Don’t miss Montreal’s Atwater Market

By Caitlin Kelly

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Our final morning in Montreal, I insisted we pay a quick visit to one of my old haunts, the enormous market down by the Lachine Canal that sells an astonishing array of produce, meat, cheese, flowers, chocolate, tea, coffee — you name it!

 

 

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While Montreal has multiple markets, we chose this one and it was a perfect fall day, with people of all ages arriving with babies and dogs.

 

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Because we were traveling and staying in hotels, I didn’t buy much food — a piece of cheese, some apples and bananas, home-made mustard, maple popcorn and some astounding chocolate. The friends we were heading to visit in Ontario are about start building a new home, so a set of chocolate tools (!), like a hammer and saw, seemed like a good house gift.

 

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Of course, this being Quebec, many of the signs are in French, but everyone will speak some English, if not fluently.

 

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Pies: Pumpkin, apple, blueberry, sugar, maple sugar

 

There are 100000 sorts of things made with maple syrup and Montreal bagels, which are completely different from the doughy ten-ton things New Yorkers love to boast about — these are lighter and chewy and boiled then baked.

 

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Scary meringue ghosts for Halloween!

 

 

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Canada’s legendary food — poutine — cheese curds and gravy

 

 

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Three cheeses for $12.99

 

 

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An apple-grower’s van