Bagel question

I had a bagel a few days ago in Montréal. The place is called Fairmount Bagel and was establishd many years ago. It was excellent. They cook them fresh all day and evening, and it was surely of the genre many have referred to in NY. It got me thinking--Montréal has always had a large Jewish populaition and has been referred to as a little NY. So is anyone familiar with Fairmount or any bagel tradition in Montréal?

[Robin Garr]

This comes close to a non-answer, as I've never tried a Montreal bagel, but I've often read that Montreal is right up there with NYC when it comes to bagel quality. Maybe the combination of a large Jewish community and a French baking tradition?

Since I was brought up in upstate New York and went to college in the Adirondacks I've had Montréal bagels several times. Overall they are very good but I always thought they were a little lighter and didn't have the same chew and density as New York bagels.

Montreal bagels use a malt mixture in the water bath, and NY bagels do not. This makes Montreal bagels a tad sweeter (and sometimes sticky) versus NY. Both are good, and each city declares theirs best.

Also, Montreal doesn't really do corned beef or pastrami. Rather, they have a centuries-old tradition of "smoked meat." This is actually a cross between corned beef and pastrami, as the meat is first boiled and cooked in salt and spices (as for corned beef), then dried, then smoked (as for pastrami).

I think it's Ben's who is the premier deli?