When I tell Montrealers where our store is located, they tend to say “What a great street!”

This is invariably followed by a reference to how up and coming the area is.

The neighbourhood is indeed interesting. So too our part of Notre Dame. However, the real – if less told – story is what’s happening behind the street on our block.

There, you see, some of the street’s entrepreneurs have set up unique offerings that feed the block’s soul.

Joe Beef's raised beds

The gang from Joe Beef built their now famous garden several years ago. While there’s all kinds of hype about urban agriculture and local food, the produce they grow (and serve) in the summertime is delicious. It’s that simple. That their outdoor area is a pleasure to sit in only adds to what is always an incredible dining experience.

Lili and Oli's back patio

The guys at Lili and Oli serve one of the best espressos in town. Lindsay and I aren’t huge espresso drinkers, but when we want a latte there’s no better place to go. A few years ago, with the help of their brother in law Tony, Patrick and Dan created a great little space to enjoy their delectable coffee. The vibe out back is a mix of community centre and social club. Looking out on to the ballfield you almost feel like you’re in small town America. So cool.

The ballfield behind Notre Dame

This past week, we expanded our terrasse. It is the realization of a plan we’d talked about since opening almost two years ago. Yes, there’s a business rationale for this; we’ll be able to seat more people, and maybe rent the area out for functions. However, it is about creating a better customer experience  by giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a bite and cocktail, beer or glass of wine during the far too short Montreal summer.

The expanded back terrasse chez nous

Expanding the terrasse was fun. Since I’m a disaster with anything reno-related, Lindsay’s father and brother came up from Nova Scotia to oversee things. Both guys are tireless workers, and highly skilled when it comes to construction. They laboured through the cold and rain, soldiering on through various mishaps and unforeseens. Our gratitude to them cannot be expressed.

After the work was done something else occured to me about the outdoor spaces behind Notre Dame: each of the aforementioned projects was done DIY. No one hired expensive contractors. Fred Morin led the building of Joe Beef’s raised beds, Tony Campanelli oversaw the Lili and Oli expansion, and the Davis family our own. It’s an interesting non-coincidence that speaks to the entrepreneurial spirit which imbues these businesses.

If you haven’t already done so, I hope you venture behind our block on Notre Dame West. That’s where the real action goes down in the summer.

Hope to see you soon!

- Jackson

Monsieur Tsé-Tsé

The chap you see above is known as Monsieur Tsé- Tsé.

When I first heard his name, sight unseen, I pegged him for a shadowy professional revolutionary à la Che Guevara or Subcommandante Marcos. Not exactly sure what led me to this belief – maybe my degree in security studies – but I was somewhat cautious about “Double T’s” potential for fomenting sedition.

Turned out that the guy was actually a cuddly little creature made of organic cotton (maybe Marcos’ famed balaklava is too?). Not exactly the type of soul who’s prone to overthrowing nasty dictators, or leading gangs of disaffected believers against highly trained national armies.

In any event, Tsé- Tsé, who is produced in Montreal by the amazing folks at Raplapla, has – like the aforementioned professional revolutionaries – high minded ideals. While people may debate the tangible effects of a Guevara or Marcos, there is little doubt that Tsé- Tsé is a man of action and impact.

‘How?,’ you ask.

For starters, 10% of the profits from the sale of Monsieur Tsé- Tsé are donated to UNICEF. Get him for a kid and your are helping other kids too.

Additionally, the young ones tend to love the guy. He brings happiness; what better impact is there than that!

A bonus for you: as I learned, Tsé- Tsé is more into “fitting in” to your household than overturning the established order. Your kingdom is safe

Eating tends to make any situation better.

So, we’re pleased to announce that this Holiday Season when you’re shopping merrily because you love it, or begrudgingly because it’s not your fave activity, we have a new setup that might improve the experience.

Yes, at FAIT ICI you can eat and shop. We have, you see, installed tables inside.

The shop ‘n eat combo can obviously take a number of forms.

You could, for instance, sit and browse with your eyes while enjoying some homemade, ‘ Two Solitude’ Mac N Cheese. Pictured below, we’ve dubbed it in homage to Hugh MacLennan and because one of the cheeses is from Quebec, the other from Ontario. After browsing while sitting/eating, you simply grab what gifts have caught your attention, pay and go. This approach scores high on the efficiency quotient.

You could also sit down, eat a QC-made Rosette de Lyon sandwich, and ask our staff to show you gift ideas tableside. This takes a lot of the work out of shopping and might be the best avenue for the hungry and Holiday-confounded (i.e. Jackson).

Another possible manifestation of the eat and shop dynamic involves stopping in, shopping till you are ready for dropping and then refuelling to make it home. Nothing like being saved by food after a long day in the Holiday shopping trenches.

Whatever your pleasure, whatever your view of Holiday shopping, we’re happy to report that chez nous you can now combine it with a nice sit down meal! Only Santa gets it this good, and he’s gotta descend chimneys which is kinda less than good.

This is a famous speech. And, yes, by posting it we are probably joining a loud cacophony of voices. But it IS good and full of insights, so give it a check:

We got a liquor license for our terrasse a few weeks ago.

This means people can now enjoy some wine, locally made beer or spiked lemonade with their lunch (it’s a restaurant license so patrons have to order a meal to get booze).

The process took over 7 months. Why? Because our store concept didn’t fit easily into the defined categories the Regie uses to decide if an establishment is valid for a liquor license.

It was painstaking and ended in hearing before a Regie panel. At the hearing, we had no lawyer, we don’t speak legalese (let alone french legalese) and thought we’d been slaughtered by the Regie’s legal team. Both Linds and I said ‘That was awful’ as soon as we got out of earshot of the judges and Regie officials.

Basically we wrote the license off as a lost cause and wasted effort.

But sometimes life surprises its participants.

That’s what happened to us. We got the license. Just goes to show, you really never know! Yogi Berra’s pearl of wisdom ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’ looms large.

We’ve always said that we have superb neighbours.

Among our fellow businesses on the block is Joe Beef. It is run and staffed by some of the nicest folks around. The food is EXCEPTIONAL and has helped put Montreal on the map. This is a biz that walks the walk when it comes to local and fresh (their backyard garden is a site to behold!).

By their very presence the neighbourhood has begun to change for the better.

So, kudos to everyone at Joe Beef, and Dave and Fred for this book. We hope you will all go and buy a copy when it comes out this October!

Montreal has a number of great food bloggers. One of the most passionate is Élise Desaulniers. She’s one of the few who focuses on the ethical side of eating, a subject about which she is very knowledgeable.

I chatted with Elise today. You can listen to our conversation (en  français et en anglais) here.

We’ve been watching the Food Network’s “Eat Street” a lot lately.

You might say, food trucks have been on our minds.

As such, it was great to chat with Marc-Andre Leclair from Grumman 78. He and his cohorts are trying hard to get the city to pull its head out of its ass and allow food trucks to hit the streets.

He makes a few great points about trucks. Among the most salient: that barring trucks actually keeps a number of would be entrepreneurs from opening businesses, because the capital required to start up a truck – while not small – is LESS than the capital required for a conventional resto. Not good for a city that SHOULD be encouraging entrepreneurship.

Without further ado, CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO CLIP which is in French and English . Hope you enjoy and thanks again to M-A and Grumman 78

We love local agriculture. There is nothing like fresh produce grown nearby.

So we got pretty excited when we heard about Lufa Farms. They’re an urban farm, and they grow a wide variety of crops on a rooftop by Marche Central. Our shop is a dropoff point for their baskets, which you can sign up for at www.lufa.com

Why grow on a rooftop? Lufa Farms has a pretty solid and succinct answer:

Good farm land is disappearing fast. It’s either being lost to parking lots and commercial development or is being slowly poisoned by overuse of synthetic pesticides or herbicides. To make matters worse, good forests are being lost in an effort to make more farm land. That’s a lose-lose proposition.

The world’s population continues to grow yet arable farm land continues to diminish. Putting farms on roofs is way to ‘take back’ arable land lost to development. Our prototype 31,000 square foot farm will feed approximately 2000 people and provide them with an excellent selection of fresh and nutritious produce. Our future greenhouses will feed more. Every roof in the city should be able to do the same. Our farm is meant to prove that it’s possible and viable.

Without further ado, here is a short audio clip of Jackson talking with Yourianne and Krystal from Lufa Farms (in French and English).

FAIT ICI wants to know … are you a label reader?

More and more marketers are taking advantage of individuals with busy on the go lifestyles and preying on good intentions. People trying to grab those last minute items at the end of the day, when low on steam are being taken advantage of.  It is easy to reach for  NATURAL or ORGANIC labeling over a regular option, but  9 times out of ten the difference in ingredients is negligible. Companies will often just rearrange the order of the ingredients and slap on a higher price tag.

CBC Marketplace recently reviewed several products that were guilty of lying or as they called it LOUSY LABELS

This is a perfect opportunity to point out a company that is doing it the right way & taking immense pride in pointing out the good …

Smith Farms all natural skin care a Montreal based business consisting of two sisters that are taking things to the next level, with exquisite skin care products that feel as good as they smell.

Whats amazing about there products is not only the quality but the sheer transparency the girls are trying to promote. When using organic ingredients the percentage is clearly defined.

The good news is the goodness just keeps on coming! Smith Farms has just come out with two new products for the face …

Marshmallow Face Cream

Orange Blossom Facial Toner

In a world of buyer beware we are lucky to have a business like Smith Farms popping up, to bring a little ease, enjoyment and honesty back into our shopping experience.