The Bulletin: Our First Dinner Series Lands at Bistrot Boisselet, Film Festivals, and Disco on the Shores of the Saint Lawrence [Issue #202]

Morning, Montreal.

Our hearts were full to have so many readers, writers, creatives, and patrons of the arts gather together with us last week for our long-awaited annual party took place at the McCord Stewart Museum. If you missed it, we took some photos in case you want to see what you missed out on.

Just our luck that it rained on a night we looked forward to spending outdoors, but thanks to everyone who showed up, we confidently took over the lobby of a time-honoured Montreal museum.

A round of applause goes out to Dominic Labelle and his team from Parcelles, Ryan Gray and his team from Elena, and Rachel and Michael from Beigne Habitude for keeping us fed; WILLS and Aupale Vodka quenching thirst; DJ HIDI playing the tables; and ciele for bringing the crew of runners through the dark of an early-autumn evening to our doorstep.

Most of all, we were able to finally present copies of The Last Good Weeks, our ‘book of the harvest’ full of photography, essays, histoy lessons, reportage and interviews capturing those final days of filling cellars and pantries with the ripest crops. It was a team effort, and my gratitude goes out to Scott Usheroff, Elle Magni, Rachel Cheng, Phil Tabah, Saskia Wodarczak, Daniel Bromberg, and designer Dorsa Afshin for making it a reality.

Pick up a copy and help support The Main and its writers and photographers!

If you still want a chance to spend some time with us? Join us for the first instalment of our dining series. More details below.

Come hungry.

— JP Karwacki, Managing Editor

There’s a table with your name on it.

We've wanted to start a dinner series for a long time now.

Finally, the table is set: The first night is at Bistrot Boisselet on Wednesday, October 14 with one seating in one room where readers get first dibs.

The table d'hôte is $85, with three choices at each course.:Truite de Montebello with horseradish and pommes paille, risotto with matsutake, poulet au vin jaune, a chocolate tarte fine to close. Vol au vent of ris de veau and a regional cheese are available à la carte. A welcome martini—or a Shirley Temple if you'd prefer—comes with the seat, and the list of Jura and Savagnin by the glass is worth attention.

A good and simple night out, presented with Aupale Vodka. Seats are limited.

In partnership with Raspipav

Enter to Win: Raspipav Passes

We’ve teamed up with Raspipav to send a few lucky subscribers to Les Rendez-vous Raspipav.

Five winners will receive a pair of general admission packages, which each includes an entry ticket and 20 tasting coupons to sample private imports from over 40 exhibitors.

To enter:

🎬 Sign up here
🎬 Follow @themain and @raspipav on Instagram

If you’re already planning to stop by, or will be in the area, check out our guide of what to do in between tastings.

Presented by Les Lauriers

Your ticket to MANGETOUT Festival

MANGETOUT will bring together the public and professionals from across Quebec’s culinary scene on October 19 and 20, offering a space to discuss and envision the future of gastronomy.

For an exclusive 15% on all tickets (except for lunch), use our code MANGETOUTTHEMAIN.

One Story to Read This Week

“Wrestling is fake!”

You’ve likely either said the words, or heard someone say it. Either way, the statement discredits how wrestling isn’t deception, but inviting the audience into a shared spectacle. At its heart lies kayfabe, the art of suspending disbelief to blur reality and performance.

As Adam Hickey wrote for us: "Wrestling audiences are far from gullible fools being conned; we're in on the con."

This is what makes the night of November 9, 1997, at the Molson Centre so hard to forget. When Vince McMahon double-crossed Bret Hart in front of a crowd that idolized him, the con stopped being one the fans were in on.

In this week's suggested read, Hickey unpacks the Montreal Screwjob: the contract feud and backstage rivalry behind it, what it broke, and why Montreal belongs among wrestling's great smart-crowd cities.

In Partnership with RAMEN RAMEN MTL

RAMEN RAMEN MTL returns, October 12 to 25

Few things are as comforting as a piping hot bowl of ramen, complete with springy noodles, an umami broth, and whatever toppings you choose. For its fifth edition, RAMEN RAMEN is taking over the city with 19 restaurants, each with their own event-exclusive bowl.

Expect everything from traditional tonkotsu to wild fusion flavours, and hop around neighbourhoods to try them all.

Thursday

🎬 The 55th Festival du Nouveau Cinéma starts its 11-day run with an opening party uniting filmmakers, guests, partners, and festival attendees.

🖼️ As part of Volume MTL, Maya Rae Oppenheimer presents Errances, the result of the artist’s months-long research residency.

🖼️ The La voix de l’art exhibition, featuring artworks created by people experiencing homelessness or using hospital or community services related to mental health, substance use, or housing instability, has its opening night.

🎧 DJ duo Ferias is taking over the floor at Sans Soleil for a night of beats and dancing.

🎧 Club DDs is throwing Double D Thursday, with a drag show hosted by Augusta Wind, and a dance party DJd by Little Star.

Friday

🎤 Artist and producer Apashe ignites the stage for an immersive performance of his repertoire with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

🎧 Salon Badin pops up at Le 180G and take over the bar and sound with custom cocktails and DJ sets.

🎧 AMP Festival returns for its second edition with live performances, DJs, artisans, merchants, and more. An audio-visual experience blending styles like Industrial, EBM, Synth-Pop, and Darkwave.

🎧 Système is throwing a listening party featuring DES FOIS DANSER, the new album from Comment Debord.

🎧 Head to Restobar caribéen, Le Rodman, for a set by DJ Kamistry.

Saturday

🎬 Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands comes to Place-des-Arts for a cine-concert that illuminates the film with its enchanting score by Danny Elfman, played live.

🎹 PHI hosts Pitchblack Playback, a listening event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life.

🐑 Musée de Lachine hosts its annual harvest festival, with special appearances from the sheep, goats, alpaca, and pony of the petting farm Fermette Majo.

🩸 Stygian Fest 2026, the paranormal, counter-culture, horror festival with an artisan market, tattooing, and more haunting art-related happenings.

🏒 Watch the Habs take the Sabres at the Bell Centre.

🎧 DJ Little Star is at Champs for a night filled with gay pop, EDM, house, and more.

Sunday

📷 Head to the penultimate day of the World Press Photo Expo, featuring almost 147 photographs from 42 photographers.

🏃‍♀️ The city concludes three days of running with the Montreal Marathon event, award ceremony, and celebration.

🪩 Strap on your dancing shoes for a disco-themed party on the banks of the Saint-Lawrence.

🏃‍♀️ Doubles is hosting the Balmoral marathon afterparty, with food, drinks, and music.

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Read the full guide

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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.

Pizza Toni has opened its third location, in the West Island. Stop by their new DDO shop for a slice or a pie.

Bistro Rimbaud a Franco-Quebecois spot is officially open, with dishes like foie gras, beef tartare, crudo, a pork chop for two, and more.

Ferlucci is back and unveiling its new space, an extension of the already existing café.

Coco Disco Club is now serving lunch, with three courses for $30, including a weekly rotating soup and pasta.

Get the Unicone x Café Chez Téta rose and cardamom ice cream at both Chez Téta locations, available for a limited time.

Sun Ramen is back at Epicerie Conserva, serving steaming bowls of noodles every Saturday and Sunday this month, with a new iteration each week.

Enjoy a breadth of Georgian wines at Vinvinvin’s Georgian wine party, featuring pours from regions across the country, on Thursday, October 8.

Ratafia is returning after a month-long hiatus, with Chef Guillaume Lepage tapped to lead the kitchen, reopening on October 8.

Myers is serving up wine by the glass from Australian vineyard Jean Bouteille, alongside its à la carte menu on Friday, October 9, from 5 p.m. to late.

Patty Slaps is teaming up with NYC’s 7th Street Burger for a popup with burgers and music on Saturday, October 10 from noon to sold out.

Parcelles is hosting an end of harvest meal in celebration of Aliments Viens’ impending book release. The set menu is priced at $75 per person, with service starting at noon on Sunday, October 11.

Santiago Alonso is heading to Plongeoir for a Cantina night, and cooking up tacos, tostadas, and seafood. October 11 from 2 p.m. to sold out.

Driven on Nostalgia x Café Kuya are presenting Kamayan: Many Homes. One Table. Two nine-course seatings in one night, rooted in Filipino flavours with international inspo. Saturday, October 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Vermú and Triple B head to WILLS for a popup evening filled with Argentinian and Hungarian snacks and beer. Sunday, October 25 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

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

We sent a photographer to three bars as the results from Monday’s election rolled in. The mood in the room wasn’t as straightforward as you’d expect. Read more.

We went searching for an array of Montrealers’ priorities this election cycle, but what we found was somewhat different. Five Montrealers share the issues they’re most concerned with. Read more.

Campaign signs: you pass them every day, but have you ever really looked at them? We asked a designer to judge each parties’ signs, and one stood out. Read more.

At Pastificio Etna, the window of the pasta shop operates like a stage, with Claudia Fancello in the principal role. She shares the story of the neighbourhood institution. Read more.

We threw a launch party to celebrate our new zine. See who showed up, what was on the grill, and who got the first copies. Read more.

The former Canada Malting plant has been waiting a long time for someone to fight for its preservation. Now that the wrecking ball is nearby, its defenders ask what we stand to lose. Read more.

For years, one of the country’s most beloved restaurants never transcribed its recipes. Now, instructions on how to create more than 100 of Vin Mon Lapin’s dishes are in a book. Read more.

We also spoke with Mireille Silcoff, who came to the Mon Lapin cookbook as a host and journalist, not a chef, interviewing the restaurant’s team. What resulted was more than a recipe book. Read more.

Tom Cruise trades saving the world for wrecking it in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Digger, the story of an oil tycoon with a messiah complex. Critic Gianni Fiasche says it's the strangest swing of Cruise's career. Read more.

Theo Diamantis started by delivering wine samples on bike. Now he runs the biggest importer of Greek wine in Canada. Read more.

We asked the owner of Maktaba Books for fall reads, and got a spectrum of reads reflecting the times. Read more.

Montreal’s Halloween is now a month-long season with a big finale on Saturday night, complete with sunrise raves, witchy drag, Rocky Horror, and a party in a former church. Read more.

The story of a dying indie bookstore is one oft recited. Down in Milton-Parc, The Word is living in a different chapter. 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 & Head of Operations / Jean-Philippe Lauzon, Co-Founder & Head of Tech / JP Karwacki, Managing Editor / Whitney Domingo, Community Manager / Anahi Pellathy, Producer / AnnaClare Sung, Junior Staff Writer / Saskia Wodarczak, Editorial Operations Coordinator