The Montreal bagel is smaller, denser and sweeter than its New York cousin, hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in a wood-fired oven until blistered.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe brought the bagel to Montreal in the early 1900s, and the city's version set itself apart by the 1950s. Fairmount Bagel dates to 1919 and St-Viateur to 1957, both in Mile End, both still firing wood ovens around the clock. The honey in the boiling water and the wood smoke give the Montreal bagel its sweeter, denser character.
Common allergens: Gluten, Sesame
Tip from the editors. No wood oven at home? A pizza stone and your oven's top rack get you closest to the blistered crust.
A hot St-Viateur bagel with cream cheese is Montreal's cheapest iconic bite, sold around the clock in Mile End for the price of pocket change.
Try: Bagel with cream cheese
Tip: Buy a dozen to take home; per bagel it is far cheaper than any cafe breakfast in the city.
Fairmount Bagel has wood-fired Montreal's oldest bagels since 1919, a 24-hour Mile End window turning out sesame and poppy rings a block from its rival.
Try: Wood-fired bagel
Tip: Buy a hot dozen and settle the Fairmount-versus-St-Viateur argument for yourself on the walk home.
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