Francis Chartrand for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles

18/05/2009 10:02

I have fantasies of travel these days, but, for whatever reason, I will not go very far this year.

So I taste my thirst for exoticism watching Travel channel and Escape.

Two shows are particularly triper me: No Reservations, with the excellent Anthony Bourdain and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. These two great gourmands, who eat their mother if they were told that it "tastes good", travel the globe in search of new culinary experiences.

Thanks to them, I went to Bali, Essaouira, in São Paulo, Seoul, Saigon, in Mexico City and a dozen other cities ...

But you know what all these cities have in common? It eats out.

Eating while walking

Across the world, you can buy food on the streets of falafel kebabs, rice, noodles, the Cheese Steak Sandwiches, chestnuts, the quesadillas, pancakes, pork ...

You walk, you see a guy who stand behind a kitchen, you talk with him, you taste a spice, you choose a piece of fish that you fry in a wok, it is your fish in a pita bread and you continue your journey with food.

But in Quebec, no! The only thing we can do is eat the rotten hotdogs during festivals.

Why? The stomach of Quebeckers is more fragile than that of other human beings? Quebecers they die of poisoning if we allowed people to sell food in the street?

The great mixture

Take Montreal.

The main attraction of Montreal is its multiculturalism. This is what distinguishes the city from other municipalities in Quebec.

Imagine how vibrant city if it allowed the food stalls! It would be great.

We discuss with the merchants, tasting all kinds of dishes, all kinds of humerait smells ...

"Try it, sir, it's extraordinary! - What is it?

- A spice of my country, you see, you'll love ... "

What better way to break the walls that separate communities?

The food is the best way to establish a dialogue between cultures. An excellent dish would ultimately prejudice the most tenacious.

You tell me that there restaurants. This is not the same thing. With the stands, it is not you who go to food is food that comes to you.

It takes you by the collar, mesmerizes you, hypnotizes you.

Good fast food

We try to fight against fast food these days. So why not open the door to a fast-food quality, made with fresh food and cooked in front of us in the street?

It would be a lot better than the service driving MacDo, right? I'm sure a pack of people eventually redeem them against a Burger Trio soup tonkinoise ...

As for tourists who visit us, they could enjoy regional specialties from Québec walking on the Dufferin Terrace, on the rue Saint-Paul or on King Street East.

It is very nice, cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation. But force sanitize our cities, we end up killing them.

I do not know about you, but me when I walk in a city, I feel like saffron, curry, coriander and cardamom rather than oil and Mr. Net.

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Labels: Islam, Religion and fanaticism, Richard Martineau

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 11:49 PM