One of the gifts that Carol & I considered buying for ourselves this Christmas was an espresso machine. I noticed that Future Shop had rather small, simple machines available for only $60. I decided to do a little research on the web before choosing any machine.

As you might imagine, there was no problem finding all I needed to know (and then some) on the web. This FAQ site by David Bogie taught me all that I needed to know in order to make an intelligent choice:   http://homepage.mac.com/bogiesan/  (new link - the old one wasn't working anymore)

Since I wasn't in search of an espresso machine just to make coffee flavoured drinks (latté, cappuccino etc.) but in order to approximate the experience of pure unadulterated espresso as in its country of origin, Italy, I decided to follow David Bogie's advice and attempt to find a local 'barista' to patronize. (His FAQ article is quite a good read)

So, on the Saturday before New Year's I started my quest for local espresso at the underground mall next door (La cité). I had a little shopping to do at the Metro supermarket and then I chose to start with the Van Houtte café opposite the supermarket. I chose the espresso machiato which turned out to be espresso with a heaping portion of white flavourless foam on top. When I was handed my drink I thought the cashier / barista had erred and served me a cappuccino instead of an espresso because of the foam and the regular size coffee cup that it was served in. I regretted ordering the machiato when I could have made better comparisons ordering regular espresso but that aside this espresso was much too much (a real espresso would look silly in a regular coffee cup) and as a result much too weak and watery. I drank up at a table inside the small café with my Saturday paper at hand, grocery bags at my feet and a panoply of people-watching before me. "If I do find a good local espresso", I thought to myself, "this always-busy underground mall will make a nice extension onto my home-life".

Before leaving the mall, I surveyed the other cafés and restaurants and determined that there were two other candidates in my espresso hunt: The "Café Express" (at the "Farrouj Express" Lebanese fast food restaurant) and La Croissanterie.

Monday, New Year's day, I decided to make a foray back to "La cité" to see if any of the stores were open. The supermarket, pharmacy and dollar store were closed but most of the restaurants and cafés were open. I had ordered espresso often enough around town that I knew that the average price of an espresso would be around $1.55 (about the same price as an espresso in Italy). Today I chose the Café Express, who happened to serve the cheapest local espresso at $1.25, as the place to continue my quest. Today I am immediately met with more satisfactory results as the espresso is pulled from a Rancilio machine into the required demitasse (both made in Italy). There is a thin layer of crema on top and the coffee is not too bitter or thin. "I may have found my local espresso haunt", I think to myself, happy that it might be had even at these bargain prices. I note that the regular coffee is only 65 cents and a syrupy sweet baklava can be had for $1.25. Already I am imagining happily whiling away my espresso minutes here at a table looking down the length of the food court.

But we must complete our study of local espresso before settling on a regular haunt. I decide to check out the equipment at the other café and discover that there is also an additional possibility at a place that serves breakfast all day, Henry's Deli. This promises to lengthen the study (making this almost into a serial feature) but the possibilities do look interesting.

Note (May 1/02):  I haven't as yet continued my quest for a good local espresso but I came across a Montreal Gazette article on the best café au lait in Montreal and decided that might be worthy of including on my Saturday morning itinerary on those days when I go to the Jean Talon market in Little Italy (the location is only a couple of blocks from the market).  Café au lait is a cousin to espresso and is probably the better choice when not in a hurry and wanting to nurse a cup of coffee while reading the paper.  Check out this article (link below).  It's very instructive about how to make a good café au lait (though as David Bogie recommends in the article linked at the top of this page, "don't try this at home").

Back to the Journals page | Link to Montreal Gazette article "Best café au lait"