You can judge a food town by its market – after visiting Jean Talon Market, Montreal passes with flying colours. It is a produce market surrounded by food shops set in the heart of Little Italy open every day of the week . Locals seem to lament that the market is not what it was back in the day and that it has become a yuppy food emporium instead of the farm stand cheap seasonal produce market it once was – but I think Montrealers have had it too good. The prices and selection are good and the purveyors are knowledgeable about their products. I can see that it has probably gone a bit upscale which makes it a destination and not just a place for locals to do the daily groceries.

The day I visited there were food purveyors from around Quebec tasting their wares that were available for sales in Le marché des Saveurs du Québec, a store across the street from the outdoor market. The store is devoted to Quebec produce and is run by the Drouin family. This is a superb place for hard-to-find delicacies by local farmers—locally smoked ham, maple syrup ice wine, mussels from les Îles de Madelaines, chaput goat milk cheese, and a full range of beers from local microbreweries.

The market also houses the Premier Moisson bakery where they are making (arguably) the best bread in Montreal. The shop is gorgeous and was bedecked with handmade chocolate chickens and bunnies for Easter. They also sell Quebec delicacies and make their own charcouterie from rillet to pate to boiled hams that are rustic and delicious.

A bevy of apples in the market.

Wandering through the produce.

Selection of croissant at Premier Moisson.

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