Fairmont Bagel
near rue St-Urbain
About
Bagels in these parts are thinner, smaller, and crustier than the cottony monsters posing as the real thing south of the border. They're hand-rolled, twist-flipped into circles, and baked in big wood-fired ovens right on the premises. Fairmont was founded in 1919 and now offers 20 types, including unfortunate options like mueslix and (shudder) blueberry, but why opt for trendy odd-ball tastes when you can get a perfectly perfect sesame seed A 24-hour hole in the wall, Fairmont sells its bagels and accouterments such as cream cheese and nova lox "to go" only, 7 days a week, even on Jewish holidays.