D.A.D.S. Bagels

D.A.D.S.'s sweet cream cheese filled pastry, aka "the cheese bagel", is an NDG classic and something I tried for the first time a few weeks ago (and found to be quite spectacular).

When I found out that Alena Skateboarding mastermind Jeremy Bresnen was a connaisseur and lover of the cheese bagel, I had my Gyr falcon deliver a few written questions over to him. A few hours later Mordecai returned; and, this is how Mr. Bresnen responded:

Q: WHEN DID YOU TRY YOUR FIRST CHEESE BAGEL? YOUR FIRST D.A.D.S. CHEESE BAGEL?

JB: D.A.D.S. itself? Probably 8 or 9 years ago. A cheese bagel itself? Early
childhood. Montreal has a great tradition of bakeries and I've tasted
quite a few different varieties. The D.A.D.S. cheese bagel is the closest
I've found to the ones I used to get growing up at Cantors on Queen
Mary.

Q: TOP FIVE FAVORITE SWEETS?

JB: Hmmm. I'm not a huge sweets fan. I lean more towards salty but....
Picking a top 5 is always tough ,but here it goes:

#1 is definitely Coke. It's great to wash down the salty and it's
refreshing pretty much anytime. Easily the best drink ever thought up
by Man. Unfortunately, I've recently cut back on my Coke intake.
Trying not to drink any.

#2 is probably the cheese bagel.

#3, #4 and #5 are a tie between Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate
chip cookies, and from time to time, a Crunchie bar.

Q: AT WHAT TIME OF THE DAY DO YOU USUALLY LIKE TO INDULGE IN A CHEESE BAGEL?

JB: They are best in the morning as that's when they are most often fresh
and warm out of the oven, but I've certainly had them at all times of
the day

Q: BEVERAGE OF CHOICE TO ACCOMPANY A CHEESE BAGEL?

JB: It's best with a Coke or a tall glass of cold milk. I'll be sticking
with MILK from now on.

Q: HOW OFTEN DO YOU PICK UP A CHEESE BAGEL?

JB: When the store [Alena] was open and D.A.D.S. was on the way to work I'd have probably 2 or 3 a week...I think. I might be lying to feel better about myself.

Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT "D.A.D.S." STANDS FOR?

JB: No Idea. I think it says it somewhere inside the store. You could ask
them. It used to be wholly owned by a friendly jewish man. I think he
still works there from time to time but now it's run by an indian
family. Cheese bagels and Tikka chicken. Who would have thought?

***D.A.D.S. is located on Sherbrooke West between Harvard and Wilson
***They are a 24 hour establishment

...Eater of butter cookies...

Poilâne's butter cookies (aka "Punitions") are Turf's favorite. Back in the day you could catch him munching on them whether in trouble or double trouble. I went to their shoppe the other day to see what the man behind the gasmask was talking about.

The bakers at Poilâne make no more than 10 items, which include: regal loaves of bread, all marked with a calligraphic "P" (the kind the three musketeers would have eaten); butter cookies; and, apple tarts. So while they don't make many things, they make everything to perfection, using simple, few and well-married ingredients. I'd like to think of them as one of Paris' seven baking wonders.

As for Turf...well, he's one of the few living artists carrying on the tradition of the Flemish masters. I'm even beginning to think he's Van Eyck in disguise. To enter the world of Turfizm...
He and his partner in crime, Lela, also made a documentary about the catacombs of Paris called "Dead Space", which will hopefully be coming to a theatre or video store near you, soon.

And yes, the butter cookies do live up to the legend.

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