The steamie is an ugly and weird hot dog. It's also essential to Montreal food culture

It’s late at night at Montreal Pool Room in the dead of summer. The iconic Montreal restaurant is doing what it’s been doing since 1912 when it opened: selling hotdogs.

Maybe it doesn’t feel the exact same as it did 113 years ago. There’s the hum of an electric air conditioner and plexiglass smudged to a near gray hanging over the counter—a remnant from the pandemic. But when you take your first bite of their hot dog steamé (or a 'steamie' for Anglos), you understand the past 113 years of Montreal history. You understand the romance and allure of our city through Montreal’s love language of food. 

An essential part of that history is Zhini, a Bulgarian immigrant who has worked at Montreal Pool Room for 27 years. To Zhini, the hot dog is a comfort. He prefers the original version of the steamie over variations like a toasted bun (a ‘toastie’ for short) or Michigan dogs. He doesn’t even prefer the small adjustments Pool Room has made to, in his words, "keep up with what young people want." Those changes? Relish and onions. It’s this affinity for comfort and tradition that makes Montreal Pool Room the place where so many Montrealers had their own meet-cute with the steamie.