Jean-Talon Market

Little Italy Wakes Up Early

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Brunch, for a certain kind of person, is a reason to sit down. For another kind, it is a reason to walk. Jean-Talon belongs to the second kind. The market opened in May 1933 at the corner of Henri-Julien and Jean-Talon in Little Italy, and it still runs on growers, butchers, bakers, fishmongers, cheesemongers and florists working side by side.

Go early, when the stalls are fresh and the farmers are still in a talking mood. The produce follows the Quebec calendar and does not apologize for it. What is in season is what you get, piled high by the people who grew it. Build your own breakfast as you go: bread from one stall, cheese from the next, fruit from a grower who knows exactly which basket is ready today. There are restaurants and counters tucked among the produce if you need a plate and a chair. You will not need a reservation. You will need a bag, and probably a second one.

Markets are where a city tells the truth about itself. Supermarkets lie, gently, under fluorescent light. Jean-Talon is noisy, a little chaotic and seasonal to the point of stubbornness, and the people behind the stalls are the reason to come. A deck chair philosopher could do worse than spend a Saturday morning here, watching a whole city shop for dinner. Ask questions. Taste what you are offered. Let the morning take as long as it takes.

Order this: whatever the growers have in season, cheese from the cheesemongers, bread from the market bakers
The damage: $
Go: Saturday at 8, when the stalls open and the growers still have time to talk
Find it: 7070 Av. Henri-Julien, Montréal, QC H2S 3S3