While neighborhood grocery counters with ready meals and Quebec alcoholic products have multiplied in Montreal in recent years, the Mange-Tout grocery store is the first one to include… a fish market and a sandwich bar!
“We just sell what I like to eat,” says Luka Lecavalier (formerly of Lucille and Arthurs Nosh Bar).
It was on a golf course that he and Zachary Eberts decided to combine their talents to open Mange-Tout last December with Gabrielle Nasri. “During COVID, I was doing door-to-door delivery. I like serving customers instead of grumpy chefs,” Zachary jokes.
Guaranteed decadence: the flank steak and cheese sandwich. Otherwise, be aware that Sugar Sammy is entitled to special builds, so maybe you are too.
“My girlfriend and I love having sandwiches and going to Parc Girouard just across the street for a little picnic,” says Sugar Sammy.
“What I like about Queen-Mary and Côte-Sainte-Catherine is that there is perhaps no other place in Montreal where there are so many businesses open 24 hours a day”, says argue Sugar Sammy.
The Pharmaprix, the Metro grocery store, the Second Cup, on Côte-des-Neiges road, never close, while the essential Jean-Brillant Market remains open from the end of March to the beginning of November. .
“For 42 years,” proudly says manager Nathalie Tremblay, spouse of one of the members of the Trottier family, owner of the market.
At one time when he was going to bed later, Sugar Sammy regularly came here to shop overnight amidst graduating students and workers from the three nearby hospitals.
“There is a brotherhood here. It’s such a sparkling neighborhood,” says Nathalie Tremblay, who assures that her market offers “the best prices possible.”
In the category “well-hidden secret and storefront that doesn’t look like much”, the Tropical Paradise, located on the Decarie Expressway access road, takes the prize hands down.
The Caribbean establishment opened nearly 25 years ago and business is booming, owner Kazim Ali says, as his son Asad gives Sugar Sammy a fist bump and patrons ask to have their picture taken with him.
“We can’t complain. We have a loyal clientele. When people taste our dishes, they come back. Our only strategy is to make good food. No need to advertise. »
Roti are very popular, but also jerk chicken, curry dishes and fish.
“Our specialty is everything on the menu,” says Kazim Ali.
“I don’t know who this guy is. Sour Sammy? jokes George Moussis, manager of Solomos, when we arrive. No doubt, Sugar Sammy is a loyal customer of the Queen Mary Road business that specializes in one kind of fish: excellent quality salmon from New Brunswick.
Fact: Smoked salmon literally melts in your mouth.
“How long in the smoking room?” And the spices?
“It’s our secret,” replies co-owner John Giatras.
Sugar Sammy has eaten a lot of fish and seafood since sharing his life with his girlfriend on a pescetarian diet.
Polish-born Nastassia Markiewicz would be perfect if she weren’t from Toronto, her lover of nearly 10 years has joked. “I converted it in Montreal,” he says.
“I discovered Korean food when I was living in Paris. As I say all the time, the best food in France is ethnic food. »
It’s runny, but it’s true: Sugar Sammy prefers spicy dishes to those cooked in butter.
Upon their return to Montreal, at the start of the pandemic, Sugar Sammy and his girlfriend embarked on a mission: to find the best Korean address in Montreal. When they tasted So Poong’s dishes, they stopped looking.
“I like kitchens that aren’t top of mind. And I want to find the rare gems,” says Sugar Sammy.
Fans of kimchi, ramen or bibimbap, you have been warned.
