Steamies

In Montreal we have poutine of course but also a type of hotdog called a steamie. It's what it sounds like: a steamed hotdog. Hot, almost soggy, with mustard, relish and cabbage or coleslaw it's a staple of the Montreal fast food scene.

Poutine, bagels, smoked meat sandwiches and steamies harken back to an unhealthier, simpler time that still exists here in Montreal, perhaps more so than most North American cities. Quebec is a province defined by a too long memory but to go along with that we have these foods and ways that have stood the test of time and are nostalgic but also just present.

I don't know if New Yorkers feel the same sense of history and place when they bite into a slice. But every time I eat a steamie I feel like I'm going back in time to the 80s at least and I expect the Expos are still playing and I'll see ashtrays everywhere. And I didn't even grow up here but rather in Ontario where I learned to root for the Blue Jays and went to smoke filled Tim Hortons.

But maybe that's it , Tim Hortons a Canadian institution, known for quick, tasty food - donuts and coffee, seems to have mostly erased it's history. I barely feel anything when I walk into one. And the coffee now sucks though the chocolate dip donut is still almost as good.

The casse croutes that serve steamies and the hotdogs themselves are steeped in a well steamy atmosphere of history. Salty in a throwback way, you can taste the decades of kids and people in a hurry chowing down. They even sort of taste like the icy atmosphere of a hockey rink if you know what I mean. Maybe someone could tell me that like Froot Loops they now taste different but I doubt it. (Froot Loops are far less vibrant now, like a lot of things).

Unlike the toxic politics of Quebec the nostalgia of the steamie is untroubled and uncomplicated. The memories don't distort the present or future but enhance them. A proper comfort food in every sense of the term.