Where have all the hipsters gone?

where have all the flowers gone?

Williamsburg, Brooklyn may well be recognized as the "influential hub of hipster culture" but the corner of St. Viateur and Casgrain, in Montreal's Mile End (Canada's hipster capital), is hot on its heels.

Hot on the heels of a falafel sandwich from The NEW Green Panther, I headed further east on St. Viateur Street than usual last week and discovered the most amazing NEW bohemian micro-neighborhood.

Of course, I fear an imminent hipster invasion.

Like all hipster hoods, the area is in an old working class, industrial one known as the schmatta (garment/textile) neighborhood and used to be populated by Eastern European, Greek and Portuguese immigrants.

These days it's full students, artists, eccentrics and a few remaining Hassidic Jews. 

While creeping gentrification is a concern, the micro-neighborhood still features a slew of traditional social clubs as well as an old Polish church. (Though it must be noted that said church does, in fact, play host to a hipster music festival.)

St. Michael's

It's a special blend of old and new. 

Much like the hispter itself.

Appropriated from the 1940's jazz scene and used by hepcats cooler than the cat's pyjamas, the term hipster was originally used to describe "a generation (...) suddenly rising and roaming America, serious, bumming and hitchhiking everywhere, ragged, beatific, beautiful in an ugly graceful new way--a vision gleamed from the way we had heard the word "beat" spoken on the street corners on Times Square and in the Village (...)--beat, meaning down and out but full of intense conviction," Jack Kerouac.

With the hipsters leaving Brooklyn for cheaper and more bohemian domiciles, how long will it be before my new favourite micro-neighborhood gets invaded and loses its delicate balance - and cool?   

crooklyn brooklyn

But back to my falafel sandwich and whence it came.

Vegan and organic, The Green Panther is "a fresh, dynamic project whose main goal is to develop a more sustainable way of living in today's urban reality by supporting and creating local alternatives, though the use of organic produce (local when available), recycled materials and by raising awareness." 

The sandwich I shared with the Original Mile End, or OME, hipster contained an addictive mix of falafels, cabbage, carrots, pickles, sauerkraut and tahini. 

 the OME hipster

We enjoyed it outside, in the sun, at the corner of old and new.  

 

You say taco, I say tiki

I love tacos. 

I love traditional Mexican tacos. I love Vietnamese-inspired tacos (more on these later). I love tacos served out of a food truck. 

I even love taco salad.   

In order to satisfy my love of everything (and anything) taco-related I recently went to Grumman '78, one of Montreal's best taco joints. 

I first heard about ye old Grumman from my "good friend," and I use the term loosely, Anthony Bourdain. When I was a ye old country bumpkin he did a show on The Layover about the best places to eat in Montreal. Even though it was only a pop-up restaurant in the Nouveau Palais (aka hipster heaven) at the time, it made the cut.   

It also made my mouth water.

Though I had tried one of their tacos before, stylishly served out of their eye-catching, lime-green food truck, I really wanted to visit taco headquarters.

And boy am I glad that I did!

Situated in St-Henri (hipster heaven #2), the HQ is located in an old garage that formerly housed the city’s cavalry. Very cool.

I didn't indulge in tiger meat (as far as I know) but I did devour a Banh Mi taco and a catfish taco.

Taco-licious!

The Banh Mi taco was so good that I wanted to recreate it at home. Amazingly, I found Grumman's very own recipe on the Food Network's website. I haven't made it yet (even though it only takes six hours... ha!) but I'll be sure to report back when I do.

I only have one question.

What, exactly, is a GRUMMAN???   

In addition to tacos, I also love everything (and anything) tiki-related.  

Tiki culture is defined as "a 20th-century theme used in Polynesian-style restaurants and clubs originally in the United States and then, to a lesser degree, around the world. Although inspired in part by Tiki carvings and mythology, the connection is loose and stylistic, being an American form and not a Polynesian fine art form."

You know who else thinks you'd have to be a "sick, twisted, lonely, f@&$#r with too many cats" not to love tiki?

That's right! My BFF Bourdain.

 "Cowabonga! To Don Ho!"

Don Ho, in case you're interested, was a "a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer," best known for the song Tiny Bubbles.

 "tiny bubbles, in the wine, make me happy, make me feel fine"

To honour and celebrate tiki, and my birthday, a group of friends and I recently dined, and danced, at Montreal's best only tiki restaurant: Jardin Tiki (should be hipster heaven #3).

And not a moment too soon, it seems.

Apparently the legendary restaurant is slated for demolition to make way for a retirement home in the near future.

While not up to par to the gourmet garden of delights that is Grumman '78, Jardin Tiki did not disappoint (well... me, at least). 

An all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet that features a variety of seafood (not to mention frog legs), a live band and more coconut-based drinks than you can shake a stick at is all I need to have the time of my life, it seems.

Similar to a two-star resort in the Caribbean, Jardin Tiki harkens back to a time when the term "foodie" did not exist and kale wasn't considered edible - never mind gourmet. 

The wonton soup was the best I've had in ages and the buffet provided a good variety of shiny orange, red, and... beige.

Also, the bacon-wrapped mini hot dogs were to die for!

Intoxicated by rum, or perhaps MSG, I left Jardin Tiki with a strong urge to go back... in time.

I only have one question.

Where were the hipsters???