I’m shipping off to grad school in London (no, not Ontario) in the fall – and I’m trying desperately to conjure up some deep, captivating message about food, agriculture, and culinary ethics that hasn’t already been put on a bestseller list by Barbara Kingsolver, Jamie Oliver, or Mark Bittman.
Student Life
All about student life on campus.
The strawberry-basil mojito
Being the strawberry addict that I am, the return of strawberry season is for me one of the most exciting aspects of the arrival of spring. As soon as fresh, inexpensive strawberries are available, I eat them on their own, in salads, over vanilla ice cream, and any other way I can think of.
The Tribune’s guide to a summer in Montreal
Breakfast True espresso aficionados should head to Caffe in Gamba in the Plateau. Combined with plush seating and decadent pastries, their freshly brewed espresso drinks are the best in Montreal. Eggspectation and Chez Cora – both Canadian chains – offer crepes, pancakes, and waffles piled high with fruit for reasonable prices.
Wet hot Canadian summer: A guide to Montreal May-August
Whether you’re a visiting student, taking a May course, or a Montreal native, summer is the best time to tour Montreal. It’s easy to get trapped in the McGill bubble during the school year, but use the warm weather as a chance to explore the city. From festivals to cuisine, we present your summer guide to one of Canada’s most diverse and exciting cities.
Make your own meatball sub
Meatball subs are the quintessential Italian-American dish – a pizza, burger, and a pasta hybrid. They have all the flavors you could ask for in a meal, and they are hearty and filling. Making your own is simple, fun, and will certainly leave you satisfied (or wanting more).
STUDENT LIVING: How to…Talk shit in French
A few years past, one’s command of the French language had to be fairly deft to survive in Quebec for very long. McGill students, for the first weeks after arriving in Montreal, would need to assiduously commit dozens of key phrases to memory in order to obtain everyday household items, from milk to light bulbs.
STUDENT LIVING: Perspective: Coming home to university
I have a dirty little secret: I’ve never been to a frosh event. I’ve also never attended a McGill sports game, joined a club or even been inside a university rez. No, I’m not a hermit, or even anti-social. I’m a Montrealer. One of those cool but elusive people you meet in one of your classes then never seem to encounter again.
STUDENT LIVING: Vive le Quebec, Vie la Poutine
For stick-thin health conscious fellows, poutine is venom on a plate. However, to every other “normal” person in Canada, it is simply a mountain of fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Poutine may be a Quebec delicacy and extremely delicious, but unfortunately, the fries-cheese-gravy aspect of poutine makes it an artery-clogging snack.
NIGHTLIFE: Place your best and lose your shirts
In an utterly charming, sultry voice, Mademoiselle Oui Oui Encore explains that burlesque “is not about sex; it is about seduction, and most of all, confidence in yourself.” Blue Light Burlesque is the only troupe of its kind in Quebec, and this Thursday night over a dozen performers will be stripping down and heating up La Tulipe in a show entitled “Place Your Bets! Hot Las Vegas Nights.
FOOD: Ile de where…?
Ãle de la Reunion! If you have any clue as to the whereabouts of this obscure island, then you are probably a Geography major because it seems only a handful of people in this city have even heard of it. J. Pierre Charpentier, the manager of Le Piton de Fournaise, decided that he was sick of the Montreal cold and went abroad and spent six years on this minute southern African island located in the Indian ocean off the east coast of Madagascar.
