Montreal’s best bagel, St Viateur or Fairmount? Festival Kinetik 2013 video: Daniel Graves, Aesthetic Perfection.
It’s the return of the bagelhead! Enjoy my spanking new travel video about the edgy, kooky attractions in Montreal, Quebec.
The episode features magic shops, pop art, and Daniel Graves — vocalist of Aesthetic Perfection, who performed at Kinetik Festival 2013!
For the full story, read my Huffington Post article. It gives an overview of Montreal’s best alternative fashion, clubs and more.
Please press play above, and thumb’s up below if you found my coverage useful. Merci beaucoup mes amis!
Montreal is famous for its bagels, and locals have strong opinions over which bakery does it best: Fairmount or St Viateur. Since the top two contenders were a short walk from Le Belmont (the venue for Kinetik Music Festival), Daniel and I put them to the test.
Fairmount (74 Avenue Fairmount Ouest) has a variety of flavors, and offers bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
St Viateur (263 Rue Saint Viateur Ouest) has a frightful logo.
But the wall of accolades must mean something.
Which bagel did we like the most? You’ll have to view our fun video to find out!
PS: if you don’t get the “bagel head” joke, this Japanese forehead inflation article will fill you in.
Thanks to my friend Lauren for joining me on my French-Canadian journey, and to Tourism Montreal for making it possible.
What was your favorite moment in the travel episode? For more coverage of Montreal and Vancouver, browse the Alt Canada category of my blog.
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Montreal Goth shopping: retro vintage alternative clothing. Bazaar of the Bizarre, Creatures, Diabolik.
Let’s continue our Montreal Alternative Adventure with a red light district walk, rockabilly vintage shops, and council of sausage dogs! On the second day, I wore…
Black hooded leather jacket: Danier Canada
Metal rings skater skirt and leggings: GladNews, from Shibuya 109 Tokyo
Black stud ankle boots: Yosuke, from Shibuya109
Eyeballs purse: Izzue Hong Kong
White cateye sunglasses: Dolce and Gabbana
Lauren and I stopped by Bazaar of the Bizarre, an “extravaganza of unusual arts/crafts and wearable goods” that takes place at the same as Kinetik Festival. Designers set up tables and sold handmade items, such as these leather masks with beaks and tentacles.
I heart the hard-shell spiky purses, masquerade masks, and haunting prints on book pages.
Steampunk, Goth, cyber and metal subcultures all come together at the Bazaar.
After, we went on the Candyass & King Red Light Tour. As we walked through the historical district, our guides spoke about notable people and places, such as burlesque star Lili St-Cyr and punk Cafe Chaos.
Many underground venues have shut down, but strip club Café Cléopâtre has stood its ground.
We learned about ongoing attempts to “cleanse” the Red Light district, from New France up to today. The duo tells us the struggle continues between artists and developers, preservation and progress.
One of the many great things about Montreal: art is everywhere. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this panda painting.
And how brilliant is this public art exhibit? “Dachshund UN” — a United Nations represented by sausage dogs!
Artists Bennett Miller set up this canine conference at Quartier des Spectacles. Each wiener dog had a human handler underneath.
This racy store window’s caption made me laugh. “Unexpected turbulence.”
How about shopping? For retro and rockabilly fans, these shops are a must: Kitsch ‘n’ Swell and Rokokonut (3968-9 St Laurent Blvd).
It’s vintage clothing paradise, from 1950s dresses to leopard print loungewear.
The stores also carry books and home goods, such as this 1970s magazine.
Can you spot my alien antenna in the mirror? There are quite a few cute boutiques around St Laurent Boulevard. We had fun strolling around and stopping for coffee.
Quite a few readers recommended the Goth/Alternative fashion boutiques Creatures and Diabolik. Both are on Avenue Mont-Royal; we sadly didn’t have time to check them out, but hopefully you’ll get a chance to visit and let me know what you think.
Did I miss any key Montreal alt shopping destinations? What do you think of the sausage dog United Nations?
More dark Montreal tips on Goth Me Out’s site and my Alternative Canada blog category. The video is next, featuring… bagelheads!
LA CARMINA
