You’ve probably heard of the Montreal Jazz Festival, seeing as how it’s one of the most famous multi-day opportunities to see the greats in jazz and other genres. The fact that it’s in a beautiful city, with plenty to do, is a very real, added perk. Travel writer, and music fan, Libby Margolis-Pineo is back, recalling her 2019 experience with the music, lodging, and dining during this special anniversary year.
Guy Belanger, Harmonica Genius 2019 © Alexanne Brisson
Montreal Jazz Fest is Foodie and Fabulous at 40
We’re in Montreal for the 40th anniversary edition of the Jazz Festival. We check into our sturdy home-away, Le Faubourg, a 10-minute stroll from the heart of the festival, Quartier des Spectacles and Place des Arts. With functionally minimalist kitchen, robust WiFi, free breakfast and excellent AC, our 7th floor perch is perfect.
We dash to Theatre Maisonneuve for a spectacular anniversary double-bill of accordionist Richard Galliano and double-bassist Ron Carter paying tribute to the late, great composer and pianist, Michel LeGrand. Their extraordinary duet is emotional, delicious and nuanced — a musical dialogue between jazz titans.
Galliano’s take on Route 66 transports me to the banks of the Seine. Ron Carter delivers a sweet, jazzed version of You Are My Sunshine with humor, charm and grace. A magical first night!
Trifecta at the Montreal Jazz Festival
I am thrilled to have scored tickets to an amazing trifecta of three concerts: Norah Jones, Melody Gardot and Madeleine Peyroux.
PHOTO – Norah Jones is still wildly beautiful and her voice as lovely as ever. But the crowd is obsessed with her 2002 album, Come Away With Me, and seems indifferent to her new work. A few songs fall flat. Norah struggles, but prevails — she’s got this.
Norah Jones © Victor Diaz Lamich
Madeleine Peyroux is a total gas, connecting with the crowd in French and English. She is funny, genuine and tuneful. Classy. Her band is spot-on, outstanding.
Melody Gardot is magic. She charms 3,000 crowd at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier with moving and soulful arrangements, singing in French, backed by her amazing band. Gardot somehow turns the enormous hall into a Parisian café, with an intimate, vulnerable performance. This remarkable artist deserves all the accolades that flutter to her.
Savor Montreal
Montreal’s burgeoning food scene rivals any “best of” city, even my tasty little hometown of Portland, Maine. Glowing fruit and vegetables in mysterious heirloom varieties, divine buffalo mozzarella, robust cider vinegar, flinty wines, and oh, the duck! Pillowy gnocchi and sweet beignets created with love and magic inspire our epicurean exploration of this world-class city, 2019.
The diverse, multigenerational Jazz Festival crowds grow each day. As temperatures soar, regular time-outs at onsite cafés are a necessity. We settle at Café Nouveau Monde for some stellar people watching and refreshment. We take our time over chilled sangria, red and white. We savor delicious goat cheese, “Josephine,” and a thin Alsatian tart.
Festival stalwart Le Blumenthal Brasserie is also centrally located, and a fine place to take a break while in the heart of the festival. The menu is reliably creative, with fresh salads like our favorite, heirloom tomato with Québécois mozzarella. Best of all, profits from this brassy bistro help finance the hard work of Festival producers, organizers and staff. (Note: Exchange rates reduce prices by about 25% if that is the kind of cool comfort you crave.)
Cool off in the fountain during the Montreal Jazz Festival. © Benoit Rousseau
Like me, if your idea of summer refreshment skews toward gin and tonic, check out the Hendrick’s Gin Tent. Their version of the hallowed cocktail is sublime in its simplicity, featuring sliced fresh cucumber. It feels almost healthy — a boozy micro-salad. Here’s the recipe they share:
Hendrick’s Gin & Tonic
INGREDIENTS
1 parts Hendrick’s Gin
3 parts tonic water (***I like Fever Tree)
3 ribbons (or rounds) of cucumber
HOW-TO
Combine ingredients in a highball glass filled with cubed ice
Lightly stir and serve
Garnish with thinly sliced cucumber
Poutine Infatuation in Montreal
This year’s winner, however, is the almost-onsite neighborhood go-to, Nyk’s. First night we’re feeling shy, and politely order house fries with a modest dab of mayo and splash of vinegar, s’il vous plait — a delicious if tentative beginning. After a day or two, feeling much braver, we decide to go native, with a classic Québécois poutine of fries, cheese curds and Nyk’s special foie-gras gravy. It sublimely decadent, unctuous and silky, and we are thoroughly hooked.
We return a few evenings later under a reassuring cover of darkness. And oh my, we revel in the local scene. The waitstaff is sharing a few convivial, cheerful shots behind the bar — a quintessential Montreal moment. Our Poutine infatuation rages throughout the rest of our stay, culminating in the ultimate combo of fries, cheese curds and unctuous duck confit, draped in Nyk’s special foie-gras gravy. Swoon-worthy fare, it’s just this side of food porn.
Little Burgundy
We’re finally lured offsite to Joe Beef’s new Liverpool House in Little Burgundy, home of the great Oscar Peterson. We sip a flinty Ontario Stanner’s Riesling and order six oysters, les huitres. Surprise! We receive seven: 3 from P.E.I., 2 from Quebec, and 2 from British Columbia — a briny provincial sextet plus one. The gorgeous black ruffled oysters from B.C. taste like the wild ocean itself, wow.
Riesling and Sangria at Liverpool House. (C) MargolisPineo
Next up, the Njudi Sando is a crazy combo on warm English muffin. Whose idea was it, anyway, that swordfish be cooked? It is sublime raw, dressed simply with herbs and olive oil. Add a generous layer of Njudi, spreadable spicy sausage with a hint of chili oil, and Le Sandobecomes an unctuous, extraordinary bite. With Liverpool’s sangria, heavy on the blackberries, it’s another grand slam out of the park.
Don’t miss Liverpool’s grilled Asparagus Diane draped in densely flavored morel mushroom sauce, with a hint of Cognac — complex and rich. We’re blissed out; the sauce is the velvety brown of George Clooney’s eyes. Our server asks if we’d like bread for the juices. Oooh, yes. The dish is astonishingly deep, dark, veggie-centric and flavor-forward — fabulous. “How do they DO it?” we moan.
Joe Beef and company lives up to the hype. We will be back. Arrive early — doors open at 5pm and it gets crowded. This delicious success is well-deserved.
Another epicurious treat is Un Po’ di Piu (“a little bit more”), a wonderful addition to Old Montreal’s waterfront dining scene. Un Po’ is the newly hatched sister of Olive & Gourmando, home of outstanding panini, and Foxy, creator of unforgettably delicious wood-fired trout.
Un Po di Piu’s Asparagus Burrata.
Un Po di Piu’s Asparagus Burrata.
We start with Campari Spritz, nibble delicious thick-skinned olives, and happily absorb the riverfront scene. The Asparagus with Burrata and local herbs is dreamy — light, soft, and delicious. The burrata plays beautifully with shallots, fresh herbs and splash of sunny yellow olive oil. Dense house-made focaccia is handy for bright and flavorful juices. Service is thoughtful, helpful and pleasantly chatty. Well done, Un Po’ di Piu!
Daily Bruschetta features tiny, Maine-style shrimp – the kind we no longer get in Maine. Alas, they’ve wisely migrated to cooler Canadian waters. The shrimp arrive piled high on slices of grilled sourdough, topped with tomato essence, olive oil and basil. Exquisite tastes! Our happy reunion with the small, succulent shrimp is well worth the trip.
Don’t miss Un Po’ di Piu!
Bruschetta with Shrimp at Un Po di Piu in Montreal.
Outdoors and Free at the Montreal Jazz Festival
We are equally eager for the array of free outdoor events. At outdoor stage Scene TD, opening night band, The Brooks, is hopping. Dedicated to serious funk and soul, the Montreal octet puts on a spectacular show, and best of all — it’s free! No longer Montreal’s best-kept secret, The Brooks light up the stage.
The wildly talented harmonica packing Guy Belanger rides the free outdoor Scene Hyundai stage this year, sharing with the soulful R&B artist Kim Richardson and the very jazzy France D’Amour. It is a total gas as the glorious harmonica king does his majestic thing with these two, incredibly talented queens of R&B.
Mile End Food Tour
Mile End is also an epicurean Montreal hub. We explore this thriving hive of musicians, creatives, chefs and entrepreneurs via the brilliant and revealing Mile End Food Tour. The tour is led engaging guide, Sebastian, who speaks English, French, German and even a bit of Italian. We happily ping from falafel to chocolate, bagels to gnocchi, and on to charcuterie and baked goods. We visit the Godfather of Gattuso and sample a beautiful, sweet tomato salsa della nonna. We peer into the window of Wilensky’s, purveyor of the identical grilled bologna sandwich on white bread, with pickle, since 1938. Seriously.
We explore back alleys, quirky shops and Mile End stalwarts like St. Viateur Bagel. We absorb local lore and color while savoring some neighborhood classics. My favorite bite is a succulent pork rillette at Boucherie St. Lawrence — excellent. Our odyssey concludes with a bit of mango gelato at Kem CoBa. After all that saveur et savoir, a bit of cool mango is just the thing.
St. Viateur Bagel in Mile End © Margolis-Pineo
Getting to the Montreal Jazz Festival, and more
Montreal has a festival every five minutes all year long. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself. Montreal is known for vibrant nightlife, all-season festivals, cinq-a-sept happy hours, multi-cultural conviviality and joie de vivre. This grown-up, world-class metropolis is more than worth a visit in any season. In the words of the immortal Mississippi bluesman, B.B. King, “the Montreal Jazz Festival is the best in the world.”
— Story and photos (except where noted) by Libby Margolis-Pineo
Keep this handy on Pinterest to plan for next year’s Festival.
0 Comments