Thursday, June 14, 2012

La Bolduc

One of the many things I love about Montreal is the wide choice of restaurants, cafés and bistros.


 A colourful favourite is La Bolduc,


Echoing the writing on the wall of the post just previous to this, La Bolduc sports a fine specimen of graffiti.  I can't help but wonder, though, if it's been commissioned to be painted, does it still qualify as graffiti?


Or is wall art by any other name still graffiti?  In any case, this rather abstract design looks to me like an artist's impression of the hefty lunch I ordered.



After consuming the whole thing, I felt very familiar with the concept of "hefty."  This burger involved ground lamb (oh, that does sound barbaric!  My apologies to any vegetarians out there) and goat cheese; two things I almost never eat at home so am compelled to order when confronted with them on a menu.

The restaurant is named after a colourful and extremely popular Quebecoise entertainer who made her way to widespread popularity (that is, within the confines of the province of Quebec) in the 1930's.

 Wikipedia informs us:

Mary Rose-Anna Travers, (June 4, 1894 – February 20, 1941) was   a French Canadian singer and musician. She was known as Madame Bolduc or La Bolduc. During the peak of her popularity in the 1930s, she was known as the Queen of Canadian Folksingers. Bolduc is often considered to be Quebec's first singer/songwriter. Her style combined the traditional folk music of Ireland and Quebec, usually in upbeat, comedic songs.




Let's add a tinge of nostalgia to the scene, shall we?

Eh oui,, c'est bien moi p'is mon chum, Pierre
(*thanks to Kim Klassen for the photo texture)
At any rate, these two oldies but goodies had a wonderful lunch in great company, 
sitting out on la terrasse chez Mme. Bolduc.




And here, for your further edification and entertainment is a little "heritage moment" from the annals of Canadian popular history.


19 comments:

  1. Ah, what a great post, Lynne! First, I love the textured photo of the pair of you. And the graffiti is really gorgeous. Did they play la Bolduc's songs as you gorged on that burger? I must be getting sick of pasta and pizza because it looks soooooooo good!

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  2. Oh and I love the ROUGE awning on this charming spot. Did you leave me any frites??? :)
    V

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  3. Very highly, fully toastery and lovely yummy colourful post!

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  4. La Bolduc was Mary Travers? Did Peter and Paul know about this previous incarnation?

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  5. My parents are the cutest! Glad to see you included the heritage minute - that one's a classic.

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  6. jann,
    They do play La Bolduc tunes there, but fortunately, not on a loop. I think wait staff and patrons would go mad if exposed to too much of Mme. Bolduc's talents, comedic or not. Sitting outside, we were serenaded by the shush-shushing of passing traffic instead. Tired of pasta and pizza??? Is such a thing possible????!

    Virginia,
    Sorry, but mon chum Pierre got to the frites first (not to be confused with diving in feet first).

    G-Pit,
    See...there are things you like about the city, non?

    DCW,
    Hahaha! Good one. I, too, wondered if the M of PPM had been aware of the former folk chanteuse and was paying a sly homage to her.

    c,
    Aren't we, though...esp. with a little help from Photoshop! Thanks for snapping the pic to commemorate another happy time together. I figured you'd appreciate the other heritage moment as well.

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  7. Looks like a nice place, and I have to say I love chips like that, all brown. I am sure they're very bad for you!

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  8. Anonymous15 June, 2012

    Wonderful where alike is possible.

    Please have you all a good weekend ahead.

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  9. Lynne, I learned more about you in this one post and comments than I could have guessed. You and Pierre are adorable and how delightful that you included this photo.

    The lunch looked delicious and the mention of goat cheese made my mouth water! Regular frites or sweet potatoes? Either way... miam-miam!

    Have a delicious weekend!

    Bises,
    Genie

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  10. Mme bolduc looks a rather unlikely entertainer unlike that hefty lunch....love the street art (not graffiti in my book) greetings from the riviera

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  11. Anonymous16 June, 2012

    Such lovely shots! I do love bistros.

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  12. Jenny,
    Reminds me of an old television ad for Chef Boyardee where the future "chef" as a young boy is being forced to eat something ostensibly good for him and he complains, "Why must good for you taste so bad?" This is the flip side to that emotion, "Why must bad for you taste so good!"


    Robert,
    Thanks for joining in.

    Genie,
    My life is an open book, if you know how to read between the lines! Those were regular frites, but must have been cooked up in some especially tasty oil because they were just as delicious as they looked. Now I'm getting hungry, just thinking about that burger...


    Catherine,
    I think she won people over by the sheer force of her personality. I wonder what Simon Cowell would make of her today...

    Lady Fi,
    Just the word "bistro" conjures up a feeling of happy anticipation, n'est-ce pas?

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  13. You ate all of that? Wow! Looked delicious!
    Love the graffiti too. Great pics all!

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    Replies
    1. What can I say, my eyes are definitely not bigger than my stomach.

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  14. There's so much here - and not just on the plate! Great information and terrific photos.

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    1. Deborah,
      Perhaps I stole a page from your blog in giving out background information and a bit of history (for a change). I'm glad you enjoyed what I served up here.

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  15. gorgeous graffiti! and I love the sounds of your lunch

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    1. Shayla,
      The "sounds" of my lunch: was I chewing with my mouth open?!
      Glad you enjoyed the scene (and sounds).

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  16. Appears like a pleasant location, as well as I must state I really like potato chips like this, just about all dark brown. I am certain they are really harmful to a person!




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