I <3 Montreal Theme Week: A Walk on The Plateau

Just north of downtown, and east of the Mountain is an area known as the Plateau. The eastern side of it is predominantly French, the western part (moving towards the Mountain) historically anglo or bilingual Jewish. It's a fabulous merging of lively, old-world cultures - and new urban sensibilities - which, for decades, has led to innovation in music, art, literature, fashion and food. Mordecai Richler was from this area, as is Michel Tremblay. Both novelists, one anglo and Jewish, the other French and Catholic, have written uniquely and from their own cultural perspectives about, effectively, the same square mile. I can't say how much I love that.

When you walk along St. Laurent, a main thoroughfare actually known as "The Main", English and French cohere seamlessly. People move from language to language, from deli (some of the best in the world - some say better than in New York, gasp!) to bistro, from the underground to the mainstream. It's got a kind of energy I've rarely experienced anywhere else. And when you add in Quebec's distinct brand of ice-cold-freezing-scary winter, it gets somehow even more lively. It's like Montrealers, born or bred, are wired to enjoy every layer of human existence. When you visit Montreal, you fall into the mix.

We went to L'Express for dinner on a Saturday evening. It's institutional bistro (for want of a better way of putting it), always packed. There's no sign out front (though I seem to remember there is an inlay in the cement saying "L'Express"). I guess you either know it's there or you don't.

Before we ate, we took a little walk...

Everywhere you go, you will see people eating on tiny balconies. They take the weather while it's good here.

Being a row-house resident, I am always partial to a street like this...

Et voila, L'Express!

Cool lamp I liked at a design shop up the block.