Starting this Saturday, fresh Montreal bagels from St-Viateur Bagel will be available at Mile End Deli in Brooklyn. They've carried Montreal bagels for a while, but normally they come via courier. What's new is that they are actually driving up to Montreal to pick up the bagels and driving right back so they'll be as fresh as possible! You can reserve some by pre-ordering online, here.
Image Source: New York Times
Montreal-style bagels are thinner than ours and as I recall seemed to have a bit more sugar in the dough. It's been years though since I've had one. I used to go to Montreal a lot since I went to school in Burlington, VT...
I found a City Room blog post from the New York Times that compares the bagels, read full post here. This is what they say about the St. Viateur bagels "They are hand-rolled and baked in wood-burning ovens, something that current New York City regulations would no longer allow. The process gives them a crisp and smoky crust on the outside. The bakers slip tidy lines of bagels in and out on long wooden slats, before flipping them into a bin. Their recipe was slightly different, using malt flour, and they are boiled in water with honey. And since they are skinnier, the hole is more pronounced."
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