The Bulletin: Roman Sculpture and Italo Disco, Maple Xiao Long Bao, and an Easter Costume Party [Issue #175]

— JP Karwacki, Managing Editor

Our coups de cœur this week:

One Story to Read This Week

Petit Maghreb, the stretch of Jean-Talon between Saint-Michel and Pie-IX, has become one of the city's most vital micro-neighbourhoods since the 1990s, when Quebec's French-language immigration policies drew waves of Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan families to the city. Bakeries, halal butchers, cafés, and market stalls followed. So did community.

Rachel Cheng's portrait of the neighbourhood is the kind of piece that makes you want to get on the metro immediately, be it for the almond petit fours at Boulangerie Salem, the steak sandwich at Boucherie Classico for under $10, or just the feeling of a neighbourhood unlike any other.

The Main's Easter Weekend Recommendations

We put together a last-minute selection of guides for those of you looking for more ways to enjoy your well-deserved long weekend.

Montreal’s best florists, from last-minute saves to wedding showpieces - The Main

Family institutions, neighbourhood staples, and event specialists worth keeping a tab open for.

The MainThe Main Editorial Team

Something sweet: Our 20 fave chocolate shops in Montreal - The Main

Bean-to-bar makers, French-trained chocolatiers, and the spots that blur the line between shop, café, and gallery.

The MainThe Main Editorial Team

Where to take tea in Montreal - The Main

From Japanese matcha ceremonies to English-style afternoon service, these are the city’s best tea rooms.

The MainThe Main Editorial Team

Activities, parties, points of interest, art exhibitions, you name it: These are the weekend events you don't want to miss.

Thursday

🏛️ The MBAM's spring Soirée buvette pairs the Torlonia Collection's Roman sculpture masterpieces with Italo disco from DJ HEY: ALBERT, stone carving demos, a photo booth, and food from Morso Pizzeria.

🎨 The vernissage for Jardin Secret at Entretemps gathers 20+ artists around intimacy and the things we keep to ourselves — with an anonymous secret-sharing component read aloud during the opening.

Friday

🎬 The 42nd edition of Vues d'Afrique brings African and Creole cinema to the Cinémathèque québécoise for screenings, workshops, and a chance to meet filmmakers from across the Francophone world.

🎭 Art Matters Festival closes out at La Sotterranea with eight performances that blur the lines between audience and performer, floor and stage, sound and sight.

🎛️ Club SAT traces the roots of electroclash with DJ Hell (International Deejay Gigolo Records), Montreal legend DJ Mini, and Sierra.

🦩 John Waters' Pink Flamingos screens at Cinéma du Parc, the 1972 gross-out classic that made Divine a legend and redefined what "filthy" could mean on film. Still shocking, still funny, still essential.

Saturday

📚 Self-billed as Canada's smallest book fair, the 33rd Westmount Antiquarian Book Fair takes over Centre Greene with Quebec and Ontario booksellers offering rare, collectible, and out-of-print books, maps, prints, and ephemera.

🎞️ Le Cinéclub screens Modern Times on 16mm at Cinéma de Sève, Chaplin's depression-era masterpiece, still sharp after 90 years. Colombian filmmaker Oscar Ruiz Navia (Berlinale, Locarno, Cannes) introduces the film and screens his own short beforehand.

🐕 Depths of Wikipedia brings its Wikipedia-themed comedy show to Le National that digs up the internet's strangest rabbit holes and turns them into a live PowerPoint show the New Yorker once called killer.

🐰 Cirque de Boudoir's Bunny Ball returns to Théâtre Paradoxe for Easter weekend with aerial acts, draglesque, pole performances, a fashion show, and DJs. Come in costume.

🧥 Veux-tu une bière? hosts a spring vintage pop-up with 150+ pieces spanning the '70s through the 2000s—racks starting at $5, bins at a quarter. MTL Pie samples and warm cider from Cidrerie Milton on the side.

Sunday

🖤 Cabaret Berlin goes full Berlin with Spanish DJ Lith Li headlining a dark, hard techno night alongside Davidé, Mushin, and EX030. All black dress code, no photos.

🎸 Foufounes Électriques goes full '90s with a double bill of grunge tributes: Sliver performs Nirvana's MTV Unplugged set plus an electric set, while GrungeStory covers Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots.

🖼️ Racines Créatives at Le Livart brings together eight artists and designers from Afro-descendant communities—sculpture, design, photography, ceramics, and more—in a group show exploring cultural identity, memory, and urban life.

WHAT TO EAT & DRINK IN AND AROUND MONTREAL

Scope the latest restaurant openings, recommendations on where to eat, plus new menus, old classics, and everything in between.

Knox Taverne turns 10 this week, celebrating with an anniversary dinner and afterparty on April 2 featuring music by Jace @monsieurnotredame from 10 p.m. until late.

Sammi Soupe Dumpling is doing maple season its way: limited-edition pork and maple xiao long bao, served with maple syrup, available at all locations until April 30.

Terrone, the Italian café in Montreal West, has opened in a new space. Now running daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Umami Brunch is a fully vegan Japanese brunch spot operating out of a ramen restaurant with a new spring menu: think fluffy pancakes with peaches and cream, delicate crepes, traditional breakfasts, and matcha lattes.

Place Carmin is running an Easter menu April 3 to 6 starting at 10 a.m. — lobster bisque, eggs benny with salmon or lamb with ratatouille and polenta, mushroom and hazelnut ravioli, and chocolate crème caramel. $55.

Myers in Outremont is doing Easter brunch both Saturday April 4 and Sunday April 5 — sweet, savoury, and the right amount of decadence.

Nirvana Montreal hosts Kowloon Kamayan, a traditional Filipino kamayan feast served at their Chinatown spot with music by Chops Wunda. Sunday April 5, noon to 6 p.m. RSVP via @buboymtl.

Épicerie Conserva teams up with Sun Ramen and Tokusen for a ramen pop-up on April 5—ramen at $20, chicken karaage at $12, spicy cucumber salad at $8.

Le Rodman is throwing an Easter brunch party on April 5 with music by Rocsteady and a free mimosa for groups of six or more. No egg hunt, but they're promising bubbles.

Annette bar à vin is doing an Easter brunch on Sunday April 5 — fresh, homemade, comforting, with the natural wine bar's signature gentle touch. Reserve via OpenTable. $60 per person.

WILLS hosts Soif de Printemps on April 11 with 17 breweries pouring local and regional drafts, presented alongside Mellon Brasserie and Isle de Garde. Snacks by Mama Vu. From 2 p.m., tickets via their bio.

Café Miracolo hosts a Italo-Mexican collaboration dinner on April 13 with guest chef Alejandro Ramirez Huerta for a special à la carte menu.

Le Kikid x Buboy pop-up brings together chefs Eric Lazaro, Julien Yvan, and Rining Clément for a $65 set menu at Buboy's Saint-Urbain spot on April 13. Two seatings at 5 and 8 p.m.

Candide welcomes Domaine de l'Espiègle for a winemaker dinner on April 16, opening bottles from 2020 onwards that they've been saving for exactly this occasion. Spring menu at $88, wine pairing at $66.

Copilote and L'Hélicoptère host a winemaker dinner with Ferran Lacruz of Bodega Clandestina on April 23—four courses built around four of his Penedès xarel·lo cuvées, far removed from anything cava-adjacent.

The annual St. George's Day double-decker pub bus tour takes place on April 26, hitting Bishop & Bagg, Brit & Chips, and Burgundy Lion. Departs at 9 a.m., food and drinks included.

Here, you'll find a weekly round-up of our stories from the past week, plus the latest local news.

Hello, Expos? Montreal is on the shortlist for MLB expansion. But the question isn't whether the city loves baseball, it's whether it's willing to act. Read more.

Montreal is building too many glass boxes and not enough joy, and there's a real cost to that. Read more.

Andrew Whibley built one of Canada's best cocktail bars—and says he wouldn't open it today. The Cloakroom founder on value, the scene's missing middle, and what Montreal still needs to figure out. Read more.

We've refreshed our monthly curated list of the best new restaurants in Montreal you should try out. Read more.

Jazz Fest turns 46 this summer with 350 shows, three jazz centennials, J Dilla tributes, and a free stage. We mapped out the good ones. Read more.

April in Montreal is packed: film festivals, art fairs, vinyl digs, clowns, and Roman emperors at the MMFA. Here's the full rundown. Read more.

Windsor Station has new owners, and they're not content to leave it as a heritage office building. Dreams of a 10,000-square-foot restaurant and activated event halls, are among the big dreams. Read more.

Dogs shitting inside Royalmount, a mayor deleting bike lane photos, and a metro turning 60 in disrepair. Taylor Noakes has notes. Read more.

Montreal has officially designated three late-night zones and certified 21 venues including the SAT, Casa del Popolo, and MTelus to serve alcohol through the night. The city is finally building a nightlife policy with teeth. Read more.

Thirty-five of Montreal's 68 metro stations are in poor or very poor condition, and Quebec's latest budget allocates nothing new to fix them. The STM union says station closures aren't a question of if. Read more.

The city's new Holocaust Museum opens on Saint-Laurent in 2027—55,000 square feet of survivor stories, rotating exhibits, and architecture designed around light, memory, and resilience. Read more.

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And that wraps yet another weekly bulletin. We’ll be back with more curiosities, local stories, and events to discover next week.

If ever you catch something we should know, don't hesitate to reach out to us on Instagram.

👋 Masthead: Philip Tabah, Founder & Head of Creative / Daniel Bromberg, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Whitney Domingo, Community Manager / Samuel Vadnais, Head of Partnerships / Anahi Pellathy, Editorial & Production Coordinator