Our patron saints of diners: Montreal’s next generation of casse-croûte owners

Greenspot. AA. Chez Ma Tante. Chez Nick. Beautys. Café Joe. Wilensky's. Nouveau Système. Paul Patates. Bagel Etc. Saying their names is like casting a spell that’d conjure two steamés all-dressed combo with fries and a fountain liqueur on the side.

J.P. Karwacki

September 11, 2023- Read time: 13 min

David Minicucci stands outside Cosmos in the west-end borough of NDG. (Photo: Philip Tabah)

I don’t need to tell you how Montreal’s got a legendary reputation for casse-croûtes and cantines, local diners and snack bars that have historically fed the city from when it was Sin City in the 1920s to feeding today’s clubgoers riding high on bumps of ketamine. The Montreal Gazette columnist Bill Brownstein and an article by Jessica Wei in Saveur can tell you all about that instead, minus the ketamine.

What I can tell you is that diners embody a specific style of dining out in this city that, some say, is at risk of dying out alongside other famed institutions that make up our patrimonial cuisine. Restaurants are a hard enough business as it is, and when it comes to the day-in-day-out grind of selling cheap eats, their owners’ kids aren’t always willing to carry the torch.

Member-only story

Unlock Montreal’s stories. Join The Main community.

Read this story free.

Enter your email to unlock your first article and get The Bulletin — our weekly roundup of food, art, and local culture.