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September 14th, 2006
24 Hour Montreal: Best cheap eats

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Cheap eats
Maeve Haldane

La Nacion for your taco fixin'
photo: Joseph Yarmush

If you don't feel like picking up dollar pizza post-party hour, Lebanese sandwiches are the most portable, the most nutritious and the tastiest bang for your buck. Some say Sara (1 Mont-Royal W., 844-7575) does the best shish taouk sandwich, but we're a big fan of the original Basha (930 Ste-Catherine W., 866-4272) and their copious salad platters and daily specials (beware the Basha franchises, not all are created equal). Al Taib (2305 Guy, 931-1999, and on McGill Campus in Gert's) does amazing little Lebanese pizzas and wraps, as well as having nice baklava for a pick-me-up. The ever-reliable Boustan (2020a Crescent, 843-3576) does a good vegetarian sandwich. Another variation on the flatbread-wrapped-around-meat theme is the taco. Go to Taqueria La Nacion (1850 Ste-Catherine W.; 931-2956) for tacos al pastor, the real-deal soft taco with spit-cooked pork.

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Al Taib Vs. Healthy foods.

If you are a Concordia's student, you tasted Al Taib for sure. You know it's near the downtown campus, and you can get your pizza or wraps as fast as possible.
Everything looks perfect for the students in rush hours between classes and exams.
But....
Whenever I take out the pizza and bring it to our school's lounge, I find the packet completely greasy because of the huge amount of fat that I could not believe. I know it's fast, cheap, but those pizza made me sick because of those amount of oil every time. Nowadays, trans fat is one of topic in every journal and many people talk about it. Although they have salads option in their menu, but I think if you are one of those who cares lot for your nourishment, Al Taib is the last place to go. Except the foods, the Al Taib's is not my favorite place among those fast foods near the campus. There is not a good and fast service for cleaning the tables in the second floor, but you get what you pay.
(+) Fast , Cheap, Many options, Salads,
(-) too much oil , Bad Service , not really clean.

Amir Pourteymour

{7 votes}

October 2nd, 2006

Boustan & PET

Boustan's veggie thing is amazing but no mention of Boustan is complete without mentioning the photo of the proprietor with Pierre Elliott Trudeau. That photo really adds something quirky and specifically Montreal to the place--distinguishing it from similar cheap restaurants. If you ask him, he is all too happy to tell you about Trudeau's visits. (I asked him what he ordered: the answer, in short, was a little of everything. PET was a politician.)

Gareth Hedges

{9 votes}

September 20th, 2006

Some Good Eats

Well, there are some definitely good suggestions for some cheap eats in this article. No doubt about Basha on St. Catherine Street. That's the place where I first tried Lebanese food and I got hooked on their shish-taouk plate. I haven't tried the other restos mentioned in the article but I especially want to try Taquiera La Nacion because I do like Mexican food. However, the article only talks about restos in downtown and fails to talk about cheap eats that can be found in other parts of our fair city. I also must agree with Pedro Eggers about the lack of input from HOUR's readers about finding tasty places that won't empty out your purse/wallet (hopefully, this will be corrected the next year).

Basil James

{14 votes}

September 17th, 2006

(((My Two Cents))) - Stuck With Five Dollars; Well You Can Still Eat!

Honestly, this article made be truly realize the fact that our foodcourts are quite awesome. Yes, if you want to go and dine in some fine cuisine, then you could go and do so. However, if you do not have much money on you but are still very hungry, you'll still be able to get yourself a nice little meal. My personal favourite from the above listings was Basha. I usually end up eating Basha about once a week and I tell you, for about six dollars I finish my meal and my stomach is satisfied. For people who love Mediteranean food, Montreal is great.

Zachary Masoud

{15 votes}

September 17th, 2006

Boustan is dirty...

I've seen the women with the purple gloved hand on 2 occassions use that same hand to handle money and make sandwiches... and one of those times she put her hand directly into the pile of potatoes to fill the plate. Made me sick to my stomach. Why did I eat my meal... I still like there shishtaouk and potatoes, and I eyed her the whole time and she didn't touch any of my stuff with her hand. The fact is what she does when no one is around applies to every single resto in town, so I'm basically saying, out of site, out of mind. Just don't do that while I'm there... and if you can, please don't do anything like that when no one is watching either. What boggles my mind is how those other guys ate there food... nasty.

Gino Pags

{2 votes}

September 16th, 2006

Boustan rocks.....

i am a crazy fan of Boustan's food...they have the most amazing eggplant and something called Ijhe's (small zuchini and egg pancakes ). i havent seen these anywhere else. and the recipe hails from the owners' grandmother. great stuff again! i am however also looking to find a place in central downtown that sells other middle eastern pitas like something called KIshk....a yougourt based paste with crushed tomatoes and spices which is spread on pita bread...its incredible and the only place i have seen this sandwich is Andalos in Ville St laurent. would love to see a big variety like that in montreal....not just copy cat pizza pitas with chicken or shrimp....

Livleen Rehal

{14 votes}

September 16th, 2006

Taken with Al Taib

Ok, I've got to throw my weight behind Al Taib on Guy. The food is sublime, always fresh and bountiful - you won't find a better slice of pizza in town and those wraps totally rock! Moreover, they keep long hours (do they ever close?) so if you get a late-night or early morning hankering for some grub, you know where to go!

Mark St Pierre

{5 votes}

September 15th, 2006

News flash!

Nice to see that the Montreal Mirror's table scraps can fill a few pages here. Really, it's comforting to know that this isn't a series of cheap plugs that were randomly plucked out of the wind because otherwise I'd feel a bit taken for granted as a reader. At least when the Montreal Mirror does this you've got a sense of why which eatery got chosen over another one--readers vote in. Here, it's the paper's resident food critic that does the picking. Excellent choices, respectable picks all of them but shouldn't this have been left up to the people so as to avoid the obvious elitist bias that a food critic is naturally inclined to? All I'm saying is think about it before you get suckered into picking from this finite selection and nothing else.

Pedro Eggers

{19 votes}

September 15th, 2006

Boustan: Something different

I was a Concordia student, and if you don't know Bouston (and if you went to Concordia), there is most definately something wrong with you. Boustan is a great, cheap, open all the time (nearly) Lebanese joint and it has got the best food I've had. They have a special taste, to differentiate themselves from all other Lebanese food places, that just makes you always come back. Their rice is also with a different taste, and I think it's probably the BEST eatery mentioned in this special article. Also, the owner of the place is a great entertainer, and can be really nice. You know he really puts his heart into his own business.

Meghna Patel

{17 votes}

September 14th, 2006

Warm Comfort Food............

Soft taco with spit-cooked pork? Sounds yummy. You don't have to convince me that Lebanese food is very tasty. I like putting tabouli on my shawarma. Potatoes are a great accompaniment to the high quality fresh garlic sauce many places specialize in making. Lebanese is so fresh and, like Vi mentions, pleasurable on the palate at 3am. Thank God for some high energy businessmen with hot grills and chicken/beef offerings to keep our tummies full.

Steve Landry

{12 votes}

September 14th, 2006

Where's the poutine?

Maybe Hour's working on the premise that the two English-speaking universities are located downtown, but there's a huge lack of other fast-food places here. Some may not be 24 hour and may be a little further afield than the city centre, but surely students new to the city will want to explore other areas?
What could be better when drunk or dog-tired than a glorious serving of poutine? Quebec's ugly duckling dish, its combination of ingredients and visual appearance is rather lack-lustre to say the least, but poutine is all about what really matters at some ungodly hour in the morning - taste. La Banquise is the choice place to enjoy this saucy fries 'n cheese concoction; open 24/7 with cheap prices and a friendly atmosphere, they have a variety of different additions to the classic poutine. Choux is my favourite, the unexpected, slightly piquant crunch of coleslaw mixes perfectly with the fries and curds... yum.
May not be the healthiest meal but then don't eat it every day!

Ellen Reid

{12 votes}

September 14th, 2006

Mmmm

Those sandwiches sound delicious. I personally can eat pizza every night of the week, but when I need a change these places are good suggestions. I must say, though, I am not a fan of baklava. Even though I have a sweet tooth I find that pastry to be much too sweet for my liking.

Heath Abram

{5 votes}

September 14th, 2006

It's a toss-up

Definitely between Sara and Boustan. Boustan adds the extra bonus of perfectly toasting your shish taouk. But if you want a side of patatoes, you gotta go with Basha on St-Catherine near the YMCA. Sara's patatoes, a bit too greasy and Boustan's tend to be almost burnt. Of course, at 3 o'clock in the morning, any food almost is good food.

Vi Dam

{5 votes}

September 14th, 2006

more Moroccan.. even better baby !

An even better choice - is La Maison du Bedouin - which is situated on the 3rd floor of the Faubourg. Quite similar to Lebanese, though possibly more flavourful. I could eat there everyday it's so good. And quite possibly the cheapest place in town - last week we paid $ 12 for me and my girlfriend, and that included desert.
Highly recommended.

Rob Postuma

October 3rd, 2006

Taqueria La Nacion

I found out about this place a couple of weeks ago (surprising since i've lived in montreal for 4 years). But i was suitably impressed, the food is cheap but really tasty. And its a good change from the more popular mexican eats like carlos and pepes and three amigos which i find serve absolutely disgusting food.

Lubna Patel

{1 vote}

September 17th, 2006

Lebanese Food: Cheap & Tasty

No doubt, Labanese sandwiches are one of a kind and they do have their unique taste at different places. Being a student at Concordia, I'm lucky enough to try every place mentioned in this article but I would like to mention another great restaurant which you can't resist if you are a big fan of Labanese food, that is, Monsieur Falafel (3750, boul. Saint Laurent). Do take a trip down to La Main (Boulevard Saint-Laurent). Bottom line is these sandwiches are yummy-licious. Do try them out!

Danish Rehman

{2 votes}

September 16th, 2006

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