On the 12th day of Christmas, I’m craving a dozen Montreal-style bagels
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Karen Hamilton
December 21, 2011
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Foodsters drove to me
Twelve Montreal-style bagels
Eleven empanadas
Ten Bella gelatos
Nine Napoli pizzas
Eight deep-fried winglets
Seven meat-filled ‘wiches
Six buns a-steaming
Five Memphis Feasts!
Four poutines
Three Peking Ducks
Two Japadogs
And a steaming bowl of chicken congee.
One of the reasons I accepted Van Houtte’s invite to fly a Foodist to Montreal last month was so that I can see, first-hand, what the bagel fuss is all about. I came home armed with 2 dozen samples from St-Viateur, whose bagels are rumoured to be quintessentially Montrealesque.
Not convinced, I called Foodsters to pick up contenders at a couple of bagel shops for a good ol’ fashioned Bagel Smackdown.
We then served the remainder to our Foodists guests when we invited them chez nous for a Montreal-themed potluck. The results? Our local bagel purveyors stood up quite well to the benchmark from Montreal, to the point where our guests couldn’t identify the supposedly superlative ones from St-Viateur.
Here’s where to start if you’re looking for Montreal-style bagels in town.
Solly’s: eat ‘em au naturel
Look at the photo above and decide which you’d pick up first. We thought that the bagel in the upper-right corner satisfied the hunger in our eyes best, and our readers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagr.am heartily agreed. The cake-like interior was moist and springy; this translated to the most enjoyable chew before bagel met toaster. If you like to eat your bagel fresh from the shop and without dressings, head on over to Solly’s.
Siegel’s: lover of cream cheese
Siegel’s was our top pick for a toasty treat. The bagels were a little too bland and yeasty to eat straight out of the bag, but get them crispy and slathered with cream cheese and they couldn’t be beat. The smoked salmon cream cheese that you can grab at the shop was pretty memorable, too.
PHAT Deli: smoked meat and benny bagel delights
PHAT Deli wasn’t part of Bagel Smackdown but it gets honorary mention here. It’s the first place I wrote about when Tiny Bites began nearly 4 years ago, and it’s the first place that made me fall in love with the bagel. I’m still drawn in every now and then for an Everything bagel with freshly made dill cream cheese.
It’s is also the first place that comes to mind when I’m in the mood for a bagel-style Eggs Benedict. My favourite style of benny at PHAT is chock full of tomato and avocado. The replacement of bagel for biscuit makes this dish a lot more filling than usual, so split it with a friend if you’re a small eater like me.
Where do you go for a bagel fix?
From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).
Categories: Broadway, Downtown, Food, Food Purveyors, Kitsilano, Restaurants, Yaletown
On the 11th day of Christmas, I’m craving a banquet of empanada, pancit, palabok and more
Leave a Comment Karen HamiltonDecember 20, 2011
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Foodsters drove to me
Eleven empanadas
Ten Bella gelatos
Nine Napoli pizzas
Eight deep-fried winglets
Seven meat-filled ‘wiches
Six buns a-steaming
Five Memphis Feasts!
Four poutines
Three Peking Ducks
Two Japadogs
And a steaming bowl of chicken congee.
The trouble with Vancouver’s sprinkling of Filipino restaurants is that none of them deliver. It’s especially inconvenient when organizing a massive potluck, which Filipino families have almost weekly. Party staples such as lumpia, empanada, pancit, and palabok are so tedious to make for a crowd that almost everyone will get a restaurant to do it for them. With the exception of lumpia, which is made fairly well in all the Pinoy eateries I patronize, your typical restaurant excels in the making of just one of these banquet-style dishes. My family either winds up ordering from the closest location–and in the process tolerates some mediocrity–or gets a volunteer to run all over the city for the good stuff.
Next time, I’m going to suggest that we get Foodsters to do all the running around.
Josephine’s: best palabok
My cousin was one of my bridesmaids in 2006, and she knew that food from Josephine’s Restaurant on Main & 10th was the fare I’d be craving on my wedding day. Her favourite item to order is palabok, a dish of rice noodles smothered in a shrimp-based sauce. Done right, the noodles are thick and have absorbed the essence of the tangerine-coloured sauce, and toppings are varied and generous: tiny shrimp, slices of hard boiled egg, tofu cubes, scallions, roasted garlic, chicharron crumble, and a hint of anchovy. I hardly ever see this served outside of a special occasion, and when that occasion arises, she and I trust Josephine’s to make it best.
Cucina Manila: best empanada
I may be critical about the in-store service of Collingwood’s Cucina Manila, but I cannot fault the quality of their catering division. This is the place my aunts go for empanada when they’d rather not make it themselves. The addition of raisin, egg, carrot, and peas to the traditional pork filling makes their version of these small, deep-fried meat pies rank above the rest.
PinPin: best pancit sotanghon
Fraser Street’s PinPin is my top pick for Filipino eating in the city, so it’s not surprising that they make a mean pancit. The regular menu offers a greater selection of pancit styles than do the rest of the pack. Pancit Sotanghon, whose star ingredient is the delicate, broth-infused strands of glass noodles, is the one sought after for a more auspicious meal.
Where does your family frequent for additions to their Filipino potlucks?
From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).
Categories: Blogging for Social Change, Collingwood, East Van, Food, Food Purveyors, Restaurants
On the 10th day of Christmas, I’m craving holiday gelato from Bella Gelateria
5 Comments Karen HamiltonDecember 19, 2011
On the tenth day of Christmas, Foodsters drove to me
Ten Bella gelatos
Nine Napoli pizzas
Eight deep-fried winglets
Seven meat-filled ‘wiches
Six buns a-steaming
Five Memphis Feasts!
Four poutines
Three Peking Ducks
Two Japadogs
And a steaming bowl of chicken congee.
Bella Gelateria is going to be a whole lot further way from our doorstep next month, so no more impromptu, gelato-induced strolls over to Coal Harbour for this family. Thankfully, my favourite gelato maker is equipped with take-out options that will work for my cravings from Marpole and your holiday needs.
Take-out choices these days lean towards the seasonal flavours Bella has churned out for the holidays. I dropped by for a quick Q&A with chef/owner James Coleridge and to spend my remaining holiday budget on our top picks.
James, what makes your gelato different from the competition?
To make the best gelato, we believe in using the best ingredients–and we try to source them as locally as possible. We use certified organic whole milk from BC’s Avalon Dairy…the ones that come in glass bottles. There are no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives. We use real fruit and ingredients that spend 12 hours in infusion.
What flavours are in store for us this season?
Candy Cane is the most popular choice right now (pictured below, with the Eggnog).
The Crème Brulée, Eggnog, Salted Caramel, and Pumpkin Pie are also available every day. We have a number of other holiday selections like Gingerbread, Chocolate Mint, Cassatta (candied fruit), and White Chocolate and Candied Orange, but those will rotate and therefore be subject to availability. We post what is in store on Twitter and Facebook.
Parking is really expensive around here: $6/hr on the street. What can I do if I want to take some gelato to go?
For $15 inclusive, you can get a half-litre of gelato in your choice of two flavours. $30 gets you the 1L box, ready with 3 compartments for different flavours. It’ll last for months in your freezer, but I suggest you eat it when it’s fresh. Re-use the container for a refill and we’ll knock $1 off.
Don’t worry about parking…if you call ahead or submit an order from Foodsters, we’ll have your container ready to go. Just park right in front of the store and we’ll run it out.
[Editor's note: Yes, the container is styrofoam. They've tried more environmentally friendly options and thus far have not found an alternative that keeps the gelato up to snuff. If you happen to know of a product that could work, drop James a line. He'd probably be open to testing it out.]
Holiday serving suggestions?
We’ve had our share of company, local and from abroad, stop by before we fly out to Canmore tomorrow for the holidays. Our guests sip on Christmas tea from The Urban Tea Merchant along with bowlfuls of the Bella gelato we have stocked in our freezer: Bronté pistachio, marron glacé (candied chestnut), and pumpkin pie. Having a 1L container of gelato on hand has allowed us to have an interesting snack available when drop-in visitors give us a 15-minute heads up.
So far, every guest has been wowed, and I’m hoping there’ll be buzz about Vancouver’s Bella Gelateria in London and Amsterdam once our friends fly back home.
How would you serve gelato to your loved ones at home?
From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).
Categories: Blogging for Social Change, Downtown, Food, Food Purveyors, Restaurants
About Tiny Bites
Tiny Bites is a food blog that explores all things edible and imbibable in Vancouver, British Columbia. More >
Articles by Karen Hamilton
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