Dagwoods

This is just a short post where I want to tell everyone about my favorite place to buy sandwiches: Dagwoods. Dagwoods is a sandwich, soup and salad place, sort of like Subway, except infinitely better.
I used to really enjoy Subway and saw it as a healthier alternative to traditional fast-food places. However, when I tried Dagwoods, I was totally converted. I liked that it was a Montreal creation that has now expanded to include many franchises throughout the city and now even in Ontario.

The greatest thing about Dagwoods that cannot be said about Subway, is that when you order a sandwich at Dagwoods, they actually slice the cheese and meat fresh when you order it. Some of the slicers are so talented and fast that just watching them do their job is like entertainment while you wait for your food. The fact that the meat and cheese is SO fresh totally makes up for the selection of sandwiches being smaller than Subway's. As for the vegetables, they are also much fresher than at Subway, which I find ironic, since the Subway catchphrase is "Eat Fresh". I would also like to add that Dagwoods doesn't have that weird Subway smell (you know what I mean), so there's no need to worry about being smelly and unappealing after visiting the restaurant. The final thing that I love about Dagwoods is that they have an awesome fidelity card where you can get a free sandwich, soup, or chili after buying a certain amount of sandwiches. Subway no longer has this type of fidelity program and I think that is a real shame.

In conclusion, this place is a real gem and I am absolutely ecstatic that I found one near (well, near enough) to my new apartment! Check it out and you'll never enjoy Subway again, I swear.
Here's a photo of a tasty Dagwoods sandwich just in case you still aren't convinced:

 

Time for Poutine

I've been completely consumed since my last post with the protest, the riot, and the subsequent gatherings that have been held at McGill since last Thursday. Today, however, I would like to depart from that serious topic and talk about something light: poutine. This is basically a list of my favorite places to get poutine in Quebec. If you don't know about poutine, it looks like this:

Ruby's Best Poutine List:
-Poutine at Louis' Luncheonette in Sherbrooke, QC: This restaurant not only has amazing poutine, but the steamed hot dogs are also totally worthwhile. The curds are fresh, and the fries are always crispy and never greasy.

-Poutine Frank at La Banquise in Montreal, QC: This is a poutine with pieces of merguez sausage in it. The sauce is so flavorful and the sausage goes perfectly with the cheese curds. Also, this restaurant is open 24 hours a day, which is a huge plus since many cravings for poutine come late at night.

-Poutine Mexicaine at Frite Alors! in Montreal, QC: This is a traditional poutine that has their mexican sauce (which is a sort of slightly sweet salsa) poured on top of it. I think they've taken it off the menu now but I still ask for it when I go because the marriage of the gravy and the mexican sauce is ridiculously good. Also, the fries are excellent.

-Poutine at La Belle Province in Granby, QC: This poutine is really good. Just a plain old poutine, well done. Also, I feel like this restaurant is a Quebec classic. However, not all La Belle Province's are created equal. This one in Granby is absolutely great, but some others that I've been to are disgusting. Be careful.


I totally stand behind my recommendations of these poutines, and if I had to give any advice on poutines in general, I would say, "Never be afraid to try new toppings on top of poutine; however, never underestimate the value of poutine in its classic form". Clearly a quote for the history books.

Montreal Student Protest: A Review

I participated in the student protest that happened in Montreal yesterday against the tuition fee hikes announced by the Quebec government. So I thought I would give you guys a little review on how that went.

All the McGill students gathered at 1pm and met up with the Concordia crowd at McGill College and St-Catherine, where we proceeded to march to Parc Emilie-Gamelin at Berri. There we joined tons of people from UdeM, UQAM, UQAT and UQAR (and those are only ones that I personally noticed). Once this large group was assembled we marched all the way back to McGill College, stopping in front of Jean Charest's Montreal office. The crowd was absolutely HUGE, I have never been part of something that large before and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I was afraid at first that turnout would suffer because of the rain but it seemed to make very little difference and everyone seemed motivated and ready to protest. There were lots of cops everywhere and a helicopter watching us, but thankfully I wasn't arrested or brutalized. To my knowledge, only 4 people were arrested. Compare that to the riots we see after Canadiens games and I feel proud of my fellow students for protesting in a mature, peaceful fashion. I never felt scared or nervous during the protest in any way.

Some of the highlights of the march for me were when people stopped what they were doing to watch us; some giving us thumbs up and others just filming on their phones. Either way, I was glad that we caused a disturbance in a city where people would walk over a dead hobo in their way without a second look. At one point we marched past a daycare and all the kids ran up to the windows and starting waving and smiling at us, that was by far the highest point of the day for me.

Although some people argue that there is no point to this protest and it won't affect the government's decision, I believe that it's always better to do something rather than nothing, on the off-chance that one day it might actually produce change. There are also those who point out that Quebec's tuition fees are lower than those in the rest of Canada and in some other countries. I would argue that they are only comparing Quebec to other countries and provinces whose tuition situations serve their purposes. There are other nations where tuition is much lower than in this province and some where it is free. Their argument does not take into account the complete set of facts and I fail to see how tuition fee hikes are ever a step in the right direction.

Les Enfants Terribles

Ok, so I figured I might as well do a restaurant review since I'm at school and I have a long break during which I can't seem to find anything better to do. My boyfriend took me out to a restaurant recently :) called Les Enfants Terribles (corner Bernard and Champagneur) and it was absolutely awesome. Although I had been there before a year ago, this recent visit has renewed my wish to tell people about how good it was.

The ambiance of the place is kind of loud but it didn't bother me at all and I was in a festive mood. I had one of their cocktails, a slightly altered mojito that they call the "mojito d'Outremont". It was very fresh and had a pleasant sweetness, the mint was sufficient, but not overpowering. So good results there. For the meal I ordered fish and chips (a perennial favorite of mine that I order everywhere). The fish and chips at Les Enfants Terribles is the best I have ever had. I know that's a highly controversial claim since I've recently been to England and had fish and chips at least 7 times while I was there, but honestly, this was the best. My boyfriend had a pâté chinois made with braised joue de boeuf instead of ground beef and the meat was so tender and full of flavour that it almost changed my perspective on this usually bland dish that I generally dislike.

After all this satisfying food, we decided what the hell let's get a dessert. We had a pouding chômeur, which was warm, sweet, and overall delicious. The service was also good and the owner kept coming and asking us if we liked the food, which I thought was kind of pleasant. Basically, you should all go to this restaurant, it wasn't that expensive and the food was really more than worth it.

Winter; A Guide

Well, judging from the current temperature in Montreal, WINTER IS COMING! As much as some of us would like to cling to fall (which has actually been quite temperate and pleasant), we all know that fall is pretty much over and soon it will start snowing. So this is my survival guide to Montreal winters:

1) If you walk outside for more than a few steps per day (basically if you don't have a car or parking is scarce) DO NOT buy winter boots that you actually like. Do not expect to wear your boots for more than one or two winters at best unless you take care and wash them very frequently. In Montreal, instead of plowing and removing the snow, they simply throw salt at it. Throughout the day, salty snow melts into small salty slush oceans at every street corner and your boots will inevitably look like this at the end of the season:

2) For god's sake if you take the metro dress in layers. The metro is maintained at a constant temperature of about 35 degrees (celsius!) year round and you will literally die if you don't have layers of clothing that you can peel off your already sweat-drenched body and try to cool yourself off by standing under the ceiling vents that blow hot air at your head.

3) If you live in an apartment with hot water heating that you DO NOT CONTROL (as is, thank god, no longer the case for me), it might help to put a thermometer in your apartment so that when you complain to your landlord that it's time to switch on the heat and that you've been sleeping in your snowsuit, you can give them a precise measurement of just how inappropriately cold it is in your apartment. This gives greater credibility to your claims. I don't make any promises as to the effectiveness of this technique however, since it is a well-known fact that most Montreal landlords are either sub-retarded or evil minions of Satan.

4) Keep your expectations low. I know we all get excited for the first snowfall, but try not to. Any snow that falls will turn brownish-grey not long after hitting the ground. This can lead to feeling dispirited. If you spend up all your winter-happiness at the beginning of the season, you will have a hard life in February. Try to keep some of that excitement for March, or even April, when you can't see the sense in life anymore after we've had ANOTHER late-season snowstorm.

Basically, it is scarily cold today (already, sigh) and I just wanted to wish you all good luck, and remember, in only 9 months we will all be complaining about how damn hot and humid it is in this city! YAY!

P.S. Do you want to see snow that doesn't become brownish-grey almost instantly? I recommend the Eastern Townships (it's my favorite place to look at virginal, WHITE snow) :)

The Help Review

So, I've recently read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. 

         I already know that you guys are thinking that I have succumbed to the media pressure that always ensues when a movie adaptation of a book is released. However, I have NOT seen the film and know little to nothing about it (only that Emma Stone was in it). In any case, I found this book to be absolutely excellent. I was enthralled by the story and often had a lot of trouble putting the book down (even when I had to leave for school or start doing homework). 

         

          In case you don't already know, the story is about black maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's. Basically, a young white woman with a flair for journalism takes an interest in the experience of being a black maid in that time and place. She starts secretly compiling a book full of their stories and from that the story unfolds. I will stop there since I hope that you will want to read it for yourself and I don't want to spoil it. 

        The characters were so relatable. They were realistic as people and I could understand and empathize with their points of view. The character development was very good and I felt that we knew each of the characters well; from their flaws to their positive traits and all their nuances. The book was also deeply affecting and appealed to the anger that arises in me when I hear of inequality and discrimination. The Help really uses the stories of the main characters to get you thinking and that's what characterizes a good book in my opinion. 

       If you are still not convinced that The Help is worth it, then let me add that the ending made me cry in public, AT SCHOOL. So there. 

Click here to check out or buy The Help

Super Late STM outrage

Ok, So I know I am probably extremely late on this one, but my boyfriend just informed me that you now have to pay 3$ to come back from Longueuil metro even if you have an opus card. Sort of similar to how you have to have to pay if you want to come back from Laval on the metro even though you were able to get there using your opus card.
 I had no idea about this although my roommate told me it has been going on since the summer. In any case, this is absolutely ridiculous and preposterous. I already knew about the Laval thing, but this new limitation to the metro system is just so irritating. Especially since the STM already charges a lot for monthly opus card passes and the metro lines hardly cover every inch of Montreal.
Reasons this new STM Longueuil stuff is idiocy:
1) It is COMPLETELY ILLOGICAL that a person can get somewhere with a certain type of metro pass and not be able to get back from that place with the same type of metro pass USING THE SAME METRO AND THE SAME TRANSPORTATION SERVICE.
2) I also fail to understand how this is supposed to encourage people to use the metro! The STM runs all these annoying add campaigns about how using public transportation is so important and everyone should use it. It would seem like putting even more limitations on the metro system and forcing people who live on the South Shore to buy "special" monthly fares (by special I mean twice the price) in order to use the Montreal metro. This is completely counter-productive if they actually want people to abandon their cars and start using the smelly, expensive, thousand-degree metro.
3) Isn't public transportation supposed to be affordable to everyone? (especially poor people who can't afford cars, and students, like myself) It is already so expensive, I can't believe individual tickets are now up to 3$ each.  Ugghhh.
IN CONCLUSION: The STM, as is customary with most organizations in Montreal and Quebec in general, is a backwards, illogical, money-making enterprise that is hypocritical at best and cares little or nothing about the multitudes of Montrealers who are forced to use its "services" on a daily basis.

Just as an aside, now that I've gotten myself started about the metro. This is just a message to all the users of the metro (and especially those who use the BLUE LINE who seem to be the most clueless about this simple rule):
DO NOT stand directly in front of the doors when people are trying to get out and ABSOLUTELY DO NOT try to enter the metro car before the people who are trying to get off have done so! Come on, this is common sense and basic human decency. Please stop being ignorant and move your dumb self to the side to let others get off before you squash yourself into the metro car!