy Wonka. Imagine a bagel with the flair of a Polish donut. They're cheap - I believe ours were around fifty cents.
For the best, try:

The Bagel Shop 263 Rue Saint-Viateur Ouest

Fairmount Bagel Bakery 74 Avenue Fairmount Ouest