Beauty’s

About a week after we first moved to Montreal, our landlords had us over for a barbecue and drinks. Since the language of food is the only one I am fluent in, it wasn’t long before I was commenting on the barbecue, explaining why you salt pasta water and, of course, asking for new restaurant recommendations. My first question was what “all you can eat” translates to in French, since I’d been spending the last week trying to find an all you can eat sushi bar. À volonté sushi is still something to this day that I have not eaten, but at least now I know what I’m looking for.

Then came the recommendations. There were a couple restaurants recommended to us, many of which we’ve now dined at, but one in particular stood out in my mind: Beauty’s. However, this was a recommendation to go and enjoy their wonderful food and atmosphere, but a warning to not believe the hype, fully accompanied by a story involving calling a radio rant line to complain about a certain “iconic institution at Mont-Royal and St. Urbain”, a rude server and a prank phone call. Despite this we were curious, though skeptical, to try it for ourselves. Exactly one year later we find ourselves, totally by coincidence, dining there for breakfast.

As I mentioned, Beauty’s is one of those “must visit” restaurant spots in Montreal. It’s been touted for its longevity, its celebrity endorsement (as displayed upon the entry walls) and its blue collar brunch type menu. There are often line ups, especially on weekends, and while we waited outside for our dining companions to join us (a sign reads “only full parties will be seated”) at least a dozen people queued up as more filed in as people finished their meals. There were often calls out for availability for a party of two or singles at the bar, so this may be the best way, aside waking up before 9 on a Sunday, to beat the rush.

Once in, you can clearly see that the 1950’s style is authentic, I’m certain the decor has not been renovated since its inception in 1942, and the booth cushions definitely tell a story of the many bums placed upon them before. While the space is small and often packed to capacity, aside from a few “Watch your elbows!” as waitresses passed by, it is only as uncomfortable as sitting elbow to elbow at the breakfast table.

The waitress came by and filled up our coffees, a deliciously strong, dark coffee that had me wired by the time food came around. I ordered the item that received an honorable mention in the radio rant - the Beauty’s special - a traditional Montreal Jewish bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomatoes and onions. It was heavy and filling with two thick slices of smoked salmon and a chewy, toasted bagel, but with just a simple bagel at a price directly comparable to the breakfast platters that come with eggs, a bagel, several meats, hash browns and pancakes, I felt more than a little cheated.

The eggs are cooked to perfection and the sausage and bacon is greasy. The hash browns are not out of a bag and deep-fried, but cubes of fresh potatoes with bits of onion fried up until bits become blackened and charred. The pancakes are huge and do not resemble the uniform and pale brown hot cakes you’d get at an IHOP, but are cast iron cooked, crispy on the outside and biscuit-like delicious on the inside. You have the option of blueberry or chocolate chip if you heart desires. They are without a doubt the best pancakes I have had outside of my own kitchen. For a fee, you can get an individual container of real maple syrup to complete. After browsing around, and sampling Shannon’s plate, it becomes apparent to me that this is the style of breakfast that Beauty’s does right. This is what the traditional breakfast should be. It’s fresh, it tastes home made and I can see what brought people here in the first place and kept them coming back for more.