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shopped at borgatti for ravioli and fresh pasta, calabria pork store for flat soprasetta and n’djua, casa de mozzarella for olives, sun dried tomatoes in oil and fresh mozz. a little cold for to-go sandwiches from casa de
mozzarella and outdoor seating (in the park), so over to mike’s deli where we split a hero w fresh mozz, Prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, provolone and balsamic
here’s a photo of casa de mozz menu, the heros are huge and of course anything w fresh mozz is going to be great.
If there’s a better place in North America for Italian provisions than Arthur Avenue then I have been in isolation for over 5 decades. This is from a guy who lived & played in great Italian neighborhoods in Brooklyn NY.
Montreal’s Little Italy and its St Léonard neighbourhood further east on Jean Talon Ave has a different vibe than an Italian American neighbourhood , for sure.
I’m fairly close to the Corso Italia in Toronto, which has some old school places left. You can find any Italian regional specialty you could want in Woodbridge and Vaughan, the burbs northwest of Toronto, but the atmosphere is mostly 1980s strip plaza, and you need a car. I can walk to Corso Italia. Toronto has a few independent grocery stores run by Italian families, that have amazing garden centres during the summer. That’s where I buy many Italian veg seeds and my Sicilian eggplant plants.
I have no idea when I’ll be travelling to the States next. Haven’t been to Philadelphia in over a decade. I’m more likely to visit NYC or Boston a few times before returning to Philadelphia!
I’ll be in Montreal starting tomorrow (in Quebec City right now) and will definitely check out the Italian section, etc as you’ve described. By the way, are you confusing me with Steve Kutlin?
my wife went to university in montreal and we’ve visited a number of times on our way to temblant, her favorite during college days was a square with a number of greek restaurants, I thought they were very good.
There are 2 main Italian neighbourhoods in Montreal, the Little Italy that surrounds the Jean Talon Market, and St Léonard to its east. Very different vibe than other Little Italys. I have friends who grew up in St Léonard. I haven’t had a chance to explore St Léonard.
I think you probably visited La Maison Grecque or Jardin of Panos along Duluth.
There is also a concentration of Greek restaurants along Parc Ave, and a number of Greek restaurants, banquet halls in in the burbs of Laval, as well as, Pointe Claire near the airport .
my wife is sitting right here, let me ask once she’s done playing the harp. she says they were in prince arthur square but there were better restaurants along duluth. She was on a tight student budget, so probably not the finest greek food in montreal.
one of her favorite stories is that as part of her fluency certification she had to walk into small stores and speak french. she said the proprietor always replied in english because of her accent
Years later, traveling in paris, a waiter made fun of her because of her montreal accent. just can’t win
Despite starting with Ontario-school French, I have completely picked up the Montreal accent to make myself understood. I can hear the twang when I talk to my cousins in France.
Back to topic: For those fans of Casa di Mozzarella, I strongly suggest CALANDRA CHEESE…at the southern end of AA. Fewer tourists, to my mind, better service, and also a good selection of non-chees(ey) products. I believe they are closed on Sundays, though. Give it a try…I’d love to hear more AA tips, in preparation for my quarterly shopping trip.
at calandra cheese, we like cheese flecked with calabrese chili oil and the sun dried peppers. The peppers are wonderful with scrambled eggs. we also like their homemade ricotta
before our shopping trips we usually have cappuccino and pastry at prince coffee house.
at calabria pork store we like the Italian sausages, in-house, chili rubbed hot capicola, flat soprasetta , and n’djua
borgatta for large mushroom and plain ravioli, any fresh pasta, not cash only anymore!
MY favorite bakery is Madonina (sp?) I buy cookies (Fiorentino, they might call them…lacy hard-ish pastry dipped in chocolate); multi-grain bread; specialty breads made with prosciutto or even cherry-chocolate bread.
LOVE the n’duja at the pork store, and have to try that cheese at Calandra…
At borgatti, I just get their spaghetti, divided into half-pound packages which I put in my freezer; these are great even a few months later. (Oh, who am I kidding…sometimes I keep them for almost a year and they are fine!!) I adore that place.
And do not forget the burek at the pizza shop, Tony and Tina, north of 186th on AA…get the cheese or the squash.
