"Montreal" news and stories

Photo: Joshua M. Bernstein.

Joshua M. Bernstein, Gourmet.com's beer columnist, has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and the New York Times.

It takes a strong man to wear pink. It takes an even stronger man to heft a frothy pint of pink beer, like the rare-burger-hued Rosée d'Hibiscus, from the genre-busting Canadian brewers at Dieu du Ciel! ("god of the sky").

Since 1998, these mad fermentationists have crafted head-scratching, tummy-pleasing beers like the Equinoxe du Printemps, a strong Scotch ale made with maple syrup, and the Clef des Champs, a floral rye ale flavored with heather and mugwort. Naturally, there was no way that Dieu du Ciel would make a conventional wheat beer.

One day, head brewer Jean-François Gravel was watching a TV documentary on western Africa, which included a discussion of bissap -- a tea made from an infusion of hibiscus flowers and sugar. Gravel re-created the drink at home, realizing the flower's floral profile and acidity would complement a tangy blanche (a wheat bear).

One of the most popular faces of the Canadian Food Network scene is Ricardo Larrivée -- a wonderfully flamboyant Montreal native who whips up unending piles of deliciousness. While promoting his new book "Meals for Every Occasion," Tourisme Montreal chatted with him about the notable foodie destinations in the French-Canadian city.

Of course, the first things on the docket were the classic smoked meat and poutine. While he stuck to the roots of the curds and gravy grandeur by stressing the pleasure of simple fry stands, Larrivée also made sure to mention the succulent wonder of Au Pied du Cochon's foie gras poutine. (If you follow Anthony Bourdain's show, you definitely know what we're talking about.) From there, he mentions foods and destinations such as the excellent local brew, Blanche de Chambly, French feasting at Restaurant Julien and Jean-Talon Market -- which Larrivée says is the largest open market in North America.

Anyone else ready for a road trip?

Oh, how I wish I could take claim for these works of art. Alas, I cannot, so I'll be sure to thank the real artists: Clever Cupcakes of Montreal.

The company provides three cupcake choices for your indulging pleasure: classic, creative, and wholesome. Choose your classic combo from a multitude of cake, frosting, fillings and sprinkles choices; go creative a la Mario Bros.; or keep it health(ier) with the whole-grained goodness of a wholesome cake. The wholesome cakes are made with agave nectar, which has a lower glycemic index than sugar (a fancy way of saying that it won't make your blood sugar spike, resulting in those crazy sugar highs and lows).

Alas, the fresh ingredients and lack of preservatives that make these cupcakes so good is also what makes them unsuitable for shipping - so you can only enjoy them if you live in the Montreal area (or have a really good friend who's willing to send them to you).

Be like Creative Cupcakes and post your photos on the Slashfood's Flickr Photo Pool. C'mon, you know you want to. Everybody's doin' it...

Sortilège Maple Syrup and Whiskey Liqueur is 30% abv. / 60 proof and is made in Montreal, Canada from Canadian whiskey and maple syrup. The color is that of a very light maple syrup.

The aroma is a light but sharp whiskey, with overtones of maple, some dried fruit and spice cake notes, and very light hints of vanilla. It's a unusual aroma that isn't as much maple as I would have thought. As I warmed it up the dried fruit notes opened up and masked all the other scents, which was an improvement since I didn't really care for the aroma that much at first.

The taste is very light and medium sweet with a light, but syrupy body. There isn't much going on with the flavor. It has hints of whiskey under the very mild maple flavor. In the background there is some of that dried fruit and spice cake that I noticed in the aroma. This is a nice, mild liqueur that is different from most, but it doesn't wow me. It's nice to have when you want something different but I wouldn't have it on a regular basis. I would like it a lot more if it just had more of the whiskey and maple action going on.

A school principal in Montreal reportedly told a parent: "'Every time your son eats like a pig, he'll be disciplined.'" Maria Theresa Gallardo, the mother of 7-year old Luc Cagadoc, says that now her son no longer wants to go to school and dreads lunchtime. Luc's "problem" was that he ate his lunch with a fork and a spoon, as he says Filipinos traditionally do. When his teacher saw him doing this, she called him "disgusting," "a pig" and "a  clown."

This conflict has sparked and international protest over whether little Luc should be forced to "adjust to the Canadian way of eating. The school board claims that this is a matter of etiquette, not culture, while people on the other side of the issue are calling it "an affront to Filipino culture" and outright racism. Cultural sensitivity needs to be taught to educators, say anti-racism groups, so that discrimination - even if it is unintentional - can be avoided.

What utensils do the school officials expect small children to use during lunch? The majority of schools seem to provive no more than sporks to students - would such a fusion be more or less acceptable than separate use of the spoon and fork?

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