Herrine Ro: One of Montreal's culinary
emblems is the Montreal-style bagel.
It's poached in honey,
then baked in a wood-fired oven
to give it its distinctively sweet taste
and chewy texture.
In a city spotted with numerous bagels shops,
St-Viateur stands out
for its masterfully crafted artisanal bagels.
Customer: For me, it's not just a great bagel,
but it's also the institution itself
that's really fantastic.
Once you have it once, you just can't stop.
And I haven't stopped for 50-something years.
Saul Restrepo: St-Viateur Bagel was founded in 1957
by Myer Lewkowicz.
Myer was Polish, Jewish, born in Poland.
He came to Canada after the war,
and he learned the trade here in Montreal.
Herrine: Lewkowicz's bagels continue to be popular
for a variety of reasons.
For starters, the authentic recipe
has remained unchanged for over 60 years.
The bagels are also made 24/7,
ensuring customers get a fresh bagel day and night.
Saul: We produce 1,000 dozen a day.
Customer: St-Viateur Bagel is very famous.
I think, personally, what makes it so great
is no matter when I come here,
whether it's alone or with friends,
there's always just this atmosphere,
and you're always getting a great product,
and it's just kind of amazing.
Herrine: And perhaps one of the biggest reasons
why St-Viateur has upheld its iconic reputation
is because the team's dedication
to the bagel's foundation,
the art of hand rolling.
Many employees have been perfecting the craft
for over 25 years.
Saul: Let's say a guy comes in and he wants a job.
So, usually, it takes about six months
to practice, to be good at it.
Herrine: Mastering this technique takes practice
because the bagels have to be consistent
in size, shape, and texture.
Saul: You're gonna see it's gonna have that
chewy taste inside.
And that's because of the malt flour.
Herrine: Once made, it's the baker's turn
to finish off the bagels.
Working with the long wood panels, called sheeba,
it's no easy task and takes equally long to master.
Saul: They go in the hot water, in the boiling water
for five minutes.
Water and honey.
And then they go 15 to 20 minutes in the oven,
in the wood oven.
Saul: Our oven has a dome.
So the smoke, if you look inside,
you see the smoke in the dome,
so it gives all that smoky flavor, I believe.
We always, like, came out first,
the best bagel in Montreal,
us and Fairmount.
But I think we have more times
been No. 1 than them.
I don't know if you knew,
but there's always a friendly battle
between St-Viateur and Fairmount Bagel.
Herrine: And while it be remiss not to mention
the longstanding debate
between which place has the tastier bagel,
St-Viateur has technically
been the longest-running bagel shop in the city.
Saul: We've been making bagels for a longer time
because they closed for so many years.
Anyways, I don't wanna get in there.
Herrine: Regardless, the bakery
has been a keystone destination
on the Mile End for locals and tourists.
Even celebrities like Adam Sandler, Justin Trudeau,
and Leonard Cohen have frequented.
In fact, the flagship store has a huge hall of fame.
And when it comes to which bagel flavor
is the most popular, the answer is very clear.
Saul: I would recommend to have sesame,
and I recommend the first time, just eat it as is.
[crust crunching]
Herrine: Oh, wow!
This tastes great on its own.
I saw other people dipping this
in a tub of cream cheese, so I'm gonna try that.
Saul: Usually a family comes in, so they buy six bagels.
They can have a cream cheese tub.
Liberté, not Philadelphia.
Liberté from here.
Herrine: So, this is Canadian cream cheese
and a Montreal-style bagel.
Let's see if Canada does it better.
Oh, yeah, the cream cheese wins by far.
Saul: And then I would try the poppy
and the all dressed.
The all dressed too, it's very popular.
The all dressed, we call it,
is the sesame, poppy, onion, and garlic seed on it.
And then you can do it with the cream cheese,
and with salmon is the classic, yeah.
Herrine: Maybe this is a very, like,
exclusive thing to St-Viateur,
but the sesame here is so toasty and nutty
that even with the all-dressed combination,
the sesame flavor is a lot more pronounced.
And because the salmon isn't actual filleted
or cuts of salmon,
this one's creamier and silkier.
They have a lot more depth in flavor
and a lot more textural contrast
than a New York-style bagel.
Just because that crunchy exterior contrasts
so well with that, like, plushy inside
and that sweetness from the dough
and how it's not so dense.
So I'm leaving kind of sad because up until now,
I thought New York-style bagels
would be incomparable
and this would honestly come in second place.
But now I'm gonna go back to New York,
and I'm gonna miss this.
I can see why this place is, like, iconic.
It's so simple, but it's so good.