On Monday at 11pm, tune in to Grumman ’78′s Food Network debut on Eat St.! Here’s a little preview:
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FINALLY! The very popular Food Network show, Eat St. is coming to Montreal to feature not one, not two, not three, but FOUR fantastic food trucks.
On Friday, August 10th at Place Emilie Gamelin, they will be featuring the popular restaurant Nouveau Palais’ food truck, “Winneburger“. Formerly a Winnebago, this truck serves delicious burgers (single or double patty), fries, “monkey tails” (chocolate dipped frozen bananas), and much more.
At New City Gas, on Thursday, August 16th, La Mangeoire is making their network television debut as well. This gigantic food truck prides themselves on gourmet sandwiches. At the Souk during the Just For Laughs Festival, I had one of the best things I ever ate in Le Decadent, a nutella, peanut butter, and bacon grilled sandwich. Simply amazing.
On Monday, August 13th at 11:30am at 351 blvd. Lionel-Boulet in the South-Shore, Pas D’Cochon Dans Mon Salon will serve Eat St. what they do best: pulled pork sandwiches. I’ve had this sandwich a few times, and I’m always speechless. With the smallest food truck in the bunch, Pas D’Cochon Dans Mon Salon packs a big punch. If you work in the South Shore, make sure to visit them since they are throwing a little party outside.
Finally, Eat St. will pay a visit to this city’s first taco truck, Grumman ’78 on Tuesday, August 14th at 6:00pm on the Lachine Canal. Grumman has been the authority and the first movers of street food in Montreal. With unique flavors touching on various cuisines and cultures, such as the turkey dinner, curry lamb, ancho beef, and pork bahn mi tacos, this truck has made hungry people satisfied every time they chow down.
Congrats to Grumman ’78, Winneburger, and La Mangeoire! Here’s to Eat St. coming back to Montreal for many more visits to feature even more of our delicious trucks.
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Festival season is upon us. As food lovers, the best thing about this time of year is the copious amounts of street food. At this year’s Just for Laughs Festival, Grumman ’78 took charge and delivered the most diverse selection of street food this city has ever seen. St. Catherine street in the Quartier des Spectacles was packed with some of the most unique and surprising food trucks and food stands. Flocks of people visited this area every day from July 12th to the 28th to eat, drink, enjoy the festival atmosphere, and simply have fun. I went twice (not to make excuses, but I was out of town on a VIA Rail trip, and could only go that many times), and both were amazing. This event was a clear celebration of street food. If this Souk is any indication of how badly Montrealers need and want street food, I don’t know what is. It was a clear snapshot of what this city’s street food scene will look like in the near future. Instead of writing about every little thing I ate, here are some of my favorite eats.
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Last year, the street food excitement in Montreal was picking up a lot of steam. Due to weather conditions, such as “winter”, our patience for eating in the outdoors was wearing thin. The weather is now hot, at least for the next few months, so let’s enjoy the street food food while it lasts. Before the craze begins, I believe it’s only fair to highlight the food truck that’s had the biggest influence for street food in Montreal: Grumman ’78.
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Welcome to StreetFoodMontreal.com, your number one source for all things street food in Montreal.
I love street food. It’s unfortunate, though. Montreal is not allowed to have street food unless there is a festival, organized street closure, or anything else where cars are not allowed to pass through. This past year, we have experienced the emergence of street food in Montreal: burgers, grilled teriyaki squid, mangoes on a stick cut into flowers and sprinkled with cayenne pepper, cheap $2 noodles drenched in peanut sauce, freshly baked cookies, piri piri chicken sandwiches, lobster rolls, and of course, tacos.
The popular venues where street food emerges is the Jazz Festival, the Just for Laughs Festival, the 3 times St-Laurent boulevard is closed, Osheaga, Les Francofolies, and the annual Sherebrooke street sidewalk sale (I cook Italian Sausages every year at Cavallaro) to name a few. It’s not uncommon to see long lines filled with patient, eager, and hungry people willing to wait to get delicious treats handed to them. Sometimes, and I mean sometimes, we receive better food from a street vendor than we would in some restaurants. Some types of street food I would like to see emerge: dim sum, pasta, meatballs, grilled cheese, and anything on a stick.
The elephant in the room…”why don’t we have street food”? There are many reasons, without one definitive answer. It boils down to permits, and the law. In my opinion, there’s a lot more than the law that comes into place; it’s simply a logistical issue. Compared to Toronto, New York, LA, San Francisco, Vancouver, or Portland, Montreal just doesn’t have the physical space for such a thing to exist. Many restaurants will be very upset if they had a street vendor parked outside their restaurant, creating unnecessary and unfair competition. Then there’s the matter of garbage. Who will clean it up? Who’s responsible? What about cleanliness? All major issues that can be dealt with carefully.
The only way street food can exist in Montreal is if it’s regulated. We are able to handle it. Street food in Montreal can work if there are rules. Here’s a short list of my suggestions:
- Designate specific areas and specific times where street vendors can park to sell their food.
- Street vendors must be responsible for cleaning up designated areas and leaving them the way they found it.
- Permits should only be given to those who are operating from a mobile kitchen. Those who use off-site commercial kitchens to prepare their food ahead of time should be approved by health inspectors, for obvious reasons. I certainly don’t want any surprises in my shawarma.
What place does street food have in Montreal? Right now, it’s a special treat we are privileged to have a few times over the summer, and a bit less in the spring and fall. It’s easy, accessible, and fun. I firmly believe Montreal can support street food. It just needs to be done properly, with regulation heavily involved.
So why build a site dedicated to a new food trend, revolving around a city that doesn’t allow it (yet)? Let this site be your guide for all street food in Montreal. Let’s celebrate what we have right now, and hopefully, one day we will all have the pleasure of visiting food trucks, eating under the sun, and enjoying it with complete strangers.
Welcome to the street food movement in Montreal.
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